18093 - French Literature

Academic Year 2018/2019

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

Course contents

The course will include a general introduction XVIIIth century literature, and will then focus on the theme of hospitality and on the question of the Other in the Enlightenment fiction.


Readings/Bibliography

Literary History of the XVIIIth century:

- Lionello SOZZI (ed.), Storia europea della letteratura francese. II. Dal Settecento all’età contemporanea, Torino, Einaudi, 2013 (only chapters concerning XVIIIth century literature)

or

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

or

Michel LAUNAY et Georges MAILHOS, Introduction à la vie littéraire du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, Bordas, 1968.

Readings:

Montesquieu, Lettres persanes

Voltaire, L’ingénu

Diderot, Supplément au voyage de Bougainville (uploaded in IOL)

Rousseau, La Nouvelle Héloïse, Part II, letter XIV (analized during classes)

Voltaire, Dictionnaire philosophique, entry Catéchisme chinois (analized during classes)

Encyclopédie, entries Hospitalité and Hôtellerie de Turquie (analized during classes)

Monographic section

Texts analized during classes and the following articles/chapters of books are available at Mastercopy, via Cartoleria 4, and uploaded in IOL:

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).

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

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).

Lionello Sozzi, Il mito del buon selvaggio, in Id., (a cura di), Storia europea della letteratura francese. II. Dal Settecento all'età contemporanea, Torino, Einaudi, 2013, pp. 431-443.

Frank Lestringant, le cannibalisme des Lumières, de Bougainville à Voltaire, in Id., Le cannibale. Grandeur et décadence, Paris, Perrin, 1994, pp. 236-249.

Marie-Claire Grassi, Pour une histoire de l'hospitalité, in Alain Montadon (a cura di), Les lieux de l'hospitalité: hospices, hôpital, hostellerie, Clermont-Ferrand, Presses de l'Université Blaise Pascal, 2001, pp. 27-40.

Sylviane Léoni, “Nous ne connaissons plus ce beau lien de l’hospitalité”, in Valeria Pompejano (a cura di), L’ospitalità e le rappresentazioni dell’altro nell’Europa moderna e contemporanea, Roma, Artemide Edizioni, 2004, pp. 111-121.

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

  • Antologia cronologica della letteratura francese. L’Ottocento, Milano, LED, 1998 (25 “schede”):

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; participation is nevertheless highly 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 available at Mastercopy, via Cartoleria 4, and uploaded in AMS CAMPUS-ALMA DL.

Office hours

See the website of Bruna Conconi