FRENCH LITERATURE 1

The course is part of the characterizing and related/integrative educational activities of the three-year course of study of “Languages, Civilizations and Language Sciences” and is intended for first-year students (only for the literary-cultural and linguistic-glottodidactic-philological curricula).
It constitutes an introduction to twentieth-century French literature and culture through the study, historical contextualization and analysis of a sampling of novels. The course aims to develop the ability to read and comment a literary text with appropriate language and scientific methodology.

The course aims to provide the student with essential knowledge of the main literary and cultural themes of the French 20th century and the linguistic and formal peculiarities of its fiction.

Knowledge of the broad outlines of 20th-century European historical and cultural development. Basic knowledge of the French language, at least for comprehension of written text.

“Aspects of Twentieth-Century French Fiction.” The course will follow the adventure of the twentieth-century French novel, from the perception of the aesthetic and expressive crisis at the beginning of the century, to the exploration of new horizons, both thematic (the existential drama of the human condition, between the two wars and immediately after), expressive, up to modern practices.
The course will examine (directly on French originals) excerpts from all the authors listed below:

1. Marcel Proust, Du côté de chez Swann, 1913
2. Colette, Le Blé en herbe, 1923
3. André Breton, Nadja, 1928
4. André Malraux, La Condition humaine, 1933
5. Albert Camus, L’Étranger, 1942
6. Marguerite Duras, Moderato cantabile, 1958
7. Claude Simon, La Route des Flandres, 1960
8. Georges Perec, Les Choses, 1965
9. Michel Tournier, Vendredi ou les Limbes du Pacifique, 1967
10. Annie Ernaux, La place, 1983
11. Patrick Modiano, Dora Bruder, 1997


Of the novels listed above, three are to be read in their entirety, either in the original French version or in translation (Italian or other – student’s choice).
For both the original French versions of the texts and their translations, any edition is allowed as long as it is unabridged (it is advisable to opt for the most recent ones).
Of all the above-mentioned authors, the candidate should also be thoroughly familiar with the anthological excerpts, in the original French version, indicated by the lecturer (and found in the Moodle materials).

Mandatory readings

TERONI, S. (ed.), Il romanzo francese del Novecento, Bari, Laterza, "Manuali Laterza," 2008, pp. 3-110. *
SOZZI, Lionello (ed.), European history of French literature: vol. II. From the eighteenth century to the contemporary age, Turin, Einaudi (coll. "Piccola Biblioteca Einaudi," no. 593), 2013, pp. 270-284, 291-305, 312-341.

* Teroni’s text is to be studied all in its general outline, treatment of issues and themes. However, only those of the following authors are to be considered (and retained) for the purpose of examination, as far as main names and works are concerned:
Gide, Proust, Alain-Fournier, Cocteau, Radiguet, Colette, Breton, Aragon, Cendrars, Saint-Exupéry, Malraux, Ramuz, Giono, Mauriac, Bernanos, Green, Jouve, Simenon, Bataille, Blanchot, Des Forêts, Drieu La Rochelle, Céline, Sartre, Gracq, Gary, Camus, De Beauvoir, Genet, Sarraute, Robbe-Grillet, Butor, Duras, Beckett, Simon, Yourcenar, Tournier, Vian, Queneau, OULIPO, Perec.

Exchange students who find it difficult to read the textbooks in Italian may substitute those of Teroni and Sozzi, with:

TADIÉ, Jean-Yves (sous la dir.), La littérature française : dynamique & histoire. II, Paris, Gallimard (coll. " Folio Essais ", no. 495), 2007 ; in particular by A. COMPAGNON, XXe siècle, pp. 545-650, 676-701, 748-772.

Italian students who would prefer it can also substitute A. Compagnon’s text for those of Teroni and Sozzi.

The mode of distance learning verification applies only to this emergent juncture.
It will test the student's ability to independently formulate a description/interpretation of the proposed passages, emphasizing the most significant textual aspects of the issues addressed, as well as the ability to then freely extend these acquisitions to the three novels of his choice.
Adequate understanding of the most semantically relevant aspects of the text will be essential.

The first question will be of the candidate’s choice, who will indicate from which of the three points he or she would like to begin: the three (or one of the three) novels read in their entirety; the anthology readings; the general (textbook) section.
The student may decide to take the entire exam in Italian, or in French, or partially in both languages, according to their own CHOICE.
They will still have to know in the original French the anthology excerpts from the 10 novels. That is, they will have to be able to read, translate or paraphrase and comment these anthological excerpts (available in pdf on the Moodle platform).

The exam - oral only - is basically divided into three parts:

(a) one or more general questions based on the textbooks (Teroni, Sozzi or other);

(b) questions on one or more of the three novels chosen as integral readings, the content and even essential formal characteristics of which must be shown to be known (i.e., what was explained in class, or observations based on at least one of the in-depth critical excerpts, from among those provided by the lecturer);

(c) the commentary of one or more short excerpts from among the anthological ones put online (taken from the works in the CONTENTS section); these excerpts - in the original French version - will have to be adequately explained (but not punctually translated); for this purpose, the student will rely on the notes, lecture recordings and critical texts provided online.

Lectures in Italian; however, anthological passages will be read and analyzed in the original French.

Italian

Students who do not have French as a three-year language in their syllabus may answer all questions in Italian (but will need to know the anthology excerpts in the original French).

ATTENDING AND NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS.
The syllabus, in its essential parts, is the same for one and the other.
In particular, with regard to the anthological excerpts of the authors to be commented on, frequenting students will refer to what was expounded in class (thus to their own notes), instead of preparing exclusively on the relevant online excerpts, as those who present themselves as non-frequent attendees will have to do.

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