Comparative Studies
Originally from Rome, Italy, Marianna De Tollis earned her B.A. in Lingue e Culture Straniere (Languages and Foreign Cultures), with an emphasis in English and French at the University of RomaTre (Rome, Italy). She then came to Florida and earned her M.A. in Comparative Literature at Florida Atlantic University in 2010, with an emphasis in Italian and Caribbean Studies. She then earned a second Masters in 2013, the M.A. in Teaching Spanish, also at Florida Atlantic University. Marianna entered the Ph.D. program at FAU in the fall of 2013. The main concentration of her scholarly research has been looking at women’s bodies and how they have been portrayed in both literature and visual arts. She is also interested in how these women’s stereotypes have been constructed and how they have been deconstructed, through time, space and different circumstances. She has presented papers at several international conferences on identity issues of women, such as the “body-hybrid” in Sibilla Aleramo’s novel "Una donna," the “Christological body” in the movie "El laberinto del fauno," and the monstrous “Chimeric body” in Dacia Maraini’s "La lunga vita di Marianna Ucrìa." Her goal is to write a dissertation that compares the different treatments of the female body and how female writers subvert the male-made society through their writings and fight for their rights. She will be looking specifically at the Italian literary tradition (the Venetian courtesan Veronica Franco) and the Spanish/Mexican tradition (Sor Juana Inéz de la Cruz), by focusing not only on their writings, but also on their physical/political bodies as a tool towards a feminine (re)appropriation.
The “Grand Tour” of Italy through Literature, Music and Films
All roads lead to Rome!
The multi-flavored beauty of Italy has been celebrated and
represented through a myriad of television shows, food and travel
magazines, movies, poetry, paintings and books. Italy, as one of
the top destinations for tourists or Italians living abroad looking
for the ultimate vacation or “hungry” for their past and the
sweetness of family memories, has a long cultural history. During
the seventeenth century, many of the European upper-class
writers and young men of means started an itinerary through
several European and Italian cities (known as the “Grand Tour”)
in order to enrich their minds and souls with the great classical
and cultural antiquity. In this series of seminars, I will, therefore,
escort you through a metaphorical pilgrimage of some of the
famous 17th Century “Grand Tour” cities of Italy with a modern
perspective; we will be approaching every city through its
literature, music or scenes from famous films which will present
the multi-faces of Italy and its beauty: from the romantic canals of
Venice and its unforgettable courtesan, Veronica Franco, to the
breathtaking scenery of Sicily that speaks through Pirandello’s
philosophical and psychological dramas.
Enrollment for this class is limited to 30 students.
Please enroll early.
Week 2 Lecture Notes:
Dante - Canto 1
Dante - Canto 3
Dante - Canto 26
Dante - Canto 34
- Introduction to the seminar and to the historical context of the Italian “Grand tour” — Venezia/Venice (Veneto): - We will be
exploring the beauty of Venice and its annual practices (annual
festivals, the carnival, etc.) through the verses of Veronica Franco
(Venezia, 1546–91), one of the most famous and appreciated
courtesans of the Italian Renaissance. Also, we will view and
discuss parts of the movie “Dangerous Beauty,” based on Franco’s
life and work.
- Firenze/Florence (toscana/tuscany): - We will discuss Dante’s
“Divine Comedy” (mostly the Inferno) and why it became
important in the development of Italian history and Florentine
identity. Dante Alighieri (Firenze, 1265–1321) was an Italian poet,
writer and philosophical thinker whose La Divina Commedia made
a huge impact worldwide to both literature and theology.
- Roma/Rome (Lazio): - We will be uncovering the beauty of Rome
through Pasolini’s unforgettable poetry, novels, and screen
images. Pier Paolo Pasolini (Bologna 1922–Rome 1975) was a
distinguished Italian film director, writer, poet, journalist, and
intellectual. Although Pasolini was born in Bologna, he spent half
of his life in Rome and dedicated a lot of his literary and artistic
work to the roman “underworld” of vice. With his extraordinary
and unique versatility, Pier Paolo Pasolini became a highly
controversial figure and one of the most distinguished “artists” of
the European 20th Century.
- Sicilia/ Sicily: - We will be discovering the historical beauty of
Sicily through the theatrical work of Luigi Pirandello (Agrigento,
1867–1936). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in
1934 for his “bold and brilliant renovation of drama and the
stage.” In his work, Pirandello shows how art and illusion mixes
with reality.
|
| Course # S4S1 — First 4 Weeks
|
|
| Place: | Lifelong Learning Complex, Jupiter Campus |
| Dates: | Saturdays, March 21; April 4, 11, 18 2015
(No Class On Saturday, March 28 2015 ) |
| Time: | 11 - 12:30 PM |
| Fee: | $20 / member; $20 / non-member |
| Class Closed |
|
Register Now
