Italian literature for publishing (2018/2019)

Learning outcomes

The main objective of the course is to introduce to the study of Italian literature through the direct analysis of a corpus of texts of which the editorial history is presented; in particular, the student will know the main steps that lead to the publication of a literary work since the invention of movable type printing onwards.

At the end of the course the student will be able to
- contextualize, understand and comment on a literary text;
- to look at the literary text as a complex organism, in constant dialogue with other realities and in close relationship with the publishing world that allows its diffusion and success;
- move with competence in the framework of the Italian literary tradition and its main thematic and formal characteristics, with attention to the in-tersections with the European literature.

The course will begin with an introduction to the method of study and research in literary subjects. A brief introduction to the Italian literature of the eighteenth century will be given. Students will be required to know the main lines of the history of Italian literature in the eighteenth century: to prepare this part the student could use a good history of Italian literature for the high schools; for example: ALBERTO BENISCELLI, Il Settecento, Il Mulino, Bologna.

The course will focus on the relationship between literature and publishing in the eighteenth century, and particular attention will be devoted to the exchange of letters between two eighteenth-century journalists: Angelo Calogerà and Giovanni Lami. For the preparation of this part the student will use the notes taken in class.

Students who did not attend to the lessons will be able to prepare the second part of the exam by studying the text: Fabio Forner, Scrivere lettere nel XVIII secolo: precettistica, prassi e letteratura, Verona, QuiEdit, 2012.

The assessment of the preparation will take place by oral examination, intended to verify above all the direct knowledge and the ability to analyze the texts. It is scheduled an in itinere test for attending students that will focus on the first part of the course. With regard to this first part, the student will be required to know the main lines of Italian literary history in the 18th century. The student will have to study with particular attention the following authors: Pietro Metastasio, Cesare Beccaria, Scipione Maffei, Lodovico Antonio Muratori, Gasparo Gozzi, Carlo Goldoni, Giuseppe Parini, Vittorio Alfieri. For each author the student must present at least two works. The student will mainly prepare this part of the exam independently.
The first part of the exam (substituted by the in itinere test for attending students) is oral; the first question will concern the biography of an author, the second will ask to illustrate two worksof that same author chosen by the student .

The program of the first part of the exam is the same for both attending students and non-attending students.

The second part of the exam is oral and will verify the level of learning of the second part of the course. The attending students must know the biographies of Lami and Calogerà; the most important literary newspapers of the eighteenth century, in particular the "Novelle letterarie" of Lami; the student must be able to paraphrase and comment the texts presented in class.

Non-attending students will prepare this second part studing the book Scrivere lettere nel XVIII secolo, quoted in the bibliography: in the oral examination the question will focus on one of the authors presented in the book Scrivere lettere nel XVIII secolo, the student will be asked to illustrate in particular the editorial history , the structure and content of the manual of that same author.

Students may decide to give the two parts of the exam in the same appello, or in two separate appelli.


The vote is expressed in 30/30.

STUDENT MODULE EVALUATION - 2017/2018