09435 - Theory of Literature

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the students have a basic knowledge of some general concepts of literature, of literary institutions, of relationships between text and contest and of the dynamic of literary communication. They know and can apply some basic methodologies to analyse literary texts.

Course contents

The literary text: Instructions for use

The course is intented as an introduction to text analysis and to a variety of critical operations: reading, interpreting, commenting, translating etc. The main topic will be the evolution of the novel and the relationship between novel and romance.

Period: First semester (october-december 2015)

Timetable of lessons, classrooms etc: See School of Foreign Languages, Literature and Translation website

Readings/Bibliography

I. TEXTS

·      Stendhal, Il rosso e il nero (1830), Garzanti o Feltrinelli

·      George Eliot, Il mulino sulla Floss (1860), Mondadori

·      Robert Louis Stevenson, L'isola del tesoro (1883), Rizzoli

·      Alain-Fournier, Il grande Meaulnes (1913), Garzanti

·      Italo Calvino, Il barone rampante (1957), Mondadori

II. CRITICAL TEXTS

Students will choose two texts from Group A and one text from Group B:

Group A

·      Gillian Beer, The Romance, Methuen

·      Federico Bertoni, Percorsi, seconda parte del volume Realismo e letteratura. Una storia possibile, Einaudi, pp. 125-306

·      Gianni Celati, Finzioni occidentali, primo capitolo del libro Finzioni occidentali, Einaudi, pp. 5-49

·      Robert Scholes e Robert Kellog, La natura della narrativa, il Mulino (solo i primi tre capitoli)

·      Paolo Zanotti, Il modo romanzesco, Laterza

Group B

·      Stendhal, Progetto di articolo su «Il Rosso e il Nero», in Appendice a Stendhal, Romanzi e racconti, vol. I, a cura di M. Di Maio, «Meridiani» Mondadori, pp. 881-903

·      George Eliot, Silly Novels by Lady Novelists, in G. Eliot, The Essays of George Eliot, a cura di N. Sheppard, Funk and Wagnalls (disponibile anche all'indirizzo: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/28289/28289-h/28289-h.htm)

·      Robert Louis Stevenson, A proposito del “romance”, in L'isola del romanzo, a cura di G. Almansi, Sellerio, pp. 25-40; oppure, con il titolo Una chiacchierata sul romanzesco, in Romanzi racconti e saggi, a cura di A. Brilli, «Meridiani» Mondadori, pp. 1849-66

·      Giuliano Gramigna, Introduzione a Alain-Fournier, Il grande Meaulnes, «I grandi libri» Garzanti, pp. VII-XXVI

·      Italo Calvino, Postfazione ai «Nostri antenati» e Introduzione inedita 1960 ai «Nostri antenati», in I. Calvino, Romanzi e racconti, vol. I, a cura di M. Barenghi e B. Falcetto, «Meridiani» Mondadori, pp. 1208-1224

 

Teaching methods

Traditional lectures

Assessment methods

The exam consists of an oral test that will assess the knowledge of the texts and the student's critical and interpretative skills. It will also assess the student's methodological awareness, the ability to master the bibliography in the course programme and the the field-specific language of the discipline. The ability to establish links between the theoretical framework and the texts will be expecially appreciated. A wide and systematic knowledge of the texts, interpretative insight, critical understanding and rhetorical effectiveness will be evaluated with a mark of excellence, while 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 evaluated with a “fair” mark. A superficial knowledge and understanding of the material, a scarce analytical and expressive ability will be evaluated with a pass mark or a negative mark.

Teaching tools

Projection of Power point slides. For further teaching material see the website (link "Teaching material" on the right side of this page).

Links to further information

http://www.unibo.it/SitoWebDocente/default.htm?UPN=federico.bertoni@unibo.it

Office hours

See the website of Federico Bertoni