World Literature: Italians and the Holocaust

Investigation of Italian literary and filmic representations of the Holocaust and the historical climate that led to it through the analysis of works by authors and directors such as Bassani, Levi, De Sica, and Wertmueller, among others. Italian Jewish identity and Italy's responsibilities in the Holocaust will be addressed considering the most recent scholarship.

Open to degree and PACE students

This course concentrates on Italian literary and filmic representations of the Holocaust and the historical climate that led to it. We will analyze and discuss work by world-renowned writers, such as Primo Levi and Giorgio Bassani, and film directors, such as Vittorio De Sica and Lina Wertmüller, among others. Italian Jewish identity and Italy’s responsibilities in the Holocaust will be addressed in their historical development considering the most recent scholarship. We will also investigate issues that are central to the identity of modern Italy in its relationship with a past that produced Fascism, a dictatorship that supplied the paradigm for other totalitarian regimes. The focus of the course will be on close reading and discussion of texts and films whose scope and importance speak to our common humanity. This course counts for Holocaust Studies and several other programs, such as Italian Studies and Jewish Studies. Course goals and objectives include 1) learning about Italian and Jewish Italian cultures and the history of the Holocaust in Italy as they are presented by both films and literary masterpieces 2) analyzing complex literary and artistic works in reference to the historical context that produced them 3) developing critical thinking skills by analyzing and discussing sophisticated cultural products such as novels, memoirs, essays, poems, and films that present perspectives essential to reach an intercultural, historically sound, proficiency.

This course combines lecture and discussion formats. Students should expect to spend 6-8 hours a week on coursework outside of class. Required materials for this course are the following books: 1) Bassani, Giorgio: The Novel of Ferrara (Trans. Jamie McKendrick) ISBN: 978-0-393-35860-5 2) Levi, Carlo: Christ Stopped at Eboli (Trans. Frances Frenaye) ISBN: 978-0-374-53009-9 3) Levi, Primo: Survival in Auschwitz (If this is a man) (Trans. Stuart Woolf) ISBN: 0-684-82680-1 4) Levi, Primo: The Drowned and the Saved (Trans. Raymond Rosenthal) ISBN: 978-1501167638 5) Levi, Primo: The Reawakening (Trans. Stuart Woolf) ISBN: 978-0020223696 6) Loy, Rosetta: First Words: A Childhood in Fascist Italy (Trans. Gregory Conti) ISBN: 978-0805067385

Grades are based on attendance and participation, group presentations, midterm, and a final.