THEORY OF LITERATURE

Il corso rientra tra gli insegnamenti caratterizzanti dei curricula English Studies e American Studies [Letterature e culture] e tra gli insegnamenti affini e integrativi dei curricula Literary Studies e Cultural Studies del Joint European Master Degree in English and American Literary and Cultural Studies. Ha lo scopo di fornire strumenti teorici generali utili alla lettura e all'interpretazione dei testi letterari, e più generalmente dei linguaggi della cultura alta e popolare. L'insegnamento si rivolge a tutti gli studenti interessati ad affrontare i vari aspetti coinvolti nel fenomeno della lettura: gli elementi che compongono il testo, l'influenza del contesto, il ruolo del lettore nel produrre i significati del testo, e le varie metodologie e teorie dell'interpretazione letteraria.

The final goal is to enable students to address literary texts from a theoretical perspective in a largely self-directed or autonomous manner. Literary theories help us to be betters readers of literature, but also to interpret all cultural phenomena and the world we live in.

C1 Level of English.

"It is arming people with the power to read, which I see as an absolutely fundamental necessity in order for them to make their way in the world" (G. Hartman). The aim of the course is to arm students with the power to read, providing a general overview of the main concepts, schools, and debates in modern literary theory. Students will acquire a basic knowledge and understanding of the main trends in literary criticism and their specialized language. They will be able to apply selected concepts, terms, and perspectives to literary (as well as some non literary) texts, especially in view of their final dissertation. They will be invited to develop independent thinking and judgment to determine which critical school fits their interests and worldview. They will be encouraged to improve their communication skills in relation to the theoretical discourse of literary studies.
This course offers a survey of the main schools and concepts (semiotics, structuralism, poststructuralism, feminism, marxism, new historicism, postcolonialism, psychoanalysis, cognitive theory, and others) and will test them on Shakespeare's *The Tempest*.

William Shakespeare, THE TEMPEST (Arden Shakespeare or any recent critical edition)
Herman Rapaport, THE LITERARY THEORY TOOLKIT: A COMPENDIUM OF CONCEPTS AND METHODS, Wiley Blackwell, 2011
Rosi Braidotti, THE POSTHUMAN, Polity, 2013

Selected essays available on the I.S.A. course Moodle page

The final written examination includes four open questions based on all assigned readings and class discussion. Students are asked to briefly summarize the main features of one of the major schools of literary theory, and to recognize and define key concepts and terms associated with them. Students unable to attend classes (“non frequentanti”) are advised to see the instructor during his office hours or by appointment (not via email) for additional bibliography.

Lectures and class discussion. Students are expected to attend regularly and to complete assigned readings before each class.

Inglese

scritto

Questo insegnamento tratta argomenti connessi alla macroarea "Cambiamento climatico e energia" e concorre alla realizzazione dei relativi obiettivi ONU dell'Agenda 2030 per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile