OVERVIEW

The course deals with Italian literature and culture from the Unification of Italy to the present day and is reserved for foreign students, i.e. those who have not obtained a high school diploma in Italy. The course is part of the basic training activities of the Modern Languages and Cultures course and confers 9 CFU, corresponding to 54 hours of classroom teaching and 171 hours of personal study. The course aims to provide students with a knowledge of contemporary Italian culture through the reading and analysis in class of prose and verse texts by Italy's most important writers, on which they will carry out a detailed linguistic and lexical analysis. 

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

This course is aimed at giving non-mother tongue Italian students with at least a sufficient command of Italian an introduction to Italian Literature and Culture (art, music, theatre) and to their own historical/geographical backgrounds.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to enable foreign students to acquire a level of linguistic competence comparable to B2 (with particular attention to grammatical and syntactic structures, as well as to vocabulary and polysemy) through the knowledge of literary and other texts documenting the most important moments in the development of Italian society and customs. At the end of the course the student will be able to:

• Communicate in the Italian language with a competence comparable to B2, expounding and discussing the topics covered in written and oral form with clarity and propriety of language:
• Orient themselves within the developmental framework of Italian literature;
• Interpret and comment on an Italian literary text, placing it in its relevant historical context and using the appropriate formal tools.

PREREQUISITES

A knowledge of the initial language (i.e. at the time the course starts) of at least CEFR level A2 is required for access to the course.

The course Italian Literature and Culture with Language Elements (for foreign students) is compulsory and monitored. Students who have not attended at least 50% of the lessons will not be admitted to the exam. Only foreign students who have not obtained a higher education qualification in Italy may enrol in this course.

TEACHING METHODS

Unless otherwise indicated due to the evolution of the health situation, the lessons will be held in traditional mode (presential); however, depending also on the general requirements of the degree course, part of the teaching activity could be carried out remotely on the Teams platform (team "Letteratura e cultura italiana con elementi di lingua (per stranieri)", access code xf5n5zr).

The course includes frontal lessons with the aid of multimedia tools and materials. During the lessons, examples of textual interpretation and analysis will be proposed, and the active participation of students will be encouraged, with questions and interventions. The teacher will also make available to students, in a special section of the e-learning portal AulaWeb, various teaching tools (slides used in class, supplementary materials or study support).

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course will focus on the description of the urban landscape in Italian literature from the late 19th century to the present day, through the main authors of Italian literature from D'Annunzio to Calvino, with contributions from cinema, theatre and music.

The lessons of the course will be devoted to the following topics:

a) The Rome of the Popes: readings from Gabriele D'Annunzio, Il piacere

b) Adriano and Mattia in Milan: readings from Luigi Pirandello, Il fu Mattia Pascal

c) The Seasons of the City: Calvino and Marcovaldo

The course Italian Literature and Culture with Language Elements (for foreign students) is compulsory and monitored. Those who have not attended at least 50% of the lessons will not be admitted to the exam.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Handouts on AulaWeb.
• Gabriele D'Annunzio, Il Piacere, Milan, Mondadori, 2016 (only the parts indicated during the lessons)
• Luigi Pirandello, Il fu Mattia Pascal, edited by Alberto Casadei, Milan, Rizzoli, 2007 (during the lessons)
• Italo Calvino, Marcovaldo, edited by Domenico Scarpa, Milan, Mondadori, 2016 (a careful reading of the work is required)

The list of texts may be subject to change and it is therefore advisable to wait for the start of the lessons and the presentation of the programme by the lecturer before proceeding with purchase or loan. The bibliography of module 2 will in any case be supplemented with additional readings presented in class and made available on AulaWeb during the course.

Non-attending students are invited to contact the teacher.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

GIORDANO RODDA (President)

ANDREA LAZZARINI

LUCA BELTRAMI (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

February 2022.

Class schedule

ITALIAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The examination will take place in a single oral test covering the entire programme.

Unless otherwise indicated due to changes in the health situation, the examination will take place in person. Otherwise, should it not be possible to obtain the necessary security guarantees, the exam will be held on Microsoft Teams, team "Letteratura e cultura italiana con elementi di lingua (per stranieri)", access code xf5n5zr.

In order to take part in the tests, you must register at least five days before the date of the exam on the website https://servizionline.unige.it/studenti/esami/prenotazione.

During the course, further indications regarding the conduct of the examinations will be provided.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The oral examination consists of an interview on the topics included in the examination programme, and aims to assess the ability to

• express themselves in Italian with skills comparable to level B2;
• paraphrase and summarise a literary passage;
• to contextualise the works studied from a historical and cultural point of view;
• make connections and comparisons between the topics covered in the course.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Enrolment for the examination is by electronic means: enrolments sent after the deadline or via e-mail sent to the lecturer will not be accepted.

All students, whether attending or not, are requested to register for the course on AulaWeb in order to receive communications and notices concerning the course.