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No Borders: Galileo, Calvino, Primo Levi
Senza confini/No borders: Galileo, Calvino, Primo Levi
Last Updated: 2026-02-05 16:02:08
Abstract
Without borders means without disciplinary boundaries, without manuals and school programs that force certain authors to stay "inside" schemes and simplifications. It means freeing oneself from the obligations that certain university systems impose on their students, with the risk of limiting one's view of the great authors as Galileo, Italo Calvino and Primo Levi.
Objective
Through the reading and commentary of texts and images, we will narrate the relationship between science and literature, starting from the contexts in which these three authors found themselves living and discussing the problems and issues that each of them had to deal with.
Content
Without borders means without disciplinary boundaries, without manuals and school programs that force certain authors to stay "inside" schemes and simplifications. It means freeing oneself from the obligations that certain university systems impose on their students, with the risk of limiting one's view of the great authors. This is the case with Galileo, Italo Calvino and Primo Levi. Each of them has been many things at once. The first was a scientist but also a philosopher and expert technologist, a builder of mechanical devices and scientific instruments; the second was a novelist but also an editorial consultant and a refined essayist and literary critic; the third was a chemist, writer and witness to an event that marked the history of the twentieth century. The course will explore, on the one hand, the central nodes of Galilean science and, on the other, its reception in two "hybrid" authors such as Calvino and Levi. Through the reading and commentary of texts and images, we will narrate the relationship between science and literature, starting from the contexts in which these three authors found themselves living and discussing the problems and issues that each of them had to deal with.
General Information
- Language
- Italian
- Levels
- DS , MSC
Examination
- Type
- graded semester performance
Course Components
| Type | Title | Time & Place | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| lecture | Senza confini/No borders: Galileo, Calvino, Primo Levi |
|
2 h weekly |
Offered In
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Science in Perspective (In “Science in Perspective”-courses students learn to reflect on ETH’s STEM subjects from the perspective of humanities, political and social sciences. Only the courses listed below will be recognized as "Science in Perspective" courses.)
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Type A: Enhancement of Reflection Competence (SiP courses are recommended for bachelor students after their first-year examination and for all master- or doctoral students. All SiP courses are listed in Type A. Courses listed under Type B are only recommendations for enrollment for specific departments.)
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