OVERVIEW

The course offers a critical and interpretive analysis of topics in the history of Italian literature that are particularly relevant to classical and humanistic culture.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• Identify scientifically the historical, cultural, and artistic context in which the texts of Italian literature emerge in relation to the classical tradition.
• Know the literary tradition of the different genres of Italian literature, with particular attention to their roots in the classical world, their evolution in literary history, the taste and culture of the age in which they were produced, and any developments in later periods.
• Acquire a method of critical and scientific interpretation of texts of Italian literature, being able to use specific bibliographical tools (dictionaries, literary histories, critical editions, essays, articles, reviews, and any online resources) and the fundamental techniques of textual analysis.
• Be able to recognize, also through personal evaluation, the value of a text of Italian literature within the poetics of its author, the history of literature, and Italian classical culture.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to illustrate, from a historical and critical perspective, a selection of significant works and authors of Italian literature, providing students with the essential conceptual and methodological tools needed to understand literary language in terms of both content and style.

By the end of the course, students will have developed:

a) specific competence in the methodologies of analysis, interpretation, and textual criticism of the literary text

b) specific and in-depth competence in study and research methodologies in the field of Italian literature, as well as up-to-date bibliographical knowledge of the historical and critical debate

c) the ability to define the legacy of classical and humanistic culture in the various historical contexts of Italian literature and to outline its tradition in subsequent periods and cultures

d) the ability to present themes, issues, and perspectives relating to literary texts and contexts using appropriate critical and scholarly language

e) the development of an autonomous capacity to evaluate literary data, achieved through close engagement with criticism

PREREQUISITES

Students are required to have a good basic knowledge of the history of Italian literature and the ability to read and interpret literary texts.

TEACHING METHODS

<p>Classes will be held in person. Attendance, although not compulsory, is strongly recommended. Supplementary teaching tools (<em>slides</em> and study support materials) will be made available in a dedicated section of the AulaWeb <em>e-learning</em> portal. Part of the course will be devoted to seminar presentations of texts related to the course, on which students will have prepared work agreed upon with and guided by the instructor. In general, students’ active participation will be encouraged during classes, through questions and contributions.</p>

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Baroque Literature and Antiquity. Novellas, Orations, Questions of Poetics.

The course will address the not always straightforward relationship between seventeenth-century literary culture and classical literatures. It will focus on three main areas:

• The Baroque and Antiquity: controversies and questions of poetics.
• The reception of Antiquity in Seventeenth-century Novellas, with particular reference to the Cento novelle dei Signori Accademici Incogniti.
• Seventeenth-century oratio ficta and the models of ancient oratory.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Antologia della letteratura italiana del Seicento, ed. by M. Leone, U. Motta, L. Spera, Roma, Carocci, 2025.

Cento novelle amorose de i Signori Accademici Incogniti, ed. by T. Giuggia, 2 voll., Torino, Aracne, 2017 (texts read in class)

Additional materials, including study support materials, will be presented in class and uploaded to the AulaWeb platform.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Lectures will start in the first semester, see: https://corsi.unige.it/corsi/11966/studenti-orario

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam will be oral. For attending students, the final assessment will also take into account the seminar work carried out in class.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The course includes seminar-style presentations of individual research projects, agreed upon with the teacher and related to the topics covered in class, aimed at broadening students’ methodological abilities and specialist skills through classroom discussion.

The final oral examination is intended to assess students’ ability to paraphrase and comment on the texts, contextualize them from a historical and cultural perspective, illustrate their metrical and stylistic features, present their philological and textual-critical issues, express the concepts learned using appropriate language, and sustain a discussion on the topics covered.

The seminar presentation and the oral exam will each account for 50% of the final grade.