Refracted Light: How Others View Italy

3 units

Throughout the centuries Italy has both enjoyed and suffered the fascinated gaze of foreigners, who have written about it, painted it, made music and films about it. Drawing principally on prose writings from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries, in such varied genres as the short story, the novel, the mystery novel, travel writing, and the memoir, this course will examine the images of Italy that non-Italians project. Beyond learning about Italy, students will consider their own idea of Italy, examine their own frame of reference and cultural biases, interrogate a variety of stereotypes, and ponder how well one can truly understand a place as an outsider or reader. Authors studied include Stendhal, Dickens, James, Forster and Mann, and James, as well as such contemporary writers as Michael Dibdin and Shirley Hazzard.