Italian Literature and Culture from its Origins to 1400
ITAL 4050/6050
3 hours
Italian Literature and Culture from its Origins to 1400
Course Description
A study of medieval Italian literature and culture. Selections from the works of the “Three Crowns of Florence” (Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio), from charismatic mystics (Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi, Saint Angela of Foligno, and Saint Catherine of Siena), and from the poets of the Sicilian School and the “Dolce stil novo.” Given in Italian.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students: Graduate students will complete longer and additional
assignments, including mandatory oral reports on primary and
secondary materials. Graduate students will be required to
read additional works, and works of greater difficulty, than
undergraduates. These readings will entail the development of
critical perspectives on the literary historical material
covered in the main reading list for the class. Graduate
students are also held to a higher grading standard on tests
and exams, where the content is more detailed and extensive,
and evaluative criteria are more rigorous. Graduate students
will be required to develop and demonstrate the skills of
professional academic research and scholarship.
Athena Title
Ital Lit and Culture to 1400
Non-Traditional Format
Course will be offered approximately every three semesters.
Prerequisite
ITAL 3010 or ITAL 3030
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Student Learning Outcomes
The course aims to develop a student’s four skills (aural, oral, reading, and writing) so that students can develop, support, and express ideas clearly and precisely in both spoken and written Italian. At the end of the course, successful students will be able to speak and write at the ACTFL Intermediate High to Advanced Low level, and clearly articulate their position on a thesis or an issue and support it with cogent arguments.
At the end of the course, the successful student will have developed an awareness, appreciation, and knowledge of medieval Italian culture and its impact on modern Italian and Western culture, including interpersonal communication.
The successful student will know how institutional religion, especially the Roman Catholic Church, and social classes, especially the aristocracy, the rising middle class, and the peasantry shaped social identity, social roles and mindsets in medieval Italy; and how these in turn shaped aspects of modern Italy culture (e.g., class culture; institutional religion; romantic love; courtesy and appropriate behavior in different social contexts).
At the end of the course, successful students will be able to discover the subtle nuances of meaning in the assigned texts, and identify the literary genres, forms, and conventions that make up these texts. They will also know the intellectual, historical, and cultural background needed to understand and better appreciate these texts.
Topical Outline
Analysis of selections from the works of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio.
Analysis of selections from the works of Saints Francis and Clare of Assisi, Saint Angela of Foligno, and Saint Catherine of Siena.
Analysis of selections from the works of the Scuola siciliana and the Dolce stil novo.
