81790 - History of the Catalan Culture

Academic Year 2024/2025

  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Foreign Languages and Literature (cod. 0979)

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of this course the student knows social, geographical and historical aspects and contexts of the Catalan language and culture. The student is able to expose problems with specific properties of socio-cultural order and has the instruments to contextualize, analyse and comment texts and documents of various types, and place them in relation with the most significant transformations relating to cultural fields of reference.

Course contents

The course, which is taught in Italian, aims to reflect on the construction and representation of a minorised cultural identity over the centuries, through significant works by Catalan writers and writers of the twentieth century. Our path will start from the hard and ruthless years of the civil war (1936-1939) and the consecutive exile, will continue with the years of resistance (1939-1959), that is, from the end of the war until the death of the poet Carles Riba, who, symbolically, it represents the end of a world and coincides with the beginning of a relative weakening of the repressive policy of the dictatorship (increase in editions, translations, awards, which indicate the resumption of a public life of literature in Catalan). Since 1960 authors who had already begun to publish, when they were very young, before the war dominate the scene. These are the cases of Salvador Espriu, Pere Quart, Llorenç Villalonga and Mercè Rodoreda; younger writers also appear who had experienced the war as fighters (Manuel de Pedrolo) or adolescents (Joan Fuster, Gabriel Ferrater, Josep M. Espinàs, Maria Aurèlia Capmany). We will arrive until the years of democratic transition, the seventies: writers born after the war follow who, in addition to publishing, intensely overturn the publishing market (prizes, publications, newspapers and magazines, etc.). Baltasar Porcel, Josep M. Benet i Jornet and Terenci Moix are the main authors of this new group. At the same time, we will study the Nova Cançó phenomenon, strongly linked to literature and resistance and the first publications of novels and essays with themes of social struggle and even feminist will be considered.


This course does not require previous knowledge of the Catalan language.

Readings/Bibliography

Suggested readings:

  • Glòria Bordons; Jaume Subirana (a cura di.), Literatura catalana contemporània, Barcelona, Edicions de la UOC/Proa, 1999.

  • Àlex Broch; Isidor Cònsul; Vicenç Llorca, Panorama della letteratura catalana. Barcelona, Generalitat de Catalunya, 2002. (EN, ES, CA, FR, IT)

  • Julià Guillamon (a cura di), Narrativa catalana de l'exili, Barcelona, Galaxia Gutenberg ; Cercle de lectors, 2005.

 

Reference Critical Bibliography:

    • Jordi Cornellà-Detrell, Literature as a response to cultural and political repression in Franco's Catalonia. Woodbridge, Tamesis, 2011.

    • Joan Fuster, Literatura Catalana Contemporània. Barcelona, Curial, 1980.

    • Albert Manent, La literatura catalana a l’exili. Barcelona, Curial, 1989.

    • Vicenç Riera Llorca, Els exiliats catalans a Mèxic. Barcelona, Curial, 1994.

 

Critical Bibliography on Individual Authors and Works:

Mercè Rodoreda:

  • Carme Arnau, Introducció a la narrativa de Mercè Rodoreda. El mite de la infantesa. Barcelona, Edicions 62, 1979
    • "L'univers literari de Pere Calders”, dins Els miralls de la ficció, Centre de Cultura Contemporània, Barcelona, 2000.
    • “Mercè Rodoreda o la força de l'escriptura”, Literatura de dones: una visió del món. Barcelona : LaSal, edicions de les dones, 1988
    • Mercè Rodoreda. Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1992
    • “La Plaça del Diamant de Mercè Rodoreda, en el record”. Estudis Romànics. 2004, pp. 437-438, [Disponibile online: https://raco.cat/index.php/Estudis/article/view/237718 ].
    • “Mercè Rodoreda”. Visat, Núm. 3 (abril 2007). [Disponibile online: <https://projectetraces.uab.cat/tracesbd/visat/2007/visat_a2007m4n3p2.pdf >]

Pere Calders:

  • Maria Campillo, “La mirada de Pere Calders”, Magarida Casacuberta; Marina Gustà (a cura di) De Rusiñol a Monzó: Humor i Literatura. Barcelona, Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1996, pp. 107-120.

  • Jordi Castellanos; Joan Melcion, “Presentació”, a Pere Calders, Entre la ratlla i el desig. Antologia de textos. Bellaterra, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 1995, pp. 11-13. [Disponibile online: <https://projectetraces.uab.cat/tracesbd/publi/llibres/1995/ratdes_a1995p11.pdf >

  • Joan Melcion, “Cròniques de la veritat oculta” de Pere Calders. Empúries, 1986.

    • “Del conte a la novel·la: Pere Calders i la ficció de la ficció”; Catalan Review. vol. X, 1-2, 1996, pp. 239-259.

    • “L’univers literari de Pere Calders”, dins Els miralls de la ficció, Centre de Cultura Contemporània, Barcelona, 2000.

  • Adolf Piquer, “Personatges i estereotipus en la narrativa de Pere Calders”, Actes del Dotzè Col·loqui Internacional de Llengua i Literatura Catalanes, vol. I, Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 2003, pp. 395-407.

Xavier Benguerel:

  • Neus Berbis; M. Josep Simó, “Benguerel i Rodoreda: la concreció de la novel·la psicològica a Catalunya”, Revista de Catalunya, 99 (setembre, 1995), 1995, pp. 105-113.

Vicent Andrés Estellés:

  • Jaume Pérez Montaner; Vicent Salvador, Una aproximació a Vicent Andrés Estellés, València, Quaderns 3 i 4, 1981.

  • Vicent Salvador;Manuel Pérez Saldanya (a cura di). L’obra literària de Vicent Andrés Estellés. Gèneres, tradicions poètiques i estil. València, AVL, 2013

  • Ferran Carbó, Com un vers mai no escrit. La poesia de Vicent Andrés Estellés en els anys cinquanta. València; Barcelona: IIFV; PAM, 2009.

  • Ferran Carbó; Enric Balaguer; Lluís Meseguer (a cura di). Vicent Andrés Estellés. Alacant, IIFV, 2004.

Maria Aurèlia Capmany:

  • Joan Vergés Gifra; Francesco Ardolino; Marta Nadal Brunès (a cura di), Maria Aurèlia Capmany. Escriptora i pensadora, Girona, Documenta Universitaria, 2019.

  • Isabel Graña, “Maria Aurèlia Capmany». Visat, Núm. 18 (Octubre 2014). [Disponibile online: <https://projectetraces.uab.cat/tracesbd/visat/2014/visat_a2014m10n18art24.pdf >]

For more information on exile, please consult the following website: http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/portal/exilio/

Additional articles will be provided during the course.

 

Teaching methods

Frontal teaching (in Italian) with the use of digital materials available online; seminar activities with active participation of students.

Assessment methods

Verification of learning takes place through an oral exam in Italian lasting about 20 minutes on the course contents.

For the oral exam, in addition to knowing the main topics of the course, the student will have to deepen the texts (compulsory readings) among those included in the program.
The final exam consists of an oral test which aims to evaluate the critical and methodological skills matured by the student, who will be invited to compare himself with the texts in the program. The student must demonstrate 1) consistency in the answers with the questions posed by the teacher; 2) ability to present the course contents in a clear and effective way, using a scientifically appropriate vocabulary; 3) ability to make connections on the various topics covered

The evaluation will also take into account active participation in the lessons and cultural activities proposed during the second semester.


Other information
Although not compulsory, attendance at lessons is strongly recommended. Students are warmly invited to actively participate in the lessons, as they are a precious opportunity to deepen themes and contents, relate and interact with the teacher and classmates, as well as to broaden their cultural horizons and their social life, making in in this way the course of study is richer, more effective and stimulating.

Teaching tools

Literary and cultural meetings will be organized in Catalan, Spanish and Italian and, in order to learn more about Catalan culture and language, students will have the opportunity to join the conversation group of the Linguistic Aperitif in Catalan.

Links to further information

https://www.unibo.it/sitoweb/paula.marques2/

Office hours

See the website of Paula Marques Hernandez

SDGs

Good health and well-being Quality education Gender equality Sustainable cities

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