JWST 277 - The Jews of Italy. History, Geography, Texts

1 unit(s)

(Same as ITAL 277) This course tracks the history and the geography of Jewish communities living in and moving around the Italian peninsula from Late Antiquities to the present day. We follow the developments of the many groups scattered south of the Alps mainly through their own literary voices, reading excerpts from Immanuel of Rome, Leone Ebreo, Leone de’ Sommi, Samuel Luzzatto, Sara Copia Sullam, Primo Levi, Liana Millu, Giacomo Debenedetti, Franco Fortini. We also sample significant moments of interaction – peaceful or tense, productive or disruptive – between the Christian and the Jewish communities across time, with selected readings from Dante, Boccaccio and the novella tradition, Giuseppe Verdi, Rosetta Loy. Taught in English, no previous knowledge of Italian required. Alberto Gelmi.

Two 75-minute periods.

Not offered in 2026/27.

Course Format: CLS