ITAL232

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

How Things Change: Shifting Identities and Perceptions in Medieval and Early Modern Italy

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.

Language of instruction: English

Instructor: Dr. Daniela Boccassini

Prerequisites: No prerequisites

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Grading Breakdown

Coming soon!

Readings

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 +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:

Kaborycha, Lisa. A Short History of the Italian Renaissance. Routledge 2024 (online access via UBC library).

Schneider Adams, Laurie. Italian Renaissance Art. Taylor and Francis, 2014 (online access via UBC library).

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 Literatures and Cinema of Quebec

In a province where debates on the status of the French language and Quebec sovereignty often take center stage, where do Indigenous people’s rights, languages and voices stand? How do Indigenous writers and filmmakers of Quebec contend with the lines drawn around language, territory and race? 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 from a variety of literary (oral history, autobiography, essay, poetry, short story) and cinematographic genres (visual archives, documentary, short film) and from creators belonging to First Nations (Innu, Wendat, Cree, Mohawk, Abenaki) and Inuit and Métis communities, we will consider the great diversity of Indigenous literary arts in Quebec.

Language of Instruction: English

Instructor: Dr. Isabella Huberman

Prerequisite: No prerequisites

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Grading Breakdown

Close Reading Tests – 30% (2 x 15%)
Co-facilitation of a workshop – 15%
Podcast – 10%
Outline of Final Project – 10%
Final Project – 25%
Active Participation – 10%

* this information is subject to change

Readings

Required texts:

  • An Antane Kapesh, Eukuan nin matshimanitu innu-ishkueu / I Am a Damn Savage and What Have You Done to My Country? 
  • Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau, Blue bear woman
  • Naomi Fontaine, Kuessipan
  • Additional required texts and supplementary materials will be provided in digital format and made available to students on Canvas.

Recommended texts:

  • Younging, Gregory, Elements of Indigenous Style A Guide for Writing By and About Indigenous Peoples
  • Vowel, Chelsea, Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis and Inuit Issues in Canada

(Available online via UBC Libraries)

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

Welcome to the study of Lusophone Cultures! Lusophone cultures are the cultures of places where Portuguese is spoken. In this course, we will focus on the cultures of Portugal, the cradle of Lusophone Culture, and Brazil, the country with the largest Lusophone population. You will do a critical analysis of different cultural genres, including music, film and visual art through the study of selected Portuguese and Brazilian texts. You will also learn about the origins of Portugal, the influences on the country and the Portuguese language, and the main cultural aspects of Brazilian culture. You will go beyond fado, soccer/futebol and samba, and get to know other cultural expressions, such as the Portuguese cuisine and the Brazilian capoeira and telenovelas. The course is organized in thematic units with texts, videos, and specific critical perspectives, and will emphasize questions pertaining to the culture of everyday life, both rural and urban, including folklore, popular fiction, ritual, arts and crafts, music, television, film, and sports.

Upon successful completion of the course, you will be able to identify, analyse and understand the basic layers and the most relevant aspects of Lusophone cultures present in Portugal and Brazil.

Language of Instruction: English

Prerequisites: No prerequisites.
Credit will be granted for only one of PORT 222 or RMST 260.

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Grading Breakdown

The assessment for this course is gently distributed and in a balanced way, with diverse activities throughout the term. There are no scary, long, stressing, and tedious midterms or final exams for you in this course.

Assignments and Evaluations Breakdown:
Active Participation, attendance, homework, and preparation 15%
Short response paper 15%
Two short presentations (15% each) 30%
Reflection assignment (at home) 15%
Written end-of-term assessment 25%
Total = 100%

Readings

All needed materials will be provided via Canvas by the instructor.

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

SPAN303

Conversational Spanish for Advanced Speakers

Expands the comprehension and communicative skills of upper-level students and heritage speakers through topics drawn from Hispanic culture and current events. Aligned with CEFR level B1 objectives.

Prerequisite: One of SPAN 207, SPAN 302. Or placement test for heritage speakers.

Language of Instruction: Spanish

SPAN203

Intensive Elementary Spanish

SPAN 203 is a 3-credit Intensive Elementary Course that combines learning objectives of two existing courses, SPAN 201 and 202. This course is designed for highly motivated learners with previous experience in Spanish or other Romance languages, and offers the opportunity to review the linguistic, cultural and communicative topics at the elementary level of the language (CEFR A2) at a more appropriate pace.

Throughout the semester, students will demonstrate an ability to listen to, discuss, read and write about personal and society-related topics in the past, present, and future by using simple and complex verb tenses, as well as engage with complex modes of expression in real and hypothetical situations.

Topics covered (science and technology, work and the economy, popular culture and mass and new media, literature and art, and more!) will expose students to ways of thinking and understanding the world that promote intercultural knowledge, and build toward competencies required for upper-level courses in our program through exposure to literature, culture, and media related to the Spanish-speaking world.

The design and structure of the course is founded on adaptive and inclusive principles of teaching and learning that consider the interests and needs of all learners and strive toward greater personalization of learning, flexibility and accessibility for all students, including students with disabilities.

Required texts

The same textbook is used for Spanish 103 and Spanish 203.  Students that plan to take both courses, should purchase the 12 month access plan.

  • Enfoques 6e SSPlus(v) + wSAM(5 month)
  • Enfoques 6e SSPlus(v) + wSAM(12 month)

Prerequisite: One of SPAN 103, SPAN 102 or placement test for native or near-native speakers of other Romance Languages.

Language of Instruction: Spanish