ITAL 384 - Folk Culture

1 unit(s)

When Italy became a kingdom in 1861, the question of a “national language” came to the forefront: What should standard Italian be? As language defines the identity of the speaker, another related question began to rise: What does it mean to be Italian? Throughout the 20th century the choice between the use of standard Italian and the various regional dialects became a socio-political choice. The aim of this class is to select specific case studies to look at: the construction of an “Italian identity;” how dialects have survived the unification of standard Italian; the use of folk tales and folk songs to maintain a people’s memory, rituals, and local tradition; the artistic folk revival movements of the 1960s and the 1990s; the use of dialects in cinema, music and theatre. Ms. Biagi.

Prerequisite: Italian 220, 222, or Italian 217 and 218 with permission of the instructor.

Not offered in 2015/16.

Two 75-minute periods.