MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY KOREAN LITERATURE

This is one of the core courses within the "Korea" curriculum of the Corso di Laurea Magistrale in "Lingue e Civiltà dell'Asia e dell'Africa Mediterranea".
The course contributes to the attainment of the formative goals of the Corso di Laurea in the area of humanities-related skills.
The course aims at helping students to obtain:
- A high level of critical knowledge and understanding of various socio-cultural phenomena relevant to Korea;
- The ability to produce oral and written texts related to the field of literary studies;
- A deeper knowledge of the social realities, ways of thinking, and textual cultures of the selected field;
- The ability to obtain competence and confident use of sources and research tools related to the selected field;
- The ability to apply their knowledge to the field of literary studies.

Knowledge and Understanding:
- Basic knowledge of theories and methods of Modern and Contemporary Korean literary production;
- In-depth knowledge of Korean historical and literary movements to be understood through such theories and methods;

Knowledge and understanding:
- Learn to apply theoretical and methodological tools acquired in the field of modern and contemporary Korean literature;
- Critical approach to field-related scholarship;
- Ability to read and analyze texts in Korean from the first half of the 20th century onwards.

Communication:
- Summarize and communicate into writing the gist of scholarly texts in a formally correct and effective manner.

Judgment ability:
- To be able to examine available sources and identify their arguments and theoretical assumptions;

Good knowledge of Premodern and Modern/Contemporary Korean Literature. Very good knowledge of advanced Korean Language structures.

Lesson 1 - Introduction to the course and the historical-literary period
Lesson 2 - 1900-1945 The Onset of Modern Korean Literature - Yi Kwangsu e Kim Tongin - Translation at home and reading in class of short excerpts in the Korean language, and of texts in translation (italian/English and/or other).
Lesson 3 - Realism and fiction; the contrast between 'Rural Literature' and the New Urbanism - Translation at home and reading in class of short excerpts in the Korean language, and of texts in translation (italian/English and/or other).
Lesson 4 - Women's Contribution to the New Fiction in the Colonial Period - Translation at home and reading in class of short excerpts in the Korean language, and of texts in translation (italian/English and/or other).
Lesson 5 - Readings of original language extracts from 1900-1945 authors.
Lesson 6 - 1945-1970 -The Advent of the '4.19 Generation' and of the 'Hangul Generation. The trauma of territorial division. - Translation at home and reading in class of short excerpts in the Korean language, and of texts in translation (italian/English and/or other).
Lesson 7 - Writing Between Tradition and New Humanism - Translation at home and reading in class of short excerpts in the Korean language, and of texts in translation (italian/English and/or other).
Lesson 8 - 1970-1990 - Literature between industrialization, territorial division, and identity quest (1) - Translation at home and reading in class of short excerpts in the Korean language, and of texts in translation (italian/English and/or other).
Lesson 9 - Literature between industrialization, territorial division, and identity quest (2) - Translation at home and reading in class of short excerpts in the Korean language, and of texts in translation (italian/English and/or other).
Lesson 10 - The Eighties - Between Realism and Resistance - expansion of the 'fictional space' (1) -Translation at home and reading in class of short excerpts in the Korean language, and of texts in translation (italian/English and/or other).
Lesson 11 - The Eighties - Between Realism and Resistance - expansion of the 'fictional space' (2) - Translation at home and reading in class of short excerpts in the Korean language, and of texts in translation (italian/English and/or other).
Lesson 12 - 1990-2000 - Writing Literature in a consumeristic society - Translation at home and reading in class of short excerpts in the Korean language, and of texts in translation (italian/English and/or other).
Lesson 13 - Diaspora Literature - Translation at home and reading in class of short excerpts in the Korean language, and of texts in translation (italian/English and/or other).
Lesson 14 - A Glimpse into North Korean Literature (1) - Translation at home and reading in class of short excerpts in the Korean language, and of texts in translation (italian/English and/or other).
Lesson 15 - Conclusions

TEXTBOOK
Peter H. Lee - A History of Korean Literature, Cambridge University Press, 2003
chapters from 18 to 25 included.
Ample reference materials uploaded on Moodle.

Further detailed bibliographical information will be provided before the beginning of the course and uploaded on the dedicated Moodle platform.

The exam will consist of a written test with open questions. It will also include a short conversation on the translated texts and a critique of a novel assigned to the student at the beginning of the semester.

The final exam will consist in a written and oral test.
The written exam will be structured as follows:
1) Preparing a final report (in any format, also powerpoint) on a male or female author to be chosen by the student, to be sent via mail to the professor at least one week before the oral test. in order to allow the professor to read all written reports.
2) Preparing a literary review/critique on a novel freely chosen by the student and agreed upon with the professor, OR on a series of at least five short stories, always free choice of the student, among the database uploaded on Moodle or other source. Even in this case, the literary review/critique shall be sent via mail to the professor at least one week before the oral test. in order to allow the professor to read all written reports.

The oral test will consist of a few questions on subjects dealt with in class, and it will also foresee a reading, comment and translation of three short excerpts selected among the translations prepared by the students and corrected in class during the semester.

Teacher-led classes and direct students' involvement in class. Students will be required to prepare translations into Italian of brief excerpts of Modern and Contemporary Korean Fiction by some of the main literary figures of the period. Translated texts will be corrected in class.

English

Attendance is highly encouraged, although not mandatory.

written and oral