"Italian" Cultural Articulations in/about the United States

*THIS IS A 3-WEEK COURSE DURING SESSION I*



This course continues in the same vein as those offered in 2010 (Letteratura e cinema “italiano/americani”: produzione e rappresentazione) and 2011 (Studi “italiano/americani”: Rappresentazioni degli “italiani” nelle Americhe); it will look at the articulation of contemporary “Italian” (writers and filmmakers) voices from/about the United States. Along with the usual analysis of the technique, “intention,” and narrative “responsibility” of the modern/contemporary writer/filmmaker, we shall also examine the historical and thematic analyses of these people’s works specifically from the lens of biculturalism and immigration. That said, the other questions such as “How, why, and for whom does one write?” or, when applicable, “How do they fit into the modernist vis-à-vis postmodernist discourse?” will take on new meaning. Further still, we shall also examine the different modes in which these individuals express a sense of italianità and how such difference may be rooted in and influenced by the various local cultures in which they have and continue to work their craft.



Required texts:

Luigi Fontanella, Controfigura (Marsilio 2009). ISBN 9788831798877

Antonio Monda, L’America non esiste (Mondadori 2012). ISBN 9788804616054



Poetry

Alfredo de Palchi, Collezione anonima (Xenos 1997, bilingual edition; Caramanica 1998). ISBN 1-879378-23-X

Rita Dinale, Una quieta pazienza (San Marco dei Giustiniani 1986).