28991 - Contemporary Italian Literature (LM) (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student understands a literary text in its ideological, structural, and stylistic elements and dialectico-social relationships, with particular attention to cultural semantics and symbolism of language. The student knows how to approach a text through a critico-narratological reading.

Course contents

Double talents and artistic-literary partnerships


This course addresses two issues closely related to the relationship between art and literature in the period from the Second Twentieth Century to the present day: in the first part, the concept of "double talents," i.e., authors who in their production have demonstrated a dual tension toward narrative writing and the visual arts; in the second part, the intense artistic-literary sodalities that have given rise to intense collaborations. Both aspects of the relationship between literature and art make it possible to investigate the inseparable relationship between the written word and the graphic sign in an attempt to represent the world in its irreducible multiplicity.

In particular, the analysis focuses on literary works in which the correlation between narrative imagination and artistic creativity emerges clearly: some works are the expression of a double talent concretized, or at least experimented in parallel (Levi, Buzzati and Pincio); others give an account of human and artistic associations of great relevance in the Italian literary scene (Raimondi, Malerba, Celati).


The topics addressed during the course are: 1) the concept of dual talent 2) the relationship between literature and the visual arts 3) ecphrasis, i.e., the different modes of verbal description of a work of art 4) the characteristics of iconotestual forms 5) the question of the gaze in literature 6) the peculiar characteristics of the character-artist.

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is suggested that they get in touch as soon as possible with the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) and with the lecturer in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination.

Readings/Bibliography

Students must read the following texts in full:


Literary texts:

Part 1 
a) Carlo Levi, Cristo si è fermato a Eboli, Einaudi, 1945 (qualsiasi edizione)
b) Dino Buzzati, Poema a fumetti, Mondadori, 1969 (qualsiasi edizione)
c) Tommaso Pincio, Il dono di saper vivere, Einaudi, 2018

Part 2
d) Giuseppe Raimondi, Anni con Giorgio Morandi, Mondadori, 1970 (Abscondita, 2014)
e) Luigi Malerba, Le pietre volanti, Mondadori, 1992 (qualsiasi edizione)
f) Gianni Celati, Verso la foce, Feltrinelli, 1989 (qualsiasi edizione)


Critical essays (mandatory):

a) Michele Cometa, La scrittura delle immagini, Milano, Raffaello Cortina, 2012 (Capitolo 1, pp. 11-166)
b) Filippo Milani, Il pittore come personaggio, Roma, Carocci, 2021.
c) All teaching materials uploaded onto the VIRTUAL platform

Non-attending students add:
Cento anni di letteratura italiana 1910-2010, edited by Marco A. Bazzocchi, Einaudi, 2021

Teaching methods

Lessons, class discussion, active participation in class, videos, power points, movies.

Assessment methods

The oral test consists in an oral interview which has the aim of evaluating the critical and methodological ability of the students. The students will be invited to discuss the texts on the course programme. The student must demonstrate an appropriate knowledge of the bibliography in the course programme.

Those students who are able to demonstrate a wide and systematic understanding of the issues covered during the lessons, are able to use these critically and who master the field-specific language of the discipline will be given a mark of excellence.

Those students who demonstrate a mnemonic knowledge of the subject with a more superficial analytical ability and ability to synthesize, a correct command of the language but not always appropriate, will be given a ‘fair' mark.

A superficial knowledge and understanding of the material, a scarce analytical and expressive ability that is not always appropriate will be rewarded with a pass mark or just above a pass mark.

 

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

In addition to lectures, held by the teacher, audiovisual tools will be used to support the teaching. Students will also be invited to bring a significant contribution to enreach the issues upon which the course focuses.

Office hours

See the website of Filippo Milani