Cultural Mobilities Between China and Italy

Cultural Mobilities Between China and Italy

2023 | Edited by Gaoheng Zhang & Valentina Pedone

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Full description:

This book offers a critical analysis of global mobilities across China and Italy in history. In three periods in the twentieth century, new patterns of physical mobilities and cultural contact were established between the two countries which were either novel at the time of their emergence or impactful on subsequent periods. The first two chapters provide overviews of writings by Italians in China and by Chinese in Italy in the twentieth century. The remaining chapters cover: Republican China’s relationships with Italy and Italian Fascist colonialism in China during the 1920s–1930s; Italian travelers to China during the Cold War from the 1950s to the 1970s; migrations between China and Italy during the 2000s–2010s. In analyzing these cultural mobilities, this book opens a new line of inquiry in Chinese-Italian Cultural Studies, which has been dominated by historical study, and contributes a significant case study to the scholarship on global cultural mobilities.

Cultural Mobilities Between China and Italy

FREN556B

Identity, Ideology and Power

Instructor: Marie-Eve Bouchard
Language of instruction: French

This graduate seminar will delve into three critical themes in sociolinguistics and linguistic anthropology: ideology, identity, and power. Its broad objective is to examine how language ideologies are involved in the construction of power structure and social identities. Focusing largely on key articles, this course engages with debates and methods for analysing linguistic evidence pertaining to symbolic power, cultural contact and language shift, migration and mobility, authenticity and identity, resistance, and digital communication. Throughout this seminar, we will explore the social, economic and political consequences of different identification strategies by discussing how people’s beliefs about language reinforce or contest normative power structures and social. All discussions and work submitted in this course will be in French. The class is designed for three main audiences: 1) graduate students in French linguistics, 2) graduate students in the French literature interested in language use, and 3) advanced undergraduate students who have taken sociolinguistics courses at FHIS. All discussions and work submitted in this course will be in French.

Recommended readings: Most readings will be available on Canvas.

ITAL232

Nation, Empire, Democracy in the Age of Modern Capitalism: Italy as a Model Case

Garibaldi at the Battle of Calatafimi (1860) - painting by C. H. Granger

The two recurring, competing (but, also, interwoven) issues of national identity vs. global empire (lat. Imperium) are explored in this course by studying historical, political, literary, cinematographic and cultural evidence from Italy: a country which, despite its miniature size by world standards, displays all the features of a poignant and a revealing historical model case, and has been able to condense into a nutshell today’s main historical concepts.

We pursue “Nation, Empire, Democracy” through the five most recent phases of Italian (and European, and global) history, which in our case are: 1, Romanticism and Risorgimento (1815-1860/70); 2, imperialism (1860/70-1919); 3, Fascism (1919-1945); 4, the high industrial age of nation-states (1945-1993); and 5, late global capitalism (since the creation of Maastricht’s European Union) (1993-?), with its current financial, trade, energy, ecological, and demographic imbalances.

Required readings:

  • Excerpts from literary and historical works, as will be POSTED ON CANVAS.
  • Christopher Duggan, The Force of Destiny: A History of Italy Since 1796, Penguin 2008.

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Language of instruction: English

FREN485

Early Encounters: Travel Literature and Colonial Writing in French

This course explores narratives of travel and exploration in French from 1500 to 1800 and their relationship to colonization, gender, unfamiliar culture and nature, knowledge production and representations of the self and others. We will study “early encounters” across the globe positioning France within a planetary framework. This course will engage with French travelers to India, South and North America (Canada), Africa and the Caribbean. We will historicize the very notion of travel and geography as we closely read our texts. Along the way, we will address crucial topics that move us today, including migration, colonization, territorial exploration, borders, gendered spaces, ecology, multilingualism and the feeling of (non-)belonging.

Prerequisites: One of FREN 321, FREN 328, FREN 329 and one of FREN 402, FREN 225.

Language of instruction: French

RMST341

Shifting Identities and Perceptions in Medieval and Early Modern Italy

Cross-listed with ITAL 303

Giotto, Nativity, detail. Scrovegni Chapel, Padua, Italy. The Virgin Mary looks at her newborn child, Jesus, as he looks back at her. We see here the inception of art as expression not just of traditional sacred story, but of human consciousness as experience of a fully embodied identity, a coming together of intelligence, emotions, intuitions and sensations.

This is a course that aims at blending the visual and the literary arts that flourished in the Italian peninsula from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. We will follow a chronological order, moving from Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio to Pico, Machiavelli and Castiglione, from Giotto to Leonardo.

We will also pay attention to where these art forms occurred geographically, as different centers of patronage became prominent at different moments in time. We will therefore look at Palermo and Sicily during the 12th and 13th centuries, Florence and Tuscany from the 13th to the 16th, Milan-Venice in the 15th and 16th; finally, approaching the Rome of the Renaissance will also give us the opportunity to look at her ancient, classical heritage.

We will read excerpts from some of the major texts that were produced in these various areas, and familiarize ourselves with the evolution of the visual arts.

If you are planning a trip to Italy at some point in the future, don’t miss this course! Decisions on where to go, where to stay and which wines to taste will rest on your organizational skills; but, having taken this course, you will know all the ins and outs necessary to plan a culturally exciting journey and decide for yourselves which regions’ cultural identities are closer to your interests.

Required texts:

  • There are no required books to buy. Required texts are available online, or will be made available via Canvas.
  • Selections from the following Primary Texts (either excerpts in PDF or available online):
    • Dante, Vita nuova (book required, see below) +The Divine Comedy.
    • Boccaccio, Decameron.
    • Petrarca, Canzoniere and other works.
    • Pico della Mirandola, On the Dignity of Man.
    • Machiavelli, The Prince.
    • Castiglione, The Courtier.

Recommended texts:

  • Schneider Adams, Laurie. Italian Renaissance Art. Westview Press, 2001.

Prerequisite: No prerequisites

Note: Credit will be granted for only one of ITAL 303 or RMST 341.

Language of Instruction: English

RMST454

Cross-listed with ITAL 404

Eros Unbound: The Ecology of Love at the Edge of Modernity

Orpheus and Eurydice, © Emily Balivet 2012

Is there such a thing as an “ecology of love”? The short answer is: “yes”; the long answer is: “we may have forgotten almost all about it.” Can we retrieve the memory of that ecology, and thus free love from its fetters, so as to reclaim truer bonds: bonds that make us free, rather than imprison us?

The stories of Eros and Psyche; Echo and Narcissus; Orpheus and Eurydice; Persephone, Demeter and Hades are myths that have guided the Western mind through the millennia in its renewed attempts to grapple with the mysteries of love, life, death. These stories informed the poetics of countless verbal and visual expressions of union and separation, particularly at the time when European societies were transitioning into “modernity” – ‘modernity’ being perhaps the most separative experiment ever undertaken by humanity in its yearning for freedom from ‘the environment,’ and from all bonds. How do these myths address the bonding of relationship and its severing? How did these myths get inflected over time, in order to warn, or disguise, or negate that tragic severing of the erotic, nurturing bond between feminine and masculine, the living earth and its human inhabitants, between psyche (soul)-body, and mind?

This course will retrace both the endorsed and the rejected reading of these myths, which have been central to the formation (and loss) of an “ecology of love” in the ancient, pre-modern and modern worlds. We will explore how these primordial images of eros have contributed to shaping our understanding of the relationship between the human psyche and its environment. We will take an especially close look at the poetics of desire and the dynamics of power in the cultures of the pre-modern Mediterranean and Romance cultures, and of Renaissance Italy.

These narratives that teach us of the cosmic power of eros are as alive, and worthy of attention, today, as they were in past ages, hence we will complement our rediscovery of their ancient, medieval and early modern re-creations with contemporary literature that probes their meaning for our times, at the intersection of psychology, ecology, and the arts.

Required readings:

  • Bedier, The Romance of Tristan and Iseut. Hackett 2013. 978-1603849005
  • The Romance of the Rose (excerpts in pdf)
  • Dante Alighieri, The New Life, tr. S. Applebaum. Dover 2006. 978-0486453491
  • Other texts will be provided in pdf via Canvas.

Language of instruction: English

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Note: Credit will be granted for only one of RMST 454, ITST 414 or ITAL 404.

RMST324

Indigenous Literature of Quebec

A map of Indigenous territories in Quebec, in their respective Indigenous languages. | Source: Native-land.ca

In a province where debates on the status of the French language and Quebec sovereignty take center stage, where do Indigenous people’s rights, languages and voices stand? How do Indigenous writers and filmmakers of Quebec challenge and contend with the lines drawn around language, territory and race in “La Belle Province”?

In this course, we will examine the specificity of Indigenous literary arts in Quebec, with a focus on Indigenous literature and cinema of the 20th and 21st centuries. We will study the socio-historical and political context of the production of the works and attempt to better understand the epistemologies that underlie them. In particular, we will reflect on the themes of language, sovereignty, territory, kinship and the body. Based on a selection of texts-in-translation from a variety of literary (oral history, autobiography, essay, erotica, short story) and cinematographic genres (visual archives, documentary, short film) and from creators belonging to different nations (Innu, Wendat, Cree, Abenaki and Inuit), we will consider the great diversity of Indigenous literary arts in Quebec.

From the foundations of anticolonial writing in Quebec, beginning with An Antane Kapesh’s autobiographical essay Eukuan nin matshimanitu innu-ishkueu / I Am A Damn Savage, to explorations of love and desire in Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau’s erotic novella The Lover, the Lake, to the repurposing of archival materials in contemporary short films, we will examine how Indigenous writers and filmmakers put forward visions of resurgence, sovereignty and justice in the Quebec context. Throughout the course, we will reflect on our own positionality and relationships to the works we study, in order to engage respectfully with the material.

Required readings:

  • An Antane Kapesh, Eukuan nin matshimanitu innu-ishkueu / I Am A Damn Savage
  • Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau, The Lover, The Lake
  • Naomi Fontaine, Kuessipan
  • Additional Required texts and supplementary materials will be provided in digital format and made available to students on Canvas.

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Note: Credit will be granted for only one of RMST 324 or FREN 280.

Language of instruction: English

SPAN405A

From Text to Palate: Literature, Food, and Society in Spain and Latin America

The ancient link between food and books is particularly significant in the Hispanic World where eating has always been essential in defining individuals, groups, cultures, societies, and nations. Through an interdisciplinary approach to Hispanic short texts from a wide range of authors (Abu Hamid, Don Juan Manuel, Cervantes, Josep Plá, Manuel Vicent, Ricardo Palma, Juan José Saer, Pablo Neruda, Rosario Castellanos, Laura Esquivel, Zoe Valdés, Martín Caparrós), this course studies food (everything ingested) as a cultural product concocted by forces such as ritualization, technology, colonization, travelling, (de)globalization, or climate change. We will pay particular attention to the intersections of food with economy (i.e., production and consumption, ethical eating), social class (i.e., abundance vs. hunger, etiquette), religion (i.e., fasting and feasting, gluttony), gender (i.e., kitchen as gendered space), migration (i.e., fusion food), language (i.e., alimentary metaphors), and health (i.e., dietary prescriptions, disorders). Course materials and content will be divided into four modules that represent a four-course menu: Appetizer, First Plate, Second Plate, and Desert.

Accessibility—in terms of topics addressed and types of works studied, affordability and easy access to course materials, and student interests and levels– is a major priority for the courseʼs instructor.

Required readings:

  • Coursepack provided in digital format and made available to students with adapted excerpts

Prerequisite: SPAN 221; and SPAN 301 or equivalent expertise in written and spoken Spanish.

Language of Instruction: Spanish

RMST260

Introduction to the Analysis of Portuguese and Brazilian Cultures

Cross-listed with PORT222

A critical analysis of different cultural genres, including music, film and visual art through the study of selected Portuguese and Brazilian texts. Know about the origins of Portugal, the influences on the country and the Portuguese language, and the main cultural aspects of Brazilian culture. Go beyond fado, soccer and samba, and get to know other cultural expressions, such as the Portuguese cuisine and the Brazilian capoeira and telenovelas. Organized in thematic units with texts, videos, and specific critical perspectives, it will emphasize questions pertaining to the culture of everyday life, both rural and urban, including folklore, popular literature, ritual, arts and crafts, music, television, film and sports.

Required readings:

  • Assunção, Matthias Röhrig (2005). Capoeira the history of an Afro-Brazilian martial art. New York: Routledge.
  • Birmingham, D. (2018). Peoples, cultures and colonies. In A Concise History of Portugal (Cambridge Concise Histories, pp. 11-34). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108539951.005
  • Carvalho, Martha de Ulhoa (1995). Tupi or not Tupi MPB: Popular Music and Identity in Brazil. In: David J. Hass & Roberto A. DaMatta (eds). The Brazilian Puzzle: Culture on the Borderlands of the Western World. New York: Columbia University Press.
  • Chazkel, Amy (2011). Laws of Chance: Brazil clandestine lottery and the making of urban public life. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
  • Kristal, Efrain; Passos, Jose Luiz (2006). Machado de Assis and the Question of Brazilian National Identity. In: Carmen Nava & Ludwig Lauerhass Jr. (eds). Brazil in the Making: Facets of National Identity. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Inc.
  • Levine, R.; Crocitti, J. (eds.) (2002). The Brazil Reader: History, Culture, Politics. Duke University Press.
  • McGowan, Chris; Pessanha, Ricardo (2009). Brazilian Sound: samba, bossa nova, and the popular music of Brazil. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
  • Page, J. A. (1996). The Brazilians. Da Capo Press, 1996.
  • Ribeiro, Darcy (2000). The Brazilian People: Formation and Meaning of Brazil. Florida: University of Florida Press.
  • Saramago, J. (2000). Journey to Portugal: in pursuit of Portugal’s history and culture. New York: Harcourt.
  • Tufte, Thomas (2000). Living with the Rubbish Queen: Telenovelas, Culture and Modernity in Brazil. Luton, UK: University of Luton Press.
  • Young, Augustus (1994). Lampion and his bandits. London: Central Books.

Prerequisite: None

Note: Credit will be granted for only one of PORT 222 or RMST 260.

Language of Instruction: English

CTLN101

Beginners’ Catalan

This course introduces students to Catalan language and culture. It seeks to foster students’ linguistic, communicative and cultural competence in Catalan while exposing them to the main sociocultural aspects of the Catalan-speaking regions of Spain.

Aligned with CEFR level A1 objectives.

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

Note: Credit will be granted for only one of CTLN 101 or CTLN 301.

Language of instruction: English & Catalan