ITAL3181: Italian Travellers' Tales

• Italian Language 2B (ITAL2031) OR Italian Language 2A (ITAL2111) or an equivalent qualification to the satisfaction of the Chairman/woman of the Board of Studies of MLAC or his/her representative.

• Modern Languages, Combined Honours and all Joint and 'with' Progammes: Italian Language 4 (ITAL3021). Others: see Chairman/woman of the Board of Studies of MLAC or his/her representative

• None

• To introduce students to the questions concerning travel and mobility that lie at the heart of modern Italian culture.
• To consider an extensive range of theoretical writing on the implications of mobility.
• To explore major works of literary and visual culture which address issues of national and transnational belonging.
• To consider the changing nature of representations of travel and mobility within modern Italian culture, from the period of colonialism in the early part of the 20th century to the contemporary moment of large-scale migration to Italy.
• To analyse the nature of different kinds of travel and their inter-relation.
• To use questions of travel and mobility as a lens through which to explore movements within Italian culture.

• Although travel accounts claim to offer the reader an interpretation of another place, they often say as much about the travel writer's sense of self and own culture as they do of the foreign country. Written and visual representations of travel pose important questions concerning the development of national identities, the construction of stereotypes and the way in which otherness is perceived and represented, They reveal how cultures operate as systems of signs and how moving between cultures involves a negotiation of varying signifying practices. This module examines questions of genre in a number of contemporary accounts of travel. It explores different facets of travel, including tourism, pilgrimage, foreign correspondence, and migration. The course introduces students to important theoretical works on identity, memory, semiotics, postcolonial studies, migration and mobility. It explores works by Italian writers and film makers in the 20th and 21st centuries, including Bertolucci, Calvino and Ramzanali Fazel. The course will examine travel writing and colonialism, travel and the memory of fascism, travel and semiotics, contemporary representations of migration and mobility.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Students should develop an awareness of cultures are in a state of perpetual movement and how the analysis of representations of travel allow us to understand how cultures shift and develop.
• Become familiar with works by major figures within Italian culture that address questions of travel and the implications of transnational displacement.
• Develop an understanding of the complexities that surround the development of modern Italian culture through the examination of instances of travel within a colonial and post-colonial context.

Subject-specific Skills:

• Students should develop their understanding of key theoretical texts that address questions of mobility.
• Develop their understanding of the complexity with which works of literary and visual culture address questions of travel and migration.
• Develop their ability to examine the multiple levels at which texts communicate with their reader or viewer.

Key Skills:

• Critical and analytical thinking.
• Advanced essay writing and oral presentation skills.
• Critical engagement with theoretical writing.
• Independent learning and research.

• The module will be taught in Term I and Term II.
• Lectures (once weekly) will deliver key information about the module.
• A bi-weekly seminar with smaller groups will allow for individual presentations and active discussions.

If you have a question about Durham's modular degree programmes, please visit our FAQ webpages, Help page or our glossary of terms. If you have a question about modular programmes that is not covered by the FAQ, or a query about the on-line Undergraduate Module Handbook, please contact us.

Prospective Students: If you have a query about a specific module or degree programme, please Ask Us.

Current Students: Please contact your department.