Vanna Motta - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Vanna Motta
New Readings, 2000
In this, the second on-line version of New Readings, the themes of identity, gender and politics ... more In this, the second on-line version of New Readings, the themes of identity, gender and politics unite our four articles. Each of them focuses on the relationship between the writer and the socio-cultural context of their writing, whether this be postwar Germany, 1960s Mexico, 1970s Italy or 1990s Chile. In their preoccupation with the politics of writing, each contributor is drawn to consider the specific conditions in which literary production takes place and the impact and intended readership of texts which aim to intervene actively in debates of the day. This is particularly true of the articles by Joanne Sayner, Jennifer Burns and Mary Green. Each charts the literary response of a diverse group of writers to periods of social and political crisis in their respective cultures. For Sayner, this turns on how to bear witness to a range of German experiences of the Nazi era. Burns assesses the role of intellectuals and literature at a time when Italy experienced a series of terrorist attacks, shaking confidence in traditional literary projects. While Green explores how one writer, Diamela Eltit, used her writing as an instrument of social intervention in Chile during the Pinochet era and after. Three of the articles, by Joanne Sayner, Lisa Davies and Mary Green, are also concerned to investigate the gendered dimension of this intervention in the public sphere. Sayner and Green analyse the production of women writers who work both with but mainly against the politics of authoritarian and highly patriarchal regimes, whilst Davies engages with prevalent constructions of motherhood in postwar Mexico. All three regard the imposition and perpetuation of patriarchal values as pivotal to an understanding of their writers' work and, in the case of Green and Davies, this proves central for an evaluation of the literary experimentation such writers undertake. Ultimately all four contributions to this volume address the ways in which both individual and collective identities are negotiated through the politics of writing, from wartime experiences to forms of political intervention in the 1990s. The power of literature to invest the social and the political with new meanings and to question received interpretations and dominant ideologies underscores the narrative success of writers from countries as diverse as Germany, Mexico, Italy and Chile.
New Readings, 2000
n recent years literary critics have paid as much attention to the City as to travelling. By brin... more n recent years literary critics have paid as much attention to the City as to travelling. By bringing together these two themes, this volume seeks to avoid the restrictions of both historicity and spatiality. For this reason, the papers of the seminar series 1998-99 cover a variety of urban spaces, travelled at different times. The cities visited range from New York to Rome, from London to Berlin, from Paris to Montreal and Salt Lake City. The times of travelling span the late nineteenth century to the 1920s and 1930s and the immediate postwar years to the 1970s. The papers highlight diversity by taking their examples from literature in English, French, German and Italian. At the same time, they share a concern with the historical construction of space-whether analysing fascist or decadent, naturalist or realist, modernist or feminist texts. Charles Burdett's paper analyses some of the numerous texts written during the Fascist period on the United States by authors such as Ciarlantini, Mario Soldati, Margherita Sarfatti and Emilio Cecchi and demonstrates the different connections such texts have with the politics of the time.
This is an essential reference for intermediate and advanced students of Italian as well as teach... more This is an essential reference for intermediate and advanced students of Italian as well as teachers and other professional linguists seeking access to the finer nuances of the Italian language. It will enable those who have already developed a basic competence in Italian to broaden and improve their vocabulary and choose between words with similar meanings. It was the first book of Italian synonyms to be written with the needs of English speakers in mind, and is an invaluable guide to finding the right word for a given context. All entries are accompanied by English glosses and examples of usage and are graded according to speech register, indicating the degree of formality or informality for a particular word or phrase. For ease of reference, there are two indexes allowing users to locate words in either Italian or English. The book also provides additional notes on grammar and usage where necessary.
New Readings, 2011
Perspectives of the United States changed over the critical period between 1930-1936, in same way... more Perspectives of the United States changed over the critical period between 1930-1936, in same ways reflecting the trajectory of Italian foreign policy. Burdett argues that whilst at the beginning of the 1930s we can talk of a fascination with the United States, an admiration for ...
New Readings, 2000
In this, the second on-line version of New Readings, the themes of identity, gender and politics ... more In this, the second on-line version of New Readings, the themes of identity, gender and politics unite our four articles. Each of them focuses on the relationship between the writer and the socio-cultural context of their writing, whether this be postwar Germany, 1960s Mexico, 1970s Italy or 1990s Chile. In their preoccupation with the politics of writing, each contributor is drawn to consider the specific conditions in which literary production takes place and the impact and intended readership of texts which aim to intervene actively in debates of the day. This is particularly true of the articles by Joanne Sayner, Jennifer Burns and Mary Green. Each charts the literary response of a diverse group of writers to periods of social and political crisis in their respective cultures. For Sayner, this turns on how to bear witness to a range of German experiences of the Nazi era. Burns assesses the role of intellectuals and literature at a time when Italy experienced a series of terrorist attacks, shaking confidence in traditional literary projects. While Green explores how one writer, Diamela Eltit, used her writing as an instrument of social intervention in Chile during the Pinochet era and after. Three of the articles, by Joanne Sayner, Lisa Davies and Mary Green, are also concerned to investigate the gendered dimension of this intervention in the public sphere. Sayner and Green analyse the production of women writers who work both with but mainly against the politics of authoritarian and highly patriarchal regimes, whilst Davies engages with prevalent constructions of motherhood in postwar Mexico. All three regard the imposition and perpetuation of patriarchal values as pivotal to an understanding of their writers' work and, in the case of Green and Davies, this proves central for an evaluation of the literary experimentation such writers undertake. Ultimately all four contributions to this volume address the ways in which both individual and collective identities are negotiated through the politics of writing, from wartime experiences to forms of political intervention in the 1990s. The power of literature to invest the social and the political with new meanings and to question received interpretations and dominant ideologies underscores the narrative success of writers from countries as diverse as Germany, Mexico, Italy and Chile.
New Readings, 2000
n recent years literary critics have paid as much attention to the City as to travelling. By brin... more n recent years literary critics have paid as much attention to the City as to travelling. By bringing together these two themes, this volume seeks to avoid the restrictions of both historicity and spatiality. For this reason, the papers of the seminar series 1998-99 cover a variety of urban spaces, travelled at different times. The cities visited range from New York to Rome, from London to Berlin, from Paris to Montreal and Salt Lake City. The times of travelling span the late nineteenth century to the 1920s and 1930s and the immediate postwar years to the 1970s. The papers highlight diversity by taking their examples from literature in English, French, German and Italian. At the same time, they share a concern with the historical construction of space-whether analysing fascist or decadent, naturalist or realist, modernist or feminist texts. Charles Burdett's paper analyses some of the numerous texts written during the Fascist period on the United States by authors such as Ciarlantini, Mario Soldati, Margherita Sarfatti and Emilio Cecchi and demonstrates the different connections such texts have with the politics of the time.
This is an essential reference for intermediate and advanced students of Italian as well as teach... more This is an essential reference for intermediate and advanced students of Italian as well as teachers and other professional linguists seeking access to the finer nuances of the Italian language. It will enable those who have already developed a basic competence in Italian to broaden and improve their vocabulary and choose between words with similar meanings. It was the first book of Italian synonyms to be written with the needs of English speakers in mind, and is an invaluable guide to finding the right word for a given context. All entries are accompanied by English glosses and examples of usage and are graded according to speech register, indicating the degree of formality or informality for a particular word or phrase. For ease of reference, there are two indexes allowing users to locate words in either Italian or English. The book also provides additional notes on grammar and usage where necessary.
New Readings, 2011
Perspectives of the United States changed over the critical period between 1930-1936, in same way... more Perspectives of the United States changed over the critical period between 1930-1936, in same ways reflecting the trajectory of Italian foreign policy. Burdett argues that whilst at the beginning of the 1930s we can talk of a fascination with the United States, an admiration for ...