MEDIEVAL, HUMANISTIC AND RENAISSANCE ITALIAN LITERATURE

The course is part of the related/integrative courses of the Master's degree course in Philology and Italian literature, medieval-Renaissance curriculum and aims to provide students with advanced knowledge and skills in the analysis and interpretation of texts of the Italian literary tradition belonging to the Medieval, Humanistic and Renaissance age. The achievement of the goal will allow students to independently use the theoretical and methodological tools necessary to deal with specific issues and problems related to the discipline.
In alternate years a theme related to the medieval period or the humanistic-renaissance phase will be offered.

The student at the end of the course is thoroughly familiar with fundamental issues and problems relating to medieval, humanistic and Renaissance literary culture through exemplary cases, and is able to re-discuss the most widespread statements on the subject with a historical-philological slant and with methodological and interdisciplinary openings. He/she is prepared to handle interventions for presentation and discussion in class.
Knowledge: Knowledge of the lines of development of medieval, humanistic and Renaissance Italian literature in the historical-cultural context; in-depth knowledge of critical tools and methodologies to analyze and interpret texts; knowledge of the outlines of the history of criticism related to the period studied, with highlighting of fundamental themes and problems, also in the light of the most up-to-date trends in scientific studies; knowledge of bibliographical research tools.
Skills: Understanding and punctual analysis of the literary text, against the background of the historical and cultural context, employing critical literature and developing selection skills; ability to make independent comparisons and judgments; ability to identify and discuss interpretive problems, with awareness of different methodological perspectives. Ability to set up a scholarly bibliography and research work. Ability to express oneself with clarity and rigor, employing the specific language of the discipline.

Knowledge of the fundamental notions of Italian literature, philology and the history of language, acquired through the basic courses of literary and linguistic field of the degree course in Humanities.

Angelo Poliziano: poetry and philology of a Humanist.
This course will be dedicated to the most important Italian humanist of the 15th century, Angelo Poliziano. A philologist, professor at the Florentine Studio, an extraordinary connoisseur of classical languages, and considered the founder of a modern critical method in dealing with texts, Poliziano was also a great trilingual poet and writer. As part of the course, his main vernacular poetic works, Stanze, Orfeo and Rime, will be addressed, also investigating their connections with the philological and academic dimensions, in order to understand the peculiarities of a "poet-professor." The course will consist of lectures by the lecturer and seminars by the students and will include a teaching visit (if it is possible in Florence, alternatively to the Marciana Library).

A. Poliziano, "Stanze, Orfeo, Rime," introduction, notes and index edited by D. Puccini, Milan, Garzanti, 2020 (or earlier editions); or A. Poliziano, "Poesie," edited by F. Bausi, Turin, Utet, 2006 (or later edition, Mondadori, 2013); or A. Poliziano, "Stanze, Fabula di Orfeo," edited by S. Carrai, Milan, Mursia, 2007 (or earlier editions), to be supplemented with A. Poliziano, "Rime," edited by D. Delcorno Branca, Venice, Marsilio, 2009 (or earlier edition).

V. Branca, "Poliziano e l'umanesimo della parola", Torino, Einaudi, 1983, cap. I, pp. 3-36.
D. Delcorno Branca, "Metodo umanistico e presenza di Esopo nelle Rime", in Ead., "Studi sul Poliziano volgare", Messina, Centro internazionale di studi umanistici, 2016, pp. 101-120
A. Tissoni Benvenuti, "L'Orfeo del Poliziano, con il testo critico dell'originale e delle successive forme teatrali", seconda edizione, Roma-Padova, Antenore, 2000, cap. V-VI, pp. 89-115.
R. Bessi, "Per un nuovo commento alle Stanze", in Ead., "Umanesimo volgare. Studi di letteratura fra Tre e Quattrocento", Firenze, Olschki, 2004, pp. 215-245.
E. Curti, “Tracciare” il Poliziano volgare. Su alcune consonanze tra prosa e poesia, in "Lettere italiane", LXIX, 3, 2017, pp. 467-498.

An extensive list of other critical essays will be provided during the course as a bibliographic basis for seminar preparation by attending students.

Oral exam. The colloquy, roughly a half hour in duration, aims to test the student’s knowledge of the texts, of the problems involved in their interpretation, and of the problematics of their historico-literary context.
1. Students who have attended class will be asked to reflect on aspects analysed during the lessons, and they will be invited to integrate what they have learned in class with what they have learned from the assigned readings. The final evaluation of the attending students will be based not only on the examination interview but also on the seminar they present within the course.
2. Students who have not attended class will be expected to talk about the texts and studies they have read. Students will be judged by their historico-literary competence and ability to formulate, with an adequate use of language, critically valid connections between the various problematics at hand.

Lessons combine lectures with active student participation. Attending students will be required to give a seminar presentation during the second part of the course. Didactic materials available on the e-learning platform moodle.unive.it.
These textual and critical materials offer cues for further study, with respect to the reference texts listed above.

Italian

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development