Honors 450-04 Italian Literature & Art (3 credits)   

Instructor: Suzanne Bunkers   Class will meet on Mondays from 3:00-5:45 p.m. during the first half of spring semester 2003.

This Honors 450 topics course, offered in conjunction with the study abroad trip, "Florence and Venice: Rebirth of Citizenship and Literature," which will take place from March 8-16, 2002, will focus on the medieval and renaissance literature and art of Florence, Venice, and Siena. We will read and discuss stories from Boccaccio’s  Decameron, Dante’s Divine Comedy, selected Italian folk and fairy tales, selected poetry by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and other literary works that offer shrewd satirical commentary on religious mores as well as political movements. Our course texts are as follows:

Dante                   The Divine Comedy
Dante                    La Vita Nuova
Boccaccio             Decameron: Selected Tales
E. B. Browning      Aurora Leigh & Other Poems

In addition, we will study selected works of Italian sculpture and painting, exploring their roots in religious and historical traditions. During certain portions of class periods, we will meet together with Professor Joe Kunkel’s Political Science: "City Republics of Italy" course participants.

All of us will travel to Italy together during March 7-15, 2003. While in Italy, we will spend time in Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, and Venice—exploring the environs that provided the sources for Boccaccio’s and Dante’s writings and touring museums of art as well as religious and historical landmarks. Our Honors 450 class will meet for several sessions before and after the "Florence and Venice: Rebirth of Citizenship and Literature" trip on March 8-16, 2002. Each course participant will have an opportunity to share what he or she has learned with others enrolled in the course. For more information, go to this web page: http://krypton.mankato.msus.edu/~jak3/ITALIA/Italytourwelcome.html

Related online links:

http://www.italnet.nd.edu/Dante/text/Chronology.html 
Dante Chronology

http://www.wisdomportal.com/Romance/Dante-Beatrice.html 
Dante & Beatrice

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04628a.htm 
Background on Dante's life and philosophy

http://www.fjweb.fju.edu.tw/literature/article/Inferno.htm 
Background on The Divine Comedy

http://www.unc.edu/courses/2001spring/engl/029/002/project%201/dante.html 
Dante's Divine Comedy and Dore's Illustrations