This course explores literature produced during the Renaissance in Italy (1348-1600). Students examine a wide range of literary genres, including poetry, narrative forms, and drama, to investigate how Renaissance Italian writers reflected issues related to social practices of belonging, identity-making, and the marking of differences among human beings. Class discussions will focus on gender and sexuality, social class, race, disability, and aging; assigned readings include works by authors such as Petrarch, Boccaccio, Machiavelli, and Vittoria Colonna.