92960 - Literature and Visual Culture (1) (Lm)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will have acquired knowledge of the relationships between Italian Literature and Visual Culture, from the second half of the twentieth century to the first decade of the new millennium, with a focus on photography, graphic novel, advertising, cinema, television and videogames. Students will be able to identify and analyze the interactions between different languages and they will be capable of contextualizing them in the contemporary cultural environment.

Course contents

Literature and comics, comics in literature. Visual intertextuality in Italo Calvino and Umberto Eco

This is the first integrated module of the Contemporary Literary Cultures (C.I.) (LM) course and explores various ways in which words and images have interacted and shaped Italian culture in the 20th and 21st centuries.

In particular, the course aims to explore the relations between the Italian novel and comic strip fiction between the 20th and 21st centuries, highlighting the fundamental role played by comics in the personal formation and creative activity of some writers. Tracing the development and diffusion of comic strip fiction in Italy starting from the second half of the 20th century, we will focus in particular on how much the experience of comic strip readers influenced the narrative and non-fiction production of Italo Calvino and Umberto Eco, shaping their imagery and writing methods. We will analyse and discuss in class their interpretations of comic book characters and serial stories, as well as the different ways in which comics are incorporated into their texts.

Readings/Bibliography

In order to take the exam, students must read the following texts in their entirety.

Narrative texts:

• Italo Calvino, Tutte le cosmicomiche [The Complete Cosmicomics], Mondadori, 2023 (or any other edition): all the short stories included in the sections Le cosmicomiche [Cosmicomics] and Ti con zero [t zero];
• Italo Calvino, Il castello dei destini incrociati [The Castle of Crossed Destinies], Mondadori, 2023 (or any other edition);
• Umberto Eco, La misteriosa fiamma della regina Loana [The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana], Bompiani, 2004 (or any other edition).

Critical essays:

• Umberto Eco, Apocalittici e integrati [Apocalypse Postponed], Bompiani, 2001 (or any other edition): Prefazione [Apocalyptic and Integrated Intellectuals: Mass communications and theories of mass culture]; Apocalittici e integrati: la cultura italiana e le comunicazioni di massa [Reactions of Apocalyptic and Integrated Intellectuals: Then (1964); Reactions of the Author: Now (1974 and 1977)]; Lettura di Steve Canyon [A Reading of Steve Canyon]; Il mondo di Charlie Brown [The World of Charlie Brown];
• Italo Calvino, Lezioni americane [Six Memos for the Next Millennium], Mondadori, 2022 (or any other edition):
• all documents uploaded on the VIRTUALE platform and marked as mandatory readings;
• Optional but strongly recommended: Daniele Barbieri, Breve storia della letteratura a fumetti, Carocci, 2014.

Teaching methods

Classes consist of a series of lectures interspersed with seminar sessions. Students are expected to participate in all class activities, actively contribute to class and group discussions and do all required readings.

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities: it is suggested that they 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 lecturer in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination.

Assessment methods

The oral examination consists of an interview that, by inviting students to discuss the course topics, aims to assess their critical and methodological ability. Students will be asked questions intended to enable them to demonstrate an accurate knowledge of the texts included in the course programme.

Those students who are able to demonstrate a wide and systematic understanding of the issues covered during the lessons, are able to use these critically and who master the field-specific language of the discipline will be given a mark of excellence (28-30/30L).

Those students who demonstrate a mnemonic knowledge of the subject with a more superficial analytical ability and ability to synthesize, a correct command of the language but not always appropriate, will be given a ‘fair' mark (23-27).

A superficial knowledge and understanding of the material, a scarce analytical and expressive ability that is not always appropriate will be rewarded with a pass mark or just above a pass mark (18-22).

Students who demonstrate gaps in their knowledge of the subject matter, inappropriate language use, lack of familiarity with the literature in the programme bibliography will not be given a pass mark.

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities: it is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en ) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

Lectures will be supported by slides presentations as well as audio and video materials.

Office hours

See the website of Beniamino Della Gala