Modern Philology

LAURA DI NICOLA

The course aims to provide specific elements of 19th- and 20th-Century literary language, history, theory; it enables the student to master the subjects in order to use it and apply it also in other fields of study, with the correct use of the specific technical language. With the acquired knowledge the student is able to develop autonomous ability of connections with other disciplines in the various historical-cultural epochs.

Ability to frame and analyze themes and texts, even from an interdisciplinary perspective.

It requires:
1. knowledge of the historical and cultural context of reference
2. knowledge of the author's profile. We recommend Mario Barenghi, Calvino, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2009.

The library of the mind. Italo Calvino
This course will approach the study of Italo Calvino's "library of the mind" through the huge corpus of writings of lectures, introductions, articles, and reviews that he wrote during the 1980s. A laboratory of that crosses fictional work with journalistic activity at La Repubblica, editorial activity at Einaudi with the lectures he has to give a bit everywhere. In order to write, Calvino first of all needed to read, to study, to have knowledge of the world.

Lezioni americane, 1988 (any ediction)
Italo Calvino, Mondo scritto e mondo non scritto, a cura di Mario Barenghi, 2002 (any ediction)

Critical bibliography
Alberto Asor Rosa, Lezioni americane, in Stile Calvino (provided in PDF)
Mario Barenghi, Introduzione, in Italo Calvino, Saggi. 1945-1985, Mondadori (provided in PDF)
Laura Di Nicola, Un'idea di Calvino, Carocci, 2024

The course will take place in mixed mode: lectures, seminars, guided exercises.

Attending lessons is strongly recommended.

The exam will be an oral speech. The achievement of a mature and critical vision of Italian Contemporary Literature and a correct linguistic comprehension of literary texts will be valuated. Among the skills that the student will have to acquire will include the ability to understand literary texts and to make appropriate use of the lexicon of the discipline.

The course includes classroom exercises and seminars, in order to acquire a complete and specialized methodology of analysis.