OUTLOOK OF ITALIAN CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE

Course objectives

The student will have to acquire high-level knowledge and ability to interpret events in the field of contemporary Italian literature, with attention to the most recent developments in the debate and disciplinary bibliography; he will also have to be able to collect and interpret the data on which to base a judgment that is critically aware, also in the ethical-social dimension underlying the discipline. The student will therefore have to know how to use the knowledge acquired in arguing, in dealing with open questions, in implementing study and research methods, and will have to be able to communicate the results of his work both to specialist subjects and to an audience of non- subject matter experts. Finally, the student must be provided with the necessary skills to successfully undertake a future specialist degree course that includes exams in contemporary Italian literature.

Channel 1
VINCENZO ALLEGRINI Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
This course examines three pivotal forms of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century prose literature — the dialogue, the novel, and the short story — through the study of Giacomo Leopardi’s Operette morali, Giovanni Verga’s I Malavoglia, and a selection of Luigi Pirandello’s short stories. Emphasis will be placed on the emergence of modernity, the articulation of the “tragic dilemma” of the modern subject, and the crisis of identity that characterizes this literary and cultural moment.
Prerequisites
Foundational knowledge of Italian literature at the high-school level
Books
1. G. Leopardi, Operette morali (recommended editions: edited by Laura Melosi, BUR Rizzoli, or edited by Cesare Galimberti, Guida) – complete text. 2. G. Verga, I Malavoglia (any edition) – complete text. 3. L. Pirandello, Novelle per un anno. Selected short stories (7): Lumíe di Sicilia; Il treno ha fischiato; La toccatina; Scialle nero; Il bottone della palandrana; La patente; La veste lunga (anthology provided by the instructor)
Frequency
While attendance is highly encouraged to facilitate learning, it is not a formal requirement.
Exam mode
The exam consists of a written test (2 hours) including three open-ended questions. Question 1 focuses on the topics covered in the textbook and/or the reference bibliography, while the other two require the identification and commentary of two excerpts taken from the literary works included in the syllabus.
Bibliography
1. R. Bonavita, L’Ottocento, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2005 2. Storia e testi della letteratura italiana. Guerre e fascismo. Vol. 9 (1910-1945), Milano, Mondadori, 2004 (o successiva ed.), pp. 3-15 (Modernità e distruzione), pp. 55-73 (Pirandello).  Alternatively, students may consult other textbooks already available, which provide an overview of Pirandello’s life and works within their historical and cultural context." 3. F. D’Intino, La prosa, in Leopardi, a cura di F. D’Intino e M. Natale, Roma, Carocci, pp. 63-97. 4. M. D’Urso, Il romanzo come tragedia. Il tragico nel romanzo italiano moderno, Bulzoni, Roma, 2008, pp. 87-137
Lesson mode
In-person, instructor-led lectures
VINCENZO ALLEGRINI Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
This course examines three pivotal forms of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century prose literature — the dialogue, the novel, and the short story — through the study of Giacomo Leopardi’s Operette morali, Giovanni Verga’s I Malavoglia, and a selection of Luigi Pirandello’s short stories. Emphasis will be placed on the emergence of modernity, the articulation of the “tragic dilemma” of the modern subject, and the crisis of identity that characterizes this literary and cultural moment.
Prerequisites
Foundational knowledge of Italian literature at the high-school level
Books
1. G. Leopardi, Operette morali (recommended editions: edited by Laura Melosi, BUR Rizzoli, or edited by Cesare Galimberti, Guida) – complete text. 2. G. Verga, I Malavoglia (any edition) – complete text. 3. L. Pirandello, Novelle per un anno. Selected short stories (7): Lumíe di Sicilia; Il treno ha fischiato; La toccatina; Scialle nero; Il bottone della palandrana; La patente; La veste lunga (anthology provided by the instructor)
Frequency
While attendance is highly encouraged to facilitate learning, it is not a formal requirement.
Exam mode
The exam consists of a written test (2 hours) including three open-ended questions. Question 1 focuses on the topics covered in the textbook and/or the reference bibliography, while the other two require the identification and commentary of two excerpts taken from the literary works included in the syllabus.
Bibliography
1. R. Bonavita, L’Ottocento, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2005 2. Storia e testi della letteratura italiana. Guerre e fascismo. Vol. 9 (1910-1945), Milano, Mondadori, 2004 (o successiva ed.), pp. 3-15 (Modernità e distruzione), pp. 55-73 (Pirandello).  Alternatively, students may consult other textbooks already available, which provide an overview of Pirandello’s life and works within their historical and cultural context." 3. F. D’Intino, La prosa, in Leopardi, a cura di F. D’Intino e M. Natale, Roma, Carocci, pp. 63-97. 4. M. D’Urso, Il romanzo come tragedia. Il tragico nel romanzo italiano moderno, Bulzoni, Roma, 2008, pp. 87-137
Lesson mode
In-person, instructor-led lectures
  • Lesson code1023419
  • Academic year2025/2026
  • CourseSustainable tourism science
  • CurriculumBENI CULTURALI E PATRIMONI INTERNAZIONALI
  • Year2nd year
  • Semester1st semester
  • SSDL-FIL-LET/11
  • CFU6