OUTLOOK OF ITALIAN CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE

Course objectives

The students will acquire high level knowledge and ability to interpret texts in Contemporary Italian Literature, paying attention to the latest developments in the disciplinary debate and bibliography. The students will be able to collect and interpret data on which to base a critical judgment, even in the ethical-social dimension underpinning the discipline. The students will therefore be able to use their knowledge in critical thinking, in addressing open issues, in implementing methods of study and research. The students will manage to communicate the results of their work both to specialists and to a broader audience. Finally, the students will be provided with the necessary skills to successfully undertake a future degree course that includes Contemporary Italian Literature.

Channel 1
FRANCO D'INTINO Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
The course will give the students a general overview of the main authors, texts, genres and problems of modern Italian literature, from Foscolo to D’Annunzio and Pirandello, in order to define the meaning of the modern turn in literature. At the end of this course the students will have acquired: 1) the historical knowledge of some important areas of Modern Italian literature;2) analytical skills regarding literary texts.
Prerequisites
Important: elementary notions (secondary school) of modern Italian history and literary history.
Books
1) Anthology (free download on E-learning) 2) Leopardi, Operette morali (suggested editions: Laura Melosi, Rizzoli BUR, or Cesare Galimberti, Guida) 3) Alessandro Manzoni, Il Conte di Carmagnola (any commented edition) 4) Arrigo Boito, Mefistofele (any commented edition) 5) Giovanni Verga, I Malavoglia (any commented edition) 6) Luigi Pirandello, choice of 9 tales: Prima notte, Male di luna, Lumie di Sicilia, La veglia, Zafferanetta, Musica vecchia, L’avemaria di Bobbio, La toccatina, Il giardinetto lassù. Testi secondari (critici) obbligatori 1) Riccardo Bonavita, L’Ottocento, Bologna, Il Mulino (or any other literary history handbook). 2) Massimo Natale, La poesia, in Leopardi, a cura di F. D’Intino e Massimo Natale, Roma, Carocci, 2018, pp. 21-61. 3) Franco D’Intino, La prosa, in Leopardi, a cura di F. D’Intino e Massimo Natale, Roma, Carocci, 2018, pp. 63-100. 4) Giulio Bollati, Le tragedie di Alessandro Manzoni, in A. Manzoni, Tragedie, a cura di G. Bollati, Torino, Einaudi, 1965 (2. ed. 1973), pp. vii-xxix. (free download on E-learning) 5) Virginia Di Martino, Riscrivere il Mefistofele. Arrigo Boito tra Goethe e Verdi, https://www.italianisti.it/pubblicazioni/atti-di-congresso/la-letteratura-italiana-e-le-arti/Di%20Martino.%20Riscrivere%20il%20Mefistofele..pdf 6) Romano Luperini, I Malavoglia e la modernità, in Verga moderno, Laterza 2005, pp. 36-57. (free download on E-learning) 7) Marco D’Urso, Tragedia dell’inizio: I Malavoglia, in M. D’Urso, Romanzo come tragedia. Il tragico nel romanzo italiano moderno, Roma, Bulzoni, 2008, pp. 87-137 (free download on E-learning) 8) Franco D’Intino, L’“antro della bestia”. Le Novelle per un anno di L. Pirandello, Caltanissetta, Sciascia, 1992 (analyses of all the tales included in the reading list, free download on E-learning) Secondary (critical) texts not compulsory, strongly suggested especially for students who do not follow the course Emilio Russo, Ridere del mondo. La lezione di Leopardi, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2017 Franco D’Intino, L’immagine della voce. Leopardi, Platone e il libro morale, Venezia, Marsilio, 209
Teaching mode
Lectures
Frequency
traditional, in-person class attendance, if possible, otherwise online
Exam mode
The exam consists in a written paper with questions on the books included in the reading list, and on broader themes regarding the Modern period. In special cases the assessement will consist in an oral exam.
Lesson mode
Lectures
Channel 2
LAURA DI NICOLA Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
The Italian literary Twentieth century: historiographical frameworks and Methods. Fascism, Resistance, First Republic (1919-1989) The module aims to provide basic knowledge for the understanding of twentieth-century literary frameworks, through the evolution of textual forms, the reconstruction of trends, authors, works and their fortune.
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge (at high school level) of the history of Italian literature
Books
Manual: - Alberto Asor Rosa, Storia europea della letteratura italiana, vol. III. La letteratura della nazione, Einaudi, 2009 (from Ichapter II to chapter V, pp. 262-577). It is advisable to support the manual with an anthology of your choice. Essays (provided in PDF): - Marina Zancan, Le autrici. Questioni di scrittura, questioni di lettura, in Alberto Asor Rosa (a cura di), Letteratura italiana del Novecento. Bilancio di un secolo, Einaudi, 2000 It is required the reading of at least three works of your choice (with critical bibliography provided in PDF): L'Italia fascista 1919-1943 Italo Svevo, La coscienza di Zeno, 1923 (Gabriella Contini, La coscienza di Zeno di Italo Svevo, in Letteratura italiana, diretta da Alberto Asor Rosa. Le Opere, IV/2, Einaudi, 1995) Alberto Moravia, Gli indifferenti, 1929 (Lucia Strappini, Gli indifferenti di Alberto Moravia, in Letteratura italiana, diretta da Alberto Asor Rosa. Le Opere, IV/2, Einaudi, 1995) Fausta Cialente, Cortile a Cleopatra, 1936 (Francesca Rubini, Cortile a Celopatra, in Ead., Fausta Cialente. La memoria e il romanzo, Fondazione Arnoldo e Alberto Mondadori, 2019) Alba de Céspedes, Nessuno torna indietro, 1938 (Laura Fortini, Nessuno torna indietro di Alba de Céspedes, in Letteratura italiana, diretta da Alberto Asor Rosa. Le Opere, IV/2, Einaudi, 1995) Dino Buzzati, Il deserto dei Tartari, 1940 (Bruno Porcelli, Spazio e tempo nel «DESERTO DEI TARTARI», in Italianistica, 31, 2002) Elio Vittorini, Conversazione in Sicilia, 1941 (Vittorio Spinazzola, Conversazione in Sicilia di Elio Vittorini, in Letteratura italiana, diretta da Alberto Asor Rosa. Le Opere, IV/3) Cesare Pavese, Paesi tuoi, 1941 (Antonio Sichera, Introduzione, in Cesare Pavese, Paesi tuoi, Mondadori, 2021; Italo Calvino, Pavese essere e fare, in Id., Una pietra sopra, Einaudi, 1980; Alberto Asor Rosa, Che cosa rimane oltre il mito, «La Repubblica», 14 luglio 2000) L'età dell'antifascismo e della Resistenza 1943-1956 Elio Vittorini, Uomini e no, 1945 (Vittorio Spinazzola, Vittorini “Uomini e no” ovvero Amore e Resistenza, in Id, L’egemonia del romanzo, FAAM-Il Saggiatore, 2007); Tommaso Landolfi, Le due zittelle, 1946 (Marcello Carlino, Le due zittelle di Tommaso Landolfi, (in Letteratura italiana, diretta da Alberto Asor Rosa, Einaudi, 1995) Primo Levi, Se questo è un uomo, 1947 (Cesare Segre, Se questo è un uomo, in Letteratura italiana, diretta da Alberto Asor Rosa, Einaudi, 1995) Italo Calvino, Il sentiero dei nidi di ragno, 1947 (Claudio Milanini, Esistenzialismo e neorealismo: Il sentiero dei nidi di ragno, in Id. L’utopia discontinua, Carocci, 2022) Natalia Ginzburg, E’ stato così, 1947 (the essay will be indicated later) Renata Viganò, L’Agnese va a morire, 1949 (Sebastiano Vassalli, Prefazione a L'Agnese va a morire, Einaudi 1994) Alba de Céspedes, Dalla parte di lei, 1949 (Laura Di Nicola, Il romanzo fra memoria e confessione. Dalla parte di lei, in Ead., Intellettuali italiane del Novecento, Pacini, 2012) Cesare Pavese, La luna e i falò, 1950 (Stefano Giovanardi, La luna e i falò di Cesare Pavese, in Letteratura italiana, diretta da A. Asor Rosa. Le Opere, IV/3) Anna Banti, Le donne muoiono e Lavinia fuggita, in Ead. Le donne muoiono, 1951 (Francesca Rubini, Lavinia fuggita di Anna Banti. Il racconto come spazio aperto, in «Filologia e critica», 2019 e Francesca Rubini, Le donne muoiono. Anna Banti fra memoria e distopia, in (Ir)raggiungibile. Altri mondi nella letteratura, nel teatro nel cinema, a cura di Davide Cioffrese, Matteo Massari, Irene Soldati, Edizioni dell’Orso, 2021 ) Pier Paolo Pasolini, Ragazzi di vita, 1955 (Vincenzo Cerami, Introduzione, in Pier Paolo Pasolini, Ragazzi di vita, Garzanti, 2005); La prima Repubblica 1956-1989 Elsa Morante, L’isola di Arturo, 1957 (Alba Andreini, L’isola di Arturo di Elsa Morante, in Letteratura italiana, diretta da Alberto Asor Rosa, Einaudi, 1995); Carlo Emilio Gadda, Quer pasticciaccio brutto de via Merulana, 1957 (Rinaldo Rinaldi, Quer pasticciaccio brutto de via Merulana (1945-1957), in Id., Gadda, Il Mulino, 2010). Paolo Volponi, Memoriale, 1962 (Giuseppe Gigliozzi, Memoriale di Paolo Volponi, in Letteratura italiana, diretta da A. Asor Rosa. Le Opere, IV/4, Einaudi, 1995) Natalia Ginzburg, Lessico famigliare, 1963 (Giacomo Magrin, Lessico famigliare di Natalia Ginzburg, in Letteratura italiana, diretta da A. Asor Rosa. Le Opere, IV/4, Einaudi, 1995) Beppe Fenoglio, Il partigiano Johnny, 1968 (Maria Corti, Il partigiano Johnny, in Letteratura italiana, diretta da Alberto Asor Rosa, Einaudi, 1995) Lalla Romano, Le parole tra noi leggere, 1969 (Laura Di Nicola, Le parole tra noi leggere di Lalla Romano, in Letteratura italiana, diretta da Alberto Asor Rosa, Einaudi, 1995); Italo Calvino, Le città invisibili, 1972 (Marina Zancan, Le città invisibili di Italo Calvino, in Letteratura italiana, diretta da A. Asor Rosa. Le Opere, IV/4) o Palomar, 1983 (Mario Barenghi, Palomar, in Id., Calvino, Il Mulino, 2009; Note e notizie sui testi. Palomar, in Italo Calvino, Romanzi e racconti, a cura di Mario Barenghi, Bruno Falcetto, Claudio Milanini, Mondadori, 1992) Elsa Morante, La storia, 1974 (Giovanna Rosa, Lo scandalo della "Storia Romanzo" in Ead., Elsa Morante, Il Mulino, 2013) Primo Levi Il sistema periodico, 1975 (Note ai testi. Il sistema periodico, in Primo Levi, Opere complete, vol. I, a cura di Marco Belpoliti, Einaudi, 2016)
Frequency
Students’ attendance is highly recommended.
Exam mode
The assessment will affect the student’s ability to interpret the issues of contemporary Italian literature; the acquisition of methodological and interpretative tools for textual analysis; the ability to frame the different phases of literary history, to present an author in his cultural context, to critically analyze the literary work.
Lesson mode
Lessons will be taken exclusively in classrooms.
Channel 3
GIORGIO NISINI Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
The course is devoted to the main issues of the Italian literature of the 20th Century (authors, literary movements, works, debates etc.). During the course will be analyzed narrative texts, poems, manifestos, essays and articles. The course is divided into 6 units. Each unit focuses on a season of Italian literature from the beginning of the 20th Century to the present day. Each unit includes a general introduction to the period, an in-depth analysis of the most representative authors and a reading and analysis of selected excerpts. Units 1. The Age of the Avant-Garde: 1900-1914 (8 hours) 2. Literature between the Wars 1915-1945 (12 hours) 3. Neorealism 1945-1955 (8 hours) 4. Neoavantgarde and Experimentalism 1956-1979 (8 hours) 5. Postmodernism and the Literature of the End of the Millennium 1980-1999 (4 hours) 6. A Look at the Present 2000-2022 (2 hours)
Prerequisites
Knowledge of the Italian language.
Books
I. Textbook Alberto Casadei, Marco Santagata, Manuale di letteratura italiana contemporanea, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2023 (N.B. students wishing to use another textbook are requested to contact the teacher). II. Essays - Lecture notes: selection of critical essays that will be provided by the teacher and uploaded to Classroom - Only for students not attending class: Giacomo Debenedetti, Il romanzo del Novecento, Milano, La Nave di Teseo, 2019. III. Novels Students are required to read at least 4 novels from the following lists (one for each list): - A) Corrado Alvaro, Gente in Aspromonte; Carlo Bernari, Tre operai; Vitaliano Brancati, Gli anni perduti; Guido Gozzano, I colloqui; Carlo Levi, Cristo si è fermato a Eboli; Emilio Lussu, Un anno sull’Altipiano; Eugenio Montale, Ossi di seppi; Alberto Moravia, Gli indifferenti; Luigi Pirandello, Il fu Mattia Pascal; Italo Svevo, La coscienza di Zeno; Federigo Tozzi, Tre croci; Giuseppe Ungaretti, L’allegria. - B) Giorgio Bassani, Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini; Italo Calvino, I nostri antenati; Carlo Cassola, Fausto e Anna; Beppe Fenoglio, Una questione privata; Natalia Ginzburg, Lessico famigliare; Primo Levi, Se questo è un uomo; Elsa Morante, Menzogna e sortilegio; Anna Maria Ortese, Il mare non bagna Napoli; Pier Paolo Pasolini, Ragazzi di vita; Cesare Pavese, La casa in collina; Vasco Pratolini, Metello; Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Il Gattopardo; Renata Viganò, L'Agnese va a morire; Elio Vittorini, Uomini e no. - C) Alberto Arbasino, Fratelli d’Italia; Nanni Balestrini, Vogliamo tutto; Giorgio Caproni, Il passaggio di Enea; Carlo Emilio Gadda, Quer pasticciaccio brutto de Via Merulana; Amelia Rosselli, Serie ospedaliera; Edoardo Sanguineti, Laborintus; Leonardo Sciascia, Toto Modo; Paolo Volponi, Memoriale; Juan Rodolfo Wilcock, Lo stereoscopio dei solitari. - D) AA.VV, Gioventù cannibale; Niccolò Ammaniti, Branchie; Silvia Ballestra, Compleanno dell'iguana; Enrico Brizzi, Jack Frusciante è uscito dal gruppo; Aldo Busi, Seminario sulla gioventù; Andrea De Carlo, Due di due; Daniele Del Giudice, Lo stadio di Wimbledon; Marco Lodoli, Diario di un millennio che fugge; Isabella Santacroce, Fluo; Pier Vittorio Tondelli, Altri libertini.
Frequency
Attendance is not mandatory, but strongly recommended. Those unable to attend are asked to contact the teacher to define the methods of study of the program. N. B. Students are invited to register on Meet Classroom using their institutional e-mail and the following code: qhkdrw2. Study materials used during the lessons will be shared on the platform.
Exam mode
Evaluation criteria: adequate knowledge of the history of Italian literature of the 20th Century and the contemporary age; adequate ability to understand the literary debate in its historical development; adequate ability of interpretation and analysis of narrative and poetic texts; ability to develop critical-evaluative resources and maturity of judgment; ability to use a specialized language in the critical-literary field. The exam is oral and consists of two sessions. The first session aim at certifying knowledge of the history of Italian literature of the 20th Century and contemporary age (authors, works, movements, trends, literary debates, etc.). Passing this part of the exam is necessary for the continuation of the colloquium. The second session is devoted to the analysis of one or more works chosen by the student on the basis of the Texts section's list (point III). Each work must be placed in its historical setting and in literary production of the author and commented on with an adequate capacity for interpretation and critical-literary analysis, demonstrating maturity of judgement and making use of specialist language. A grade of no less than 18/30 is required to pass the exam. The determination of the final grade takes into account the following elements: - Adequate knowledge of the history of Italian literature of the 20th century and the contemporary age (authors, movements, trends, etc.) and adequate ability to understand the literary debate in its historical development: 60% of the grade; - Adequate ability to interpret and analyse the literary texts studied; ability to develop critical-assessment resources and maturity of judgement; ability to use specialist language in the field of literary criticism: 40% of the grade. To achieve a mark of 30/30 cum laude, the student must demonstrate excellent knowledge of all the topics and be able to link them together in a logical and coherent manner.
Lesson mode
The 6 CFU course will take place in the first semester and will consist of 21 lessons (total 42 hours). The lessons will be carried out through the use of different teaching models, aimed at achieving the expected training objectives. The frontal lessons will be carried out with the help of multimedia materials and with guided explorations of resources and bibliographic tools; seminars on commentary and discussion of selected passages will take place during the lessons. Each week will be assigned the reading of texts not analyzed in class (poems, essays, articles, stories, novel chapters, etc.), on which students will be invited to prepare questions, comments and short presentations to be discussed during the lesson. These seminars are functional to stimulate the ability to understand and interpret narrative and poetic texts, the acquisition of critical-evaluative resources and the development of communication skills in the critical-literary field.
  • Lesson code1023419
  • Academic year2024/2025
  • CourseModern humanities
  • CurriculumSingle curriculum
  • Year2nd year
  • Semester1st semester
  • SSDL-FIL-LET/11
  • CFU6
  • Subject areaLetteratura italiana