ROMANCE PHILOLOGY

The teaching of Romance Philology 1 module 1 is one of the characteristic teachings of the Course of Studies (Master's Degree) in Language Sciences and in European, American and Postcolonial Languages and Literatures. The general objective of the course is to explain the formation and development of the Romance languages in the Middle Ages and to analyse in depth and in original language some texts of the Romance literatures developed between the 11th and 14th centuries.

1. Knowledge and understanding

To know and understand, in a comparative perspective, the main phenomena of the linguistic change in the medieval Romance context, also in function of an adequate understanding of the characteristics of the Romance languages in today's phase;

Know and understand the main historical, cultural and literary events of the Romance world through textual documentation;

To know and understand the dynamics of text production in the Middle Ages and its dissemination through time and space.



2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:


To know how to recognise the main phenomena of linguistic change in the Romance languages and to know how to illustrate their importance, also in order to take into account the peculiarities of these languages at this stage;

To be able to deal, in the relevant context, with the linguistic and historical-cultural analysis of a medieval text, using the investigative tools discussed in the course;

To be able to use philological terminology correctly in the main areas of teaching.


3. Autonomy of judgement:

To be able to orient oneself in the critical debate on themes of philological subject, in order to be able to face the evaluation of alternative hypotheses concerning the same phenomenon (linguistic, literary, historical-cultural) or to formulate hypotheses on various questions of the discipline.


4. Communication skills:

To be able to communicate in a clear and technically appropriate way the contents of the course, using the register relevant to the communicative situation.



5. Learning ability:

To be able to propose in an organic way the contents of the course.
To be able to orient oneself adequately when reading the reference texts.

No specific prerequisites are required

The Medieval Legend of Alexander the Great (Part I).
In the first two sessions, this course aims to present the fundamental facts regarding the formation and development of the Romance languages from their common Latin roots. The focus will then shift to the medieval reception of the ancient legend of the Macedonian leader, as reworked in the Old French "Roman d’Alexandre" and the Castilian "Libro de Alexandre". An analysis of selected episodes from these two works will allow students to appreciate the originality and distinctive features of the medieval reinterpretation of the life and exploits of Alexander the Great.

Libro de Alexandre, a cura di J. Cañas, Madrid 1988;
Alexandre de Bernay, Il Romanzo di Alessandro, a cura di M. Infurna e M. Mancini, Milano 2014;
Il lai di Aristotele, a cura di M. Infurna, Roma 2005;

Additional reading materials (short essays) will be posted and made available by the instructor on the Moodle platform.

Students who are unable to attend class should contact the instructor.

Ask questions about your classroom program and personal readings. The questions allow to test critical thought, as well as the capacity of mastering the subject.
More specifically:
Knowledge and understanding as well as communication skills will be verified through content questions;
The ability to apply knowledge and understanding will be verified through practical exercises, such as the translation of passages from the texts analysed during the course;
autonomy of judgement will be verified by questions on the personal evaluation of the various positions of the critic on the subject dealt with.

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.

The examination, which is oral, will begin with a question on literature: if the student will not be able to answer the first and then not even the second and third pointed questions on literature (i.e., questions such as: what is Chrétien de Troyes' “Perceval” about, or: what is indicated by chanson de geste of rebellious vassals, he will answer: I don't know, will have to resubmit. For those who have passed this first part, the examination will continue with a first and then a second question on framing, contextualisation, translation and commentary of one of the passages from the texts examined in class. 18 to 22 points will be awarded if the preparation appears to be barely sufficient or superficial and the critical language imprecise; 23 to 26 if the preparation appears to be partial and the critical language modest; 27 to 30 with possible honours if the preparation as well as the critical language appear to be good or excellent.

Lectures and presentation by the students of precise researches on the theme of the course assigned during the lectures.