13338 - Contemporary Italian Literature (N-Z)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the student has acquired a working knowledge of wide areas of twentieth-century literary history, with special emphasis on the relation between literature and historical, social, anthropological, and more broadly cultural phenomena. Study is assisted by secondary literature and face-to-face tuition and covers close reading of the text as well as problems of form, structure, composition, and reception.

Course contents

Specific subject: Sleepless Travellers. Human Ages and Their Literary Functions.

This course lasts 60 hours, and equals to 12 credits. The course is devoted to the telling and representation of human ages, their edges of definition, and the complexity of their relationship with both the inner and the historical time. This course assumes a basic knowledge of 20th Century Italian literature.

The class starts on Monday, 21st September, 2020. The first three lectures (21st, 22nd, and 24th September) will be held on line through Microsoft Teams. Then, compatibly with the health emergency, the course will go further on site, with a remote link for those students who cannot be present. The attendance in the classroom will be booked through the "presente.unibo.it" web page. Lectures are scheduled as follows:

- Monday, 9-11 am, Room V, Via Zamboni 38;

- Tuesday, 9-11 am, Room V, Via Zamboni 38 [from 29 September to Mid-November, 2020], then Pascoli Room, Via Zamboni 32 [from Mid-November to 22nd December, 2020];

- Thursday, 11 am-1 pm, Room VI, Via Zamboni 38 [from 1st October, 2020 to Mid-November, 2020], then Room II, Via Zamboni 38 [from Mid-November to 17th December, 2020].

Readings/Bibliography

This course splits in a series of lectures and an individual study programme, which is not mandatory for Erasmus+ and Overseas students.

Lectures

Readings and discussions of narrative, poems and criticism are framed in six units as detailed below. All resources can be read in editions and reprints that are different from those suggested, even in e-reading formats.  

1. Luigi Pirandello, I vecchi e i giovani [1909-1931], ed. by Anna Nozzoli, chronology by Simona Costa, Milan: Mondadori, 2017 (not mandatory for Erasmus+ and Overseas students); Italo Svevo, Un contratto, Le confessioni del vegliardo, Il mio ozio, Il vecchione [1926], in La coscienza di Zeno e Continuazioni, ed. by Mario Lavagetto, Turin: Einaudi, 2014.

2. Alberto Moravia, Gli indifferenti [1929], with a note by Alessandra Grandelis, Milan: Bompiani, 2016; Eugenio Montale, Le occasioni [1939], ed. by Tiziana de Rogatis, with an essay by Luigi Blasucci and a note by Vittorio Sereni, Milan: Mondadori, 2018.

3. Lalla Romano, Maria [1953], Turin: Einaudi, 1995; Goffredo Parise, Il prete bello [1954], Milan: Adelphi, 2010.

4. Elio Pagliarani, La ragazza Carla [1960], foreword by Aldo Nove, Milan: Il Saggiatore, 2016; Elsa Morante, Il mondo salvato dai ragazzini [1968], in Il mondo salvato dai ragazzini e altri poemi, preface by Goffredo Fofi, Turin: Einaudi, 2020 [only excerpts available on "Virtuale" are mandatory].

5. Gianni Celati, La banda dei sospiri [1976], Macerata: Quodlibet, 2015; Sandro Penna, Il viaggiatore insonne [1977], in Poesie, prose e diari, ed. by Roberto Deidier, chronology by Elio Pecora, Milan: Mondadori, 2017.

6. Simona Vinci, Dei bambini non si sa niente [1997], Turin: Einaudi, 2018; Tiziano Scarpa, Le cose fondamentali [2010], Turin: Einaudi, 2010.

Useful directions on these and other resources will be provided throughout the lectures. Samples will be partially made available on time with a view to the exam.

Unibo Students who attend the course for six credits are expected to choose and study an amount of three units on those making up the course as a whole.

Erasmus+ and Overseas exchange students who are attending the course for 6 credits will be requested to write a short essay (up to 20000 bytes) upon a specific topic related to the course programme. This topic will be negotiated with the teacher, who will assign a specific set of bibliographical references. The essay will be discussed at the oral examination session. Beyond this essay, Erasmus+ and Overseas exchange students who are attending the course for 12 credits will be requested to study at least one unit among those included in the forementioned lectures, and to briefly explain it during the oral examination appointment.

Students who are not going to attend the class will read: Sistema periodico. Il secolo interminabile delle riviste, ed. by Francesco Bortolotto, Eleonora Fuochi, Davide Antonio Paone, and Federica Parodi, Bologna: Pendragon, 2018.

Individual Study Programme

This study programme has to be prepared individually by students. It is not mandatory for Erasmus+ and Overseas exchange students. Throughout the series of lectures some directions will be provided, and some of the texts discussed will be put in relationship with those included in the individual study programme. A portion of the texts will be provided in a scanned format and made available with a view to the final examination.

Please note that B.0 Section is mandatory for students in Humanities (code 8850), as well as in History (code 0962). However, it is not mandatory for students in Communication Sciences (code 8885), and for all students enrolled in Erasmus+ and Overseas international programmes.

Students should also read one text at their choice, together with the related essays of criticism, picked from three sections out of the six available among the following ones. Please note also that it is not allowed to choose a totality of three sections of prose, or three sections of poems.

 

B.0) The Origins of Modernity - Texts

- Giacomo Leopardi, Canti, Milan: Rizzoli, 1998 [Bruto minore, Ultimo canto di Saffo, Alla sua donna, Canto notturno di un pastore errante dell’Asia, A se stesso, Aspasia, La ginestra];

- Giacomo Leopardi, Operette morali, Milan: Rizzoli, 2008 [Dialogo della moda e della morte, Dialogo di Torquato Tasso e del suo genio familiare, Dialogo della natura e di un islandese, Cantico del Gallo Silvestre, Dialogo di Federico Ruysch e delle sue mummie, Dialogo di Tristano e di un amico];

- Alessandro Manzoni, I promessi sposi, Turin: Einaudi, 2015 [chapters 1, 2, 8, 37, 38].

B.0) The Origins of the Modern - Criticism

Marco Antonio Bazzocchi, Leopardi, Bologna: Il Mulino, 2008 [the sections devoted to the Canti and Operette morali mentioned above].

B.1) Avant-garde and Experimental Literature - Poems

- Aldo Palazzeschi, L’incendiario, Milan: Mondadori, 2001;

- Guido Gozzano, I colloqui, in Tutte le poesie, Milan: Mondadori, 2016;

- Clemente Rebora, Frammenti lirici, Novara: Interlinea, 2008;

- Dino Campana, Canti orfici e altre poesie, Milan: Garzanti, 2007.

B.1) Avant-garde and Experimental Literature - Criticism

- Niva Lorenzini, Le tensioni del nuovo, in La poesia italiana del Novecento, Bologna: Il Mulino, 2018.

B.2) Poetry of the Early 20th Century - Poems

- Giuseppe Ungaretti, L'Allegria, in Vita d’un uomo. Tutte le poesie, Mondadori, Milano 2009; related criticism: Guido Guglielmi, Interpretazione di Ungaretti, Bologna: Il Mulino, 1999;

- Eugenio Montale, Ossi di seppia, ed. by Pietro Cataldi and Floriana d'Amely, with an essay by Pier Vincenzo Mengaldo and a note by Sergio Solmi, Milan: Mondadori, 2016; related criticism: Introduzione and commentary by Pietro Cataldi and Floriana d'Amely to this edition;

- Umberto Saba, Mediterranee, in Il canzoniere, Turin: Einaudi, 2014; related criticism: Giacomo Debenedetti, Poesia italiana del Novecento, Milan: Garzanti, 1989.

B.3) The Neorealismo and the Armed Resistance - Prose

- Elio Vittorini, Uomini e no, Milan: Mondadori, 2016;

- Renata Viganò, L'Agnese va a morire, Turin: Einaudi, 2014;

- Beppe Fenoglio, Una questione privata, Turin: Einaudi, 2014;

- Italo Calvino, Il sentiero dei nidi di ragno, Milan: Mondadori, 2014;

- Primo Levi, La tregua, Turin: Einaudi, 2014.

B.3) The Neorealismo and the Armed Resistance - Criticism

- Giulio Ferroni, Nel tempo del neorealismo, in Storia della letteratura italiana. Il Novecento e il nuovo millennio, Milan: Mondadori, 2012, pp. 373-412.

B.4) Literature and Riot Movements - Prose

- Pier Vittorio Tondelli, Altri libertini, Milan: Feltrinelli, 2013;

- Natalia Ginzburg, Caro Michele, Turin: Einaudi, 2006;

- Enrico Palandri, Boccalone. Storia vera piena di bugie, Milan: Bompiani, 2000;

- Gianni Celati, Comiche, Macerata: Quodlibet, 2012.

B.4) Literature and Riot Movements - Criticism

- Alice disambientata, ed. by Gianni Celati, Florence: Le Lettere, 2007.

B.5) The Postmodern Context - Prose

- Umberto Eco, Il nome della rosa, Milan: Bompiani, 2018;

- Italo Calvino, Se una notte d’inverno un viaggiatore, Milan: Mondadori, 2016;

- Antonio Tabucchi, Il gioco del rovescio e altri racconti, Milan: Feltrinelli, 2013.

B.5) The Postmodern Context - Criticism

- Raffaele Donnarumma, Postmoderno italiano: un’introduzione, in Il romanzo contemporaneo. Voci italiane?, ed. by Franca Pellegrini and Elisabetta Tarantino, Leicester: Troubadour, 2006.

B.6) The Late 20th Century Poetry - Poems

- Vittorio Sereni, Gli strumenti umani, Milan: Il Saggiatore, 2018;

- Pier Paolo Pasolini, Le ceneri di Gramsci, Milan: Garzanti, 2015;

- Milo De Angelis, Somiglianze, in Tutte le poesie, Milan: Mondadori, 2017;

- Amelia Rosselli, Serie ospedaliera, in Le poesie, Milan: Garzanti, 1999.

B.6) The Late 20th Century Poetry - Criticism

- Niva Lorenzini, Dopo la lirica, in La poesia italiana del Novecento, Bologna: Il Mulino, 2018.

Unibo Students who attend the course for six credits are expected to choose and study one unit at their choice, by picking up a single text combined with an essay, beside the B.0 Section (not mandatory for Communication Sciences students) from the Individual Study Programme.

For Erasmus+ and Overseas students, as specified above, the preparation of the Individual Study Programme is not mandatory.

Teaching methods

Traditional lectures with a strong interaction between students and teacher.

Assessment methods

The final exam consists of an oral appointment, which aims to verify some methodological, personally developed skills. It lasts approx. 20 minutes, split in two parts. The first one focuses on the main theoretical matters approached throughout the class, verifiyng the preparation upon at least two units among those included in the study programme. The second one will consist of the brief exposition of an individual in-depth analysis, even previously submitted in a written sample, upon a review, a topic or a period included in the study programme.

A positive or excellent score (27 to 30/30, with possible distinction) corresponds to a full mastering of technical, theoretical, historical and terminological resources of Twentieth-Century and contemporary literature, and to a proved ability to make connections among single aspects of the course contents, and to show awareness of textual features with appropriate language; an average score (23 to 26/30) goes to students who reveal some lacks in one or more topics or analytical proofs, or are able to use just mechanically their ability in interpretation; a pass or low score (18 to 22/30) to students with severe lacks in one or more topics or exercises, or not enough accurate while they use or quote notions and samples. A negative score is assigned to students who are not able to recall general notions in text samples and/or in general.

Exam sessions take place once in a month, and are scheduled in turns. Students must sign up at the AlmaEsami web site (https://almaesami.unibo.it). Registrations end two days before the oral examination.

Teaching tools

Excerpts from texts and criticism in digital scans.

Office hours

See the website of Stefano Colangelo