HISTORY OF ITALIAN CULTURE AND LITERATURE-FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE RENAISSANCE

The course offers a general introductiont o Italian culture. The course focusses in each lesson on a specific text. Usually these texts are literary, such as one Canto from Dante's Divine Commedy or one poem of Leopardi, but it allows also for visual or musical texts. The course cannot afford to enter into scholarly details of any of these subjects, it rather offers a panoramic view of Italian culture and its history.

to introduce students to some key moments of Italian culture. Although these students do not achieve an Italian degree but their marks and final degree are awarded in their home university, the general reference to the degree applies and they are expected to be students that:

1. have demonstrated knowledge and understanding in a field of study that builds upon their
general secondary education, and is typically at a level that, whilst supported by advanced
textbooks, includes some aspects that will be informed by knowledge of the forefront of their
field of study;
2. can apply their knowledge and understanding in a manner that indicates a professional
approach to their work or vocation, and have competences typically demonstrated through
devising and sustaining arguments and solving problems within their field of study;
3. have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their field of study) to
inform judgements that include reflection on relevant social, scientific or ethical issues;
4. can communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and
non-specialist audiences;
5. have developed those learning skills that are necessary for them to continue to undertake
further study with a high degree of autonomy.

No literary prerequisite. The course is in Italian. Students need therefore to be able to follow classes in Italian. As they come from the same year in their degree course in Italian and from the same university in China, the prerequisite Italian competence is a given.

Contents
The course will cover the history of Italian culture mainly through its literature. We will read together excerpts of some major literary works, in Italian wherever possible, otherwise in English.
Excerpts from: Dante, Machiavelli, Tasso, Casanova, Leopardi, Montale, Caproni, De Angelis.
The focus of the lectures will be: 1) The development of the Unitarian Ideal, from the first Napoleonic Campaign to WW2. 2) Before 1796. Italy and its different political realities, with particular attention to the history of Venice. 3)From WW2 to the present.

Hearder, Harry. Italy: A Short History. C.U.P. 2001

Plus material distributed in class or on moodle.

Oral presentation of one of the topics explored in the course. One presentation in class on a topic of the course.

Lecture/seminar. Students present in class some of the set texts.

oral