OVERVIEW

«the Arab told him that the stone (To give it in the language of the dream) Was ‘Euclid’s Elements’; ‘and this’, said he, ‘This other’, pointing to the shell, ‘this book Is something of more worth’; and at the word The stranger, said my friend continuing, Stretched forth the shell towards me, with command That I should hold it to my ear. I did so, And heard that instant in an unknown tongue, Which yet I understood, articulate sounds, A loud prophetic blast of harmony; An Ode, in passion uttered, which foretold Destruction to the children of the earth By deluge, now at hand», William Wordsworth, The Prelude

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The discipline's primary aim is to prepare students for the development of a personal, historically competent, and epistemologically aware thought in relation to some specific, fundamental problems in the humanities field: the complex and diachronically changing notion of literature, the non-linear relationship between theory and literary practice, the functions and main methodologies of criticism, such as reading models, analysis, and interpretation. The comparison of texts from different languages, cultures, and semiotic systems defines, from this perspective, a privileged tool for the exercise of methodological reflection in its comparative dimension.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course the students will be able to

• know the main critical methodologies developed to define the status of the literary phenomenon in its complex richness and develop models of possible relationships (historical, ideological and morphological) among literary texts of different origins, languages ​​and poetics, in comparison with each other and with other systems semiotics (iconic and musical)

• apply the different methodologies to the concrete practice of analyzing the literary text, knowing how to evaluate the specific scope of the critical model applicative choice

• express the salient characteristics of a literary text in a full awareness of the critical language, developed by the main methodologies (from ancient rhetoric to linguistics, from narratology to gender studies), thus increasing one's abilities for abstract reflection and argumentative ability, sensitive to contexts

• demonstrate the historical awareness of the deep historical relationships between the texts of the Western tradition, both from a thematic and morphological point of view, proposing personal paths of interpretation of the most contemporary literary phenomena in the critical comparison with their past models

PREREQUISITES

No specific prerequisites are required.

TEACHING METHODS

The teaching consists in 60 hours of lessons. The teaching method provides for a close and continuous interconnection between frontal lessons (in the presentation of analytical methodologies and synoptic historiographic frameworks) and participatory activity of students (theoretical models’ critical discussion of analytic practice on texts). Active participation in lessons is very important for the full achievement of the learning objectives.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Giordano Bruno in European Literature

In the words of Italian writer Carlo Dossi (1849-1910), the great writer and philosopher  Giordano Bruno (1548-1600) still dismayed his readers. His speculative wandering questions shadows and light, memory and infinity, in the fury of a thought that becomes language of flesh, jolts, tremors, and humors. Modern and Contemporary Literary Space (from Leopardi to Joyce, from Goethe to Foster Wallace) could be considered deeply influenced by his cultural lesson of intellectual astonishment.

The course aims to address some of Giordano Bruno’s most significant texts, both literary and speculative,  specifying their genetic relationships with models and demonstrating their fundamental importance in some of the crucial articulations of European Literature between Romanticism, Modernism, and extreme contemporaneity.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The bibliography, which is indicative of the critical and literary texts that will be addressed during the course, will be integrated in relation to the knowledge and interests of the participating students. Each student will be able to agree on a personal syllabus, including a general introductory manual that allows familiarization with the main twentieth-century comparative methodologies (1.), a text by Giordano Bruno (2) to be compared with a subsequent text (3.), among those present in the bibliography.

1. General handbooks

Stefania Sini, Franca Sinopoli, Percorsi di teoria e comparatistica letteraria, Pearson 2021

2. Giordano Bruno's Texts

Giordano Bruno, Il candelaio, Rizzoli 2013

Giordano Bruno, La cena delle ceneri, Mondadori 1995

Giordano Bruno, L’arte della memoria, Mimesis 1999

Giordano Bruno, Gli eroici furori, Rizzoli 1999

Giordano Bruno, Dialoghi italiani, voll. 1-2, Pgreco 2014

Giordano Bruno, Opere mnemotecniche, Adelphi 2004

3. Other Fictional/Poetical Texts:  

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust I [ed. it. trad. di F. Fortini, Mondadori 2016]

Giacomo Leopardi, Poesie e Prose, voll. 1-2, Mondadori 1991-1992

Samuel Beckett, Dante…Bruno.Vico...Joyce, 1929 [ed. it. Primo Beckett: da Dante... Bruno... Vico... Joyce a More Pricks than Kicks, a cura di T. Ingravallo, Edizioni del Sud 2004]

James Joyce Finnegans Wake [ed. it. di Rodolfo Wilcock, Giometti&Antonello 2016; ed. it. completa trad. di L. Schenoni, E. Terrinoni, F. Pedone, voll. 5, Mondadori 2017]

Arno Schmidt, ZettelsTraum, Fischer 1970

Arno Schmidt, Leviathan oder Die Beste der Welten Gadir oder Erkenne dich selbst Enthymesis oder W.I.E.H., 1949 [ed. it. Leviatano, trad. di D. Borso, Mimesis 2013]

David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest, 1996 [ed. it. trad. di E. Nesi, Fandango 2000]

Roberto Bolaño, 2666, 2004 [ed. it. trad. di I. Carmignani, 2 voll., Adelphi 2007-2008

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Lessons will start in the first semester

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam consists of (a) a written and (b) an oral part.

(a) In their paper, students must critically and personally apply one of the methodological paradigms addressed during the course (to be chosen using one of the manuals from section 1 of the Bibliography), to identify, describe, and interpret the salient features of a text by Giordano Bruno (section 2 of the Bibliography: 6 credits) and comparatively confront it with a subsequent text (section 3 of the Bibliography: 9 credits), in order to discuss the chosen methodological paradigm.

(b) a critical discussion of the written paper, placing the chosen methodological paradigm in the context of the main analytical methodologies of the twentieth century (detailed with the help of one of the manuals indicated in section 1 of the Bibliography).

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The evaluation of the written paper will consider:

• the terminological property of the analysis [elocutio]

• the understanding of the critical model and the ability to personal re-elaboration of the studied contents [inventio]

• the formal organization [dispositio] in the presentation of the research results

• the effectiveness of the application of an analytical model to the reading of the literary text, in identifying its salient features (morphological, historical and content)

The evaluation of the oral discussion will consider:

• general knowledge of the contents of the discipline

• the degree of personal critical re-elaboration of the contents

• the ability for abstract reflection and argumentative ability, sensitive to the contexts of discourse

• the awareness of the essential historical relationships among the texts

FURTHER INFORMATION

All the students should contact the teacher (+39 345 455 8112)  in order to define their personal program related to their interests and curricula. There is no specific bibliography for non attending  students.

Erasmus students not proficient in Italian may request a substitutive bibliography, and take the examination in English (or in other Languages as Spanish or French).

Students with disabilities or learning disabilities (SLD) can request exam accommodations, uploading their certification to the University website at servizionline.unige.it in the Students section. the University Services Department for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and Learning Disabilities (https://rubrica.unige.it/strutture/struttura/100111) will examine the documentation.

Students must send an email to the professor, copying both the School Coordinator for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and Learning Disabilities (Prof. Elisabetta Colagrossi: elisabetta.colagrossi@unige.it), at least 10 days before the exam date

The email must specify: the name of the course; the exam date; the student's surname, first name, and student ID number; and any compensatory tools and dispensations deemed appropriate and requested. The Coordinator will confirm to the Professor that the applicant is entitled to request adaptations during the exam and that such adaptations must be agreed upon with the Professor. The Professor will respond by informing whether the requested adaptations can be used.

Requests must be submitted at least 10 days before the exam date to allow the Professor to evaluate the content. In particular, if the concept maps for the exam (which must be much more concise than the maps used for study), are not submitted within the required timeframe, there will not be enough time to make any changes.

For further information regarding requests for services and adaptations, please consult the document: : https://unige.it/sites/unige.it/files/2024-05/Linee%20guida%20per%20la%20richiesta%20di%20servizi%2C%20di%20strumenti%20compensativi%20e_o%20di%20misure%20dispensative%20e%20di%20ausili%20specifici%20Maggio%202024.pdf