Learning objectives
The first part of the course aims to provide students with the basic tools for a good understanding of Italian literary institutions (literary history, critical methodology, the basics of metre and rhetoric). <br />
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The second part, monographic, aims to demonstrate how to organize a scientific research on a Italian literature cross-sectioning pre-selected themes and authors. <br />
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
The course is divided into two modules: <br />
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A. Literature and communication <br />
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The first module (6 credits) will deal with Italian literary institutions, critical methods, literary hermeneutics, aesthetic of reception, intertextuality and hypertext, with an emphasis on the communicative rhetoric of the text. <br />
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B. Literary diseases <br />
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The second module (6 credits) will be devoted to the analysis of physical, spiritual or psychological ailments across Italian fiction, from the Decameron plague to the smoking disease in La Coscienza di Zeno (Zeno's Conscience), in order to plot the evolution of the formal structures, social contexts and ideologies that accompany the literary system and determines the standard. <br />
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The oral examination, whether it be worth 6 cfu (only module A) or 12 cfu (modules A and B), will be preceded by a written test. <br />
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Full programme
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Bibliography
Module A: <br />
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H.R. Jauss, Perché la storia della letteratura, Guida Editore; A. Cavalli, Fuga dalla critica, Pàtron Editore, 2007 - For those whom are unable to regularly attend, it is recommended to read Manuale di italianistica, edited by V. Roda, Bononia University Press, 2005, (for the first part relating to “Tools” and “Literary Theory”). <br />
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Module B: <br />
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TEXTS: <br />
G. Boccaccio, Decameron (foreword); A. Manzoni, Promessi sposi; G. Verga, Il marito di Elena; F. De Roberto, I Vicerè; G.A. Borgese, I vivi e i morti; I. Svevo, La coscienza di Zeno <br />
CRITICISM: <br />
A.Cavalli, La scienza del romanzo, (Pàtron); A. Cavalli, De Roberto (Palumbo); A. Cavalli, L'unità della letteratura. Borgese critico e scrittore (Pàtron). <br />
For non-attending students: <br />
L. Nay, Fantasmi del corpo fantasmi della mente. La malattia fra analisi e racconto, Ed. dell'Orso, 1999 <br />
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Or, <br />
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Comoy Fusaro, E. La nevrosi tra medicina e letteratura, Edizioni Polistampa, 2007. <br />
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Other bibliographical references will be described during the course as necessary. <br />
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Both modules A and B are subject to an oral exam. <br />
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Teaching methods
<p>The student must pass a preliminary written test. The student must take the oral examination no later than one year after passing the written test. The written test consists of an essay on literary history and a series of short answer questions on authors, texts and current Italian literature, in addition to questions on matters of metre and rhetoric. The average mark is taken from both exams, both of which are out of thirty.</p>
Assessment methods and criteria
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Other information
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