The course is held in the second semester and it is divided into two fractions. A, for beginners in Spanish (held in Italian) and B, for intermediate/advanced students (held in Spanish).
The course offers a literary, cultural, social and historical panorama of Spain from Middle Age to the seventeenth century in order to provide students with the tools to understand and appreciate the authors and main works of the period, with particular attention to the Siglo de Oro.
By attending the course and through individual study, the students will learn about the evolution of the history of Spanish literature from its origins to the seventeenth century, the literary periods, and the historical-political and cultural context in which they developed. They will be able to relate the great European cultural currents with the works and authors studied, also establishing links between them.
The students will be able to read, paraphrase and translate the literary texts proposed in Spanish and contextualize a literary work. They will also be able to comment and analyze a literary text identifying literary stylistic features, topoi and figures of speech.
36 hours of lectures with the help of multimedia material.
Before each lesson, the literary texts that will be commented in class will be charged on Aulaweb, so that students can have them with them in class. In Aulaweb the teacher will also upload support material, various types of in-depth analyzes and suggestions for autonomous study of a specific theme.
The teacher will also use Aulaweb to communicate with students, who are therefore invited to register on the course page on this platform.
First Part: The Middle Ages
The concept of the Middle Ages; the centers of culture in medieval Spain; Arab, Jewish and Christian Spain;
The first literary manifestation in a Romance language: the Jarchas
The Spanish epic and the Poema de Mio Cid
Mester de juglaría and mester de clerecía
The Romancero and the Cancionero
Medieval prose and don Juan Manuel
Medieval poetry: Gonzalo de Berceo, El Arcipreste de Hita, Jorge Manrique
La Celestina and the dawn of the Renaissance.
Second part: "Siglo de Oro" (Renaissance and Baroque):
Poetry (Garcilaso de la Vega, san Juan de la Cruz, fray Luis de León, santa Teresa de Jesús, Luis de Góngora, Francisco de Quevedo, Lope de Vega);
Prose (Picaresca, Miguel de Cervantes);
Theater (Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina, Calderón de la Barca).
During the lessons, we will focus our attention on the birth and development of the various literary currents, placing them in the historical-political, economic, artistic framework of Western culture in which they come to life. However, students' attention will be particularly drawn to the literary text. A selection of proposed texts, made available through aulaweb, will be read, commented and analyzed.
For attending students:
Students who are NOT attending the course of Modern Languages and Cultures can request an alternative text, in Italian, to replace the text in point 5.
For non attending students:
- F. de Rojas, La Celestina.
- Anonimo, Lazarillo de Tormes.
- Miguel de Cervantes, don Quijote de la Mancha.
- Miguel de Cervantes, Novelas ejemplares.
- Lope de Vega, Fuenteovejuna.
- Lope de Vega, Peribáñez y el comendador de Ocaña.
- Pedro Calderón de la Barca, La vida es sueño.
Students who are NOT attending the course of Modern Languages and Cultures can request an alternative text, in Italian, to replace the text in point 3.
Ricevimento: In order to schedule a one-to-one meeting (in the teacher's office or via Teams) please send an email to: alessia.cassani@unige.it
ALESSIA CASSANI (President)
MARCO SUCCIO
The course will begin on Monday, February 17, 2025, and will follow this schedule:
The exam consists of an interview in Italian (Fraction A) or Spanish (Fraction B) on the topics covered by the course.
The student must demonstrate knowledge of the bibliography and course notes (for attending students), and of being able to read, translate, comment and contextualize a proposed literary text. Students will need to demonstrate that they:
- Know the themes and stylistic evolution of Spanish literature from its origins to the seventeenth century;
- Know how to comment and analyze literary texts and contextualize them;
- Understand the original texts, primary and secondary literature on the proposed themes.
Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities on file with the University and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework and exams, should speak both with the instructor and with prof. Sara Dickinson (sara.dickinson@unige.it), the Department's disability liaison. Further information available at https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa.
