FRENCH LITERATURE 2

The teaching of French Literature 2 module 1 is part of the French course of Lingue e letterature europee, americane e postcoloniali (including the Master en études françaises et francophones). It allows students to acquire an advanced knowledge of the history and some aspects of French literature as well as a mastery of theoretical-critical methodologies, in line with the aims of the course of study and the learning area.
Given the change in French Literature 2 , the individual objectives refer to both years of the course, but in progress; the fullness of their achievement is therefore expected at the end of the second year.

1. Knowledge and understanding:
a. knowledge of notions of literature theory and narratology, as well as some instruments of stylistic and rhetorical investigation;
b. knowledge of the historical-literary field : literary genres of the French Renaissance and the Baroque period, with particular regard to the poetics of the novella and novel and the different interactions between French literary production and Italian models;
c. basic knowledge of book history and publishing processes in the Renaissance and Baroque periods;
d. basic knowledge of the criteria for a critical edition of literary texts;
e.ability to understand a literary text in moyen français/classical French.

2. Applied knowledge and understanding:
a. ability to apply the theoretical knowledge acquired to the works and texts dealt with during the course ;
b. ability to analyse and compare texts and to elaborate conceptual summaries;
c. ability to place a text and a literary phenomenon in their production and reception context;
c. ability to consult bibliographic directories and set up a bibliographic search.

3. Autonomy of judgement:
a. ability to exercise critical judgement;
b. capacity to formulate hypotheses and autonomous judgements argued in a coherent and effective manner.

4. Communication skills
a. developing the ability to understand literary texts (including ancient ones) and critical essays in the French language;
b. development of communication skills for coherent, clear, terminologically accurate and effective communication, both in oral class interaction on course topics and in academic written discourse (the elaboration of a "tesina").

5. Ability to learn: ability to infer, relate data, synthesize, organise coherent and autonomous analysis of a text and/or literary process.

Knowledge of the general lines of the history of French literature of the 16th century. Since the course is given in French, and also in view of the exam, a C1 level of French language (written and oral) is required.

Writing about the body in the Renaissance
This course will look at the literary representations of the body during a period of great transformation (the 16th century), when the vision and ideals of Humanism, the revival of models from Antiquity, the study of perspective and anatomy, and the treatises on civility (Il Cortegiano, 1528; Il Galateo, 1558) disseminated a code that was at once ethical, social and aesthetic, all contributed to an "invention of the body" that was applied to the arts and to literature.
From the sublimated body to the eroticized body, from the triumphant body to the suffering body, from the canons of beauty to the figuration of ugliness, the course proposes to explore different representations of the human figure, female and male, declined in different forms of writing: poetry, prose narration, theatre. The relationship between bodily representation and the emotional sphere will also be taken into account. References to the figurative arts will allow us to better situate our investigation in a broader dimension.
In addition, a part of the course will be devoted to a reflection on the modalities of access to literary works of the First Modernity for today's readers and the stakes linked to the use of the digital tool in the diffusion and in the valorisation of these works. An introduction to the use of digital technology for publishing and exploring literary texts of the First Modernity in the context of university didactics is planned, in the form of active participation in a collaborative project on the pedagogical use of digital technology in the mediation of tragic narratives of the First Modernity ("Tragiques Inventions" project). The students will be guided in the creation of digital resources within the framework of the contents discussed in class; these resources will be intended to enrich the project website (see https://eman-archives.org/tragiques-inventions/ ). Seminars, with the accompaniment of a specialist in Digital Humanities, co-director of the project, will be planned within the course.

Storia letteraria e quadro culturale di riferimento :
Robert Aulotte (dir.) Précis de littérature française du XVIe siècle, Paris, PUF, 1991 e Frank Lestringant, Josiane Rieu, Alexandre Tarrête, Littérature française du XVIe siècle, Paris, PUF, 2000.

Studi specifici di riferimento (ulteriori indicazioni saranno date a lezione):
Irène Salas, « La Femme-Livre. Fragmentation du corps féminin dans les blasons anatomiques de la Renaissance », dans Le livre au corps [online], Nanterre, Presses universitaires de Paris Nanterre, 2012, disponibile sur <http://books.openedition.org/pupo/4291> ;
Marie-Madeleine Fontaine, Libertés et savoirs du corps à la Renaissance, Caen, Paradigme, 1993.
Michel Jeanneret, « Quand le sens passe par les sens. Rabelais et l’intelligence des corps », Poétique, vol. 178, n. 2, 2015, pp. 147-162, disponible sur https://www.cairn.info/revue-poetique-2015-2-page-147.htm
Laura Tortonese, « Bandello, Boaistuau e la novella di Didaco e Violante », dans La nouvelle francaise à la Renaissance, a cura di L. Sozzi, Genève-Paris, Slatkine, 1981, pp.461-470.
Henri Weber, « La Célébration du corps féminin dans les Amours de Ronsard : variations sur un répertoire connu », dans Bulletin de l'Association d'étude sur l'humanisme, la réforme et la renaissance, n.45, 1997, pp. 7-23.
Judith Le Blanc, « Hippolyte de Robert Garnier, tremblés de la représentation dans le miroir de cruautés », Albineana, Cahiers d'Aubigné, 20, 200, pp. 79-100, disponible sur www.persee.fr/doc/albin_1154-5852_2008_num_20_1_1109
Estelle Doudet, « Corps du roi en scène », Cahiers de recherches médiévales et humanistes [En ligne], 32, 2016, URL : http://journals.openedition.org/crm/14077

Fonti primarie:
François Rabelais, Gargantua, dans Gargantua e Pantagruele, a cura di Lionello Sozzi (testo francese a fronte a cura di Mireille Huchon, Milano, Bompiani, 2012-2013.
Pierre de Ronsard, Les Amours (una scelta sarà indicata a lezione)
Robert Garnier, Hippolyte, dans "Théâtre français de la Renaissance", Olschki, 5, I,5, vol. V, 1993 ou Robert Garnier, Hippolyte, suivi de Jean Racine, Phèdre, L'Avant-Scène théâtre, 2020.
Una campionatura di testi sarà messa a disposizione durante il corso sulla piattaforma didattica Mooodle.

The examination interview, held in French, will focus on the topics dealt with during the course and will aim to verify the acquired knowledge (contents of the module, notions of literary theory and narration, knowledge and contextualization of the works read), the ability to understand and analyze the texts studied drawing inspiration for an independent critical reflection and validly argued, the communicative skills.
In order to favour the autonomy in the individual examination and to start the written production in view of the thesis, it will be required the writing of a paper of about 15 pages, in French, to be delivered at least 8 days before the examination. In agreement with the teacher, students may choose a subject relating to the course programme. The teacher will introduce the students to the bibliographic research and to the setting up of a work plan; the paper will be evaluated on the basis of the coherence in the articulation of the work and the discourse, of the relevance of the observations, of the correctness in the exposition, of the capacity of application of the acquired critical instruments, of the capacity of expressing a judgment based on valid elements.
The final evaluation will be based on the outcome of the oral test, the evaluation of the paper and the participation in the interactive online forum.

Lectures, text analysis seminars. The course will be held in French.
Teaching materials will be made available during the course on the Moodle platform.

If you are unable to attend the entire course, please contact the teacher before the start of the lessons.

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