Investigation of topics in Italian cultural history from a multidisciplinary perspective.

This seminar proposes a capacious and kaleidoscopic pairing of ‘Italy’ and ‘the world’ across literature, philosophy, and critical theory. From Columbus to Copernicus and Galilei, Italy was for centuries at the center of debates and ‘discoveries’ that transformed who and what constituted the world. We will begin by contemplating European ‘worldmaking’ (Renaissance humanism, the age of ‘discovery,’ etc.) from the perspectives of Black studies, the Caribbean, and decolonial Latin America in works by Nelson Maldonado-Torres, Sylvia Wynter, and Walter Mignolo. We will move on to explore theoretical and philosophical works that explore ‘the world’ at the intersection of aesthetics and politics: Martin Heidegger on worlding and the world picture, Édouard Glissant on mondialité, Pheng Cheah on the ‘world’ in literature, Gayatri Spivak on the ‘worlding’ of the ‘Third World,’ and Steven J. Jackson on ‘broken world thinking.’ Primary texts to include: Pico della Mirandola, Cristoforo Colombo, Giacomo Leopardi, Italo Calvino, Anna Maria Ortese, Milena Agus, and Igiaba Scego.

Prerequisite: Graduate standing

Repeat Rules