85121 - Contemporary Literary Cultures (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

This course intends to provide a critical and cultural awareness in contemporary Italian literature and civilization. For this purpose, literary texts are always analyzed as open shapes, focusing on the relationships among their tradition and cultural legacies. We will also read together and discuss a corpus of prose works through many examples of comparative analysis and practice on different methods.

Course contents

Italian Noir

The course aims to present students some contemporary noir representations, such as transmedia narrative examples that incorporate entertainment experiences on multiple multimedia platforms. Noir has been compared to the Italian realist novel, for the search of representation of the reality and for the ability to tell the dark aspects of a social community. The course promises to highlight the features that allow to speak of "noir all'italiana". The analysis of the production will show how the traditional genre is resumed or reconfigured in texts confronted with a cultural production increasingly dominated by visual culture. In different way these case studies reflects on how other media, and the relationships between them, give rise to an inquiry into the Italian society that portrays literature to civil engagement.

Readings/Bibliography

De Cataldo, Romanzo criminale, Einaudi, 2002.

Nicola Lagioia, La ferocia, Einaudi, 2014

Carlo Lucarelli, Il sogno di volare, Einaudi, 2013

Daniele Brolli (a cura di), Cattivi soggetti. Il noir italiano a fumetti, Rizzoli, 2010

Tommaso Pincio, Cinacittà, Einaudi, 2008

 

Roberto Rossi ed Elena Zagaglia, Il graphic novel, in Stefano Calabrese (a cura di), Narrare al tempo della globalizzazione, Carocci, 2016 (cap. 7)

E. Mondello, Crimini e misfatti. La narrativa noir italiana degli anni Duemila, Roma, G. Perrone, 2010

Teaching methods

The lessons are, most of all, lectures held by the teacher. During the lessons, students will be encouraged to participate. Finally, students will be invited for some specific issues and for the presentation of some texts and authors.

Assessment methods

The oral test consists in an oral interview which has the aim of evaluating the critical and methodological ability of the students. The students will be invited to discuss the tests on the course programme. The student must demonstrate an appropriate knowledge of the bibliography 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.

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.

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.

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.

Teaching tools

In addition to lectures, held by the teacher, audiovisual tools will bthe coursee used to support the teaching. Scholars will also be invited to bring a significant contribution to increase the issues upon which the course focuses.

Office hours

See the website of Giuliana Benvenuti