OVERVIEW

This is a postgraduate course taught in the first and second semesters. It offers an introduction to literary and cultural theory and consists of an introductory class and 9 2-hour seminars.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course consists of seminars run by members of the teaching staff and coordinated by Prof. Laura Colombino.

The course aims to provide postgraduate students with a basic knowledge of theoretical and methodological approaches to literary texts and cultural objects.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students who attend this course regularly, and study the prescribed materials, will acquire 

- a knowledge of key aspects of literary and cultural theory and an understanding of different critical traditions;

- an advanced knowledge of some (meta)critical and methodological instruments of the literary and cultural analysis;

- an advanced ability to analyse some aspects of literary texts and specific cultural phenomena by applying the theoretical and methodological instruments they have acquired;

- a good ability to work in team.

PREREQUISITES

An advanced knowledge of Italian (Level C1) and of two literatures and cultures.

TEACHING METHODS

Seminars in Italian held by various teachers. Students' presentation and discussion of theoretical texts facilitated by the teacher. Attendance is mandatory from the first semester.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

This is an introductory course on essential theoretical aspects of literary and cultural theory. Students will have the opportunity to investigate a range of theoretical issues with a special emphasis on the origins of the debate around art and mass culture, its late twentieth-century developments through cultural studies and postmodern theory,  the relationship between postmodernism and postcolonialism, and the recent redefinition of the human and the humanities in the light of the environmental crisis and the advent of Artificial Intelligence.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Students are required to read an essay or watch a video for each seminar. The reading list and a pdf version of all the texts will be made available through aulaweb.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

LAURA COLOMBINO (President)

ROBERTO FRANCAVILLA

SARA DICKINSON (President Substitute)

MICHAELA BÜRGER-KOFTIS (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The course starts the week of 13 February.

Class schedule

LABORATORY OF LITERATURE

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Students will be assessed on the basis of their engagement in the discussion of the texts and their ability to deliver presentations on their contents. Attendance: a minimum of 7 seminars is mandatory. An additional oral test will be required if the quality of the engagement in class discussion is not fully satisfactory..

ASSESSMENT METHODS

This is a Pass/Fail course. It is assessed by monitoring the attendance, the knowledge and personal analysis of the texts in the reading list, and the participation in seminar discussion. If the above requirements were not met, the student will take a final oral examination on a selection of texts analysed during the course.

Students will pass the exam if they have attended continuously, engaged actively in seminar discussion and shown the ability to apply the theoretical instruments acquired during the course to literary texts and cultural phenomena.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Course enrolment via aulaweb is mandatory. Examination enrolment is through the Ateneo website.

Students with learning disabilities/disorders (SLD) are warmly invited to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course for further information on their specific needs.