B2736 - COMPARATIVE LITERATURE II

Learning outcomes

This course aims to provide students with a general overview of Comparative Literature and Literary Theory. These skills will be reinforced by the analysis of specific authors, texts or themes. At the end of the course students will know the general principles of Comparative Literature and Literary Theory. Students will also be able to understand and examine literary texts, discussing their theoretical and historical-literary features. Furthermore, students will acquire the ability to deal with interpretative problems, showing awareness of the different methodological perspectives. Finally, they will improve their hermeneutical skills and their ability to dialog with different cultures.

Course contents

BAES Students are reminded that:
- the course “Comparative Literature II" is offered only at the Forlì campus;
- the BAES study plan awards 6 ETCS for the “Comparative Liuterature II" course.
In order to reach 6 ECTS, BAES students should:
- attend all lectures and carry out the assessments, plus the final written and oral exam, as every other student enrolled in the course.
Further information will be provided in class at the beginning of the course.

 

The images of the 'other' in European literature.

After some introductory lessons on exoticism and imagology (in which exemplary texts such as William Shakespeare's Othello, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, Rudyard Kipling's poems and prose, and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness will be taken into consideration), the course will focus on the ways in which India (but in more general terms 'the East') was perceived and represented by some European writers, such as Guido Gozzano and Pier Paolo Pasolini (Italian literature), Pierre Loti (French literature), Hermann Hesse (German literature), Edward Morgan Forster (English Literature). Some of them mythologized the East on the basis of their own readings and imagination, and then were disappointed at the moment of the real journey; others projected on that different reality an instance of escape from the industrialized West, being in search of an authenticity that, in their opinion, Europe had lost. Only in a few cases the view of European authors was free from some kind of prejudice.

Readings/Bibliography

All students will read the following three books:

1) G. Gozzano, Poesie [suggested editions: edited by Giorgio Bárberi Squarotti, Rizzoli-BUR, or edited by Giuseppe Leonelli, Garzanti].

Only the following poems must be studied for the exam:

from La via del rifugio:

L'analfabeta

In morte di Giulio Verne

from I colloqui:

Invernale

Alle soglie

Il più atto

Paolo e Virginia

La Signorina Felicita ovvero La Felicità

L'amica di nonna Speranza

Cocotte

Totò Merùmeni

2) G. Gozzano, Verso la cuna del mondo. Lettere dall'India, ed. R. Carnero, Bompiani [students are asked to study this specific edition, including the introductory essay and afterword]

3) P.P. Pasolini, L'odore dell'India, Garzanti.

Each student will read in full at least one of the following books:

- P. Loti, L'Inde (sans les Anglais), Kailash 1997 [L'India (senza gli inglesi), EDT 1996].

- H. Hesse, Aus Indien, Suhrkamp Verlag 1980 [Dall'India, ed. E. Potthoff, Mondadori 1990].

- E.M. Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin Classics 2005 [Passaggio in India, Mondadori 2017).

FURTHER READING FOR NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:

Non-attending students will read one of the following books:

- E.W. Said, Orientalism, Penguin Classics 2003 [Orientalismo. L'immagine europea dell'Oriente, Feltrinelli 2013].

- L. Lowe, Critical Terrains. French and British Orientalism, Cornell UP 1991.

Teaching methods

Lectures, text analysis and commentary, use of multimedia products.

Assessment methods

The final exam will consist of a written test. The objectives of the test will be related to the measurement of the learning outcomes expected from the students; the contents of the test will concern the topics covered in the course; the assessment method will consist of an essay about a particular topic covered by the course, to be processed in 90 minutes; evaluation method: overall grade out of thirty. There are no intermediate or partial tests.

Evaluation grid

30-28: in-depth knowledge of the course contents; language that is always exact and precise and of excellent argumentative clarity (the attribution of distinction presupposes, in addition to the previous requirements, a strong and original personal reworking);

27-26: in-depth knowledge of the contents; language mostly exact and congruous and of good argumentative clarity;

25-24: discrete knowledge of the contents; overall correct language, even if characterized by some inaccuracies;

23-21: sufficient knowledge of the course topics; language not always correct; presence of excessive simplifications of concepts;

20-18: overall sufficient knowledge, even if sometimes incomplete, of the contents; incorrect language, characterized by generalizations, inconsistencies and trivializations of concepts;

test not passed: serious gaps in the preparation that testify an overall insufficient knowledge of the course contents and/or incorrect and inadequate critical language with frequent misunderstandings.

 

Students with specific learning difficulties (SpLD) or with disabilities that can affect their ability to attend courses are invited to contact the University service for students with disabilities and SLD at the earliest opportunity, ideally before the start of the course: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students. The University service will suggest possible adjustments to the course work and/or exam, which must then be submitted to the course leader so they can assess their feasibility, in line with the learning objectives of the course. Please note that adjustments to the exam must be requested at least two weeks in advance.

Office hours

See the website of Roberto Carnero