Profane and Sacred Love

Catalog description

The course aspires to provide an understanding of the culture of Medieval and Renaissance Italy and of its influence on contemporary Italian culture. It focuses on how power and gender relationships are reflected in the literature-canzoni, sonetti, ballate, novelle. The works studied belong to the tradition of Courtly Love, Neo- Platonic love and the literature of the Renaissance courtesans and follows the evolution of concepts of sacred and profane love in Italian literature from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries. The course considers a variety of subtexts and interdisciplinary relationships especially with history and art history. Audio-visual materials (videos, movies, cd roms) will be used to bring home to the students the sights and sounds of this vibrant age. Conducted in Italian.