00562 - Italian Literature (N-Z)

Academic Year 2022/2023

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Communication Sciences (cod. 8885)

    Also valid for First cycle degree programme (L) in Humanities (cod. 8850)

Course contents

The teaching will be divided into two moments:

1. Lessons course

a) In the first part of the course the teacher will deal with fundamental questions and problems of method related to works and authors between the XIIIth and XIXth Centuries present in the program.

b) In the second part the teacher will address the theme "Fathers and sons in Italian literature from Dante to Leopardi".

2. Study, by the students, through the manuals and texts proposed, of the history of Italian literature from its origins to the Nineteenth century and of the following selection of canonical literary texts.

- Dante Alighieri, Inferno;

- Francesco Petrarca, Canzoniere, texts I, III, V, XI, XVI, XXXV, LII, LXI, XC, CXXVI, CXXVIII, CXXXIV, CXXXVII, CCLXXII, CCCII, CCCLXV, CCCLXVI;

- Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron, days I, IV, X;

- N. Machiavelli, Il principe;

- L. Ariosto, Orlando furioso, I, XII, XXIII, XXXIV;

- T. Tasso, Gerusalemme liberata, I, XII;

- G. Galilei, Dialogo dei massimi sistemi, day I or Lettera a Benedetto Castelli written in 1613, December 21th and Lettera a Cristina di Lorena;

- C. Beccaria, Dei delitte e delle pene;

- V. Alfieri, Vita;

- U. Foscolo, Sonetti e Sepolcri.

 

Written test

From January 2023 the written test will be resumed according to modalities that will be clarified by the Professor at the beginning of the course.

 

Seminars

Weekly support seminars will be activated on Teams for the analysis of the literary text and for the preparation of the written test, whose coordination is entrusted to doctors Arianna Capirossi and Giacomo Ventura.

Readings/Bibliography

1. Lectures.

a) L. Chines, C. Varotti, Che cos’è un testo letterario, Roma, Carocci, 2016; one of the following two volumes: M. Motolese, Scritti a mano. Otto storie di capolavori italiani da Boccaccio a Eco, Milano, Garzanti, 2017; or: G. Inglese, Come si legge un'edizione critica: elementi di filologia italiana, Roma, Carocci, 2016 (4a ed.). Lecture notes and teaching materials on the IOL platform ('Insegnamenti OnLine')

b) The bibliographic materials of the second part of the course will be made available by the teacher on Virtual.

 

2. Textbooks and editions of classics

Textbook. Itinerari della letteratura italiana. Da Dante al web, a cura di N. Bonazzi, A. Campana, F. Giunta, N. Maldina, coordinamento di G.M. Anselmi, Roma, Carocci, 2012 (capp. 1-18). Or: Alfano-Italia-Russo-Tomasi, Profilo di letteratura italiana dalle origini a fine Ottocento, Milano, Mondadori Education, 2021.

It is mandatory to study the anthology: Anselmi-Chines-Bernardi-Di Franco-Severi, Leggere i classici italiani. Un’antologia, Bologna, Pàtron, 2019, pp. 7-168.

It is also mandatory to study one of the recommended critical readings to go in depth with the knowledge of at least one author.

For students who wish a more extensive textbook the following are also recommended: Alfano-Italia-Russo-Tomasi, Letteratura italiana. Manuale per studi universitari, Milano, Mondadori, 2018 (2 voll.); or: Letteratura italiana, a cura di A. Battistini, Bologna, il Mulino, 2014 (2 voll.).

 

Primary Text:

Dante Alighieri, Inferno; recommended edition: Pasquini-Quaglio, Garzanti, 1982-86; G. Inglese, Carocci, 2007; Chiavacci Leonardi, Mondadori, 2005. recommended critical readings: E. Auerbach, Studi su Dante, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2005; E. Pasquini, Vita di Dante. I giorni e le opere, Milano, Rizzoli, 2006; G. Ledda, Dante, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2008.

Francesco Petrarca, Canzoniere, poems: I, III, V, XI, XVI, XXXV, LII, LXI, XC, CXXVI, CXXVIII, CXXIX, CXXXIV, CXXXVII, CCLXXII, CCCII, CCCXXXIII, CCCXXXVI, CCCLXVI; recommended edition: Vecchi, Bur, 2012; Santagata, Mondadori, 1996 (2004 2a ed.); recommended critical readings: L. Chines, Petrarca, Bologna, Pàtron, 2017;

G. Boccaccio, Decameron, days: I, III, X; recommended edition: Quondam – Fiorilla – Alfano, Bur, 2013; recommended critical readings: F. Bausi, Leggere il Decameron, Bologna, il Mulino, 2017;

N. Machiavelli, Il principe; recommended edition: Anselmi-Varotti, Bollati Boringhieri, 1992; G. Inglese, Einaudi, 2005; R. Ruggiero, Bur, 2008; recommended critical readings: R. Bruscagli, Machiavelli, Il Mulino, 2008; G.M. Anselmi, N. Bonazzi, Niccolò Machiavelli, Le Monnier, 2011;

L. Ariosto, Orlando furioso, cantos I, XII, XXIII, XXXIV; recommended edition: Bigi - Zampese, Bur, 2015; recommended critical readings: S. Zatti, Leggere l’Orlando furioso, Bologna, il Mulino, 2016; C. Dini, Ariosto. Guida all’Orlando furioso, Roma, Carocci, 2001;

T. Tasso, Gerusalemme liberata, cantos I, XII; recommended edition: Tomasi, Bur, 2009; recommended critical readings: M. Residori, Tasso, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2009; G. Alfano, Torquato Tasso, Firenze, Le Monnier, 2010;

G. Galilei, Dialogo dei massimi sistemi, day I; suggested editions: edited by A. Beltrán Marí, Milano, Bur, 2014; edited by Ferdinando Flora, Milano, Mondadori, 2016; or: Lettera a Benedetto Castelli written in 1613, December 21th and Lettera a Cristina di Lorena, suggested editions: edited by M. Baldini, Roma, Armando, 2008; suggested critical essay: A. Battistini, Introduzione a Galileo Galilei, Bari, Laterza, 1989.

C. Beccaria, Dei delitti e delle pene; recommended edition: G. Carnazzi, Milano, Bur, 2014; recommended critical readings: P. Audegean, Cesare Beccaria, filosofo europeo, Roma, Carocci, 2014

V. Alfieri, Vita; recommended edition: Cerruti, Bur, 1987; recommended critical readings: G. Fenocchio, Alfieri, Bologna, il Mulino, 2012; A. Di Benedetto, V. Perdichizzi, Alfieri, Roma, Salerno, 2014;

U. Foscolo, Sonetti e Sepolcri; recommended edition: Poesie, a cura di M. Palumbo, Milano, Bur, 2010; recommended critical readings: M. Cerruti, Introduzione a Foscolo, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1990, oppure A. Campana, Ugo Foscolo. Letteratura e politica, Napoli, Liguori, 2010.

Non-attending students

Not attending students are required to read the following textbook: Alfano-Italia-Russo-Tomasi, Letteratura italiana. Manuale per studi universitari, Milano, Mondadori, 2018 (2 vols) and the selection of primary texts it provides.

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons;

Seminars aimed at reading texts and discussing interpretative hypotheses;

Formative written assignments


Assessment methods

The written test lasts two hours; it will require the analysis of texts provided by the program from a thematic, formal and historical-literary point of view. The texts will be accompanied by some questions aimed at evaluating the knowledge of fundamental notions of history of literature, metrics, rhetoric, philology. The written test must be taken before the oral exam. However, the insufficient outcome of the written paper does not preclude the possibility of taking the oral exam. The following will be evaluated: the correctness of the answers, the adequacy of the linguistic register, the structure and effectiveness of the argumentation, the quality of the critical analysis, the knowledge of the contents foreseen by the program and of the methods of literary criticism. Specific lessons of the course and seminars are dedicated to the preparation of the written test in which tracks will be proposed to be carried out as a preparatory exercise. For the preparation of the written test and, in general, for the preparation of the institutional part, a seminar will be activated.

In some cases (for instance: non-native speakers of Italian), students might be allowed to substitute the written exam with a 3,000-word essay, whose topic must be agreed in advance with the lecturer.

Oral exam (approx. 30 minutes). Students will be required to discuss their readings and the contents of the course. Markers will assess: standard of expression; ability to provide clear and accurate interpretations of the texts; ability to discuss the contents of the course; ability to use the specialist language of literary criticism; quality of critical reflection. Students may choose whether they prefer to discuss sections 1 (lectures) and 2 (set primary readings and textbook) in a single oral exam or in two different sessions.

Assessment Criteria. To be awarded a final mark between 27 and 30 cum laude students are expected to: show the ability to analyse in depth literary texts following the methodology introduced by the lecturer and/or in the set critical readings; possess and be able to present both verbally and in writing a thorough and organic knowledge of the topics discussed in class and/or in the set readings; show an excellent standard of expression (both written and verbal); show the ability to use properly the technical language of philology and literary criticism. A mark between 23 and 26 will be awarded to students who will show: a good knowledge of the course contents; the ability to provide an accurate analysis of literary texts (although there might be some minor imperfections); a good standard of verbal and written expression (with occasional minor flaws in the presentation and/or in the use of technical language). Students obtaining a mark between 18 and 22 will typically show: an adequate but superficial knowledge of the contents; a basic understanding of the texts and a limited ability to analyse them, an acceptable standard of expression with a fairly competent (although not always accurate) use of technical language. Poor knowledge of the set texts and course topics, inadequate ability to analyse literary texts; inaccurate and inappropriate verbal and written expression with major problems in the use of technical language will result in a fail.

Teaching tools

  • Lectures and seminars
  • PowerPoint presentations
  • 'Insegnamenti OnLine' e-learning Platform

Office hours

See the website of Loredana Chines

SDGs

Quality education

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.