Liberal Arts

Italian Literature II: Contemporary Italian Literature

An exploration of the fascinating italian literary tradition of the second half of the 20th century.

LIT102 Italian Literature: Italian Literature of late XXth Century

Course Description
The Italian literary tradition is rich and complex, and for this course the discussion is limited to a specific historic period, in order to delve into the characteristics without running the risk of spreading our attention across too broad a subject. The choice is oriented on the most recent period because it is closest to the contemporary sensitivity, in order to make the cultural comparison more direct.
The object of the course is to introduce and familiarize the students with the main Italian authors of the second half of the twentieth century and to refine their reading tools through the study of texts.
The general introduction of the author (life, works, historical context, stylistic characteristics) will be followed by the reading and deepened analysis of the texts in order to detect specific vocabulary, syntactic constructions, narrative characteristics, linguistic level, supporting themes, etc.
Naturally, the reading will be guided, but it will be up to the student to do outside research on the writer that will be discussed now and then as a class presentation in order to develop the ability to gather and process information written in Italian.
Most of the texts will be short stories, but excerpts from novels will also be considered. For some of these, there are film adaptations that, if the context so permits, will be suggested to the students.
Moreover, ample space will be left for the discussion and the suggestions of the students who may take an interest in specific authors or subjects. This course is interactive and open, and the authors mentioned here are only indicative of the path that we will follow.
As all work will be done together in class, the final exam will consist of a paper (written and presented orally) on an author and a text of the student’s choice.

Prerequisites
None.

Course Hours
Class meets twice/week for a total of 45 contact hours. Suggested credits: 3.

Student Learning Expectations
An understanding of the work of Italo Calvino and of its value in the field of modern Italian Literature. The development of the ability to analyze and critique literary works.
    

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