JWC2150

Contemporary Italian Jewish Writers in Translation (6 points)

(ARTS)

Leader: Dr Mirna Cicioni

Offered:
Clayton First semester 2004 (Day)
Clayton Second semester 2004 (Day)

Synopsis: Unit introduces students to the way some themes recognised as belonging to 'Jewish writing' are treated in texts by writers deeply rooted within post-World War II Italian history and culture. The themes are the notion of 'chosenness'; ethical imperatives; faith and doubt; survival and continuity; memory, preservation and forgetting; marginality and integration. The unit helps students to analyse the construction of 'Jewish subjects' in autobiographical texts (inc: Levi, Sereni, Zargani) and in autobiographical fiction (Bassani's novels). Students are enabled to reflect on the way the different texts reconstruct and interpret Italian history from the 1920s to the end of the twentieth century.

Assessment: Essay (2200 words): 40% + Seminar paper (500 words): 10% + Two reading reports (800 words): 20% + Examination (1 hour): 20%+ Seminar participation: 10%

Contact Hours: A 2-hour lecture and a 1-hour tutorial per week. Italian Studies students will have a separate tutorial in Italian.