Reading and composition course based on works by Italians and foreigners about Italy and its culture and by Italians about their distinctive experiences of other cultures as tourists and emigrants. Works studied will be primarily chosen from among fiction and non fiction narratives, both originally in English and translated into it. R5A satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition Requirement and R5B satisfies the second half.

The French critic Roland Barthes wrote that, etymologically speaking, the text is a cloth. In English the words text (a body of written work) and textile (cloth or woven fabric) derive from a common root, texere (to weave). In this class we will focus on the ways that makers of clothing and textiles have been depicted in literature and film, with a particular focus on writers and artists in Italy and the Italian diaspora in the 20th and 21st centuries. We will consider how clothing connects to questions of Italian identity and expressions of gender, but also with issues of craft, labor, and trade on the Italian peninsula. We begin with comparative readings of folklore and myth that depict the weaver as a storyteller with special, potentially transgressive, powers, and move on to investigate texts that foreground weaving, sewing, and the fiber arts as expressions of identity, community, sustainability, and dissent. This is a writing-intensive course, with an emphasis on critical thinking and the process of revision. Students will be asked to complete short writing assignments as well as one midterm essay and one longer research paper. Students will work on their own creative projects (imitative and interpretive) as a counterpoint to the analytical writing skills developed in this course. Texts (and textiles) will be chosen and excerpted from the following: Paul Thomas Anderson, The Phantom Thread Italo Calvino, Italian Fables Elena Ferrante, trans. Ann Goldstein, Troubling Love Ovid, Metamorphosis Andrea Segre, Shun Li and the Poet Cecilia Vicuña, NAUfragare Shorter works by writers and fiber artists such as Roland Barthes, Giovanni Boccaccio, Robert Pinsky, Giovanni Pascoli, Danielle Dutton, Linda Gass and Rosie Lee Tompkins.

Requisites

• Previously passed an R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Previously passed an articulated R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Score a 4 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Literature. Score a 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Language and Composition. Score of 5, 6, or 7 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Examination in English.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills