Writing Italy

Italy has lured writers to its shores for centuries. In this unit you will survey a selection of fiction and nonfiction to discover exactly why the country has been a source of such fascination and inspiration for English-speaking authors. You will read the narratives of writers who have visited Italy as tourists (e.g. Henry James) as well as ones who have decided make the country their home (e.g. Jhumpa Lahiri) to investigate the role of place in the production and consumption of literature and travel’s potential for transformation and discovery. A focus of this unit will be in-situ reading and writing, whereby you will become an artistic seeker yourself, developing pieces of creative and critical writing based upon a set of curated encounters with Tuscan cities and landscapes, famous works of art and architecture, and everyday experiences that embrace the spirit of “la dolce vita” celebrated in our texts.