13338 - Contemporary Italian Literature

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the student has acquired a working knowledge of wide areas of twentieth-century literary history, with special emphasis on the relation between literature and historical, social, anthropological, and more broadly cultural phenomena. Study is assisted by secondary literature and face-to-face tuition and covers close reading of the text as well as problems of form, structure, composition, and reception.

Course contents

The topic of this course is the presence of artistic and photographic images in the Literature of ‘900. The Literature is compared with visual Arts, to investigate if the Literature shows visual elements or if the modern Literature is based on the comparison with images of visual Arts.

The students of 12 cfu have to know all the program: during the lessons, the professor will explain what has to be studied in depth.

The students of 6 cfu have to studies 4 texts and 2 critical studies, selected according to the lessons chosen.

The lessons begin on 26^th September 2016 and they take place on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, from 9.00 to 11.00 hours, in Aula III, via Zamboni 38.

The first period of lessons continues for 5 weeks; the second period for the 5 weeks following.

Readings/Bibliography

Bibliography:

C. E. Gadda, Quer pasticciaccio brutto de via Merulana

A. Banti, Artemisia (Bompiani economica, oppure SE)

R. Longhi, Caravaggio (SE)

G. Bassani, Cinque storie ferraresi (Einaudi)

A. Savinio, La nostra anima (Adelphi)

I. Calvino, Il castello dei destini incrociati (Mondadori)

P.P.Pasolini, La Divina Mimesis (Einaudi)

G. Celati, Quattro novelle sulle apparenze (Feltrinelli)

 

Critical Studies:

W. Siti, Il realismo è l'impossibile (Nottetempo, 2013)

L. Binswanger, Tre forme di esistenza mancata (Bompiani, pp. 153-191)

Byung-Chul Han, Nello sciame. Visioni del digitale (Nottetempo, 2015)

Assessment methods

Assessment consists of a viva voce examination aiming to assess the knowledge and critical skills acquired by the candidate during the course.

1. First-class marks will be awarded to candidates who demonstrate an ability to analyse texts in depth and to produce an organic overview of the topics covered in the course. Overall mark between 27 and 30 cum laude (high linguistic ability is required).

2. A mostly mnemonic knowledge of the subject, analytical skills lacking depth, and correct but not always apposite expression will result in a modest mark. Overall mark between 23 and 26.

3. Elementary knowledge, superficial understanding, poor analytical skills, and inapposite expression will lead to a pass or only slightly higher mark. Overall mark between 18 and 22.

4. Gaps in the candidate’s knowledge, inapposite language, and inadequate engagement with the secondary literature offered in the course will result in a fail mark.

Office hours

See the website of Marco Antonio Bazzocchi