92939 - Italian Culture (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the seminar students will have acquired awareness of specific dimensions of Italian culture. Students will be able to understand the relevance of research problems in a wide series of topic concerning Italian culture such as Italian Renaissance and the modern world, the birth of Italian Nation and landscapes studies. Students will evidence a sound theoretical framework within which specific research interests could be developed in an interdisciplinary perspective.

Course contents

Women, Love, and Reputation in he Renaissnce

The course is designed to introduce students to the Italian literary culture of the 16^th . It aims at providing a wide historical background on the issue, together with the basic tools for reading, analysing and contextualizing Italian works of the Renaissance.

Lectures will be organized in two modules, and will focus on a diverse range of literary topics:

Module 1

1- Introduction: Women in the Renaissance (Caterina Sforza, Isabella d'Este, Vittoria Colonna)

2- Orlando furioso by Ronconi and Sanguineti:

3 - Orlando Furioso and the theory of Desire: Angelica’s desire (Orlando Furioso, I, 1)

4 - The role of women in the Renaissance Society. The case of Angelica

5 - Love as a wound in Ariosto: XIX and XXII cantos.

Each seminar will be complemented by critical insights on writers and focusing on excerpts from their main works, the course will address some issues concerning the history of the Italian culture.

Module 2

This module analyses ‘falling in love with a reputation’ (that is, with someone one has never seen, based on hearsay) and explores the role of women and gender, love, public opinion and social influence during the the Renaissance. Starting with the example of the Decameron by Boccaccio, we will examine the theoretical reflections in Il Cortegiano by Baldassare Castiglione, before analysing a number of case studies from Orlando Furioso and Renaissance treatises, culminating in Luc’Antonio Ridolfi’s Aretefila.

1 - Women as Objects and Agents of Desire in the Decameron

2 - Love and Social Influence at Court: Castiglione’s Cortegiano

3 - Love and Fame in the Orlando Furioso

4 - Debating Love in the Cinquecento: from the Academy to the Drawing Room

5 - Luc’Antonio Ridolfi’s Aretefila (1562) and the Miracle of Love by Hearing

The sessions, chaired by Lara Michelacci, will also be held by visiting professors

Readings/Bibliography

Module 1

Ludovico Ariosto, Orlando furioso (The Frenzy of Orlando): a new verse translation; translated by David R. Slavitt, Cambridge, Mass.; London: Belknap, 2009 (canti I, XIX, XXIII-XXIV). The text is available online at the following link: https://epdf.pub/orlando-furioso-a-new-verse-translation.html

Romance and History. Imagining Time from Medieval to the Early Modern Period, edited by J. Whitman, Cambridge, University Press, 2015 (the following chapter by Riccardo Bruscagli, pp. 151-167; by Marco Praloran, pp. 168-183; by Daniel Javitch, pp. 187-199).

Module 2

Boccaccio, Dec. Proemio, 1.Intro, 1.5, 2.7, 4.Intro, 4.4, 7.7

Selections from Il libro del cortegiano by B. Castiglione, Letter to the Bishop of Viseu, Books 1 and 2.

Selections from Orlando Furioso, e.g. Alessandra-Elbanio, Mandricardo-Doralice, Lidia-Alceste, Leone-Bradamante-Ruggiero

Various treatises and dialogues - Varchi, Betussi, Nobili.

Luc’Antonio Ridolfi’s Aretefila (1562) and the Miracle of Love by Hearing

Bibliography on this part of the programme will be given at the beginning of the course and it will be uploaded on Virtuale.

Teaching methods

Lectures and seminars involving text analysis and class discussion. A/V tools will be used during the lectures

Assessment methods

Written exam that will be assessed on a pass/fail basis. Non attending students are required to do the same readings and to study the same course materials (on Virtuale) of attending students.

AI can be a useful tool to support independent study with
in-depth analysis, summaries and self-assessment exercises. As regards the assessment
of learning, the use of AI is prohibited during face-to-face examinations. Any use constitutes a breach of academic integrity.

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

Each module provides an introduction to the history and culture of the related period and on its main authors. Part of the lectures will be committed to reading and commenting on excerpts of Italian literary works (in English translation). Students will be invited to analyse, compare and discuss readings that will be assigned during lectures.

Office hours

See the website of Lara Michelacci