At the End of the Word - Crisis and Language in Italian Post-Apocalyptic Fiction

Aug 21, 2026

This dissertation redefines the transnational genre of postapocalyptic fiction through Italian narrative, examining how crisis and language operate across texts that range from Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron to Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead, Mary Shelley’s The Last Man, Massimo Bontempelli’s Cataclisma, Michelangelo Antonioni’s Il deserto rosso, and Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. By tracing a historical detour from late Middle Ages and Italian Futurism to contemporary zombie-filled American media, it reveals new insights into Italian contributions and the genre itself.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages210

Reading Time8 h 49 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract of the Dissertation

Dissertation Title and Aim

Texts and Comparative Framework

©2018 Alberto Iozzia ALL RIGHTS RESERVED AT THE END OF THE WORD. CRISIS AND LANGUAGE IN ITALIAN POST-APOCALYPTIC FICTION By ALBERTO IOZZIA A dissertation submitted to the School of Graduate Studies Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Italian Written under the direction of Professor Rhiannon Noel Welch And approved by | | | --- | | | | | New Brunswick, New Jersey October 2018 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION At the End of the Word. Crisis and Language in Italian Post-Apocalyptic Fiction by ALBERTO IOZZIA Dissertation Director: Professor Rhiannon Noel Welch In my dissertation, titled “At the End of the Word. Crisis and Language in Italian Post-Apocalyptic Fiction,” I aim to redefine the transnational genre of postapocalyptic fiction by reading it through the lens of Italian narrative. My work includes chapters on texts as seemingly disparate as Giovanni Boccaccio’s 14thcentury Decameron and Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead, Mary Shelley’s 1826 novel The Last Man and Massimo Bontempelli’s novella Cataclisma, Michelangelo Antonioni’s film Il deserto rosso and Cormac McCarthy’s Pulitzer prize-winning book The Road. I demonstrate how Italian narrative has played and still plays an important role in post-apocalyptic fiction, a genre that is deemed almost exclusively Anglo-American but one that actually owes some of its thematic and aesthetic elements to its Italian representatives. By analyzing both Italian and Anglophone texts, I show that a seemingly unlikely detour, such as the one running from the late Middle Ages through early 20th-century Italian Futurism, to the newest, zombiepacked, American TV shows, reveals not only something new about the Italian production of post-apocalyptic fiction, but also about the genre itself. Acknowledgment and Dedication I would like to thank my fellow graduate students, who have been bearing with me since day one: those who were here at Rutgers before I arrived, and who led the way, and those who followed and marked the time passing. In particular, I’d like to remember here the other chicks of my same brood, with whom I have shared this great journey: we got a hurricane on our first semester, and we immediately understood that it had to get easier from that moment on. I would like to thank my students: the undergraduates at Rutgers who had themisfortune to end up in one of my classes or even the nerve to get there intentionally. They’ve taught me as much as I taught them, if not more. I’d like to thank especially the Intermediate Italian class of 2014. They were as resolute as a millennialist cult, and they were fun, and they made my job easier and more enjoyable than one can imagine. Many people helped me greatly during the past years. Their practical and moral support was essential, and I don’t even know how I could have possibly handled this without them. I want to acknowledge Andrew Robbins, Eilis Kierans, Monika Kirner-Ludwig, and Curt and Erika Leviant, who burdened themselves with the painful task of reviewing the English of my text. I did not envy them for a second, and I’ll be grateful for good. Special thanks to the faculty members of the Department of Italian at Rutgers, who bet on me in 2012 and who – I really hope – did not regret doing so. They have been there for me as professional, intellectual, and personal models. Not once I felt alone, not once misunderstood. They have been teachers and mentors, giving me constant opportunities to grow up as a scholar and as an individual. Professor David Del Principe believed me when I started yelling about the apocalypse, long time ago. He phlegmatically told me I might very well be right, and I know for sure that I would have never written this dissertation without him giving me the confidence I needed. Professor Laura Sanguineti White has been a phenomenal mentor. Working with

FAQs

What is the dissertation’s main goal?

It aims to redefine postapocalyptic fiction as a transnational genre by reading it through Italian narrative and focusing on crisis and language.

Which works are analyzed in the dissertation?

It considers Italian and Anglophone works spanning literature and film, including Boccaccio’s Decameron, The Walking Dead, The Last Man, Cataclisma, Il deserto rosso, and The Road.

What historical path does the dissertation emphasize?

It highlights a detour from the late Middle Ages through early 20th-century Italian Futurism to newer American media, linking thematic and aesthetic elements across periods.

Aug 21, 2026

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