ITAL3191: Renaissance Relevance: Italian Culture in Translation

• Italian Language 2B (ITAL2031) OR Italian Language 2A (ITAL2111) or an equivalent qualification to the satisfaction of the Chairman/woman of the Board of Studies of MLAC or his/her representative.

• Modern Languages, Combined Honours and all Joint and 'with' programmes: Italian Language 4 (ITAL3021). Others: see Chairman/woman of the Board of Studies in MLAC or his/her representative.

• None.

• To study a select number of Renaissance texts and images in depth;
• To examine these works of literature and art within the context of Humanist imitation and translation;
• To analyse trans-historical case studies of their translation into new forms and/or languages both as conversant with and independent of their models;
• To reflect on the processes of reception and transmission that render early modern Italian culture newly relevant across cultures and time.

• A selection of one major text and one or two iconic images of the Italian Renaissance will provide the primary focus of the module. This selection will include works of literature and art that have been particularly generative of reproductions and imitations such as Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando furioso; Angelo Poliziano, Orfeo; Sandro Botticelli, Primavera, Michelangelo, Davide and so on. The translations and adaptions studied will be interlingual, intralingual and/or transmedial, offering a means to explore the concept and practises of adaptation and translation within the broadest possible frame.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• By the end of this module, students should / will / are expected to:
• show close acquaintance of and deep engagement with important Italian texts and images
• know about and understand a crucial period in Italian history and its cultural production
• have developed innovative approaches to analysing the production and reproduction of Italian Renaissance literature and art

Subject-specific Skills:

• By the end of this module, students should / will / are expected to:
• have developed critical skills including the close reading of primary texts and the formal analysis of paintings and / or sculpture
• be able to relate texts and images to the overarching themes of cultural and transcultural transmission
• be able to reflect judiciously on the relevance of early modern Italian literature and art across cultures, languages and media

Key Skills:

• By the end of this module, students should / will / are expected to have developed the key skills of:
• literary and visual cultural criticism;
• essay and commentary writing;
• structuring arguments;
• independent learning.

• The module will be taught in weekly one-hour lectures in Michaelmas and Epiphany terms.
• Bi-weekly one-hour seminars will deliver relevant information about the module and will include guided discussions and student presentations (subject to instructors decision and group size).
• Assessment of the module is by essay or an alternative digital project in Summative Component 1. The project either a 15 mins digital presentation of key concepts (based on a written draft of around 2000 words), or a 2000 word essay should engage critically and apply the theoretical knowledge gained during the course to the analysis of a particular text or film. It should focus on AT LEAST ONE of the texts/topics studied during the term, while there may be scope for students to include other objects of study related to the topic provided they agree this with the course convener.
• Summative Component 2: 3,000-words essay.

Formative work will include peer/question-driven discussions during seminars. Oral feedback and comments from both peers and tutors are provided regularly in the course of the seminar discussion.

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