13338 - Contemporary Italian Literature (S-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

Contemporary Literature and Anthropological Transformations: Narratives of Human Change

The course aims to explore the major transformations of modernity from Decadentism to the 1968 cultural revolution, analyzing the relationship between narrative, the representation of the self and the real from an interdisciplinary perspective. It will draw on intersections among literature, art, philosophy, psychology, sociology, anthropology, fashion, and cinema to shed light on the mutations of the human condition as refracted through literary expression. To this end, students will revisit authors who have significantly and originally interpreted social and cultural changes, as well as the deeper shifts in sensibility and perceptual structures, from Aestheticism to the Futurist Avant-garde, from the “woman question” to the crisis of subjectivity in the novel, from the man-machine relationship to the upheavals of the 1960s. Particular attention will be devoted to themes such as body, gender, identity, sexuality, fashion, technology and family. Alongside central figures in the modern literary canon, the course will also highlight women writers mho have been largely forgotten or excluded, re-examining them as revolutionary voices within both the context of gender discourse and Twentieth-century literature.

Readings/Bibliography

PRIMARY BIBLIOGRAPHY

 - G. d'Annunzio, Il piacere

- S. Aleramo, Una donna

- Manifesti del futurismo, a cura di V. Birolli, Milano, Abscondita, 2022

- L. Pirandello, Quaderni di Serafino Gubbio operatore

- A. Moravia, Gli indifferenti

- P. Masino, Nascita e morte della massaia, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2019

- P.P Pasolini, Teorema (romanzo)

- C. Cederna, Le perverstite, a cura di I. Soave, Milano, Nottetempo, 2024

 

SECONDARY BIBLIOGRAPHY

- D. Baroncini, La moda nella letteratura contemporanea, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2010

- M.A. Bazzocchi (a cura), Cento anni di letteratura italiana 1910-2010, Torino, Einaudi, 2021

- Any materials published in "Virtuale" during lessons

TEXTS TO BE STUDIED FOR THE 6 CREDITS COURSE

PRIMARY BIBLIOGRAPHY

- G. d'Annunzio, Il piacere

- S. Aleramo, Una donna

- Manifesti del futurismo, a cura di V. Birolli, Milano, Abscondita, 2022

- L. Pirandello, Quaderni di Serafino Gubbio operatore

 

SECONDARY BIBLIOGRAPHY

- D. Baroncini, La moda nella letteratura contemporanea, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2010

- M.A. Bazzocchi (a cura), Cento anni di letteratura italiana 1910-2010, Torino, Einaudi, 2021 (N.B. : Parte prima: Inizio secolo; Parte seconda: Nell'orbita del modernismo; Parte terza: Dalla fine del fascismo agli anni Cinquanta)

- Any materials published in "Virtuale" during lessons

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures

Interdisciplinary analyses

Attendance is not mandatory, but strongly recommended to improve learning and the study method, in particular the ability to analyze text in depht, placing them in a broad vision of the topics covered in class

Assessment methods

Oral exam.

During the oral exam the student must prove:

- complete and precise knowledge of all the mandatory reading as listed in the program

- critical consideration and interpretation of the relevant topics and texts

- ability to contextualize the authors and their works set in the literary and cultural backdrop of modernity, from the second half of Nineteenth century to the present day

In order to obtain an excellent evaluation, it is necessary to demonstrate an excellent knowledge of contents and topics; a sure ability to interpret the texts; critical and personal analysis of the themes; appropriate and effective presentation and language.

 

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible ( https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

Power point presentations with insights into the topics covered in class

Presentation of images, paintings, videos on the topics examined in class

Office hours

See the website of Daniela Baroncini