This study investigates language use, language acquisition, and identity construction among Senegalese immigrants in Paris and Rome. Whereas previous research in second language acquisition (SLA) has focused on the relationship between identity and language use in single sites, …
All of the black images which I examine can best be explained in terms of their relationship to Italians' perception of their personal power or their power on a national level, for example I critique the use of Africa and Africans in Fascist films, especially with regard to the …
Imagination, love, reason: these three elements come together in a delicate balance to form the workings of the human mind. This dissertation explores these concepts and their intricate relationship as portrayed in key writings of Italian literature. I focus on authors of the It…
This dissertation examines the Fascist use of the medieval and Renaissance past in Italy. Resourcing this past, in terms of architectural patronage, urban planning and civic spectacle, proved important for the national agenda of constructing a shared identity of Italianità. This…
During the twelfth century, a group of poets at the Norman court in Sicily composed traditional Arabic panegyrics in praise of the kingdoms Christian monarchs. Less than a century later, at the court of Frederick II, Sicilian poets wrote the first lyric love poetry in an Italian…
In this dissertation, adult learners' accessibility to Universal Grammar is tested by verifying knowledge of movement constraints in L2 English. We investigate the treatment of wh-questions in English by three groups of adult learners whose native languages vary in whether or no…
This study deals with the works of F. T. Marinetti between 1898 and 1938, giving special emphasis to the years 1909 to 1920, covering the 'periods eroico' of Futurism. I seek to illuminate the special relationship between Marinetti and Futurism which is the central topic of this…
My dissertation examines, within Fascist propagandist literature and cinema of the 1930s, the hybrid figures of mulattoes--the offspring of interracial unions between Italian men and native women of Italy's African colonies--and Levantines--white Italian immigrant merchants and …
Later medieval university physicians in Italy enjoyed recognition and high esteem as intellectuals. Still we know little about their speculations on the soul and its relationship to the body. The dissertation examines how, in the period 1270--1400, medical theorists writing at u…
Italy's modern empire, a modest collection of colonies and concessions on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, lasted roughly from 1896 to 1949. The empire's character reflected problems Italy faced as a young nation, including high emigration, a weak military, and a disadvantageo…
Most of Dante's literary criticism has traditionally been rooted in the cultural fabric of Christian and Classical scholarship. Not enough has been said about non-Christian influences on Dante and more specifically, about his interaction with the deep and significant presence of…
Iranian film has in recent decades comprised an increasingly important and influential cinema. The Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979 paved the way for freedom of artistic and literary expression, communicating a new generation of unheard voices in Iranian society. More specific…
Italian coral beads as dress are the focus of this study, which examines the construction and cross-cultural exchange of value and preciousness. I document the coral bead industry in Torre del Greco, Italy's leading global exporter of coral beads and jewelry. Within an interpret…
Throughout his career, Francesco Hayez (1791–1882) adopted northern Romantic source material and ideologies. Although he drew inspiration from various authors and poets, he was particularly influenced by Lord Byron. This is most evident in his use of nationalist and heroic theme…
Cities contain neighborhoods; surprisingly, so do some cemeteries. The urban Woodlawn Cemetery attracted a population reflecting the waves of late 19th and early to mid-20th century European immigrants moving through the Bronx at that time. Though having a choice, many Italians …
Francisco Delicado and Juan and Alfonso de Valdés, Spanish humanists who departed from their country of birth and experienced the dark days prior to the sack of Rome in 1527 and its aftermath, engaged and instructed their readers through the dialogue form. This dissertation expl…
Italy, as a geographic location, has the longest recorded history of espionage and intelligence practice in the Western world. A complete and comprehensive evaluation and analysis of the intelligence services of Italy, from its unification as a set of foreign-ruled city-states t…