Course program
Inglese
The course is devoted to the main issues of the Italian literature of the 20th Century (authors, literary movements, works, debates etc.). During the course will be analysed narrative texts, poems, manifestos, essays and articles.
The course is divided into 6 units. Each unit focuses on a season of Italian literature from the beginning of the 20th Century to the present day. Each unit includes a general introduction to the period, an in-depth analysis of the most representative authors and a reading and analysis of selected excerpts.
Prerequisites
Knowledge of the Italian language
Books
I. Textbook
Alberto Casadei, Il Novecento, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2014 (N.B. students wishing to use another textbook are requested to contact the teacher).
II. Essays
- Lecture notes: selection of critical essays that will be provided by the teacher and uploaded to Classroom
- Non-attending students are kindly requested to arrange a meeting with the professor to receive information concerning the study methods and the handout materials to be prepared for the exam.
III. Novels
Students are required to read at least 4 novels from the following lists (one for each list):
- A) Corrado Alvaro, Gente in Aspromonte; Carlo Bernari, Tre operai; Vitaliano Brancati, Gli anni perduti; Guido Gozzano, I colloqui; Carlo Levi, Cristo si è fermato a Eboli; Emilio Lussu, Un anno sull’Altipiano; Eugenio Montale, Ossi di seppi; Alberto Moravia, Gli indifferenti; Luigi Pirandello, Il fu Mattia Pascal; Italo Svevo, La coscienza di Zeno; Federigo Tozzi, Tre croci; Giuseppe Ungaretti, L’allegria.
- B) Giorgio Bassani, Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini; Italo Calvino, Il sentiero dei nidi di ragno; Carlo Cassola, Fausto e Anna; Beppe Fenoglio, Una questione privata; Natalia Ginzburg, Lessico famigliare; Primo Levi, Se questo è un uomo; Elsa Morante, Menzogna e sortilegio; Anna Maria Ortese, Il mare non bagna Napoli; Pier Paolo Pasolini, Ragazzi di vita; Cesare Pavese, La casa in collina; Vasco Pratolini, Metello; Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Il Gattopardo; Renata Viganò, L'Agnese va a morire; Elio Vittorini, Uomini e no.
- C) Alberto Arbasino, Fratelli d’Italia; Nanni Balestrini, Vogliamo tutto; Giorgio Caproni, Il passaggio di Enea; Carlo Emilio Gadda, Quer pasticciaccio brutto de Via Merulana; Amelia Rosselli, Serie ospedaliera; Edoardo Sanguineti, Laborintus; Leonardo Sciascia, Toto Modo; Paolo Volponi, Memoriale; Juan Rodolfo Wilcock, Lo stereoscopio dei solitari.
- D) AA.VV, Gioventù cannibale; Niccolò Ammaniti, Branchie; Silvia Ballestra, Compleanno dell'iguana; Enrico Brizzi, Jack Frusciante è uscito dal gruppo; Aldo Busi, Seminario sulla gioventù; Andrea De Carlo, Treno di panna; Daniele Del Giudice, Lo stadio di Wimbledon; Marco Lodoli, Diario di un millennio che fugge; Isabella Santacroce, Fluo; Pier Vittorio Tondelli, Altri libertini.
Frequency
Attendance is not mandatory, but strongly recommended. Those unable to attend are asked to contact the teacher to define the methods of study of the program.
N. B. Students are invited to register on Meet Classroom using their institutional e-mail and the following code: l3hdmdf4. Study materials used during the lessons will be shared on the platform.
Exam mode
Evaluation criteria: adequate knowledge of the history of Italian literature of the 20th Century and the contemporary age; adequate ability to understand the literary debate in its historical development; adequate ability of interpretation and analysis of narrative and poetic texts; ability to develop critical-evaluative resources and maturity of judgment; ability to use a specialized language in the critical-literary field.
The exam is oral and consists of two sessions. The first session aim at certifying knowledge of the history of Italian literature of the 20th Century and contemporary age (authors, works, movements, trends, literary debates, etc.). Passing this part of the exam is necessary for the continuation of the colloquium. The second session is devoted to the analysis of one or more works chosen by the student on the basis of the Texts section's list (point III). Each work must be placed in its historical setting and in literary production of the author and commented on with an adequate capacity for interpretation and critical-literary analysis, demonstrating maturity of judgement and making use of specialist language.
A grade of no less than 18/30 is required to pass the exam. The determination of the final grade takes into account the following elements:
- Adequate knowledge of the history of Italian literature of the 20th century and the contemporary age (authors, movements, trends, etc.) and adequate ability to understand the literary debate in its historical development: 60% of the grade;
- Adequate ability to interpret and analyse the literary texts studied; ability to develop critical-assessment resources and maturity of judgement; ability to use specialist language in the field of literary criticism: 40% of the grade.
To achieve a mark of 30/30 cum laude, the student must demonstrate excellent knowledge of all the topics and be able to link them together in a logical and coherent manner.
Lesson mode
The 6-CFU course will take place in the first semester and will be structured into 21 sessions of two hours each, for a total of 42 hours. Teaching will be delivered through a range of methods designed to achieve the intended learning outcomes. Lectures, supported by multimedia materials and guided explorations of bibliographic resources and tools, will alternate with seminar sessions devoted to the commentary and discussion of selected texts. Each week, students will be assigned readings not covered in class (poems, essays, articles, short stories, novel chapters, etc.) and will be invited to prepare questions, comments, and short presentations to be discussed during the lessons. The seminar component is intended to foster students’ ability to understand and interpret narrative and poetic texts, to develop critical and evaluative skills, and to enhance their communication abilities in the field of literary criticism.