ENGLISH LITERATURE 1

The course is part of the triennial teaching of English. Besides furnishing tools to improve the language competence of English (starting from a B2 level), it will introduce students to the main literary and cultural movements in England of the last three centuries. Students will enhance their skills in cultural and literary analysis as well as reading and translation skills.
In particular, the module described below will focus on the culture, literature, society and history of the Twentieth century and the new Millennium.
Students will
- be able to relate texts to their historical and cultural contexts and communicate their comments and critical reflections on them with appropriate language;
- acquire the relevant methodological competence with regard to the proposed texts;
- comment on the texts with critical precision and an increasingly appropriate language, as well as on the historical-cultural background.

The module will improve the students' critical abilities, their reading skills, their capacity to understand and interpret complex texts that are historically and culturally determined, including the texts' rhetorical and stylistics features. The students' abilities will comprise:
- the ability to contextualise a cultural object in its context;
- the ability to apply critical methods to understand the society and culture producing the given objects;
- the ability to read and translate (into Italian) a literary work and comment it through an adequate language and methodology;
- the ability to understand the historical sources within a relevant contextualisation and through a critical analysis, having in mind the historical development of cultures.

Acquired knowledge ef English, at B2 level in the European framework. A knowledge of English history and literature at school level will be helpful to better understand the front lectures.

Students must enlist in the moodle of the course in order to attend it.

‘The formation of young people from the post-war period to the 1980s’
The module will focus on the study of post-war culture in Great Britain, with particular attention to the education/formation of young people, the generation gap and the emergence of new social subjects.
In particular, the focus will be on:
- the development of English culture, in particular the advent of the Welfare State, mass culture, ‘Swinging London’, the crisis of the ‘70s, and Thatcherite neo-liberalism;
- the way writers have portrayed the epochal passages and the socio-political atmosphere in the years from the post-war period to the new millennium;
- the birth of youth culture, the explosion of mass society, the rebelliousness of youth, education, female emancipation.

A. Primary texts (mandatory reading):
1.John Osborne, "Look back in Anger" (Faber&Faber) Biblioteca BALI E 8 OSB/Loo
2. Shelagh Delaney, "A Taste of Honey" (Bloomsbury) Biblioteca BAUM CAMERIN C IN XX D75
3. Thom Gunn's poem, “Black Jackets” ( https://poets.org/poem/black-jackets )
4. LPhilip Larkin's poems:
4.a"High Windows" ( https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48417/high-windows )
4.b "Cut Grass" ( https://allpoetry.com/Cut-Grass )
4.c "Annus Mirabilis" ( https://allpoetry.com/Annus-Mirabilis )
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/philip-larkin
5.Jeanette Winterson, “Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit” (Vintage) BALI E 8 WIN/Ora

B. Critical essays for the context of post-war and contemporary culture and literature (to read and know):
P. Bertinetti, “Breve storia della letteratura inglese” (Einaudi), Part 3: “Il Novecento e le letterature in inglese” (2004 edition, pp. 241-370): BALI ELH BER/Bre or ELH BER/Sho; also BAUM 820.9 BERTP
(the study of the background of 20th-century English culture and literature is compulsory)

C. One work by William Shakespeare:
"Macbeth" (suggested edition by P. Bertinetti, Einaudi);
suggested critical reading: L. Tosi, "Shakespeare: Guida al Macbeth" (Carocci, 2021)

Supplementary, non mandatory, materials will be uploaded in the course's moodle.

Written test, in 4 parts:
A) Questions on the literary history of the twentieth century and the contemporary novel (based on the texts described in the 'Programme: part 2. Criticism'), including multiple choice questions (Aim 3)
B) A short essay on one of the texts that must be read (Part A. Primary texts); the essay will have to be about one sheet long; plus two questions with short answers on the plot, characters and relevant details of the same text. (Aim 2)
C) Translation into Italian of a short passage (about 200-250 words) from one of the texts in the programme (part A. "Primary texts": 1, 3, 4), and a commentary that will contextualise the passage. (Aim 1)
D) 1 question on the plot, characters, main themes, of Shakespeare's "Macbeth".
Time allowed: 2 hours

Italian students will give their answers in Italian (A, C, D) and either in Italian or English ( B).
Non-native speakers of Italian and Erasmus students can answers all questions in English, in which case they will be exempted from translating the passage (C) into Italian, and will be asked to provide a one-sheet commentary on the passage (C).

Answers in languages other than Italian and English will not be accepted.

Students will be allowed to use a monolingual Dictionary of English and English synonyms.
No other dictionaries are allowed during the examination.
The use of other texts, and smartphones and other devices is forbidden during the examination.

written

Written test, in 4 parts:
A) Questions on the literary history of the twentieth century and the contemporary novel (based on the texts described in the 'Programme: part 2. Criticism'), including multiple choice questions (Aim 3) (value: from 0 to 14 points)
B) A short essay on one of the texts that must be read (Part A. Primary texts); the essay will have to be about one sheet long; plus two questions with short answers on the plot, characters and relevant details of the same text. (Aim 2) (value: from 0 to 10 points)
C) Translation into Italian of a short passage (about 200-250 words) from one of the texts in the programme (part A. "Primary texts": 1, 3, 4), and a commentary that will contextualise the passage. (Aim 1) (value: from 0 to 8 points, of which up to 5 for the translation and up to 3 for the commentary)
D) 1 question on the plot, characters, main themes, of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" (value: up to 2 poins)
The final mark will be the result of the sum total of the points for each section.

Front lectures concerning the main themes above described.

Italian

Non"701 students" can access lesson recordings and materials on the module's Moodle platform for one month from the lesson date. They are kindly requested to contact the teacher as early as possible.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development