02609 - Italian Contemporary Literature

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student has deepened his/her knowledge of Italian lit-erature between the nineteenth and twenty-first century, and is able to identify and analyze the main connections between historical events and literary and cul-tural movements in contemporary Italy. He/she has acquired the methodological and terminological knowledge necessary to analyse literary texts, and he/she is able to interpret them at both formal and thematic levels.

Course contents

Writing about cities: landscapes, borders and visions

 

The course explores the theme of urban space in late 20th-century Italian literature, examining the ways in which cities, suburbs, landscapes and the margins are depicted. This is a theme with a long tradition, which in recent years has taken on renewed significance, not least in relation to the major social, cultural and ecological changes we are currently experiencing.

Cities will not be considered merely as settings in which the narrative action unfolds, but as complex spaces traversed by bodies, memories, conflicts, desires, inequalities and diverse perspectives. To depict the city is, in fact, to examine the relationship between the individual and space and to redefine urban maps through oblique and lateral perspectives.

Particular attention will be paid to traversing marginal spaces: walking, observing, getting lost and lingering on the fringes become narrative practices through which literature constructs new forms of knowledge about places. From this perspective, the course will address a number of theoretical and critical issues related to urban fiction, the literary landscape, flânerie, geocriticism and ecocriticism.

 

The course will be divided into two modules:

1. The first module (taught by Prof. Filippo Milani) will focus on Italo Calvino and Gianni Celati. Through Invisible Cities and Narratori delle pianure, we will examine imaginative and decentralised forms of spatial representation. The cities described by Marco Polo to Kublai Khan will be analysed as symbolic and combinatorial constructs: figures of desire, memory, language and the relationship between signs and the world. With Celati, the exploration will extend beyond the boundaries of the city proper, towards peripheral landscapes and seemingly marginal geographies, where the plain becomes the setting for scattered tales and ordinary visions.
2. The second module (taught by Prof. Elisa Attanasio) will be dedicated to Anna Maria Ortese and Pier Paolo Pasolini. Through Il mare non bagna Napoli and Ragazzi di vita, two different representations of the post-war city – Naples and Rome – will be analysed. In both works, the urban space is portrayed as a place of social inequalities and tensions: whilst, in Ortese’s view, Naples becomes a field of perception and morality, in which areas of shadow and social fractures are laid bare, Pasolini’s Rome of the suburbs is interpreted as a social, linguistic and narrative space, in which the narrative encounters forms of vitality, exclusion and violence.
   

Readings/Bibliography

Students are expected to read the following texts in full:

- Italo Calvino, Le città invisibili, Einaudi, Torino, 1972; ora Mondadori, Milano, 1996
- Gianni Celati, Narratori delle pianure, Feltrinelli, Milano, 1985
- Anna Maria Ortese, Il mare non bagna Napoli, Einaudi, Torino, 1953; ora Adelphi, Milano, 1994
- Pier Paolo Pasolini, Ragazzi di vita, Garzanti, Milano, 1955

Essays on literary criticism, philosophy and anthropology will be specified in class and, where possible, uploaded to the teaching resources on Virtuale.


Non-attending students, in addition to studying the texts listed, must supplement their preparation with the following textbook (chapters to be agreed with the lecturers):

- Cent’anni di letteratura italiana, a cura di M. A. Bazzocchi, Einaudi, Torino, 2021.

Teaching methods

The course consists of lectures designed to explore the main theoretical issues in depth and to analyse the texts on the syllabus. The lectures will be complemented by group discussions: students will be encouraged to participate actively by contributing to the discussion, asking questions and sharing their thoughts.

Assessment methods

The examination consists of an oral interview designed to assess the critical skills the student has developed during the course; the student will be asked to discuss the texts on the syllabus using the analytical methods demonstrated by the lecturer during the lectures.

The student must demonstrate not only knowledge of the texts but also the ability to argue a case and to apply the methods outlined by the lecturers.


The final assessment will be based on the following criteria:

1. A performance in which the student demonstrates the ability to analyse the texts in depth and to place them within a coherent framework of the topics covered in class will be graded as very good or excellent (from 27/30 to 30/30 with distinction). The student’s command of expression during the oral examination will also be of fundamental importance.

2. Merely rote knowledge of the texts, superficial analysis and correct expression will result in a ‘satisfactory’ mark (23/30 to 26/30).

3. Superficial knowledge, poor analytical skills and expression that is not entirely relevant will result in a ‘pass’ or slightly higher (18/30 to 22/30).

4. Finally, a failing mark is inevitable for those who are unable to grasp the general principles of the subject or to use the tools for analysing a literary text appropriately.
You can register for the exam on AlmaEsami (https://almaesami.unibo.it).

 

About the use of AI: AI can be a useful tool to support independent study by providing in-depth analysis, summaries and self-assessment exercises. In terms of learning assessment, the use of AI is forbidden during in-person examinations. Any use constitutes a violation of academic integrity.

Teaching tools

PowerPoint presentations will be used during the course; these will be projected in the lecture theatre and subsequently uploaded to the Virtuale platform. Essays, critical materials and any additional bibliographical references to support independent study will also be made available on Virtuale.

 

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Filippo Milani

See the website of Elisa Attanasio