Next semester, the Italian Program will offer a course titled The Power of Women: Representations of and by Italian Women From the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period (Wednesdays, 4:35-6:55 p.m.). This course is taught in English and is open to both undergraduate and graduate students.

It counts for the Italian minor and major (ITAL 41303 / ITAL 51303), but students in English, Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Gender Studies and Comparative Literature & Cultural Studies can use one of the other available codes to enroll in this class (GNST 41303 / GNST 51303 / MRST 40003 / WLLC 5750V-007 / ENGL 47103).

The Power of Women examines how representations of women have evolved and transformed throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance into the Baroque. It explores the presence of recurrent themes, as well as stereotypes about women and the feminine sphere, and analyzes the ways in which they shaped the Italian literary identity. Works from both male and female authors reflect the supposed role assigned to women in the social sphere and, conversely, their rebellion towards this standardized gender vision and their progressive rise in the public sphere. From angels to witches, from courtesans to prostitutes, from relentless warriors to charming seductresses and lovers, women play a huge role as a source of inspiration to writers and poets. In their texts, they convey holiness and lasciviousness, subjugation and authority, mysticism and sensuality, domestication and independence.

The course explores the varied facets and imageries of the female literary characters in a variety of genres, including short stories, chivalric poems, treatises, epistles, comedies/tragedies, fiction/non-fiction and fables. Special emphasis is placed on the works of Italian women authors and their search for gender legitimation into the public sphere. Their works reshape the literary canon and, at the same time, highlight original perspectives on how and why social roles and/or stereotypes were set up in order to deconstruct and resist them in a patriarchal society. The course also investigates the continued appeal and interest that women make to the visual imagination of artists and directors.

Feel free to contact assistant professor Daniela D'Eugenio at deugeni@uark.edu should you have questions.