B1756 - Travel Literature (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

The course aims to explore European travel literature from the Middle Ages to the contemporary, with particular reference to the genres of exploration and emigration, philosophical or “sentimental” travel, through the analysis of archival documents, logbooks, letters, fictitious travel accounts, poetic/theatrical/historico-geographic works, reports, novels, ethnographic treatises, etc. In this sense, the course is at the intersection of several fields of investigation (literary, historico-geographic, ethno-anthropological, interculturalism), aiming to provide the tools useful for a conscious evaluation of the original and traditional aspects of travel literature.

Course contents

Women on the road

The course aims to present, using a comparative and gender studies approach, literary representations of women on the road and the underlying reasons for their wandering around the world, whether they be queens, noblewomen, hermits, or pilgrims, starting with medieval Italian and European literature and providing examples of how this has been received in the modern and contemporary era (cinema, visual arts, literature).

Readings/Bibliography

A)

1) Representations

Enide: Chrétien de Troyes, Erec and Enide, Carocci.

Costanza, Alatiel, Zinevra: Boccaccio, Decameron, ed. by A. Quondam, M. Fiorilla, G. Alfano, BUR — and also available online without commentary on Virtuale: II, 7; II, 9; V, 2.
Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales, BUR: “The Man of Law’s Tale”.

2) The Otherworldly Journey

Le Livre du Chemin de Long Estude by the Italian-French writer Christine de Pizan, available online on Virtuale with facing Italian translation. For those who read French, the recommended edition is: Christine de Pizan, Le Chemin de longue étude. Édition critique du ms. Harley 4431, translation, introduction and notes by Andrea Tarnowski, Paris, Librairie générale française.

3) The Journey of the story telling

Griselda from Marie de France to contemporary rewritings:
Marie de France, Lais, ed. by G. Angeli, Carocci: “Le Fresne”;
Boccaccio, Decameron — see above: X, 10;
Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales: “The Clerk’s Tale”;
A. S. Byatt, The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye, Einaudi;
M. Atwood, “Impatient Griselda”, in The Decameron Project, Enne Enne Editore, pp. 77–85.

The Mermaid from medieval visual representations to Maruzza Musumeci:
A. Camilleri, Maruzza Musumeci, Sellerio.

4) Between Two Worlds: Marguerite Duras

Marguerite Duras, The Sea Wall, Einaudi; original French title: Un barrage contre le Pacifique, Gallimard

  

B)

A selection of short essays will be available on Virtuale at the beginning of the course.

C)

In-depth seminar not mandatory, but highly recommended..

D)

Conferences given by external scholars.

Teaching methods

Lessons, seminars and conferences given by external scholars.

Lesson attendance is strongly recommended.

Non-attending students

Non-attending students are required to read the following textbook:

Altrove: Viaggi di donne dall’Antichità al Novecento, a cura di Dinora Corsi, Roma, Viella, 1999.

Donne in viaggio : viaggio religioso, politico, metaforico, a cura di Maria Luisa Silvestre e Adriana Valerio, Laterza, 1999.

Support for Students with Specific Learning Disabilities (DSA) or Temporary/Permanent Disabilities:

Students with DSA or temporary/permanent disabilities are encouraged to immediately contact the university's responsible office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it ) and the instructor to jointly explore the most effective strategies for attending lessons and/or preparing for the exam.

Assessment methods

The exam consists of an oral test. The knowledge of the individual topics covered during the course, the ability to contextualize the cultural and literary phenomena and to identify the elements of originality of the texts studied, the ability to personal and critical re-elaboration of the reference bibliography and the language properties will be evaluated with top marks. A manual competence without any interpretative support will be considered to be positive but will not be given a high grade. Training gaps, superficial analyses, inappropriate and confused language will make the evaluation insufficient.

Teaching tools

Multimedia resources.

Students are requested to register on the course page on the virtuale.unibo.it platform

Office hours

See the website of Patrizia Caraffi