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