What's in a Name? Autobiography and Autofiction in Modern Italian Culture
ITAL 238
Spring 2025
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01
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This course explores the relationship between a person's (or a character's) identity and their name, examining the crucial relevance of naming and renaming practices in shaping individual identities and collective narratives through a wide variety of Italian texts. In the first module, we read Holocaust memoirs and contemporary short fiction and we listen to podcasts and songs by Black and Jewish Italian authors to analyze the nuanced ways in which names shape racial identity, from the derogatory act of name-calling and the deprivation of personal names to the empowering act of reclaiming one's name and narrative. In the second part of the course, we consider coming out stories and gender transition accounts, including graphic novels and feature films, to reflect on the impact of putting into words one's gender identity and choosing new names in individual journeys of self-discovery and affirmation. In our last module, we focus on the last twenty years of Italian literature to study one of its dominant genres (that some Italian critics polemically named a "disease"): autofiction, a blend between autobiography and fiction. For the final essay or project, each student will choose a recently published novel to read, analyze, and adapt or (partially) translate. This course is conducted in Italian. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RLAN |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: None |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 75% - 89% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
: Nicolò Bassetti, Olga Campofreda, Claudia Durastanti, Sabrina Efionayi, Fumettibrutti, Luca Guadagnino, Primo Levi, Geneviève Makaping, Giusi Muscatelli, Silvia Ranfagni, Walter Siti, Giuliana Tedeschi, Giovanna Cristina Vivinetto
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Examinations and Assignments:
: Weekly posts on the class forum, oral presentation, written assignments of varied length, final essay/creative project. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
: This course is intended primarily for the following students: those who have a) taken a course at the 200 level; b) who have studied in Italy (for one or two semesters); c) whose experience with Italian is very recent (e.g., studied in Italy during the Fall). This course may be suitable for students who have not completed a course at the 200 level but whose placement exam suggested they should take courses numbered above 112. In the event that a student with advanced reading, writing, and speaking abilities in Italian has not yet completed a course at the 200 level, they will be asked to conduct a brief oral interview with the professor during registration or drop/add. In the event that the student does not meet the prerequisites AND the professor has any doubts as to placement, he will ask the student to engage in a brief oral interview. |
| Instructor(s): Miglianti,Giovanni Times: .M.W... 02:50PM-04:10PM; Location: FISK404; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 3 | JR major: 3 | | |
| Seats Available: 6 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 3 | JR non-major: 2 | SO: 2 | FR: 2 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 1 | 1st Ranked: 1 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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