Learning objectives

The main aim of the course is the detailed study of Italian literature through the close analysis of a group of literary texts, which have a meaningful role in the literary and cultural international context. At the end of the course the student will be able to: - analyse and consider a literary text as a complex form, in constant dialogue with other literatures and cultures, in particular in their translation and international circulation - show competency in the framework of Italian literature’s European and extra-European tradition

Prerequisites and basic notions

None

Program

Italian literature and digital social reading
The course will examine a selection of texts of significant relevance to contemporary Italian literature, focusing on their intersection with the global phenomenon of digital social reading. Four case studies will provide opportunities to connect close textual analysis with the investigation of broader cultural phenomena, including:
- the so-called “Ferrante fever,” women’s writing, and the affordances of online book reviewing;
- the reception of Cesare Pavese’s poetry and its complex relationship with cultural phenomena such as Instapoetry;
- the phenomenon of reading absorption, as described by Italo Calvino and as attested by ordinary readers;
- the practice of artistic evaluation, critiqued in Anna Banti’s works and reinterpreted by contemporary reading communities.
All case studies will be examined through an approach that combines literary criticism, literary theory, and interdisciplinary literary studies, with particular attention to empirical and computational methods.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

The teaching methods involve face-to-face lectures, to be held on two days per week for a total load of 36 hours (6 CFUs). All materials will be shared on the Moodle platform (and will be part of the exam syllabus). During lectures, students will be encouraged to participate actively through in-class discussions and group work. Non-attending students will have to compensate for not participating in these activities through study of the critical bibliography. Attending students who find themselves in the position of having to make up for missed lessons must contact the teacher.

Learning assessment procedures

For attending students, the exam will be divided into two parts. The first part will consist of an assessment of in-class interaction. The second part will consist of an interview on the course topics. For non-attending students, the exam will consist entirely of an interview on the course topics.

Evaluation criteria

During the in-class activities and at the final oral exam, students will have to show that they have gained critical skills during the course, by means of analytical and argumentative ability to link the various theoretical frameworks in the study of literary texts. Students must also speak with appropriate language. The assessment will be expressed as a mark out of thirty.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

Attending students: in-class activity evaluation (15 points) + final interview evaluation (15 points + laude)
Non-attending students: final interview evaluation (30 points + laude)

Exam language

English

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