Italian Language and Literature Commons^™

Why Read The Classics (Of Mathematical Proofs)?, Cosimo Perini Brogi

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

Inspired by Italo Calvino’s (almost) homonymous writing, this short essay suggests a formal perspective to complement the typical categorisation of classical results in mathematics on aesthetic bases. The traditional proof that √2 is not a rational number provides a simple example of proof mining. When studied through the tools of logic, that proof has also led to designing new systems for formal proving based on cyclic proofs. This example thus supports the central thesis of this essay that reading the classics of mathematical proofs enables us to acquire a taste for mathematical beauty and can open new directions in mathematics …

Influencias Intergeneracionales De La Italianidad En La Vida Doméstica Y En La Esfera Pública De Argentina: Un Análisis De La Lingüística, La Comida Y La Identidad, Sage A. Wong-Davies

Scripps Senior Theses

In Argentina there are many people of Italian heritage due to the large wave of Italian immigration at the end of the 19^th century and beginning of the 20^th century. Through personal interviews and analyses of preexisting research, this thesis examines how the Italian influence has become incorporated in Argentinian culture on a national level and in the family culture of Argentinians with Italian heritage. This thesis specifically considers the Italian influence in Argentina through the lenses of linguistics and language, food, and identity. It determines that “italianidad” is very integrated in Argentinian culture in all of these …

Language Analysis Via The Run And Flattened Statistics On Permutations, Jennifer Elder, Pamela E. Harris, Anthony Simpson

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

A permutation π in Sn can be decomposed into its runs π = τ₁τ₂ . . . τ_k, where a run of π is a maximal contiguous subsequence whose elements are in increasing order. If the first values of each run are in increasing order, then π is said to be flattened. Motivated by the study of flattened permutations, we study the words in the Danish, German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, and Norwegian languages. In each language considered, our work provides the following: a list of the longest flattened words, histograms for the proportion …

Understanding Dictators' Violent Repression And How It's Remembered, Juliet Welk

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis examines the use of violent repression by dictators and the ways in which that violence is remembered, particularly through the lenses of literature and film. The first chapter will deal with the questions of when dictators choose to use violence as opposed to other forms of repression and against whom the violence is used. To do so, it will employ select cases to test a number of possible answers. The second chapter, written in Spanish, will analyze the memory of Francisco Franco’s dictatorship in Spain, focusing on the empowerment of previously-silenced voices. The third chapter, written in Italian, …

The Favela Blossoms: Voices Of Favelas In São Paulo, Brazil, Vasti Cruz

Scripps Senior Theses

This project spotlights improvised housing in the peripheral areas of São Paulo, Brazil, better known as favelas. For over a century, the favela has been known as a place of death, violence, crime, and oppression. Paradoxically, the first favelas in Rio de Janeiro were named after a plant that produces flowers. However, today, these communities are rarely compared to their beautiful, symbolic-of-life namesake. Instead, this prejudgement is rampant not only globally, but also within the proper city– which perpetuates social division. When favelas are discussed in the media, they often reference those in Rio de Janeiro; however, favelas are present …

Smarginatura: The Art And Politics Of Elena Ferrante, Ryan A. Lillestrand

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

In the Neapolitan Quartet, a sprawling epic following the lives of two women in post-war Italy, the author, Elena Ferrante, explores the intimate relationship between politics and art, pushing at the borders we often construct between the two. At a particularly critical moment in the novels, the central character, Elena Greco, a poor girl from Naples who rises to the position of a successful novelist, is told by her more politically radical friends that she is not doing enough, that “this, objectively, is not the moment for writing novels.” But then, when is? The current political climate in Italy is …

Translating "La Parola Ebreo": Rosetta Loy And A Child's-Eye View Of Italian Fascism, Amelia Muniz

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis is a translation of an excerpt from the 1997 memoir of Italian author Rosetta Loy, La Parola Ebreo, and an accompanying paper which explains my translation process, gives historical context and provides an argument for the continued relevance of the text. La Parola Ebreo recounts Loy’s memories of growing up in Rome, Italy, under Benito Mussolini’s Fascist rule. This translation is not meant to be an official English version of the memoir, as it is only a short excerpt, and was not done in collaboration with Loy’s estate or publishers. Instead, it is intended to bring attention to …

Wine, Culture, And Economics: The Barolo Model For Small Historical Wine Regions, Ravenna June Lee

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the resurgence of the Barolo wine industry as a paradigm for small historical wine regions seeking to revitalize and assert their independence in the face of corporate domination. Employing a multidisciplinary approach, the study blends economic analysis with cultural preservation, focusing on the unique circumstances of the Barolo region.

The Italian section of the thesis delves into the preservation of wine culture, emphasizing the role of tradition in maintaining the passion for wine among future generations amidst the threats of globalization. This section contributes to the broader discourse on regional identity, economic sustainability, and the intricate interplay …

Pasolini’S Ashes: Absence And Excess In Teorema And Salò, Alan Ke

Pomona Senior Theses

Though remembered today for his films, Pasolini’s career emerged from a chiefly literary practice, particularly rooted in the poetry written in his native Friulian dialect. In his multidisciplinary 1965 essay, “The Cinema of Poetry,” Pasolini maps his approach to the written word onto his visual practice of filmmaking. Teorema and Salò, two works that arguably stand out in the director’s oeuvre for their notoriety and (in)explicit sexual content, stand as hallmarks of his achievement of such. The two films borrow structures from allegory, myth, and the poetic form of the canto, merging them with the neurotic consciousnesses of their protagonists, …

Women's Work With Wool In Fairy Tales: From Baroque Text To Textile Craft, Sophia Frye

Scripps Senior Theses

Fiber art has a complex, long-standing history; the relationship between the craft and the craftsman is intimate and goes beyond the commodification of the product. Business records from Florentine guilds give insight into the wool industry, but are unable to capture the social history of wool crafts in Renaissance-Baroque era Italy. In response, this project turns to Italian Baroque fairy tales: Giambattista Basile’s The Pentamerone (1634-36) and Giovanni Francesco Straparola’s Le Piacevoli Notti (1555). These fairy tales depict scenes of women engaging in fiber crafts, which reveal the poverty of the women textile laborers, the women’s relationship to textile work, …

Il Contrapasso Nell’Inferno Di Dante Alighieri: Un’Analisi Del Contrapasso Attraverso Francesca Da Rimini, Conte Ugolino, E Lucifero, Liv Allegra Baker

CMC Senior Theses

In his Divina Commedia, Dante Alighieri uses the contrapasso as an instrument to administer justice to the sinners in Inferno. The law of the contrapasso mandates that the punishments inflicted upon the sinners in Inferno respect the nature of the sins that they committed on earth. In Dante’s afterlife, the contrapasso is the means to fulfill the sinners’ ultimate destinies, as determined by their terrestrial choices and actions. Though he explicitly uses the term contrapasso only once, the poet invites its application in every circle of the Inferno. This thesis explores the law of the contrapasso in …

The Obstacles To And Solutions Of Female Characters' Speech: Beatrice In Dante's Vita Nuova And Purgatorio And Susan In J. M. Coetzee's Foe, Tamara Savage

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis analyzes the speaking and silencing of two female characters, Beatrice from Dante’s Vita Nuova and Purgatorio and Susan from J. M. Coetzee’s Foe. The texts are viewed through postcolonial and feminist lenses to show the problems with male characters speaking for female characters and the obstacles the female characters face when attempting to speak. Dante’s solution to this problem is to transform Beatrice from a silent and demure woman into a character who issues commands with a powerful voice. Coetzee’s solution is instead to refuse to provide a solution, since no one but Susan can speak for …

Storia, Fiaba, E Un Decennio Di Calvino, William Carney

CMC Senior Theses

An exploration of the similarities and differences between two major works of the writer Italo Calvino, this thesis delves into the use of historical background and fable as allegory for 1945-1956 Italy.