"Modern" Italian literature is presented within a European temporal and geographical scenario, and its critical methodology, based on the historical-philological study of the works and authors taken into consideration, is open to comparative openings. In this way, the student can reach a deeper conception of the roots of "modernity" as it developed from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, ending with the twentieth century, in the conflict of different cultural and socio-economic models, between the religion of progress and colonialist ideology, the "death of God" and the "end of history". Accustomed, thus, to the direct reading of Italian texts within a European horizon, and to questioning them on the basis of a conscious reflection on the methods used for their interpretation, the student will be able to integrate and rearticulate, in the name of complexity, his own knowledge regarding literature and to manage them with rigor and passion, as befits a subject that does not ask to be neutral, inert, opaque, but presents itself, thanks to the cultural depth of its texts, as a dialectical junction between memory and fictional.

“How many ways to dream of the Middle Ages?”. Modernity in the mirror of the past (I)

- Introduction: Ten ways to narrate the Middle Ages?

1) A Tragedy called Middle Ages: Torquato Tasso, Il re Torrismondo (1587) – Vittorio Alfieri, Rosmunda (1779) – Alessandro Manzoni, Il conte di Carmagnola (1816-1819), Adelchi (1822) – D’Annunzio, Francesca da Rimini (1901) – Luigi Pirandello, Enrico IV (1921) – Ronconi-Sanguineti, L’Orlando Furioso (1969)

2) The irreverent time of play, fairy tales and mystery: Giulio Cesare Croce, saga di Bertoldo – Carlo Gozzi, Le tre melarance – Italo Calvino, Fiabe italiane (1956) e Il cavaliere inesistente (1959) – Dario Fo, Mistero buffo (1969) – Tonino Guerra e Luigi Malerba, Storie dell’anno mille (1977) – Mario Monicelli, L’armata Brancaleone (1966), Brancaleone alla crociate (1970), Bertoldo, Bertoldino e Cacasenno (1984) – Pier Paolo Pasolini, “Trilogia della vita” (Decameron, I racconti di Canterbury, Il fiore delle mille e una notte, 1971-1974)

3) Historical perspectives: Manzoni, Discorso sopra alcuni punti della storia longobardica (1822) – Massimo D’Azeglio, La disfida di Barletta (1833) – Manzoni, Del discorso storico (1845) – Carducci, Poesie scelte – Pasolini, Bestemmia (1966) – Ignazio Silone, Avventura di un povero cristiano (1968) – Umberto Eco, Il nome della rosa (1980), – Fulvio Tomizza, Fughe incrociate (1990) - Luigi Malerba, Fuoco greco (1990) - Sebastiano Vassalli, La chimera (1990) – Luther Blisset, Q (1999) – Umberto Eco, Baudolino (2000)

4) In the infinite Present: Italo Calvino, Le città invisibili (1972) – Giovanni Giudici, Salutz (1986) – Mario Luzi, Viaggio terrestre e celeste di Simone Martini (1994)

Nothing.

The aim of the course is to allow the student (a) an ability to integrate knowledge and manage the complexity of the issues addressed in the context of a European historical-cultural and critical-literary horizon, as well as to formulate judgments on the basis of learning and reflection on the critical methodologies developed during the twentieth century (from historicism to gender and intercultural studies), including reflection on the social and ethical responsibilities of the literary text linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments; therefore (b) the possibility of communicating in a clear and unambiguous manner the arguments and possibly the conclusions (assuming it is possible to conclude), including the underlying rationale, to both specialist and non-specialist interlocutors; finally, (c) the ability to develop those critical and didactic skills that allow you to continue studying independently, in view of the possible continuation of studies or any professional application.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Meetings are planned both in person and online with critics and scholars of the authors covered.

Teaching

Frontal lessons; viewing and analysis of films and audiovisual materials; in-depth meetings on the course topics with critics and scholars; seminar relations with students.

Attendance

A good starting point is required for Italian literature, its periodization, major issues, and literary forms and genres, as prescribed in the modern and contemporary Italian literature course of the triennial.

In order to be able to take the exam as attending students, students must attend at least 80% of the lessons and all seminar activities included in the sum of the hours of the course. Alternatively, contact the teacher.

Course books

U. Eco, Dieci modi di sognare il Medioevo (in Sugli specchi e altri saggi, Bompiani, 1985)

Medievalismi italiani (secc. XIX-XXI), a cura di T. di Carpegna Falconieri e R. Facchini (Gangemi, 2019)

T. di Carpegna Falconieri, Nel labirinto del passato. Dieci modi per riscrivere la storia (Laterza, 2020)

S. Ritrovato, Antieroi e uomini in fuga. Quattro passi fra medioevo e letteratura (Quodlibet, 2021)

Assessment

Examination interview on the authors and the issues, both critical-methodological and historical-literary, touched upon during the lessons and on the partial and complete texts selected by the student.

The students' tests will be evaluated, from excellent to good to fair to sufficient to insufficient, taking into account the following criteria: (1) knowledge of the subject, up to the possession of valuable critical and in-depth skills. – (2) ability to reason appropriately on the topic of the question, with a mastery of the language specifically required for critical analysis. – (3) ability to explain the subject with clarity and ownership of language and to connect issues and argue in an original way.

We therefore recommend a knowledge of the subject that is not mnemonic but reasoned, a vocabulary that is not uncertain and approximate, and a clear exposition, to obtain a grade that is as satisfactory as possible.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Contact the teacher

Attendance

Nothing

Course books

Contact the teacher

Assessment

Examination interview on the authors and the issues, both critical-methodological and historical-literary, touched upon during the lessons and on the partial and complete texts selected by the student.

The students' tests will be evaluated, from excellent to good to fair to sufficient to insufficient, taking into account the following criteria: (1) knowledge of the subject, up to the possession of valuable critical and in-depth skills. – (2) ability to reason appropriately on the topic of the question, with a mastery of the language specifically required for critical analysis. – (3) ability to explain the subject with clarity and ownership of language and to connect issues and argue in an original way.

We therefore recommend a knowledge of the subject that is not mnemonic but reasoned, a vocabulary that is not uncertain and approximate, and a clear exposition, to obtain a grade that is as satisfactory as possible.

Students who have registered their disability certification or DSA certification at the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can ask to use concept maps (for keywords) during the exam. To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam session, to the teacher of the course, who will verify their consistency with the indications of the university guidelines and will be able to request modifications

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.