30127 - Sociology of Literature (LM)

Learning outcomes

The student will gain an in-depth knowledge on the functioning of the institutions of literature, on the relationship between text and context, on the dynamics of literary communication and its political, ideological, socio-economic and editorial influence. The student will know how to use critical tools and forms of investigation of sociology applied to literature, with a particular focus on the thematic and sociological components of literary texts.

Course contents

«FASTEN YOUR SEAT-BELT, WE ARE NEARLY THERE»: TERRORISM IN MIGRANT LITERATURE

Terrorism is often used by Western public opinion to slander current migratory movements and to fuel widespread anxiety over the constant flow of refugees towards Europe, indeed generated by economic and warlike policies which aim at perpetuating modern colonialism.

Various forms of terrorism appear in Italian migrant literature, often in connection to the authors' homeland: Palestine, for example, described by Muin Masri, Hassan Itab (with his surprising autobiography of a terrorist) or Randa Ghazy, whose famous short story for teenagers was also published in French among the loud protests of Paris' Jewish community.

After 9/11, Randa Ghazy became the interpreter of public discourse on islamophobia, together with other Muslim female voices; in the same years, Abdel M. Smari described the religious radicalization of migrants following an unsuccessful process of integration and narrated the experiences of foreign fighters during the Balkan wars of the 1990s.

However, these authors and their works are but exceptions in a literary panorama where editors mainly choose to (dis)place terrorism in removed geographical and temporal contexts, such as the Algerian civil war (Amara Lakhous, Amor Dekhis) or South America (Egidio Molinas Leiva, Milton Fernández). Moreover, recent publications tend to favour a Western viewpoint on terrorism, thanks to the works of Iranian exiles (Younis Tawfik, Bijan Zarmandili) and Syrian refugees (Shady Hamadi), all unsurprisingly opposing the dictatorships of their respective countries. Migrant writers are also rather reluctant to express their views on the Somalian civil war (Cristina Ali Farah) and on the armed groups operating between Africa and the Middle East (e.g. Al Shabaab).

In short, despite being an extraordinary vantage point from which to observe present times and events, Italian migrant literature is still unable to express well-defined standpoints on terrorism. On the other hand, migrant writers are somehow forced by recent, tragic circumstances – like the terrorist attacks in Belgium and France – to publicly pledge their loyalty to fundamental values which, however, Western rhetoric has made more and more empty and trivial.

Even second-generation migrants find it extremely difficult to elaborate new, truly multicultural figures and identities that could constitute an alternative to Karim Franceschi’s armed response against ISIS.

Readings/Bibliography

You can see the complete reading list in the italian page.

The programme and the bibliography are the same both for students who attend and for students who do not attend the lessons.

Teaching methods

FRONTAL LESSONS

Classes start 15th February 2017

Aula PASCOLI

Dipartimento di Filologia Classica e Italianistica, Via Zamboni 32

 

 Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

11:15 - 12:45  a.m.

Assessment methods

ORAL EXAMINATION

The evaluation of the students' competencies and abilities acquired during the course 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

Video projector, overhead projector, videos, web resources.

Meetings with international experts and authors that write on migration issues.

Office hours

See the website of Fulvio Pezzarossa