04177 - Sociology of Literature

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student possess basic knowledge about the functioning of the literary institutions, regarding the text and context nexus, the dynamics of literary communication and its political, ideological, socio-economic and editorial influence. The student will be able to use the main forms of study of the sociology of literature, with a particular focus on the thematic and sociological components of literary texts.

Course contents

Paper Wings. Aviator-writers and the Imagined Flight

 

Real flight and dreams of flight go together.

Both are part of the same movement.

Not A before B, but all together.

Thomas Pynchon, Gravity’s Rainbow

 

Like the wings of Icarus, which melted in the sun,

if you don't want to fly only in a dream,

you must learn to use metal wings.

Robert Musil, Man Without Qualities

 

Through a selection of narrative, poetic, visual, musical, and cinematic works from a variety of linguistic and geographical contexts, this course introduces students to the Sociology of Literature, a field that examines the relationship between literature and society. Students will become familiar with the discipline’s principal methodologies and with the scholars who have investigated literary works and their modes of production, circulation, and reception. They will also explore a case study devoted to the relationship between the literary imagination and technological innovation. The advent of the aeroplane, conventionally traced back to the Wright brothers’ first flight in 1903, profoundly transformed both the transportation and military sectors over the course of the twentieth century, while at the same time exerting a powerful fascination on numerous writers, some of whom became aviators themselves.

The course is structured around three main themes. The first examines how the aerial perspective reshapes narrative viewpoint and, more broadly, the representation of space, as exemplified by the Futurist movement. The second focuses on the theme of travel, which, through the aeroplane, opens up new frontiers while drawing on mythological (Icarus), religious, and mystical models as forms of “familiarization” that sought to make intelligible and domesticate the adventurous—and often perilous—experiences associated with the earliest flying machines. The third addresses the question of technological mastery, one of the defining concerns of the twentieth-century imagination, through which humankind—or, more precisely, the Nietzschean Übermensch in the guise of the pioneering aviator—aspired to conquer and command even the realm of the air.

Readings/Bibliography

All texts listed below constitute exam materials, including PDF presentations provided by the teacher. Students will also need to be familiar with the films and paintings handled during lessons.

Foreign students can use translations while studying, but a good reading knowledge of Italian is required.

Novels and Short stories

• Gabriele D’Annunzio, Forse che sì forse che no (1910), Milano, Mondadori, 2001.
• Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Vol de nuit (1931).
• Roald Dahl, "A Piece of Cake," "They Shall Not Grow Old,” "Only This," in Over to You. Ten Stories of Flyers and Flying (1946).
• Richard Bach, Illusions. The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah (1977).
• Daniele Del Giudice, Staccando l’ombra da terra (1994), Torino, Einaudi, 2017
• Isabel Fall, The Helicopter Story (2020)

Poems and manifestos

 Some poems related to flight and airplane will be uploaded on Moodle, by authors such as Giovanni Pascoli, Gabriele D’Annunzio, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Gian Pietro Lucini, William Butler Yeats, Bertolt Brecht.

In addition, the course pack will include the Manifesto of Futurist Aeropainting (1929), together with other Futurist manifestos. Reference will also be made to a number of aeropainting works by artists such as Tato, Gerardo Dottori, Tullio Crali, and others; reproductions of these works will be made available on Virtuale.

Rap

•  Murubutu, L’uomo che viaggiava nel vento (2016)

Manga movies

•  Porco rosso, dir. Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, Giappone, 1992 (92 min.).
• Si leva il vento, dir. Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, Giappone, 2013 (126 min.).

Criticism (PDFs provided on Virtuale)

•  Guido Mattia Gallerani, «Il sopra delle nubi è un altro mondo». L’immaginario aviatorio tra le due guerre, “Comparatismi”, n. 6, 2021, pp. 326-337
• Roland Barthes, “L’uomo-getto”, Miti d'oggi (1957), Torino, Einaudi, 2016, pp. 90-92

Not attending students: in addition to the required readings, students are expected to study selected chapters from a textbook to be announced shortly. These chapters will replace the introductory lectures on the Sociology of Literature.

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. Please, get in touch as soon as possible with the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) and with the professor in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination.

Teaching methods

This course is based on the reading, analysis and discussion of literary and non-literary texts, with appropriate references to their relationship with history, society and the various artistic representations. Students will be invited to take an active part during frontal lessons, with questions and insights. The course is specially designed to allow students to share autonomous reflections and present their thoughts about the connections between study materials and current and past society and history.

Assessment methods

Oral exam

The exam consists of an oral interview (20 minutes) that aims to assess the critical and methodological skills gained by the student, who will be invited to discuss the readings listed in the program.

The interview will be structured in two parts: 1) A few specific questions, designed to assess students’ careful reading of the assigned texts in their essential aspects (plot and key episodes, paraphrase of poetic passages, characters, main themes, setting, etc.); 2) Two open questions on the literary and critical texts included in the syllabus, in which students will be expected to demonstrate their ability to situate the texts within their historical context and to compare them, highlighting their main themes, critical approaches, and differences.

Top marks will be awarded to students showing a wide and systematic understanding of the issues covered in class, but also capable of using these notions critically to elaborate clear and relevant analyses through an appropriate vocabulary (28-30L).

Average marks will be awarded to students showing a mostly mnemonic knowledge of the subject matter, a moderate ability to summarize and elaborate on key topics and using a correct vocabulary, though not always relevant (24-27).

A superficial knowledge and understanding of the primary sources and related bibliography, accompanied by scarce analytical and expressive competences, will be rewarded with a pass mark or just above (18-23).

Students showing significant gaps in their knowledge of the subject and related bibliography and/or expressing themselves in a confused and inappropriate way will not be given a pass mark.

Teaching tools

Students are requested to register on the course on the Moodle Unibo Virtuale platform, which is the official tool used by the teacher for communications, notices and to provide additional teaching material. Students will find there PowerPoint presentations in PDF format, downloadable materials in support of the lessons, audio materials, precise indications in order to prepare themselves for the exam.

Links to further information

https://virtuale.unibo.it

Office hours

See the website of Guido Mattia Gallerani