Italo Svevo wrote some of the most important modern Italian novels, like 'Zeno's Conscience,' and was promoted by James Joyce. This class examines Svevo in his various contexts, including Italian, Austrian, German, Jewish, Triestine, European, and Modernist, to understand the strengths and weaknesses of classifications according to language, religious or cultural background, nation, education, and literary movement. By reading Svevo in the company of authors, such as Pirandello, Proust, Woolf, Kafka, and Shakespeare, as well as thinkers like Freud and Darwin, students will explore Svevo's work in detail, while also investigating ideas of influence, literary connections, and world literature.
Center for Jewish Studies