00562 - Italian Literature (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

The course aims at fostering the understanding of Italian literature as part of the Cultural Heritage to be preserved and enhanced, also in its relationships with other forms of art. On complention of the course students will be able to comment and assess ancient and modern texts of the Italian literary tradition in their historical background, and will enanche his/her written and oral skills.

Course contents

The course is divided into two parts:

A. FOUNDATIONAL PART: Outline of the history of Italian literature

For this part, students must prepare Dante’s *Inferno* in its entirety and demonstrate knowledge of the major authors and texts of Italian literary history; this requires a thorough study of the textbook listed in the bibliography and the reading of two additional works of the student's choice.

B. SPECIALIZED PART: Le ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis by Ugo Foscolo: an introduction to the text

The course aims to introduce students to Ugo Foscolo’s *The Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis* through the reading and analytical commentary of selected chapters. The objective is to introduce and discuss key philological and exegetical issues concerning the work, as well as to establish a comprehensive interpretive framework for the book.

Readings/Bibliography

A. GENERAL: Foundations of Italian Literature

1. Dante Alighieri, Inferno

Recommended edition: a cura di Emilio Pasquini e Antonio Enzo Quaglio, Milano, Garzanti, 1982 (or reprints).

N.B. Other editions that can be used: Anna Maria Chiavacci Leonardi (Bologna, Zanichelli); Umberto Bosco - Giovanni Reggio (Firenze, Le Monnier); Natalino Sapegno (Firenze, La Nuova Italia); Riccardo Merlante - Stefano Prandi (Brescia, La Scuola); Giorgio Inglese (Roma, Carocci); Saverio Bellomo (Torino, Einaudi, solo l’Inferno e il Purgatorio, quest'ultimo con Stefano Carrai); Roberto Mercuri (Torino, Einaudi). Should you wish to use a different edition, please do get in touch with the Tutor.

2. History of Italian Literature

- Giancarlo Alfano, Paola Italia, Emilio Russo, Franco Tomasi, Profilo di letteratura italiana. Dalle origini a fine Ottocento, Milano, Mondadori, 2021 (o successive ristampe)

3. Students must read two works, chosing from the following lists one text from the "Medieval-Renaissance" list and one from the "Modern-Contemporary" list; these works can be read in any available edition:

Medieval-Renaissance

Guido Guinizzelli, Rime; Guido Cavalcanti, Rime; Dante Alighieri, Commedia; Francesco Petrarca, Canzoniere; Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron; Matteo Maria Boiardo, L’innamoramento de Orlando o Amorum libri tres; Angelo Poliziano, Stanze per la giostra; Jacopo Sannazzaro, Arcadia; Baldassarre Castiglione, Il libro del Cortegiano; Niccolò Machiavelli, Il principe o Madragola; Francesco Guicciardini, Ricordi; Pietro Bembo, Asolani; Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando furioso o Satire; Giovanni della Casa, Rime; Torquato Tasso, Gerusalemme liberata o Aminta; Giovan Battista Marino, Adone; Galileo Galilei, Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo

Modern-Contemporary

Giovanbattista Vico, La scienza nuova; Carlo Goldoni, La locandiera, oppure La bottega del caffè; Giuseppe Parini, Il giorno, oppure Le odi; Vittorio Alfieri, Vita, oppure Saul e Mirra; Ugo Foscolo, Ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis; Giacomo Leopardi, Canti, oppure Operette morali; Alessandro Manzoni, I promessi sposi, oppure Adelchi; Ippolito Nievo, Le confessioni di un italiano; Giovanni Pascoli, Myricae, oppure Canti di Castelvecchio; Gabriele d’Annunzio, Il piacere, oppure Alcyone; Giovanni Verga, I malavoglia, oppure Mastro Don-Gesualdo; Luigi Pirandello, Il fu Mattia Pascal, oppure Sei personaggi in cerca d’autore; Italo Svevo, La coscienza di Zeno; Giuseppe Ungaretti, L’allegria ; Eugenio Montale, Ossi di seppia; Carlo Emilio Gadda, Quer pasticciaccio brutto de via Merulana, oppure La cognizione del dolore; Italo Calvino, Il sentiero dei nidi di ragno o I nostri antenati

N.B. Alongside Dante's Inferno and the two anthological volumes, students who will not attend classes will be asked to study also the volume Giulio Ferroni, Prima lezione di letteratura italiana, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2009.

B. SPECIALIZED SECTION: *Le ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis* by Ugo Foscolo: an introduction to the text Texts: Ugo Foscolo, *Le ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis* The edition edited by Maria Antonietta Terzoli (Rome, Carocci, 2012, or subsequent reprints) is recommended. N.B. The use of any edition other than those suggested must be agreed upon with the instructor. As *Le ultime lettere di Jacopo Ortis* is the subject of the specialized section of the course, it cannot be chosen as a reading for the institutional section. Critical essays: - Matteo Palumbo, *Foscolo*, Bologna, il Mulino, 2010. In addition, choose one of the following: - Christian Del Vento, *Un allievo della rivoluzione. Ugo Foscolo dal “noviziato letterario” al “nuovo classicismo” (1795-1806)*, Bologna, CLUEB, 2003. - Christian Del Vento, *La “nuova poetica” foscoliana (1803-1816)*, Pisa, ETS, 2023. - Maria Antonietta Terzoli, *Le prime lettere di Jacopo Ortis. Un giallo editoriale tra politica e censura*, Rome, Salerno Editrice, 2004. - Maria Antonietta Terzoli, *Il libro di Jacopo. Scrittura sacra nell’Ortis*, Rome, Salerno Editrice, 1988. - Giuseppe Nicoletti, *Il “metodo” dell’Ortis e altri studi foscoliani*, Florence, La Nuova Italia, 1978. N.B. For the specialized section, in addition to Dante’s *Vita nova* and the essays listed above, *non-attending students* are required to prepare the entire volume: Giuseppe Nicoletti, *Foscolo*, Rome, Salerno Editrice, 2006.

Teaching methods

- Lectures with readings and comments on prescribed texts

- Hisotorical contextualization of literary texts, also in their relationships with other arts

- Discussion of critical hypothesis

Assessment methods

The examination consists of a written test and an oral exam, with specific dates published in advance on the Almaesami platform. The written test involves writing an argumentative essay focusing on Dante’s *Inferno* and a topic from literary history covered in the textbook *Profilo di letteratura italiana*. The written test is mandatory and remains valid indefinitely, but it must be taken before the oral exam. Students must register for it via the relevant Almaesami page on the www.unibo.it website. If the result is insufficient, the test may be retaken; however, the result—even if below the passing grade of 18—does not prevent the student from taking the oral exam, with which the final grade will be combined. Erasmus and Overseas students are exempt from the written test. The oral exam (which must be taken only after completing the written test) requires knowledge of two elective texts chosen from the "foundational" section of the syllabus and the texts listed in the "specialized" section. It aims to assess: 1) basic knowledge regarding the foundational syllabus; 2) the ability to understand the issues addressed during lectures and in the textbook; 3) knowledge of the discipline’s historical development; 4) the ability to contextualize the texts and issues studied and discuss them critically; and 5) the quality of oral expression and the ability to construct a logical, argumentative discourse. Students intending to take the oral exam must register via the Almaesami page and are required to prepare the entire syllabus; students who have prepared only part of the syllabus will not be admitted to the oral exam. The written test and the oral exam carry equal weight in determining the final grade; however, the grade will not be a simple mathematical average of the two but will also take into account criteria such as active participation in lectures, as well as the student's critical insight, presentation skills, and argumentative coherence. The final assessment will be based on the following criteria: 1) insufficient grade: lack of basic knowledge and inability to correctly interpret texts and/or problems; 2) sufficient grade: possession of basic knowledge; interpretation largely correct but lacking precision and independence; 3) good grade: possession of intermediate-level knowledge; interpretation fully correct but not always precise or independent; 4) excellent grade: possession of advanced-level knowledge; interpretation of problems not only correct but also carried out with independence and precision. Excellent oral communication skills.

Teaching tools

- Invited Lectures

- Slides, CD and DVD

- Online documents (virtuale.unibo.it)

Students who are affected by learning disability (DSA) and in need of special strategies to compensate it, are kindly requested to contact the Teacher, in order to be referred to the colleagues in charge and get proper advice and instructions.

Office hours

See the website of Nicolò Maldina