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Campus | Bryn Mawr |
Semester | Fall 2022 |
Registration ID | ITALB316001 |
Course Title | Mountaineering Heroes |
Credit | 1.00 |
Department | Comparative Literature |
Instructor | Benetollo,Chiara |
Times and Days | W 01:10pm-04:00pm
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Room Location | CARP17 |
Additional Course Info | Class Number: 2292 Narration is an intrinsic component of the practice of mountaineering: ascents are conducted in isolation and need to be documented in order to be validated. In the 20th century, with the professionalization of this practice, mountaineering narratives became widespread across a broad range of genres and platforms – from the memoirs of illustrious alpinists to novels and short stories, to propaganda material and articles in popular magazines. In this course, we will focus on Italian mountaineering heroes, exploring how their construction and evolution was shaped by models of masculinity and (less frequently) of womanhood, colonialism and nation-building ideals, and by shifting understandings of the relationship between humans and the environment. We will discus the symbolical and political role of alpine ascents in the Italian unification and in the first world war. We will study Fascist alpinists and the legacy of Fascist, individualist and white supremacist rhetoric in today’s mountaineering narratives. At the same time, however, we will encounter groups of alpinists and climbers who challenged this rhetoric, seeking to reframe ascents as play, rather than conquest, influenced by youth movements and the novel American alpinism.All readings and class discussion will be in English. Students will have to option of attending an additional hour of class taught in Italian or in Russian Approach: Writing Attentive; Enrollment Cap: 20, If the course exceeds the enrollment cap the following criteria will be used for the lottery: Freshmen, then sophomore, then major and minors by class (juniors, seniors). All readings and class discussion will be in English. Students will have to option of attending an additional hour of class taught in Italian or in Russian |
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