ITALIAN LITERATURE

This class is part of the basic academic path for the BA. It aims at providing students with the main instruments for analysing and interpreting literary texts and an adequate knowledge of Italian literature between the 18th and early-20th centuries.
Its main objectives are:
1) to trace a historical and critical itinerary that combines theory with the analysis of meaningful literary texts;
2) to encourage the development of critical thinking in the study of literary texts;
3) to offer 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 the 18th to the early-20th centuries; they should know and understand both the language and the contents of literary texts of the period, connecting them to the correspondent historical and cultural context.

2) Employment of knowledge and comprehension skills
Students should be able to employ their historical and critical knowledge in the study of Italian literature; they should use in a proper way the specific vocabulary of the discipline; they should be able to analyse literary texts.

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.

VISIONS OF THE EASTERN WORLD IN ITALIAN LITERATURE (18th-20th CENTURIES)
This class will be devoted to the multifarious representations of the Eastern world in Italian literature between the 18th and the early-20th centuries. It will focus on three case studies which represent different literary genres. The first part of the class will focus on eighteenth-century Venetian theatre: examining "La sposa persiana" by Carlo Goldoni and "Turandot" by Carlo Gozzi, it will shed light on the ways Persia and China were depicted in contemporary Venice. The second part will deal with adventure fiction and look at the relations between the Eastern and the Western world, their portrayal and their narrative employment in Emilio Salgari’s novel "Le tigri di Mompracem". The class will conclude with twentieth-century travel writing: focusing on "Verso la cuna del mondo. Lettere dall’India", it will examine how Guido Gozzano portrayed India, its traditions and its culture from the point of view of the Western traveler. Thus, this class will trace a broad panorama of the literary representations of a complex Eastern world, from Persia to China, from Malesia to India, and will shed light on the peculiar ways different Eastern realities have been outlined and interpreted according to the literary genres that Italian authors employed and the specific historical and cultural contexts they lived in.

- Carlo Goldoni, "La sposa persiana", in Id., "Teatro", ed. by Marzia Pieri, Torino, Einaudi, vol. 2, 1991.
- Carlo Gozzi, "Turandot", in Id., "Fiabe teatrali", ed. by Stefano Giovannuzzi, Milano, Mursia, 1998.
- Emilio Salgari, "Le tigri di Mompracem", Milano, BUR, 2001.
- Guido Gozzano, "Verso la cuna del mondo. Lettere dall’India", Milano, Bompiani, 2008.

Further bibliography may be suggested during the course.

Oral exam, which aims at testing students’ knowledge of the syllabus. Students will be asked to demonstrate their knowledge of the themes and texts analysed in class, to detect connections between literature and contemporary historical and cultural contexts, and to analyse and comment literary texts in an accurate way. Students will be evaluated also according to their ability to employ a proper vocabulary.

Assessment criteria

A final mark between 18 and 22 will be given to students who will demonstrate a generic but acceptable knowledge of the contents of the course, a basic ability to understand and analyse literary texts, even if they make some mistakes, and basic but not always correct language skills.
A final mark between 23 and 26 will be obtained by students who will demonstrate a good knowledge of the contents of the course, an effective ability to understand and analyse literary texts, despite some slight inaccuracies, and suitable language skills, resorting adequately to the technical vocabulary of literary criticism.
A final mark between 27 and 30 cum laude will be awarded to students who will demonstrate a thorough knowledge of the contents of the course, an excellent ability to understand and analyse literary texts, and outstanding language skills, resorting to the technical vocabulary of literary criticism with proficiency.
Students will not pass the final exam if they show poor knowledge of the contents of the course, scarce ability to understand and analyse literary text, and inadequate language skills.

Lectures with active student participation. Didactic materials, which students must study for the final exam, will be made available on the e-learning platform (Moodle).

Italian

Reservations are required for the LT0180 Italian Literature course. Each student must book for one of the 3 Classes by logging on to the link below by 31 October 2024.
https://apps.unive.it/prenotazioni/p/dsaamletteratura?_lang=en

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