Learning objectives
Through the course, students will obtain the ability to situate the texts analysed in the literary and historical context of XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries.
Students of French will be asked to read and translate passages from texts studied in the original language.
During the course, the student will also learn how to understand and toanalyze literary
texts both from the formal point of view and from that of its contents;
- to put them in relation to the author’s poetic output;
- to investigate in depth some of the topics covered in an independent and original way;
- to formulate, communicate and discuss (in Italian) contents, analyses and opinions concerning the
texts under examination.
Student will also refine their ability to
- identify the formal and generic characteristics of the texts, and to relate them to the cultural background of the time;
- find independently additional information and bibliography on the topics using both print and digital resources;
- make motivated judgments based on a careful decoding of the text;
- extend also to other texts the critical reading skills acquired during the course, addressing the relationship between an author’s poetry and the aesthetic trends of his time.
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
The course aims at illustrating the main lines of the French literary panorama between the XVIIth and the XVIIIth centuries.
Great authors of French classical theatre will be treated, such as Racine and Molière, to pass then to study the novels, through the analysis of works by Montesquieu, Abbé Prévost and Diderot.
Full programme
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Bibliography
- Jean Racine, Phèdre, Edition de Raymond Picard, Gallimard, Folio Classique, 2015;
- Molière, L’École des femmes, Editions Larousse, 2007;
- Charles L. de Montesquieu, Les Lettres persanes, Paris, Flammarion, 2016;
- Denis Diderot, Jacques le fataliste, Edition de Pierre Chartier, Paris, Le Livre de Poche, 2000;
- Antoine François Prévost, Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut, Paris, Flammarion, 2012.
- Lionello Sozzi, Storia europea della letteratura francese. I. Dalle origini al Seicento, Einaudi, Torino, 2013 (solo i capitoli dedicati al Seicento).
- Lionello Sozzi, Storia europea della letteratura francese. II. Dal Settecento all’età contemporanea, Einaudi, Torino, 2013 (solo i capitoli dedicati al Settecento).
Teaching methods
The course consists of lectures, during which the presentation of historical and literary contents will be supplemented by commentary and analysis of extracts from texts in the original language.
Assessment methods and criteria
The knowledge acquired during the course will be assessed through an oral exam in Italian. Specialist students of French will be asked to read and translate passages in the texts studied in the original language. The following knowledge and skills will be assessed:
- knowledge about the authors and works covered in the course and their accurate insertion into historical and cultural contexts;
- the ability to express content in correct Italian, using the appropriate terminology of literary studies;
- an adequate level in the ability to analyze and rework the basic contents in an autonomous way.
A fail is determined by the absence, demonstrated by the student during the oral examination, of the ability to understand the basic contents of the course, the lack of autonomous preparation and the inability to solve problems related to information retrieval and the decoding of complex texts, as well as the formulation of independent judgments.
A pass (18-23/30) is determined by the ability, demonstrated by the student, to have acquired the basic content of the course, a sufficient level of autonomous preparation, an acceptable ability to solve problems related to information retrieval and the decoding of texts, as well as the formulation of independent judgment. Middle-range marks (24-27/30) are assigned to those student who produce evidence of more than sufficient (24-25/30) or good (26-27/30) levels in the evaluation indicators listed above. Upper-end marks (from 28/30 to 30/30 cum laude) are awarded on the basis of the demonstration of a very good to an excellent level in the evaluation indicators listed above.
Other information
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2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
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