92958 - Literature and the Arts (1) (Lm)

Learning outcomes

Art and literature can be seen weaving around each other, influencing one and another, and being used as a tool to teach students about liberal arts and humanity. At the end of the course, students will be able to develop a general vision of the relationships between Italian Literature and other Arts, from the nineteenth century to nowadays, with a focus on painting. They will have acquired knowledge on the most relevant works of literature which interact with images and they will be capable of analyzing critical, theoretical and literary texts regarding visual arts.

Course contents

Photographs, photographers and phototography in Italian Contemporary Literature

This is the second integrated module of the Contemporary Literary Cultures (C.I.) (LM) course and explores the various ways in which words and images interacted with and shaped 19th and 20th century Italian culture. In addition to the interactions between literature and the arts, the module introduces students to the following themes and areas for in-depth study: 1) the interaction between literature and photography; 2) the issue of the gaze in literature; 3) iconology, the visual turn and the pictorial turn; 4) literature and visual arts facing the crisis of modernity and postmodernity.

In particular, the course delves into these specific forms of interaction between literature and photography: 1) the photographer as a character; 2) photography as a theme in literature; 3) photography as a way of writing or the role of photographic gaze in literature; 4) phototexts.

Readings/Bibliography

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

Narrative texts:

• Elio Vittorini, Conversations in Sicily (any edition: some parts of the phototextual edition will be provided by the teacher on VIRTUALE) ORHelena Janeczek, The Girl with the Leica, 2017 (any edition);
  
  
• Italo Calvino, The adventure of a photographer, in Italo Calvino, Difficult Loves, 1970 (any edition);
  
  
• Gianni Celati, Towards the river's mouth (1989), any edition (but preferably: Towards the River’s Mouth (Verso la foce) by Gianni Celati, a critical edition; edited, translated and introduced by Patrick Barron, Lexington Books, 2018);
  
  
• Antonio Tabucchi, Indian nocturne, Edinburgh, Canongate Books, 2013 (or any previous edition)

Critical essays:

• Giorgia Alù & Nancy Pedri (edited by), Enlightening Encounters: Photography in Italian Literature, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2015, pp. 3-24; 51-69; 169-214.

• All documents uploaded on the VIRTUALE platform and marked as mandatory 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.

 

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 reading.

Assessment methods

The oral exam 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 Lavinia Torti