| Description: | Throughout history, Italy has inspired writers and poets to wax lyrical in ways that few other countries have done. Countless English-language novels, stories and poems have woven a bel paese of words around the Italian experience. This course provides an opportunity for students to focus first-hand on the art and craft of travel writing, with particular emphasis on cities in Italy, but also with excursions into other worlds - real or imaginary. Through reading, writing, and visits in and around the city center, students will explore places of historic, artistic, cultural and personal interest. They will learn "by example" from a selection of great travel literature from the world in general, and from Italy in particular. And they will learn "by doing", via a series of guided exercises and assignments that explore the distinctive qualities of travel writing - its combination of history, culture, information, rumination, musings and memory - and the ways in which this particular art can lead to a deeper understanding of their own experiences and cultural identity. |