OVERVIEW

The course is part of the Basic Learning Activities for the Degree Course of 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 of Italian Literature history, from its origins to the 20th century.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The aim of this University Course is to give an idea of Italian literary tradition, from its origins to the actual days, with a particular eye to the different cultural typologies, interpretation of texts and contexts (musical, artistic, historical), and principally to the relationship with other foreign cultural systems.

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) recognize and explain the most important moments of the Italian literary tradition

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 the topics dealt with in written and oral form with clarity and language properties

PREREQUISITES

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

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures will be held with the aid of multimedia tools and materials. Lectures will consist in commented readings of literary excerpts and in-depth cultural contextualisations, aimed at stimulating the reflections of students, who will often be invited to actively take part with their questions. The lecturer will also upload on the AulaWeb e-learning portal the slides used in classroom and other supplementary materials.

Attendance is not compulsory, but it is strongly 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 lecturer by e-mail at the beginning of the course and ask for an alternative examination programme. It is also advisable to attend the first lecture, during which the teaching programme and examination methods will be presented.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The lessons of the course will be dedicated to the following topics:

PART ONE - The Decameron and Its Legacy

During the first part of the course, we will present and comment on a selection of novellas from Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron. The novella genre then experienced significant development from the 16th to the 18th century, with various adaptations of the Decameronian model. We will read and discuss prose and verse novellas by authors from these three centuries, including Anton Francesco Grazzini (known as Il Lasca), Giovan Battista Basile, and Giovan Battista Casti.

PART TWO - The Verist Novella (Verga, Capuana, De Roberto, ...)

Starting with Giovanni Verga's Vita dei campi (1880), we will present and analyze examples of verist novellas by authors such as Luigi Capuana, Federico De Roberto, Matilde Serao, and Gabriele D'Annunzio.

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

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bibliography for Attending Students

General Part

• Ugo Dotti, Storia della letteratura italiana, Roma, Carocci, 2020 (Note: Only the sections indicated by the instructor at the beginning of the course are required for study.)

Monographic Part

• All teaching materials used during the lessons and made available on AulaWeb.

  Dante Alighieri, Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso, edited by Anna Maria Chiavacci Leonardi, Milano, Mondadori (or the edition edited by Giorgio Inglese, Roma, Carocci, or the edition edited by Bianca Garavelli, Milano, Bompiani): reading, commentary, and paraphrasing of Cantos I-V of the Inferno.

  Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron, edited by Amedeo Quondam, Maurizio Fiorilla, Giancarlo Alfano, Milano, Rizzoli-BUR, 2018. Only the passages indicated during the lessons are required for study.

• Complete reading (in any edition, including eBook) of the following novels:

  Giovanni Verga, Vita dei campi

  Gabriele D'Annunzio, Novelle della pescara

The list of texts may be subject to changes, so it is advisable to wait for the start of the lessons and the presentation of the syllabus by the instructor before purchasing or borrowing any books. The bibliography of the monographic part may be supplemented with additional readings made available on AulaWeb during the lessons.

Non-attending students are required to contact the instructor to arrange the specific bibliography.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ANDREA LAZZARINI (President)

GIORDANO RODDA

MATTEO NAVONE (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

February 2025

Class schedule

ITALIAN LITERATURE A

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The examination will take place in a single oral test covering the entire programme, consisting of the topics presented during the lectures.

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

Non attending students are invited tocontact the lecturer by e-mail (andrea.lazzarini@unige.it) to arrange an alternative examination programme.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The exam consists of an oral interview, lasting approximately 30 minutes, covering the entire syllabus, composed of the topics presented during the lectures. Additional guidelines regarding the exam procedures will be provided during the course. Each year, seven exam sessions are scheduled (three in the summer session, two in the autumn session, and two in the winter session), with the possibility of adding other extraordinary sessions, mainly intended for out-of-course students. To participate in the exams, students must register at least five days before the exam date on the website https://servizionline.unige.it/studenti/esami/prenotazione. Non-attending students must contact the professor via email to arrange an alternative exam syllabus.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

All students, whether attending or not, are requested to register for the course on AulaWeb in order to receive communications and notices concerning the course.

Erasmus students or non-native speakers of Italian must contact the lecturer to agree on the examination programme.
Students with a certified DSA, disability or other special educational needs are advised to contact the lecturer at the beginning of the course to agree on teaching and examination methods which, while respecting the teaching objectives, take account of individual learning methods and provide suitable compensatory tools. The same students are also invited to make use of the various services provided to accompany them on their university journey (for further information, please refer to https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa).