OVERVIEW

The course is part of the Basic Learning Activities for the Bachelor’s course in “Teorie e tecniche della mediazione interlinguistica”, 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 the main authors, the most significant works, poetics and cultural movements of contemporary Italian literature.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Italian literary civilization from the National Unification to the present day, in relation to major national and international historical, social, and cultural events, is studied in its general issues and through direct and, as far as possible, comprehensive knowledge of the most significant prose and verse texts, with subsequent in-depth studies on specific thematic topics or on the work of individual authors.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with the essential conceptual and methodological tools for understanding the evolution of Italian literary modernity and its links with other literatures. It is divided into a general part, which briefly illustrates the most important stages in the evolution of poetry and narrative between the second half of the 19th century and the 20th century, and a more specific part, dedicated to an in-depth study of specific movements, works and authors.

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

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

b) paraphrase and interpret autonomously literary passages in poetry and prose, analysing their contents and structural aspects (genre, metric form, rhetorical apparatus) also on the basis of 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 orally the topics treated in class with clarity and language properties

PREREQUISITES

Basic knowledge (at high school level) of Italian literature and history from national unity to the end of the twentieth century.

TEACHING METHODS

The course consists of 54 hours of lectures, supported by multimedia tools and materials. The teacher may provide students with supplementary or study-support materials through a dedicated section of the AulaWeb e-learning platform. These materials may include texts analyzed during class and therefore included in the examination syllabus.
Attendance is strongly recommended. Students who expect to attend less than 75% of the classes (fewer than 40 of the 54 contact hours) are required to supplement their study with the two textbooks listed at the end of the bibliography.
In any case, students are strongly encouraged to attend the first class meeting, during which the course syllabus and examination procedures will be presented.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The course focuses on the trajectories, works, and key figures of contemporary Italian literature, and will be divided into two parts. During the first semester, we will explore the field of narrative prose, focusing on five twentieth-century women writers whose lives, literary works, and cultural-political engagement we will examine: Sibilla Aleramo, Alba De Céspedes, Elsa Morante, Natalia Ginzburg, and Anna Maria Ortese. In conjunction with the 80th anniversary of women's first vote in Italy, particular attention will be paid to their role in public and cultural life. During the second semester, the focus will shift to poetry, with Eugenio Montale as the central figure. The texts introduced and analyzed during class sessions constitute an integral part of the syllabus. In addition, students will be required to study a general handbook and a short monographic volume, details of which can be found under the section “Texts/Bibliography.”

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

- Letteratura italiana contemporanea. Narrativa e poesia dal Novecento a oggi, a cura di Beatrice Manetti e Massimiliano Tortora, Carocci, Roma 2022.

- Two novels, in any unabridged edition, chosen from the following:
Sibilla Aleramo, Una donna (1906)
Alba De Cèspedes, Nessuno torna indietro (1938)
Elsa Morante, L’isola di Arturo (1957)
Natalia Ginzburg, Lessico famigliare (1963)
Anna Maria Ortese, Alonso e i visionario (1996)

​> In addition, non-attending students are required to study:

- Annalisa Andreoni, Leggere Cèspedes, Carocci 2025.

- Monica Farnetti, Leggere Ortese, Carocci 2025. ​

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Classes will officially begin during the week of September 29, 2025.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam consists of an oral test which aims to verify the student's knowledge of the topics and texts treated in class, as well as to assess the student's critical and interpretative skills.

Unless otherwise indicated due to the evolution of the health situation, the exam will be held in presence. If it is not possible to guarantee the necessary safety standards, the exam will be held on Teams.

To take part in the exam, students must register at least four days before the date of the exam at https://servizionline.unige.it/studenti/esami/prenotazione.

Non-attending students must contact the teacher by email to arrange an alternative programme (see 'Syllabus/contents' section).

DSA students are invited to contact the teacher for any clarifications and agreements.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The examination consists of an oral interview on the topics covered in the course, and aims to assess the ability to paraphrase and analyse a literary passage, to contextualise the works studied from a historical-cultural point of view, to illustrate their metrical-stylistic characteristics, to establish links and comparisons between the topics covered in the course, and to use appropriate and effective exposition.

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 professor 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.

DSA students are invited to contact the teacher for any clarifications and agreements.