Modules 2015-16
Modules Terms 1 & 2 (30 CATS)
IT309 Comparative Literature: Italian and English Short Fiction
IT412 Dissertation (Year 4 only)
Term 1 modules (15 CATS)
-IT317 Introducing Dante's Hell (tutor: Simon Gilson)
-Code tbc: Transnational Stories in Italy (not available to students who have already taken IT303)
(new module; tutors: Joanne Lee, Jenny Burns)
-Code tbc: Translation: Contemporary Theories and Practice (new module; tutor: Loredana
Polezzi)
-Code tbc: The Making of the Italian Language: From Dante to the Present (new module; tutor:
Alessio Cotugno)
Term 2 modules (15 CATS)
-IT305 Culture and Identities in Nineteenth-century Italy (tutor: Fabio Camilletti)
-IT313 Italian Cinema: Envisioning the Nation (tutor: Jenny Burns)
-IT323 Magic and Marvels in Renaissance Italy (tutor: Maude Vanhaelen)
-Code tbc: Multilingualism and Modern Languages (new module; tutors: Marco Santello, Naomi
Wells)
Abstracts for new modules
Transnational Stories in Italy. This module aims to enhance students’ understanding of how
mobility and immigration have shaped identities in Italy in recent decades. Students will develop a
detailed knowledge of Italy’s history as a former colonial power and explore the impact of
postcoloniality on national cultures. These questions will be explored in relation to Italy’s identity
as a destination country in global migratory flows through an analysis of four contemporary novels.
The topics discussed will include the impact of displacement on subjectivity; the problematic notion
of home; the memory of Italy’s colonial past; and motherhood and migration. The analysis of the
texts will be informed by theories of personal, cultural, and national identity construction and
students will develop an awareness of how terms such as transnationalism, postcolonialism,
hybridity and multiculturalism can be applied to the Italian case.
Translation: Contemporary Theory and Practice. The module is designed to introduce students
to the notion of translation as a specific set of skills, situate the practice of translation within the
context of relevant theories developed in the field of Translation Studies, and raise awareness of the
role of translation and of translators in contemporary society. The module will be available across
the School of Modern Languages & Cultures, and does not require language abilities in any specific
language.
The Making of the Italian Language: From Dante to Modern Linguistics. This module aims to
emphasize a broad cultural approach to the History of the Italian language, with an emphasis upon
Dante’s linguistics, the Renaissance and the vernacularization of knowledge, the process of
unification and the relation between language and national-building in XIXth century Italy, and the
contemporary social and linguistic transformations.
Multilingualism and Modern Languages. [description to be confirmed]