FRENCH LITERATURE 2

French Literature 2 is one of the teachings that characterizes the literary-cultural path of the Degree Course in Languages, Civilizations and Language Sciences. It allows students to acquire knowledge of the literary and cultural heritage of France in the 18th and 19th centuries; it develops skills in the thematic and formal analysis of literary texts; it focuses on how they respond to the fundamental questions of their time.
Training objectives:
The course aims to provide a general knowledge of the literary production of the eighteenth and nineteenth century French, with particular regard to criteria of periodization, movement and current, as well as the constitution of literary genres. It also aims to develop the capacity for logical and chronological comparison between the works and understanding of phenomena linked to the evolution of genres, through appropriate critical and methodological tools.
Through reading and analysis of selected passages, he intends to develop understanding and analysis skills of literary discourse.

1. Knowledge and understanding
Knowledge of the history of the French novel and poetry, as well as the historical-cultural context of the period in question (18th and 19th centuries). Understanding of literary texts in French.
2. Applying knowledge and understanding
Ability to read, understand, analyse and locate narrative and poetic texts in their respective contexts.
3. Judging skills
Ability to assess the thematic and formal implications of the texts and to link them to the historical and literary context in which they have developed.
4. Communication skills
Ability to expose the subject and problems of the course with a wealth of logic and timeline, clarity and terminological precision.
5. Learning Capabilities
Ability to synthesize, link, sort shapes and data.

French is required to be proficient at least at level B1 of the ERQ, and is mainly intended to read and understand the literary texts of the programme.

History of French literature (18th-19th centuries)

The course aims to address issues related to the narrative literature of the Enlightenment and the narrative and poetry of the 19th century.
In the first part of the course (30 hours), the major forms of 18th-century narrative (conte philosophique, epistolary novel, memoir novel, pedagogical novel) will be studied within the cultural context of the Enlightenment.
The second part (30 hours) will be devoted to the study of exemplary 19th-century texts, from Romanticism to Naturalism, with particular attention to thematic, formal, and structural issues.
In addition to the reading and analysis of selected excerpts during the lessons, further in-depth study will be dedicated to the works listed for full reading in the syllabus.

1. Readings
A. 18th-Century Narrative
Complete reading of:
- Voltaire, Candide ou de l'optimisme (1759)
- Françoise de Graffigny, Lettres d'une Péruvienne (1752)

Excerpts (to be indicated by the instructor) from the following works:
Abbé Prévost, Histoire du chevalier Des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut (1731)
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Émile ou de l'éducation (1762)
Laclos, Les Liaisons dangereuses (1782)

B. 19-th Century Literature
Complete reading of:
Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary (1857)

Selection of texts (to be indicated by the instructor) from:
Lamartine, Méditations poétiques, 1820
Hugo, Les Orientales, 1829
Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du mal, 1857, 1861
Rimbaud, Poésies
Honoré de Balzac, Le père Goriot (1834)
Émile Zola, L'assommoir (1877)

2. Institutional part
Study of the broad lines of literary history in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, in the following manuals:

Storia europea della letteratura francese, a cura di Lionello Sozzi, t. 2: Dal Settecento all’età contemporanea, Torino, Einaudi, coll. “Piccola biblioteca Einaudi”, 2013 (limited to the 18th and 19th centuries).

or:

La civiltà letteraria francese del Settecento, a cura di Gianni Iotti, Bari, Laterza, coll. Istituzioni di letteratura francese, 2009.
Il romanzo francese dell’Ottocento, a cura di Anna Maria Scaiola, Bari, Laterza, coll. Istituzioni di letteratura francese, 2008.
La poesia francese 1814-1914, a cura di Luca Pietromarchi, Bari, Laterza, coll. Istituzioni di letteratura francese, 2012.

Literary history textbooks to be consulted for further study:

Jean Erhard et René Pomeau, Histoire de la littérature française : de Fénelon à Voltaire, nouvelle éd. révisée, Paris, GF-Flammarion, 1999.
Michel Delon, Robert Mauzy et Sylvain Menant, Histoire de la littérature française : de l’ « Encyclopédie » aux « Méditations », nouvelle éd. révisée, Paris, GF-Flammarion, 1999.
Max Milner et Claude Pichois, Histoire de la littérature française: de Chateaubriand à Baudelaire, nouvelle éd. révisée, Paris, GF-Flammarion, 1996.
Michel Décaudin et Daniel Leuwers, Histoire de la littérature française: de Zola à Guillaume Apollinaire, nouvelle éd. révisée, Paris, GF-Flammarion, 1996.

Further bibliographical references will be provided during the course.

The exam consists of an oral interview, partly in Italian and partly in French, focusing on the topics covered during the lessons, as well as on the institutional component concerning the literary history of the period in question.
The exam will assess knowledge of the works studied within their literary and historical context, the ability to analyze the texts examined during the course, and an in-depth understanding of the works included in the syllabus, in French.
In the evaluation process, particular attention will be given to clarity of expression, the logical structure of the discourse, and the historical contextualization of the works and authors studied.

oral

Assessment is graded on a scale of thirty, with a minimum passing mark of 18/30.
The grading scale is as follows:
Range 18–22: Barely sufficient/sufficient knowledge of the syllabus; limited ability in comprehension, analysis, and interpretation of texts; adequate communication skills.
Range 23–26: Fair knowledge of the syllabus; sufficient to fair ability in comprehension, analysis, and interpretation of texts; fair communication skills.
Range 27–30: Good to excellent knowledge of the syllabus; good to excellent ability in text comprehension and analysis, including the capacity to form independent judgments; clear, appropriate and effective expression; active participation and completion of at least 70% of the scheduled online activities.
Honours (cum laude) will be awarded in cases of extensive and in-depth knowledge of the syllabus, including relevant critical readings, as well as strong interpretative skills, independent judgement, and excellent communication abilities.

The lessons will alternate between interactive activities and traditional lectures, conducted in both Italian and French.
The materials and texts provided by the instructor and analyzed during class will be prepared in advance by the students.

Students who are unable to attend classes are kindly requested to contact the lecturer by email at the beginning of the semester.