Three hours of lectures, readings, and discussion per week on major authors, themes, and movements in Italian literature.

For a long time, Italy has widely contributed to the flux of global migration, and indeed extended Italian heritage communities can be found all over the world. Since the last decades of the 20th century, however, Italy has become, if not always a final destination, still a crucial and necessary extended stop in the painful and arduous journey for those forced by politics, war, environmental disasters, poverty, or famine to leave everything behind in hopes of finding a safe harbor elsewhere. If in the past the impact of Italian mass emigration changed both the country left behind and the communities in the countries of destination, today the impact of new migrations patterns has become more and more socially relevant and has sadly often been exploited by politicians pursuing a nationalistic agenda. As time goes by, moreover, the issue of citizenship for the children of first-generation migrants is becoming more and more urgent. Today, speaking of contemporary Italy means necessarily addressing migration and its effects as well. This course is divided in two parts: the first is dedicated to Italian emigration from the mid-19th century to the immediate post WWII period. The second will discuss today’s immigration into Italy from other parts of the world, with a special focus on Mediterranean crossings. Readings and class discussions will center not only on the journey of migration, but also on patterns of social integration upon settlement in the new countries. Required texts will span from newspaper and journal articles to scholarly book chapters, novels, short stories, poems and songs. We’ll watch both documentaries and feature films as well. Students will learn how recent migrations have been challenging the already problematic idea of “Italian identity”. At the same time, in their independent research, students will also be able, if interested, to draw transnational comparisons with other migration contexts and thus to compare the Italian situation to that of the U.S. or of their own native countries. The course is taught in English with readings in English. However, students who have already taken IS 101 please note: With permission of the instructor, upper division courses taught in English can count as courses taught in Italian if readings and written work are completed in Italian.

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