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CS92PROD
Subversion, Liberation, and Redemption in Italian Renaissance Comedy
ITAL 243
Spring 2016
Section: 01  

Avidly in search of fulfillment of body and soul, self-determination, and pleasure of all kinds, Renaissance writers explored comedy both to provoke laughter (in and out of court) and provide conceptual alternatives to reality. This course examines the historical, literary, and anthropological dimensions of comedy and the comic in an array of texts of the Italian Renaissance. We will explore the comic and its various expressions the novella, the facetia (`witty anecdote'), the apologue, the comic play, the mock-heroic poem, and the treatise. We will seek to understand the various functions of the comic, as a form of political subversion, as mode of social critique, as practice of erotic liberation and marginalization, as opportunity for psychological escape, as spiritual healing, and as the reconciliation of conflict. Along the way, we will investigate contextual elements like dramatic performance, patronage, audience, and the architectural space of Renaissance theaters. The close reading of works by authors such as Niccolò Machiavelli, Ludovico Ariosto, and Giordano Bruno will allow us to probe the subversive and redeeming power of comedy to underscore continuities and ruptures between Renaissance quest for human identity and ours. Conducted in Italian.
Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA RLAN
Course Format: DiscussionGrading Mode: Graded
Level: UGRD Prerequisites: ITAL221 OR ITAL222
Fulfills a Requirement for: (ITST)(RMST)
Past Enrollment Probability: 75% - 89%

Last Updated on OCT-05-2024
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