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

N.B. This class is organised by the Ca' Foscari School for International Education (SIE). Students cannot attend classes or take exams if they are not officially enrolled in the course. For further information on the SIE English-taught courses for exchange students, please visit this webpage: https://www.unive.it/pag/35228/

Good knowledge of the dynamics of Italian literature from its origins to the Renaissance, with special attention to philological and historical-linguistic junctures

Written and oral knowledge of the Italian language

SIE 031
History of Italian Culture and Literature – From the Beginning to the Renaissance

- CORE 1 (3 hours)
Italian Language, Italian Literature a history of continuity and renovation. This topic will explore the origins of Italian language and its relation to Italian literature. It will consider their development in relation to the transformation of Latin and the growth of the Neolatin languages. They will also be considered in relation to

- CORE 2 (3 hours)
Italian language and literature will be considered in relation to the Literary genres of the Middle Ages and their various applications and their continuity from antiquity onwards. A full outline of the following genres will be delivered: 1) Poetry: epic, lyric, didactic, religious; 2) Prose: novels, treatises, travel literature.

- CORE 3 (3 hours)
Before Dante. Love poetry throughout Italy, from Sicily to Tuscany. The imagery of love: from the body to the soul. The Stilnovo school.

- CORE 4 (9 hours)
Dante and his fortune. The works of the most important poet of Italian literature will be outlined and described in detail. A major focus will be dedicated to the Commedia.

- CORE 5 (3 hours)
During and after Dante. This part of the course will touch upon the most relevant authors who flourished during Dante’s period and after his death. Among the others, a special focus will be devoted to Marco Polo, Petrarca and Boccaccio.

- CORE 6 (3 hours)
Humanism and the rise of modern thought. This part will focus on the birth of Humanism and its implications on the develpment of a modern thought.

- CORE 7 (3 hours)
The Renaissance (I). Epic poetry. From Boiardo to Ariosto. The development of the chivalric poetry and its most relevant examples.

- CORE 8 (3 hours)
The Renaissance (II). From science to politcs. Special focus will be dedicated to Leonardo and Machiavelli’s literary work.

The Cambridge History of Italian Literature, Cambridge University Press, [1997] 2008

Oral examination, which will focus on the reading and interpretation of some texts explored in depth in class. Hints at the historical linguistic context, etymological and paleographical investigations represent additional elements of positive evaluation.

Frontal lecture; textual analysis

English

oral