ITAL 6850 - [Precarieta/Precariousness]

(crosslisted)
(also COML 6980)

Fall. 4 credits.

Next offered 2014-2015. Conducted in either Italian or English, depending on enrollment.

K. Pinkus.

“Precariousness” is a key term in contemporary Italian thought. Normally it refers to the economic and social condition of young people who work in temporary jobs (such as call centers) without the kind of social welfare and security enjoyed by previous generations. This course will expand outward from an examination of precarietà in the peculiar Italian context. Does precariousness share an organic tie with literature and literary language? Is it possible or useful to speak of precariousness as a more general condition of labor and affect linked to literature since the Unification of Italy? What is the relation between the term and alienated labor, especially under Fascism? And why does precariousness erupt during the so-called Postfordist era, not only in Italy but in a global context? Although the course will focus primarily on Italy, students with other areas of concentration are welcome. Readings will be in Italian (with optional readings in English, Spanish, and French).