OVERVIEW

Mr Locke very justly and finely observes of wit, that is chiefly conversant in tracing resemblances; he remarks at the same time, that the business of judgement is rather in finding differences. It may perhaps appear, on this supposition, that there is no material distinction between the wit and the judgement, as they both seem to result from different operations of the same faculty of comparing. But in reality, wether they are or are not dependent on the same power of the mind, they differ so very materially in many respects, that a perfect union of wit and judgement is one of the rarest in the world. When two distinct objects are unlike to each other, it is only what we expect; things are in their common way; and therefore they make no impression on the imagination: but when two distinct objects have a resemblance, we are struck, we attend to them, and we are pleased. Edmund Burke A philosophical Enquiry into the Sublime and Beautiful 1757

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The main purpose of the discipline is to lead female students and students to reflect critically on the intertextual practices of transposition of the literary text into other media (musical, visual, scenic and cinematographic), identifying and comparing different transformative processes, which allow content and narrative forms to migrate in different sign systems; establishing and testing the possible equivalence relations and the conditions of translatability e transferability between different semiotic contexts. The analysis of cases of intersemiotic translation (adaptations, reworkings, rewritings), particularly significant from a historical, aesthetic, or interpretative, it allows us to verify the strength and usefulness of the majority pregnant theoretical models developed to question this phenomenon, define it, classify it and think about it in its complexity. Following i sinuous experimental paths of these wandering narratives, yes study how much and how the semantic, morphological, stylistic aspects linguistic and linguistic aspects of the literary text are redefined and remodeled at the same time that they redefine and reshape the media that support them they welcome.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course students will be able to

• know and reciprocally compare the main theoretical concepts regarding intertextuality and intermediality

• apply the different theoretical positions to the concrete practice of concrete intersemiotic translation cases analysis, knowing how to evaluate the congruence of theoretical choice, in relation to the class of texts to which it is decided to apply 

• critically master the theoretical categories for intertexuality amalysis, increasing abilities for abstract reflection and argumentative skills, sensitive to contexts

• demonstrate the historical awareness of the different theoretical positions and the ability to conceive their possible interpretative function ​​ relatively to contemporary literary phenomena

PREREQUISITES

The theoretical characterization of the discipline engages a dialogue with the course of Comparative Literature, developing and deepening, its aformative objectives, according to a different and more specific methodological perspective.

TEACHING METHODS

In its 60 hours of lessons, the course will provide for a close and continuous interconnection between frontal lessons (presenting analytical methodologies and synoptic historiographic frameworks) and participatory activity of students (collectively discussing  theoretical models, and analysing literary, musical and cinematographical texts in their intersemiotic relations). Active participation in lessons is therefore very important for the full achievement of the learning objectives.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Notre Faust. Goethe and his heirs.

Faust could be considered a dizzying translation of the spirit of classical tragedy into the fairy-tale forms of Mozart's Singspiel, or of medieval sacred representation in a drama of bourgeois modernity. Surely, Faust fictional universe created an exceptional generative force. In the two centuries following its publication, Goethe's opera never ceased to provoke different artistic media: musical (from Mendelssohn and Schumann to Mahler), scenic-musical (from Berlioz to Boito, Busoni and Pousseur), cinematographic (from Murnau to Sokurov). The course aims to analyze the rewriting potentialities contained in Goethe's text, and some of their twentieth-century actualizations.

In his role of University of Genoa visiting professor, the great composer and regisseur Heiner Goebbels [https://www.heinergoebbels.com/], will hold a seminar for the course, dedicated to his dramaturgical-musical mises en scène of literary texts (Stifter, Michaux, Gertude Stein).

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The bibliography, indicative of the critical and literary texts to be analyzed in the course, will be integrated in relation to the participating students’ interests. 

1. General handbooks on intertexuality/intermediality 

[to have a general idea of the concpetual contexts for intertextuality theories:

Laura Neri, Giuseppe Carrara, Teoria della letteratura. Campi, problemi, strumenti, Carocci 2022 or Stefania Sini, Franca Sinopoli, Percorsi di teoria e comparatistica letteraria, Pearson 2021 ]

Gerard Genette, Palimpstes, Seuil [Palinsesti, Einaudi 1997]

Lubomir Dolezel, Heterocosmica, [Bompiani 1999]

2. Theoretical and Critical Texts

Gyòrgy Lukàcs, Studi sul Faust [Abscondita 2014]

Éric Rohmer, L'organizzazione dello spazio nel «Faust» di Murnau [Marsilio 2004].

Michel, Butor, Henri Pousseur, Votre Faust, Fantaisie variable genre opéra: Première partie (une version),  ‘La Nouvelle Revue française’ 10, no. 109 (January 1962)

*Heiner Goebbels, Aesthetics of Absence, Taylor & Francis 2015

 3. Fictional Texts:  

W. Goethe Faust  [trad. Franco Fortini, Mondadori 2016]

Paul Valéry, Mon Faust, Gallimard 1988 [in Faust: dalla leggenda al mito. Variazioni sul mito, Marsilio 2021]

Fernando Pessoa, Faust [Einaudi, 1997]

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

NICOLA FERRARI (President)

MARTINA MORABITO

LESSONS

LESSONS START

II semester

Class schedule

INTERSEMIOTIC TRANSPOSITION

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

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

(a) redaction of an essay of a length appropriate to the chosen topic, previously agreed and discussed with the teacher, presented in its final form at least one week before the exam. In the paper, one of the methodological approaches addressed during the course must be applied, in a critical and personal way, to detect, describe and interpret a case of intertextual (for the 6 credits) or intermedial  (for the 9 credits) translation of the examined literary texts (section 3 of the Bibliography). It will be possible to define different presentation / argumentative methods connected to specific students’ professional training interests (educational projects, journalistic reviews, editorial materials, ...)

(b) critically discussion of the written paper, placing the chosen methodological intertextual approach in the context of the main literary theories of the twentieth century (explored with the help of one of the manuals indicated in section 1 of the Bibliography).

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The evaluation of the paper (a) 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 reflection on the formal organization [dispositio] in the presentation of the research results

• the effectiveness of the analytical model application n to the text reading

The evaluation of the oral discussion (b) will consider:

• the general knowledge of the discipline contents o

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

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

• the awareness of the essential historical relationships between texts and theories

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Non attending students should contact the teacher (+39 345 455 8112)  in order to define a personal program related to her/his interests and curriculum.