ITALIAN LITERATURE - IN ITALIAN

This course is part of the Foundation Year programme, a one-year preparatory programme designed to bridge the gap for international students and facilitate their transition into the Italian university system. The course "Letteratura italiana" provides a survey of Italian literary history from its origins to the early 19th century, exploring major genres, periods, authors, and works. While primarily structured as a historiographical survey, the course incorporates introductory close-reading analysis to foster critical engagement and interpretative skills.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- demonstrate a foundational understanding of the key periods, authors, and works of Italian literature from its origins to the early 19th century, identifying the criteria of literary periodisation;
- situate literary texts within their historical, cultural and artistic context, discerning the defining features of major works;
- apply critical tools for text interpretation, gaining familiarity with the methodological foundations of the discipline;
- understand fundamental issues regarding the evolution of the Italian language and the documentary transmission through which literary texts have been preserved.

Since the course is conducted in Italian, a B2 level of language proficiency is required.

The course is organised into thematic and chronological units, covering major authors, works, and movements from the Middle Ages to the early 19th century:
- Unit 1: the Origins. The European medieval context and tradition, the Sicilian School (Scuola Siciliana), Tuscan poets before the Stilnovo (pre-Stilnovisti), Stilnovo;
- Unit 2: the Three Crowns. Dante Alighieri (Rime, Vita Nova, Commedia), Francesco Petrarca (Canzoniere), Giovanni Boccaccio (Decameron);
- Unit 3: 15th-Century Literature. Angelo Poliziano, Lorenzo de’ Medici, Matteo Maria Boiardo;
- Unit 4: 16th-Century Literature. Pietro Bembo and the foundation of the Italian language, lyric poetry, treatise writing (Baldassarre Castiglione), political and historical prose (Niccolò Machiavelli, Francesco Guicciardini), chivalric epic (Ludovico Ariosto, Torquato Tasso);
- Unit 5: 17th-Century Literature. Baroque and Classicism (Giambattista Marino), Galileo Galilei and scientific literature;
- Unit 6: 18th-Century Literature. The Enlightenment in Europe and Italy, Giuseppe Parini, Vittorio Alfieri, Carlo Goldoni;
- Unit 7: Neoclassicism and Romanticism. Ugo Foscolo, Giacomo Leopardi, Alessandro Manzoni;
- Methodology and Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Introduction to critical tools and bibliographic research; exploration of literature’s relationship with visual arts across the different periods.

The study materials for this course consist of lecture notes, the professor’s slides, and additional teaching materials provided progressively via the Moodle platform.
As a reference textbook, students may consult: Paolo E. Balboni, Letteratura italiana per stranieri. Storia, testi, analisi, attività, Edilingua, 2024.

Successful completion of the course is subject to mandatory attendance and passing the following assessments, which will take place during regular class hours:
- Midterm tests (two written exams): scheduled approximately after one-third and two-thirds of the semester. Each test consists of one open-ended question (to be chosen from two options) with a duration of 45 minutes.
- Final assessment: a PowerPoint presentation on a topic of the student’s choice, related to the course contents.
Specific dates for each test and presentation session will be announced by the professor in advance.

written and oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

Following standard Italian academic practice, students will be graded on a thirty-point scale for both the mid-terms and the final presentation. The final grade will be the average of all three assessments. A minimum score of 18/30 is required to pass the course.

Attendance is mandatory. The course consists of lectures primarily aimed at the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and the specific terminology of the discipline. Classroom discussion is an integral part of the teaching method, designed to promote critical thinking and the ability to apply acquired knowledge.