This unit studies the dynamics of the tension between the two poles of 'national' and 'local' in Italian language and culture. The starting point of the study is the sixteenth-century definition of the 'Italian language' and the invention of the notion of 'dialect', with the parallel evolution of a 'national' literary and cultural tradition versus 'local' or 'regional' sub-cultures. The tension between these two poles is examined at selected moments of linguistic and cultural redefinition, between the sixteenth and twenty-first centuries, but with particular attention to the ways that political unification has reshaped the debates. Classes are introduced a variety of approaches to this... -- Course Website