OVERVIEW

The course is part of the Basic Learning Activities for the Bachelor’s course in Modern Languages and Cultures, 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 major authors, most significant works, main poetics, and most relevant cultural movements in the history of Italian literature; it contributes to the acquisition of knowledge and skills useful for the professional outlets envisaged by the bachelor degree course in Modern Languages and Cultures, and in particular for: 

• access to teacher training
• cultural services (publishing, journalism, radio and television, Italian and foreign cultural institutes and foundations, book heritage preservation)
• cultural tourism
• organization of artistic and cultural events and exhibitions.

This page relates to section C of Italian Literature (students P-Z).

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide a picture of the Italian literary tradition from its origins onwards using exemplary texts, with reference to the different styles and genres, to the analysis of texts and cultural contexts, and to relations with foreign cultures.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to illustrate (in a historical-critical perspective) a selection of significant works and authors of Italian literature, providing students with the essential conceptual and methodological tools to understand the poetic language and analyze a literary passage from a content and metric-stylistic perspective.

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

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

b) interpret, paraphrase, and analyse autonomously literary passages in poetry and prose, recognising their structural aspects (genre, metric form, rhetorical apparatus) and linking them to 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 in oral form the topics discussed in class with clarity and language properties.

PREREQUISITES

Basic knowledge (at high school level) of the history of Italian literature.

TEACHING METHODS

The course includes frontal lessons with the help of multimedia tools and materials. During the lectures there will be commented readings of literary excerpts and in-depth cultural studies aimed at contextualising the works examined: both the readings and the in-depth studies are to be understood as examples of work on the literary text, hopefully aimed at stimulating the reflections of the students, who will often be invited to actively participate with interventions and questions. The teacher will also make available to students, in a special section of the AulaWeb e-learning portal, the slides used in the classroom and other study support materials.

Course attendance is not compulsory, but warmly recommended. 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 teacher 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.

Lectures will be held in presence, unless stated otherwise.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The themes addressed in the course, divided into two parts, are as follows:

PART ONE – Between Magic and the Marvelous: Paths in Italian Literature

The first section of the course focuses on the prodigious element – both sacred and profane – in Italian literature, traversing various authors and works over five centuries and always in dialogue with parallel European experiences.

• The representations of the supernatural within the three canticles of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy;
• The novellas of Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron, which rework and redirect medieval supernatural elements;
• The different significance of Christian and pagan magic in Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso and Torquato Tasso's Gerusalemme Liberata;
• The triumph of the "marvelous" in the baroque epic poem par excellence, Giovan Battista Marino's Adone;
• The return of magic as an element of delight, in opposition to the theatrical innovations of Goldoni, in Carlo Gozzi's L'Amore delle tre melarance.

PART TWO – The Twentieth Century and Magical Realism: Bontempelli and Landolfi

The second part of the course revolves around two twentieth-century authors who are now considered the leading figures of the so-called "Italian magical realism": Massimo Bontempelli, with the analysis of the novel Gente nel tempo, and Tommaso Landolfi, with Racconto d'autunno. For these two texts, in-depth studies and comparisons with similar experiences in the international literary context are also planned.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bibliography for attending students

The list of texts may undergo changes, so it is advisable to wait for the start of the lessons and the presentation of the program by the teacher before purchasing or borrowing. Materials related to non-integral study texts will be uploaded on Aulaweb.

Texts:

• Dante Alighieri, Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso, edited by Anna Maria Chiavacci Leonardi, Milan, Mondadori (or the edition edited by Giorgio Inglese, Rome, Carocci, or the one edited by Bianca Garavelli, Milan, Bompiani). Only the passages indicated in class are required to be studied.
• Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron, edited by Amedeo Quondam, Maurizio Fiorilla, and Giancarlo Alfano, Milan, Rizzoli, 2013 (or another recent edition). Only the passages indicated in class are required to be studied.
• Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando Furioso, edited by Emilio Bigi, Milan, Rizzoli, 2012 (or another recent edition). Only the passages indicated in class are required to be studied.
• Torquato Tasso, Gerusalemme Liberata, edited by Franco Tomasi, Milan, Rizzoli, 2009 (or another recent edition). Only the passages indicated in class are required to be studied.
• Giovan Battista Marino, Adone, edited by Emilio Russo, Milan, Rizzoli, 2018 (or another recent edition). Only the passages indicated in class are required to be studied.
• Carlo Gozzi, Fiabe teatrali, edited by Alberto Beniscelli, Milan, Garzanti, 2014 (or another recent edition). Only the passages indicated in class are required to be studied.
• Massimo Bontempelli, Gente nel tempo, Milan, Utopia, 2020. Full reading required.
• Tommaso Landolfi, Racconto d'autunno, Milan, Adelphi, 2013. Full reading required.

Manual:

It is also required to study the following manual, for attendees limited to the authors and movements studied in class (the teacher will communicate the relevant pages):

• Ugo Dotti, Storia della letteratura italiana, Milan, Carocci, 2020.

Non-attending students are required to contact the teacher to agree on the specific bibliography.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

GIORDANO RODDA (President)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Lessons will start on February 2025.

Class schedule

ITALIAN LITERATURE C

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The examination is an oral test lasting approximately 30 minutes and covering the entire programme.

Students are free to take the exam as many times as they wish to improve their mark.

During the course, further information will be provided regarding the conduct of the examination.

There are sevent exam sessions each year (three for the summer session, two for the autumn session, two for the winter session), to which additional special sessions may be added, mainly for out-of-session students.

To take part in the tests, you must register at least five days before the date of the exam on the website https://servizionline.unige.it/studenti/esami/prenotazione.

Non-attending students must contact the teacher by email to arrange an alternative programme.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The oral test consists of an examination on the topics included in the syllabus, and aims to assess the ability to:

• paraphrase and summarise a literary passage;
• contextualise the works studied from a historical and cultural point of view and illustrate their metrical and stylistic characteristics;
• make connections and comparisons between the topics covered in the course;
• use appropriate and effective exposition;
• develop a personal critical opinion on the topics covered.

Exam schedule

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 teacher 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.

Students with a certified DSA, disability or other special educational needs are recommended to contact the prpfessor at the beginning of the course to agree on teaching and examination methods that, while respecting the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning methods and provide suitable compensatory tools. The same students are also invited to make use of the various services the University offers to support them (for further information see https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa). In e-mail communications to the teacher, please always copy the contact teacher, Prof. Dickinson (sara.dickinson@unige.it).