OVERVIEW

The course is part of the Basic Learning Activities for the Bachelor degree course in Modern Languages and Cultures, and bestows 9 ECTS, corresponding to 54 hours of classroom teaching and 171 hours reserved for personal study. It introduces the student to the study of major authors, most significant works, main poetics, and most relevant cultural movements in the history of Italian literature; it contributes to the acquisition of knowledge and skills useful for the professional outlets envisaged by the bachelor degree course in Modern Languages and Cultures, and in particular for: 

- access to teacher training

- cultural services (publishing, journalism, radio and television, Italian and foreign cultural institutes and foundations, book heritage preservation)

- cultural tourism

- organization of artistic and cultural events and exhibitions.

This page refers to section B of Italian Literature, which includes students whose surnames begin with the letters L through Z.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide a picture of the Italian literary tradition from its origins onwards using exemplary texts, with reference to the different styles and genres, to the analysis of texts and cultural contexts, and to relations with foreign cultures.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to illustrate (in a historical-critical perspective) a selection of significant works and authors of Italian literature, providing students with the essential conceptual and methodological tools to understand the poetic language and analyze a literary passage from a content and metric-stylistic perspective.

At the end of the course the student will be able to:

a) identify and define the most significant movements and poetics in the history of Italian literature

b) interpret, paraphrase, and analyse autonomously literary passages in poetry and prose, recognising their structural aspects (genre, metric form, rhetorical apparatus) and linking them to the historical-cultural contexts in which they were composed

c) make appropriate use of literary criticism terminology

d) compare passages from different periods and authors

e) explain and discuss in oral form the topics discussed in class with clarity and language properties.

PREREQUISITES

There are no specific requirements.

TEACHING METHODS

The course includes lectures with the aid of multimedia tools and materials. During the lectures there will be commented readings of literary excerpts and in-depth cultural studies aimed at contextualising the works examined: both the readings and the in-depth studies are to be understood as examples of work on the literary text, hopefully aimed at stimulating the reflections of the students, who will be invited to actively participate with interventions and questions. The teacher will also make available to students, in a special section of the AulaWeb e-learning portal, the slides used in the classroom and other study support materials.

A optional workshop on paraphrasing and the analysis of literary texts will be offered outside regular class hours during the months of March and April. The workshop is open to all students, but it is especially recommended for those who feel they may need additional academic support in these areas.

Lectures will be held in presence. Course attendance is not compulsory but warmly recommended. Students who, for justified reasons, expect not to be able to attend at least 50% of the lessons (i.e. at least 27 of the 54 hours of classroom teaching) are required to contact the teacher by e-mail at the beginning of the course in order to agree on an alternative examination programme. It is also recommended to attend the first lesson, during which the teaching programme and the exam rules will be presented.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Syllabus for attending students

General Section

The general section focuses on the study of the history of Italian literature from its origins to the twentieth century. This overview will be limited to a selected number of topics and authors, which will be published on AulaWeb at the beginning of the course.

This general section will be only partially covered during lectures and will otherwise be entrusted to the student’s independent study.

Monographic Section

The monographic section includes the topics addressed during lectures and will focus on three main thematic units.

PART ONE – Forms of the Comic in Dante’s Divine Comedy

What did the term commedia mean in the Middle Ages? Why did Dante entitle his great poem Commedia? Which genres of medieval comic literature can be traced in Dante’s masterpiece?
The first part of the course will attempt to answer these questions, starting from the medieval rhetorical definition of the comic and then moving on to a series of selected readings drawn mainly from Dante’s Inferno.

PART TWO – Eighteenth-Century Europe and America in the Works of Vittorio Alfieri

An intellectual of European stature, Vittorio Alfieri (1749–1803) undertook numerous journeys throughout his life across the major European countries (the Italian states, France, England, the Netherlands, Prussia, Sweden, and others). He also broadened his perspective beyond Europe, showing interest in the emergence of the United States of America.
In the lectures devoted to this topic, a series of readings—primarily taken from Alfieri’s Vita—will be presented in order to examine and contextualize the author’s judgments on the countries he visited and on the major historical and cultural events that shaped Europe and North America in the second half of the eighteenth century.

PART THREE – The “Economic Miracle” in Italian Culture of the 1960s

The expression Italian economic miracle (or economic boom) refers to the period between the 1950s and the 1960s, during which Italy, recovering from the material and moral devastation of the Second World War, experienced unprecedented economic growth as well as technological and industrial development. These processes also brought about far-reaching social transformations, which many intellectuals and artists active at the time sought to interpret and critique. The final part of the course will examine some of these responses by analysing a selection of literary works—specifically La speculazione edilizia by Italo Calvino, La vita agra by Luciano Bianciardi, and Satura by Eugenio Montale—as well as selected films that offered an immediate representation of this period of (apparent) prosperity, while exposing its contradictions and consequences.
The novels by Calvino and Bianciardi must be read in their entirety.

Course attendance is not compulsory, but warmly recommended. Non-attending students are required to contact the lecturer (matteo.navone@unige.it) at the beginning of the lectures in order to arrange a different examination programme from the one indicated here.

For further information, see the sections Recommended reading/bibliography, Teaching methods and Exam description.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bibliography for attending students

Bibliography for attending students

General part

- Ugo Dotti, Storia della letteratura italiana, Roma, Carocci, 2020 (N.B.: students are required to study only the parts indicated by the instructor at the beginning of the course.)

Monographic part

- All materials used during the lectures and made available on AulaWeb

- Dante Alighieri, Divina Commedia, ed. by Anna Maria Chiavacci Leonardi, Milano, Mondadori; or the edition by Giorgio Inglese, Roma, Carocci; or the edition by Bianca Garavelli, Milano, Rizzoli (only the passages read in class)

- Vittorio Alfieri, Vita, ed. by Carla Forno, Milan, Feltrinelli, 2020, or other recent edition (optional)

- Unabridged reading (in any edition, also in eBook) of the following novels

• Italo Calvino, La speculazione edilizia
• Luciano Bianciardi, La vita agra

The list of texts is subject to change and it is therefore advisable to wait until the start of the lessons and the presentation of the programme before purchasing or borrowing. The bibliography of the monographic part may be supplemented with additional readings presented in class and made available on AulaWeb during the course.

Non-attending students must contact the teacher to arrange an alternative bibliography.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

MATTEO NAVONE (President)

GIORDANO RODDA

ANDREA LAZZARINI (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Classes will begin on Thursday, 19 February 2026. The schedule is as follows:

• Mondays, 15:00–17:00 (aula 15, Albergo dei Poveri)

• Tuesdays, 9:00–10:00 (aula 15, Albergo dei Poveri)

• Thursdays, 8:00–10:00 (aula 15, Albergo dei Poveri)

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Students may choose between two alternative examination formats:

• First option: written and oral examination.
  In this case, two assessments are required: a written examination on the first section of the general and monographic syllabus (Dante), and an oral examination (which coincides with the final exam) on the second and third sections of the general and monographic syllabus (Alfieri / twentieth century).
  The written examination is a prerequisite for the oral examination and must therefore be taken beforehand. If the written examination is passed, the corresponding part of the syllabus will not be examined again during the oral examination; if it is not passed, that part will instead be included in the oral examination (please note: the written test can only be taken once).
• Second option: oral examination only.
  In this case, the entire syllabus (general and monographic sections) will be examined during the final oral examination, and no written examination is required.

The grade communicated at the end of the oral examination may be declined. In the event of an unsuccessful examination or a declined grade, students may retake the exam starting from the next available exam session. Further information regarding the examination procedures will be provided during lectures.
At least seven oral exam sessions and two written examinations are scheduled each academic year.

Registration for the written examinations will be carried out via AulaWeb, while registration for the oral examinations must be completed through the University’s online student services (https://servizionline.unige.it/studenti/esami/prenotazione), at least five days prior to the date of the exam session.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The optional written examination (see “Exam description”) consists of two open-ended questions, one of which includes the paraphrasing and analysis of a literary text. The written examination is designed to assess students’ knowledge of the passages from the Divine Comedy discussed during lectures, as well as of the chapter of the course textbook devoted to Dante.

The oral examination consists of an interview lasting approximately 30 minutes and is intended to assess students’ ability to:

• analyse a literary passage;
• contextualise the works studied from a historical and cultural perspective and describe their metrical and stylistic features;
• establish connections and comparisons between the topics covered;
• use clear, appropriate, and effective academic language;
• develop a personal and well-argued critical interpretation of the topics discussed.

Those students who demonstrate an organic vision of the topics addressed, combined with the ability to add personal contributions, to master the tools of literary analysis and the specific vocabulary, to use effective and appropriate exposition, will be given a mark of excellence.

Those students who demonstrate a mnemonic knowledge of the subject with a more superficial analytical ability and ability to synthesize, a correct command of the language but not always appropriate, will be given a fair mark.

A superficial knowledge and understanding of the material, a scarce analytical and expressive ability that is not always appropriate will be rewarded with a pass mark or just above a pass mark.

Students who demonstrate gaps in their knowledge of the subject matter, inappropriate language use, lack of familiarity with the literature in the programme bibliography will not be given a pass mark.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students who, for justified reasons, expect not to be able to attend at least 50% of the lessons (i.e. at least 27 of the 54 hours of classroom teaching) are required to contact the teacher by e-mail at the beginning of the course in order to agree on an alternative examination programme. It is also recommended to attend the first lesson, during which the teaching programme and the exam rules will be presented.

All students, whether attending or not, are kindly requested to enrol in AulaWeb to receive communications and notices regarding the course.

Erasmus students or non-native Italian speakers are kindly requested to contact the teacher to agree on the examination programme.

For students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities, please note that, to request adaptations during the exam, it is necessary to first insert the certification on the University website on the servizionline.unige.it page in the "Students" section. The documentation will be verified by the University's Services Sector for the inclusion of students with disabilities and DSA.

Subsequently, significantly in advance (at least 10 days) of the exam date, it is necessary to send an e-mail to the instructor, including in copy both Prof. Sara Dickinson (sara.dickinson@unige.it), the Department's disability liaison and the Sector indicated above (disabili@unige.it or dsa@unige.it). In the email you must specify:

- the name of the course

- the date of the appeal

- the student's surname, name and student number

- the compensatory tools and dispensatory measures deemed functional and required.

The Department's disability liaison will confirm to the instructor that the applicant has the right to request adaptations during the exam and that these adaptations must be agreed with the teacher, who will respond by communicating whether it is possible to use the requested adaptations.

Requests must be sent at least 10 days before the date of the exam to allow the teacher to evaluate their content. If you intend to use concept maps for the exam (which must be much more concise than the maps used for the study), the sending must respect the expected times, otherwise there will not be the technical time necessary to make any changes.

For further information regarding the request for services and adaptations, consult this document.