18093 - French Literature

Academic Year 2020/2021

  • Docente: Bruna Conconi
  • Credits: 12
  • SSD: L-LIN/03
  • Language: Italian

Course contents

The course will focus on 18th century French literary production. A monographic section will focus on the analysis of the privileged relationship established by the French authors of the Enlightenment with English culture.

Readings/Bibliography

A) Literary History of the 18th century:

- Lionello SOZZI (a cura di), Storia europea della letteratura francese. II. Dal Settecento all’età contemporanea, Torino, Einaudi, 2013 (only 18th century).

or

Jean-Yves TADIÉ (sous la direction de), La littérature française: dynamique et histoire. Tome II, Paris, Gallimard, 2007, pp. 9-294.

B) Readings:

Voltaire, Lettres anglaises

Diderot, Éloge de Richardson

Rousseau, La nouvelle Héloïse

Laclos, Liaisons dangereuses

C) Monographic section

Texts analized during classes (uploaded in VIRTUALE) and

  1. 8 of the following articles/chapters of books uploaded in VIRTUALE:

    Erich Auerbach, Le souper interrompu, in Mimésis. La représentation du réel dans la littérature occidentale, Paris, Gallimard, 1984, pp. 395-428.

    Arnold Hauser, Il nuovo pubblico della letteratura, in Storia sociale dell'arte, Torino, Einaudi, 1982, vol. II, pp. 52-95.

    Colas Duflos, Les aventures de Sophie. La philosophie dans le roman au XVIIIe siècle, Paris, CNRS Editions, 2013, pp. 9-41 (cap. I, Voyages merveilleux de Sophie dans la Romancie e cap. II, Récit romanesque et discours philosophique) (= 2 chapters).

    Enea Balmas, Il buon selvaggio nella cultura francese del Settecento, Fasano, Schena, 1984, pp. 73-115 e 259-292 (cap. III, Uroni e Irochesi, e cap.VIII, Da Diderot à Rousseau, = 2 chapters).

    Lionello Sozzi, Tra certezze e illusioni: alcuni aspetti della sensibilità settecentesca, in Franco Piva (a cura di), La sensibilité dans la littérature française au XVIIIe siècle, Fasano, Schena, 1998, pp. 13-30.

    Paul Hazard, La crise de la conscience européenne 1680-1715, Paris, Fayard, 1978, pp. 3-25, 48-71, 299-311 (cap. De la stabilité au mouvement, Du midi au nord, Vers un nouveau modèle d’humanité, = 2 chapters).

    Claude Nordmann, Anglomanie et anglophobie en France au XVIIIe siècle, in “Revue du Nord” n° 261-262, 1984, pp. 787-803.

    Edmond Dziembowski, Remarques sur les transferts culturels franco-britanniques au XVIIIe siècle, in Pierre-Yves Beaurepaire (a cura di), Les circulations internationales en Europe. Années 1680 - années 1780, Rennes, Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2010, pp. 453-467.

    Carlo Ginzburg, Tolleranza e commercio. Auerbach legge Voltaire, in Id., Il filo e le tracce. Vero falso finto, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2006, pp. 112-137.

    Aurelio Principato, Prévost traduttore di ‘Clarissa’: la trasposizione sentimentalistica del modello inglese, in Franco Piva (a cura di), La sensibilité dans la littérature française au XVIIIe siècle, Fasano, Schena, 1998, pp. 121-140.

  2. or:

Joséphine Grieder : Anglomania in France, 1740-1789. Fact, Fiction and Political Discourse, Genève, Droz, 1985 (Biblioteca giuridica Antonio CICU ; Biblioteca del Dipartimento di Lingue).

D) Non-attending students will prepare the final exam following the previous bibliography with the support of these additional readings:

Antologia cronologica della letteratura francese. Il Settecento, Milano, LED, 1997:

Dialogues di Lahontan

Histoire de Gil Blas di Lesage

Les Mille et une Nuits tradotte da Galland

Lettres persanes di Montesquieu

Manon Lescaut di Prévost

Le Philosophe anglais di Prévost

La vie de Marianne di Marivaux

Lettres philosophiques di Voltaire

Le Sopha di Crébillon fils

Lettres d’une Péruvienne di Madame de Graffigny

Lettres anglaises, ou Histoire de Clarissa Harlove tradotta da Prévost

Discours sur l’origine de l’inégalité di Rousseau

voce « Genève » dell’Encyclopédie

Candide di Voltaire

La Nouvelle Héloïse di Rousseau

Les Confessions di Rousseau

Paradoxe aur le comédien di Diderot

Le Barbier de Séville de Beaumarchais

Jacques le Fataliste di Diderot

Tableau de Paris di Mercier

Les liaisons dangereuses di Laclos

Les 120 journées de Sodome di Sade

Voyage en Syrie et en Egypte di Volney

Paul et Virginie di Bernardin de Saint Pierre

L’émigré di Sénac de Meilhan


Teaching methods

Frontal lectures; participationis neverthelesshighly encouraged.

Assessment methods

The exam consists in an oral interview during which the methodological and critical skills acquired by the student will be evaluated. The student will be invited to discuss the texts covered during the course and to move within the sources and bibliographical material in order to be able to identify in them the useful information. The achievement of an organic vision of the issues addressed during the classes and their critical use, which demonstrate ownership of a mastery of expression and specific language, will be assessed with marks of excellence (28-30).  Mechanical and / or mnemonic knowledge of matter, synthesis and analysis of non-articulating and / or correct language but not always appropriate will lead to discrete assessments (23-27); training gaps and / or inappropriate language - although in a context of minimal knowledge of the material - will lead to votes that will not exceed the sufficiency (18-22). Training gaps, inappropriate language, lack of guidance within the reference materials offered during the course will lead to failed assessments.

Teaching tools

Texts analized during classes will be uploaded in VIRTUALE.

Office hours

See the website of Bruna Conconi