RHETORIC

The course is one of the integrative courses of the Master's degree course in Italian Philology, Linguistics and Literature and aims to provide an advanced knowledge of the discipline, dedicating particular attention to the Italian context in a time span between the Middle Ages and the present day.
Together with grammar, rhetoric is the longest-lived of the sciences dealing with language and its uses; in its long history, spanning more than two millennia, this discipline has alternated between moments of discredit, in which it has been associated with the idea of empty declamation or dusty pomposity, and phases of splendour, in which it has constituted one of the pillars of the European educational system. After the crisis it underwent in the 19th century, Rhetoric experienced a new fortune in the course of the 20th century, when this discipline was identified as the progenitor of pragmatics and textual linguistics and was refounded (in fact, one speaks of 'new rhetoric') as a general theory of argumentation, capable of offering analytical tools suited to the challenges of the world of communication. In accordance with the dual nature of the discipline, which embraces a set of doctrinal propositions and communicative practices, the course offers insights into historical moments and specific theoretical aspects, accompanied by exemplifications conducted on texts (literary and non-literary) belonging to different periods, authors, genres, traditions.

At the end of the course, students will acquire:
- a thorough knowledge of the fundamentals of the history and theory of rhetoric, including the most recent developments in the discipline
- a strengthening of the linguistic basis with which to interpret a text
- the ability to analyse a text from a rhetorical point of view, paying particular attention to the figural dimension, textual mechanisms and argumentative technique
- the ability to interpret a text from the relationship established with its models and with the rhetorical and stylistic tradition in which it is set (processes of imitation, emulation, parody, etc.)
- the ability to verify how Boccaccio's rhetorical and legal culture is reflected in his masterpiece
- analyze, through a privileged case study such as the Decameron and the Decameronian speeches in particular, the close links between rhetorical knowledge and literary invention in the early phase of our literature and thus verify the importance of recovering a rhetorical approach to this textual heritage
- the ability to communicate in appropriate technical language the main rhetorical features of the texts analysed.

Knowledge of the fundamentals of linguistics and linguistic and literary history, acquired through the basic linguistic and literary subjects of the three-year degree course in Literature.

Historiographical, linguistic and literary-historical studies share a deep interest in the persuasive power of the word, in particular political speech, declined in the most diverse contexts, on a diachronic and synchronic level. Ancient historiography and classical oratory established the norm of public communication for centuries; they influenced and still influence the way of speaking, writing and thinking in Western culture today. Literature and poetry have created models, forms and images that have enriched the wealth of tools through which to express messages, political and otherwise.
This theme is at the centre of a didactic pathway entitled "Word and power between history and literature", proposed and coordinated by the teachers of the Master's courses in Greek Historiography SP, History and Civilisation of the Romans SP., Analysis of Latin texts SP, Rhetoric SP. This course proposes an integrated educational experience within which students can confront themselves at a specialised level with a broad and multifaceted theme such as the "power of the word" from different but related points of view.
For those who are not interested in the integrated course, it is of course possible to choose one or more courses. During the course, there will be a number of opportunities to share contents and tools as well as scientific insights (by inviting external guests). As an integral part of the training course, participants will be able to choose a topic agreed upon with one of the lecturers and transversal to the topics covered. Participants will present the result of these in-depth studies on a dedicated final day.
More in detail, we indicate below the topic of the course of Rhetoric SP; for the programme of the other courses, please refer to their respective pages.

Course title: Literary discourses

The course will be divided into two parts. The first part aims to offer a framework of the discipline, presenting its objects, problems, and methods through direct reading and commentary on texts from the rhetorical tradition. The second part of the course, monographic in nature, will be devoted to the analysis of exemplary speeches and arguments chosen from within the Italian literary tradition, with particular attention to Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron. The purpose of this section is to test what has been learned in the first part of the course and thus show the keys to interpretation that a rhetorical approach to the texts of our tradition is able to offer (this is especially true in the case of an author such as Boccaccio, imbued with rhetorical and legal culture).

Bibliography:
1. M. Prandi, Retorica. Una disciplina da rifondare, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2023 (or B. Mortara Garavelli, Manuale di retorica, Milano, Bompiani)
2. Handout provided by the teacher on moodle.unive.it.
3. G. Boccaccio, Decameron (BUR OR Einaudi)
4. Lessico critico decameroniano, ed. by R. Bragantini and P.M. Forni, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 1995 (F. Bruni, Comunicazione, pp. 73-92; A. Stussi, Lingua, pp. 192-221; A. Battistini, Retorica, pp. 320-343)


More bibliographical references will be provided in class.

An oral exam lasting (approximately) thirty minutes will test knowledge of the topics and texts examined in class and mastery of the reference bibliography.

Lectures and seminar presentations.

Italian

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