3.0

credits

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Italy, once a land of emigrants, is now a place of arrival for people from Africa, eastern Europe, and beyond. This course explores themes of otherness and belonging, exile and assimilation, translation and transformation, myth and memory through a selection of films and literature about migration—to, from and within Italy. Readings will include Vita by Melania Mazzucco, Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio by Amara Lakhous, and Adua by Igiaba Scego as well as excerpts from works by Luigi Pirandello, Giovanni Pascoli, Carlo Levi, and Mario Soldati. Films range from Visconti’s Rocco and His Brothers to Brusati’s Bread and Chocolate, Crialese’s The Golden Door, Matteo Garrone’s Io, Capitano, and Ferrente’s documentary about the Orchestra di Piazza Vittorio. Although our focus is Italy, there will be opportunities to reflect on expressions of migrant experiences in other languages, cultures, and art forms.