90841 - Contemporary Italian Literature

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student is expected to acquire knowledge and skills in the field of contemporary Italian literature from the origin of modernity up to the present, with particular reference to the themes of fashion, dress, body, beauty and lifestyles; knows significant texts for the interweaving of literature and fashion not only in the Italian scene, but also in Europe and America; is able to critically interpret the most representative works of contemporary imagery between literature and fashion also in an interdisciplinary perspective.

Course contents

"Interweaving of fashion and literature: dandy, femme fatale, metropolis and inorganic sex appeal". The course aims to analyze the interweaving of literature and fashion in the imagination of modernity through central themes such as city, body, clothes, beauty, seduction, artificial. Special attention will be given to the evolution of dandy and femme fatale, who become protagonists of Nineteenth and Twentieth century novels. These characters will be read as mirror of the radical changes of sensibility and perception of the world announced by Baudelaire and interpreted by Zola, Huysmans, D'Annunzio, Pirandello, Moravia, Scott Fitzgerald, Truman Capote, but also female writers such as Gabrielle Colette, Annie Vivanti, Amalia Guglielminetti. Through an intersective and multidisciplinary method the course will analyze the main phenomena of the modernity, from aestheticism, futuristic avant-garde, the novel of the crisis, to the representation of fluid and virtual modernity.

 

Readings/Bibliography

- C. Baudelaire, Il pittore della vita moderna, chapter I, III, IV, IX, X, XI, XII

- G. d'Annunzio, Il piacere

- A novel to choose from: G. Flaubert, Madame Bovary; J.-K. Huysmans, Controcorrente; L. von Sacher-Masoch, Venere in pelliccia;E. Zola, Nanà; E. Zola, Al paradiso delle signore; E. Zola, La preda; A. Vivanti, Circe; G. Colette, Chéri; L. Pirandello, Quaderni di Serafino Gubbio operatore; A. Moravia, Gli indifferenti; A. Moravia, La noia; F. Scott Fitzgerald, Il grande Gatsby; Truman Capote, Colazione da Tiffany

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

- Moda, metropoli e modernità, a cura di D. Baroncini, Milano, Mimesis, 2018

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures.

Attendance is not mandatory, but strongly recommended to improve learning and the study method.

 

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.

Office hours

See the website of Daniela Baroncini