Learning objectives
Expected learning outcomes: critical knowledge of the main disciplinary notions and aspects.
Knowledge and comprehension: oriented towards a critical analysis of the information discussed in class; contextualization of the discussed topics within the interdisciplinary field of social sciences and understanding of the interdisciplinary crossings.
Ability to apply knowledge and comprehension: authonomous and critical use of the research instruments and of the geographical-historical notions discussed in class and explained in the texts.
Authonomy in judgment: this is the overall main objective of the course, with a particular reference to the acquisition of a critical consciousness of the spatial and territorial aspects portrayed in literature.
Communicative abilities: acquisition of a critical, though not necessarily technical, language, which allows to distinguish and discuss the characteristics of a phenomenon beyond the simplifications and the generalizations produced by mediascapes.
Learning capacity: proportional to individual abilities.
Prerequisites
None
Course unit content
Geography of literature: theoretical approaches and case studies. The encounter between geography and literature represents a promising interdisciplinary field that investigates, with varied and complementary conceptual tools and research methodologies, the relationships between literary texts and geographical imaginaries. During the course, we will go over some theoretical aspects of the relationship between these two disciplines, and later we will analyze some case studies related to the image of mountains, peaks, deserts and "elsewhere" places (both real and imaginary) in literature
Full programme
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Bibliography
It is important to remember that the exam must be prepared by fully reading the textbooks indicated here below, and not summaries prepared by others.
1) Elena Ogliari, Giacomo Zanolin, editors, Monti e vette tra geografia e letteratura, Milan, Mimesis, 2018;
2) Anna Maria Salvadè, editor, Deserti. Rappresentazioni geografiche e letterarie, Milan, Mimesis, 2016;
3) Anna Maria Salvadè, editor, Altri mondi. Tra geografia e letteratura, Milan, Mimesis, 2021
Teaching methods
Lectures will present the general interpretative critical coordinates of the encounter between geography and literature, through both quantitative and qualitative data and approaches.
Class discussion will be stimulated by the proposition of questions aimed at sharing personal opinions and knowledge related to specific topics. This will allow to develop critical attitudes and the authonomy of judgement.
Besides lectures, there will be seminar-oriented sessions, with the help and contribution, also in preparing and leading these meetings, of the students.
Guest lecturers could present lectures through the course.
In the presentation of both quantitative and qualitative data, the teacher will use Power Point presentations, movie and documentary screenings, visits to specialized web sites, and examples of computer cartography.
Assessment methods and criteria
The final exam will be an oral one. During the exam the teacher will test:
- the ability to illustrate in a clear way, with a proper language, the main critical and contextual notions discussed in class and explained in the written texts; a specific importance will be given to logical and communicative abilities
- the knowledge of the geo-historical contexts of the phenomena that were analysed and discussed in class The pass/fail divide is defined by the presence of both these parameters:
a. demonstration of having carefully read the textbooks
b. development of a critical research itinerary on the discussed topics, with the related ability in creating and proposing personal contributions and critiques
The exam will also involve the writing of a short paper, following the directions provided at the entry ""Other information" on this web page
Other information
To complete the exam, the student has to prepare a short paper (8,000 to 12,000 characters spaces included) related to a literary work. The paper will approach a geographical reading of the chosen text in regards to the geographical elements analyzed in the reading teexts for the exam: mountains, peaks, deserts, "elsewhere places" (inspiration linked to specific places, depiction of landscapes, role of the artistic representations in territorial images,
typologies of human landscapes, relationship between the inhabitants and the territory, etc.). The paper has to be written following the usual rules of academic writing: endnotes (or footnotes), reference bibliography (only the titles that are used in the preparation of the text), quotes in brackets when directly taken from other sources, clear indication of every source used in the preparation of the text. Every use of texts by other authors taken from printed or online sources and not adequately quoted will be considered plagiarism, and will involve a lower grade. The paper will have to be sent by email to the teacher (davide.papotti@unipr.it) at leats ten days before the date scheduled for the exam. The paper must include at the beginning the name of the student, the name of the course, the academic year, and the student number.
