Literature of War and Peace

In 1914, the outbreak of the “Great War” marked the beginning of a bloody conflict that transformed the Western World. At the end of the war, empires had disappeared, brand new countries had been created, while after-war political and economic instability allowed for the development of future extremist ideologies. In Italy, the end of WWI resulted in expanded territorial borders, an impoverished economy and an unstable society.

In Italian 120, we will analyze how literature, film, and art described and re-interpreted not only the grim experience of the war and its consequences, but also the years immediately before the conflict.

We will read works by Italian writers Italo Svevo, Giuseppe Ungaretti, Emilio Lussu, but also by authors from different cultures, like Wilfred Owen, Jaroslav Hašek, and Joseph Roth, among others.

We will also watch several films set in this time period, such as the 1930 version of All Quiet on the Western Front, Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory, and Federico Fellini’s E la nave va (And the Ship Sails On).

Taught in English: No Italian language knowledge required.