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.

Among the most fertile and resource-rich regions of the Italian peninsula, the former Kingdom of Naples (the modern regions of Campania, Basilicata, Calabria, and Apulia) has long been the site of conquest, rebellion, and natural disaster. Over the centuries, the city of Naples served as the capital of its own kingdom and as a governing outpost for the Kingdoms of Aragon and Spain, yet it was also the target of frequent attacks by those who wished to control its abundant resources and its strategic position on the Tyrrhenian coast. Although Naples served as a symbol of monarchical power, it also became a hotspot of political and social unrest as the city’s population grew exponentially in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. These precarious political circumstances were often linked to the surrounding environment in the Italian literary and artistic imagination: while the abundance of the Neapolitan landscape was tied to the city’s wealth, the region’s frequent seismic and volcanic activity appeared to reflect its political instability. This course explores Naples in the European imaginary by considering the literary, visual, and material culture of the city and its surroundings. In doing so, it will explore how the arts of this region shaped and were shaped by the complex shifting regional and international dynamics that characterized Southern Italy from the 13th to 19th centuries, as well as by the natural disasters that commonly occurred. This course is a writing-intensive class which fulfills Part B of the university’s requirement for Reading and Composition and teaches students to read and reflect critically about literary texts and works of art and to express their own, original ideas in an argumentative academic essay. Assignments will focus on visual analysis, close reading, and written composition. Students will also learn to develop their own ideas and respond to those of their classmates through class discussion and peer review.

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