COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

Comparative Literature plays a central function in the department of Languages, Cultures and Linguistics. During the 20th c. a lively debate has attempted to define borders and remit of this approach to literary studies. The kernel of the debate has been if and how to overcome the identification of cultural contents and language. Students choosing languages different from their native ones, are already attracted by a comparative perspective and ready to work in a multicultural environment. These students are able from a linguistic, stylistic and formal perspective to understand some of the most daring literary experiments of the 20th c., from James Joyce to W.G. Sebald.
This is a core course of the CdS.

At the end of the course, students are expected to view the 20t c. in a non nationalist perspective. Students are expected:
1. to have demonstrated knowledge and understanding that builds upon their general secondary education, and is typically at a level that, whilst supported by advanced textbooks, includes some aspects that will be informed by knowledge of the forefront of their field of study; 2. to be able to apply their knowledge and understanding in a manner that indicates a professional approach to literary studies (and to discuss these in professional contexts such as publishing or promoting cultural events), and have competences typically demonstrated through devising and sustaining arguments and solving problems; 3. to have the ability to gather and interpret literary texts to inform judgements that include reflection on relevant social and ethical issues on Europe 4. to communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to both specialist and non-specialist audiences; 5. have developed those learning skills that are necessary for them to continue to undertake further study with a high degree of autonomy.

None. Some of the material is in English and students should be able to follow in class or on Moodle exerpts of interview and essay offered in English.

English is not tested in the exam.

History and the novel in the 20th c.
The first part of the course is focussed on James Joyce. There are ample references to psychonalysis, linguistic, science and philosophy in order to define the intellectual dynamics that opposes naturalism and avant-guards. Lectures subsequently focus on Primo Levi's works in a comparative perspective and the novel Austerlitz, by W.G. Sebald: a line of inquiry will be centred on the Shoah and the way is narrated. What is a witness, what is an author. We shall investigate narratives of witnesses. Levi is extremely aware of the implications of his literary choices. We will examine how he addressed these concerns in his writing and his poetical evolution. Referring to Homo sacer by Giorgio Agamben we will analyze how contemporary mass societies absorb or reject the contents of these books and how they shaped, particularly for Primo Levi, a biographical course.
We will also consider the way the themes explored in the course shape the narrative of W.G. Sebald's novel Austerlitz.

James Joyce, Ulysses, andy edition, or a different text relevant to the language studied. It needs to be agreed with Prof. Palandri
Enrico Palandri, Primo Levi, Le Monnier, 2011
Un romanzo a scelta di Primo Levi
W.G. Sebald. Austerlitz. 2006
Giorgio Agamben, Homo sacer, 1995

Students present in their oral examination a 20th. c text from the main cultural tradition of their studies (English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese etc.); one novel of Primo Levi and Austerlitz by W.G. Sebald. They are valued on three main criteria: 1) ability to absorb the main characteristic of the text (style, architecture, themes). 2) Ability to compare texts with other texts of different cultures. 3) How they elaborate a general discourse on the main themes of the course (how literature describes totalitarian states, mass societies, political transformations and tragedies in the 20th c.)

30 hours of lectures in Italian

Italian

As part of the course is made up by guest speakers and presentations, it is impossible to reproduce exactly what is being said in a bibliography. Students interested in this subject are strongly advised to follow the lectures.

oral