The course, held in English, aims at intro-ducing the students to English literature (from the Victorian to the contemporary period), with specific reference to a selec-tion of canonical texts, and at presenting methodological approaches for the analy-sis of literary texts and genres. The course aims at providing a good knowledge of British literature (articulated in historical context, texts, genres, literary trends and authors) and the skills for a critical analysis and argumentation on different kinds of texts in their historical and cultural context.
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Analyse the literary texts of the programme in their historical and cultural context;
- Apply an aware critical approach to literary texts and present an argumen-tation which shows knowledge of literary conventions
- Express the acquired literary and critical competence in English clearly and coherently.
PERFORMING IDENTITIES IN LITERATURE AND POPULAR CULTURE
The course presents the articulation of identity in literary texts from the Victorian to the contemporary period. The approach will be interdisciplinary (literature, culture, law) and focussed on the revision of the literary tradition (in particular the fantastic and popular culture).
A) Primary Texts (any edition, but NOT abridged)
J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan (1902)
P. Lyndon Travers, Mary Poppins (1934)
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997)
Emma Donoghue, Kissing the Witch (1997)
B) Critical Texts
- Anne McLeer, “Practical Perfection? The Nanny Negotiates Gender, Class, and Family Contradictions in 1960s Popular Culture”. NWSA Journal, 14.2 (2002), 80-101 (le parti indicate durante il corso)
- Monique Chassagnol, "Masks and Masculinity in James Barrie's Peter Pan", in John Stephens, ed., Ways of Being Male. Representing Masculinities in Children's Literature and Film, New York and London, Routledge, 2002, pp. 200-215
- Annette Wannamaker, "Men in Cloaks and High-heeled Boots, Men Wielding Pink Umbrellas: Witchy Masculinities in the Harry Potter Novels", Chapter 5 of Boys in Children's Literature and Popular Culture: Masculinity, Abjection, and the Fictional Child, New York, Routledge, 2012, pp. 121-147.
- J. Zipes, Why Fairy Tales Stick (pp. 1-45)
- J. Storey, “What is Popular Culture?”, in Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction, Routledge, 2018
- B. Bettelheim, The Uses of Enchantment, New York, Vintage Books, 1989 (paragraphs: Fairy Tales and the Existential Predicament", "The Child's Need for Magic")
C) History of Literature (From the Victorian period to the contemporary period)
- A. Sanders, The Short Oxford History of English Literature, Oxford University Press, 2003
NB: the programme will be integrated at the beginning of the course
| Author | Title | Publisher | Year | ISBN | Note |
| J.K. Rowling | Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone | 1997 | |||
| Emma Donoghue | Kissing the Witch | 1997 | |||
| P. Lyndon Travers | Mary Poppins | 1934 | |||
| Monique Chassagnol | , "Masks and Masculinity in James Barrie's Peter Pan", in John Stephens, ed., Ways of Being Male. Representing Masculinities in Children's Literature and Film, New York and London, Routledge, 2002, pp. 200-215 | 2002 | |||
| J.M. Barrie | Peter Pan | 1911 | |||
| Anne McLeer | “Practical Perfection? The Nanny Negotiates Gender, Class, and Family Contradictions in 1960s Popular Culture”. NWSA Journal, 14.2 (2002), 80-101 | 2002 | |||
| Andrew Sanders | The Short Oxford History of English Literature | Oxford, Oxford University Press | 1994 | ||
| Bruno Bettelheim | The Uses of Enchantment, New York, Vintage Books, 1989 (paragraphs: Fairy Tales and the Existential Predicament", "The Child's Need for Magic") | 1989 | |||
| John Storey | “What is Popular Culture?”, in Cultural Theory and Popular Culture: An Introduction, Routledge, 2018 | 2018 | |||
| Jack Zipes | Why Fairy Tales Stick, London, Routledge, 2006 (pp. 1-45) | 2006 |
The lessons will be in English. The exam will be an oral discussion in English on the topic of the course and the texts in the program (parts A,B,C).
In particular:
- the ability to discuss topics (literary trends, authors, genres) within the history of English literature
- the ability to present a critical argumentation on topics related to the texts of the syllabus (making examples from scenes and passages)
- the ability to make connections between the topics of the course, on the basis of the critical texts indicated in the programme
Requirements
Students unable to attend lectures are required to get in touch before preparing for the exam.
All students, possibly also the students who will not be able to attend the course regularly, are kindly invited to attend the first class of the course, when the programme will be illustrated in detail.
