This course will center around Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron, a collection of stories written in the wake of the plague that devastated Florence in 1348. We’ll consider the connection between storytelling and survival, whether in the wake of devastating disease or political crisis, as we move across the medieval world through Indian, Persian, and Arab traditions of storytelling. And we’ll make our way to global contemporary reflections of this impulse to tell stories in a time of plague, with authors such as Salman Rushdie, Uzodinma Iweala, and Margaret Atwood. Taught in English with readings in English.

We tell each other stories to live. This course will center around Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron, a collection of stories written in the wake of the plague that devastated Florence in 1348. We’ll consider the connection between storytelling and survival, whether in the wake of devastating disease or political crisis, as we move across the medieval world through Indian, Persian, and Arab traditions of storytelling. And we’ll make our way to global contemporary reflections of this impulse to tell stories in a time of plague, with authors such as Salman Rushdie, Mona Awad, and Margaret Atwood.

Taught in English with readings in English.

Upper-division Italian Studies classes with instruction in English may be taken in Italian (by completing readings and written work in Italian) if the student has completed Italian 101, and with permission of the instructor.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills