Ever since the Renaissance, when the notion of a national culture had taken hold, the historic, literary and intellectual trajectories of France and Italy have been intimately entangled. Taking a chronological approach from the Renaissance to the post-modern period, this course will embark on a number of comparative readings from these two countries: from Rabelais’ carnivalesque uptake of Boccaccio’s humor and vulgarity; to Italy’s attempt at emulating the French Revolution; to Giuseppe Ungaretti’s debt to avant-garde literary figures, and more. Our goal will be to reveal that cultures and intellectual traditions exist not in isolation but emerge out of a perpetual conversation with—and translation of—each other. Taught in English.