MODERN AND CONTEMPORARY KOREAN LITERATURE

This is one of the core courses within the "Korea" curriculum of the Corso di Laurea Magistrale in "Lingue e Civiltà dell'Asia e dell'Africa Mediterranea".
The course contributes to the attainment of the formative goals of the Corso di Laurea in the area of humanities-related skills.
The course aims at helping students to obtain:
- A high level of critical knowledge and understanding of various socio-cultural phenomena relevant to Korea;
- The ability to produce oral and written texts related to the field of literary studies;
- A deeper knowledge of the social realities, ways of thinking, and textual cultures of the selected field;
- The ability to obtain competence and confident use of sources and research tools related to the selected field;
- The ability to apply their knowledge to the field of literary studies.

Knowledge and Understanding:
- Basic knowledge of theories and methods of Modern and Contemporary Korean literary production;
- In-depth knowledge of Korean historical and literary movements to be understood through such theories and methods;

Knowledge and understanding:
- Learn to apply theoretical and methodological tools acquired in the field of modern and contemporary Korean literature;
- Critical approach to field-related scholarship;
- Ability to read and analyze texts of Korean contemporary poetry.

Communication:
- Summarize and communicate into writing the gist of scholarly texts in a formally correct and effective manner.

Judgment ability:
- To be able to examine available sources and identify their arguments and theoretical assumptions;

Good knowledge of Premodern and Modern/Contemporary Korean Literature. Very good knowledge of advanced Korean Language structures.

Lesson 1 - Introduction to the course and the historical-literary period
Lesson 2 - Poetry of the Liberation period and of the Korean War
Lesson 3 - Poetry of the Sixties and Seventies
Lesson 4 - Feminist poetry (1)
Lesson 5 - Feminist poetry (2)
Lesson 6 - Poetry of the Eighties and Kwangju
Lesson 7 - Korean poetry and deconstructionism
Lesson 8 - Eighties: the role of 'Mukji' journals
Lezione 9 - Feminist poetry of the Eighties - text reading and translation
Lesson 10 - Feminist poetry of the Eighties - text reading and translation (2)
Lezione 11 - Poetry of the 'Future School' (Miraep'a) - Introduction
Lezione 12 - Miraep'a Poets - text reading and translation
Lezione 13 - Miraep'a Poets - text reading and translation (2)
Lezione 14 - Miraep'a Poets - text reading and translation (3)
Lezione 15 - Miraep'a Poets - text reading and translation (4)

TEXTBOOK
Peter H. Lee - A History of Korean Literature, Cambridge University Press, 2003
chapters from 18 to 25 included.
Ample reference materials uploaded on Moodle.

Further detailed bibliographical information will be provided before the beginning of the course and uploaded on the dedicated Moodle platform.

The final exam will consist of an oral exam on the program studied in class. Korean texts will also be read and translated. Students will also have to produce an original text in Korean, to be read during the exam.

oral

The instructor is responsible for ensuring the authenticity and originality of all examinations and coursework. In cases of suspected academic misconduct, an additional on-site assessment may be required during the exams, which may differ from the standard format.

Regarding the grading scale, scores will be assigned according to the following criteria:
A. Scores in the 18-22 range will be awarded in the presence of a sufficient knowledge of the main
authors and genres of Korean literature from the historical periods covered.
B. Scores in the 23-26 range will be awarded in the presence of a fair knowledge of the main
authors and genres of Korean literature from the historical periods covered.
C. Scores in the 27-30 range will be awarded in the presence of a good or excellent knowledge of
the main authors and genres of Korean literature from the historical periods covered.
D. Honors will be awarded in the presence of an outstanding knowledge of the main authors and
genres of Korean literature from the historical periods covered.

Teacher-led classes and direct students' involvement in class. Students will be required to prepare translations into Italian of brief excerpts of Modern and Contemporary Korean Fiction by some of the main literary figures of the period. Translated texts will be corrected in class.

Attendance is highly encouraged, although not mandatory.