The Three Crowns

In this course, students will gain a general familiarity with the three most influential and perennially important writers of Italian literature: Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio. We shall trace some of their principal concerns against the backdrop of their contemporary society and witness the transformation of a variety of subjects, from theology to history, from poetry to popular culture. Particular emphasis will be placed on the ways in which Petrarca and Boccaccio thought of themselves as continuators ? or innovators ? with respect to the Dantean tradition. Course taught in Italian.

Medieval & Renaissance Novella

The birth of the Italian novella was one of the most significant events ever to shape the course of European literature. Although related to the fabliau and the exemplum, the novella developed a ?personality? all its own. From high tragedy to raucous ribaldry, from stories of love and adventure to tales of wit and cruelty, almost every type of literary form has been adapted to the specific exigencies of the Italian short story.
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