ITALIAN LITERATURE 1 MOD II

This class is part of the academic path for the BA in History. It aims at providing students with a basic knowledge of the Italian literature’s main authors, texts, and issues, highlighting the connections between literature and history.
Its main objectives are: 1) tracing the development of Italian literature, resorting to a historical and critical approach that combines theory with the analysis of meaningful texts, both in prose and in verse; 2) encouraging the development of critical thinking in the study of literary texts; 3) offering the basic methodology that should be employed in the analysis of literary texts.

1) Knowledge and comprehension
Students should be able to trace the history of Italian literature from Tasso to the nineteenth century; they should know the main authors of the period and their works; they should know and understand both the language and the contents of literary texts of the period, written in prose and in verse.

2) Employment of knowledge and comprehension skills
Students should be able to employ their knowledge in the study of Italian literature, highlighting the connections between literature and history; they should be able to use in a proper way the specific vocabulary of the discipline; they should be able to analyse literary texts both in prose and in verse.

3) Judgment
Students should be able to analyse in a personal and critical way literary texts and issues.

4) Communication skills
Students should be able to express their knowledge and ideas resorting to a proper vocabulary.

5) Learning skills
Students should be able to critically consult the assigned texts as well as the bibliography.

A good knowledge of Italian language; standard abilities to understand texts written in Italian; basic knowledge of Italian literature.

This class will be devoted to the development of Italian literature, from Tasso to the nineteenth century. Highlighting the connections between history and literary production, it will focus on the main authors of the period, analysing their poetics, works and connections with contemporary historical and cultural contexts. Meaningful literary texts, written both in prose and in verse, will be examined. A final module will be devoted to the "Promessi sposi" and the historical novel: resorting to interesting textual examples, this module will examine the main characteristics of the Italian historical novel and the role played by Alessandro Manzoni in the development of this genre.

For the history of Italian literature from Tasso to the nineteenth century, see G. Alfano, P. Italia, E. Russo, F. Tomasi, “Profilo di letteratura italiana”, Milano, Mondadori, 2021 (from part 6 to part 9 included). Alternatively, other complete handbooks devoted to this period can be used.
A dossier containing all the texts, both in prose and in verse, that will be analysed in class will be uploaded to the Moodle at the beginning of the course. Students have to study them for the final exam together with their handbook.
For the monographic module students will need a complete edition of the “Promessi sposi” (for example: Alessandro Manzoni, "I promessi sposi", a cura di F. De Cristofaro et al., Milano, BUR, 2014). A complete list of the novel’s chapters that will have to be studied for the final exam will be uploaded to the Moodle, together with other texts which will be examined in class.

Students who cannot attend the lectures will have to study also:
Pietrantonio Frare, “Leggere i ‘Promessi sposi’”, Bologna, il Mulino, 2016, from chap. I to chap. V included.

Oral exam, which aims at testing students’ knowledge of both the main authors and works of Italian literature, from Tasso to the nineteenth century. Students who attended the lectures will be asked to demonstrate their knowledge of the themes and texts analysed in class, combining the notions that they have learned during the course with what they have learned from the assigned readings. Students who cannot attend will have to show their knowledge of the texts, the manual, and the supplementary bibliography. All students will be evaluated also according to their ability to employ a proper vocabulary and to detect connections between literature and contemporary historical and cultural contexts.

IMPORTANT! Students whose study plan includes the 12 cfu exam, will take a single oral exam that include the programme of both the first and second module (the exam can be taken starting from the 2023 summer session). Students who have attended this class in previous academic years and have already passed ONE of the two modules have to contact the lecturer to define the specific programme for the final exam.

Lectures with active student participation. Literary texts and other didactic material, which have to be studied for the final exam, will be made available on the e-learning platform (Moodle).

Italian

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "International cooperation" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development