SERBIAN AND CROATIAN LITERATURE

A part of the Master's Degree Programmes in European, American and Postcolonial Language and Literature and Language Sciences, this course is intended for students interested in acquiring a detailed knowledge of the cultural and literary history of post-jugoslav area in the 20th century through works by five prominent authors.

At the end of the course the student will know how to:
- correctly use the philological and historical-cultural terminology in the main areas in which the teaching is organized;
- orientate oneself in the critical debate on studied topics, in order then to formulate hypotheses on various issues of the discipline;
- communicate the contents of the course in a clear and technically adequate manner, using the register relevant to the communicative situation;

Basic knowledge of European history of the 20th century and geography of the Balkans.

The course aims to analyze the theme of memory in the work of five authors linked to the historical-cultural region of the former Yugoslavia, and in particular to the Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian linguistic area. By examining the relationship between collective history, autobiographical-family memories and political use of memory, the literary context of the Western Balkans between the late twentieth century and the identity scenarios outlined by the conflicts of the nineties will be provided.
The course also includes the interventions of two external speakers: professors Natka Badurina (University of Udine) and Andrea Lešić-Thomas (University of Sarajevo) will address the link between memory and trauma in contemporary South-Slavic literature.

Mandatory readings:
Danilo Kiš, Una tomba per Boris Davidovič (Grobnica za Borisa Davidoviča, 1976)
Danilo Kiš, L’enciclopedia dei morti (Encicklopedija mrtvih, 1983)
Borislav Pekić, Kako upokojiti vampira (Come placare il vampiro, 1972)
David Albahari, L’esca (Mamac, 1996)
Miljenko Jergović, Mama Leone (1999)
Aleksandar Hemon, My Prisoner (2013) nell’edizione UK di The Book of My Lives (2013)
Aleksandar Hemon, This Does Not Belong To You (2019)

The knowledge assessment takes place through an oral test. During the test the student must demonstrate knowledge of the topics covered during the course and know how to present them in a formal way. The constant and active participation in the lessons is positively evaluated.

Lectures and seminars with guest lecturers.

Italian

Non-attending students are invited to contact the professor.

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