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CS92PROD
The Invention of Subjectivity: Erotic Discourse from Dante to Petrarca
ITAL 227
Fall 2017 not offered

In this course, we will investigate the ideology, content, and material forms of love poetry from Dante Alighieri (1265--1321) to Francesco Petrarca (1304--1374). Through a close reading of such texts as Dante's Vita Nova and Petrarca's Rerum vulgarium fragmenta (often referred to as the poetry book par excellence: il canzoniere), we will unveil the literary and fictitious nature of the poetry of love. We will explore the origins of erotic poetry in medieval France and its subsequent interpretation and re-writing in Italian courts and comuni. We will inquire into the cultural constructions of the medieval notion of the lyrical self and how it still has an impact on our own notion of consciousness. We will analyze the dynamics of composition, circulation, and reception in manuscript culture. Our close analysis of the texts as they have been preserved in manuscript form will help us gauge the differences between medieval and contemporary ways of writing, reading, and loving. This course is conducted in Italian.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA RLAN
Course Format: Lecture / DiscussionGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: None
Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (CSCT)(ITST)(MDST-MN)(MDST)(MDST-Art/Arch)(MDST-History)(MDST-Lang/Lit)(MDST-Phil/Reli)(RMST)

Last Updated on MAR-28-2024
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