13800 - Italian Literature in the Renaissance

Course contents

The course is subdivided into two sections: a general section and a monographic section. The general section will focus on the main features of Italian Renaissance culture, providing a discussion of the Reniassance as a historical category, and an introduction to crucial themes and authors. The monographic section will focus on a single specific theme: the critical reception of Dante in the sixteenth century.

Readings/Bibliography

A) GENERAL SECTION
For the general section ALL students will be examined on:
the main features and authors of Italian fiteenth-century literature. Recommended texts: La letteratura italiana, diretta da Ezio Raimondi: Dalle origini al Cinquecento, a cura di L. Chines, G. Forni, G. Ledda, E. Menetti, Milano, Bruno Mondadori, 2007, capitoli 7-11; oppure: Riccardo Bruscagli, Il Quattrocento e Il Cinquecento, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2005, capitoli V-X;

at least TWO of the following critical readings: Eugenio Garin, La cultura del Rinascimento, Bari, Laterza, 1967; W.K. Ferguson, Il Rinascimento nella critica storica, Bologna, Il Mulino, 1987; G.M. Anselmi, L'età dell'Umanesimo e del Rinascimento. Le radici italiane dell'Europa Moderna, Carocci, Roma, 2008 (capitoli 9-15); Nicola Gardini, Rinascimento, Torino, Einaudi, 2010.

B) MONOGRAPHIC SECTION

The monographic section will focus on the reception of Dante's work in the sixteenth century. It will explore the development of the critical response to Dante in the course of the century discussingits relationship to some crucial issues of Renaissance cultural history.

Students attending the lectures and seminars will be examined on the texts and issues discussed in class, and on at least THREE of the following cirical texts: Aldo Vallone, L'interpretazione di Dante nel Cinquecento. Studi e ricerche, Firenze, Olschki, 1969; Annalisa Andreoni , Alla ricerca di una poetica postbembiana: il Dante 'lucreziano' di Benedetto Varchi, in «Nuova Rivista di Letteratura Italiana», nn. 1-2 (2004), pp. 179-231 ; Davide Dalmas, Dante nella crisi religiosa del Cinquecento italiano; Manziana, Vecchiarelli, 2005; Deborah Parker, Commentary and Ideology. Dante in the Renaissance, Durham, Duke University Press, 1993; Mario Martelli, Dante e Machiavelli, in «Schede umanistiche», n.s., XIII (1999), 1, pp. 5-23; Elena Pistolesi, Con Dante attraverso il Cinquecento. Il De vulgari eloquentia e la questione della lingua, in «Rinascimento», 40 (2000), pp. 269-296; Simon Gilson, Dante and Renaissance Florence, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2005; Id., "La divinità di Dante": The Problematics of Dante's Critical Reception from the Fourteenth to the Sixteenth Centuries , in «Critica del Testo» n. 1 (2011), pp. 581-603.

Stuedents who are not attending should contact the lecturer to agree a reading list.

Students enrolled in the 6 CFU version of the course will be examined only on the general section (A).

Teaching methods

Lectures and seminars including class discussion

Assessment methods

Final oral exam. The exam will cover both the general and the monographic section of the course. Students will be required to show their ability to provide a critical reflection on literary texts and discuss their relationship to the wider context of Renaissance culture. The student's standard of expression and the ability to use specialist language will also be part of the assessment.

Part of the oral exam may be replaced by a written assignment to be agreed in advance with the lecturer.

Office hours

See the website of Angelo Maria Mangini