COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

Course title - The origin of the canon: Bible and literary genres. My lessons in Comparative Literature concern authors, genres and problems of Western literature from the 18th to the 21st century and use an integrative methodology that intends to reconcile the historical-cultural and philological-linguistic aspects. I decided to propose a reflection on the Bible understood as a book of the Canon of Western literature containing formal paradigms that give rise to literary discourse.

The course aims to introduce first-year students to the study of literature by proposing an excursus that highlights the evolution of literary genres within the Bible and their influence on the European and American literary tradition and on European and American writers in diachronic perspective. The general training objectives concern: a) the basic understanding of the main definitions of "simple" literary forms and of historically determined literary genres c) the ability to apply specific historical-literary terminology d) the ability to recognize the influence of biblical texts on modern literature. These skills concerning the functioning of the literary text and the development of Western literature should be considered basic skills to continue in the literary-cultural curriculum.

None. There is no prerequisite: it's enough a good knowledge of Italian.

The examination of the critical positions of N. Frye (1912-1991), G. Steiner (1929-2020), H. Bloom (1930-2019) will be conducted with reference to the main trends in comparative studies. Students will also be given essential methodology tools with the appropriate terminology and the correct nomenclature used in literary analysis.

Northrop Frye, The Great Code : the Bible and literature, London, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982.
Harold Bloom, Ruin the Sacred Truths : Poetry and Belief from the Bible to the present, Harvard University Press, 1989.
George Steiner, “A Preface to the Hebrew Bible”, in No Passion Spent : Essays 1978–1996, London, Faber, 1996.
The specific pages of the texts will be indicated by the teacher. Appropriate secondary reading may be suggested during the course.

Optional written test; individual exercises of applying knowledge and textual understanding. The oral exam will be a conversation centered on indicated authors and texts, which will be analyzed, commented and contextualized by the student.

Lectures; programmed participation of students with brief interventions in which they’ll have to demonstrate communicative skills.

Italian

Appropriate secondary reading may be suggested during the course.

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "International cooperation" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development