ECOLOGY AND LITERATURE

The course is part of:
- the Interdisciplinary activities [C] for the the English Studies curriculum of the Master's Degree Programme in European, American and Postcolonial Languages and Literatures (LLEAP) degree and the Joint European Master Degree in English and American Literary and Cultural Studies.
- the Interdisciplinary activities [C] for the Master’s Degree in Environmental Humanities (EH).
- the Core educational activities [B] of the Master's Degree Programme in Language and Civilisation of Asia and Mediterranean Africa (LICAAM - South Asian Curriculum)

The main objective of this course is to enable students to address the relationship between literary/cultural texts and ecological issues from a theoretical perspective with a high degree of self-direction or autonomy.

Advanced reading, speaking and writing knowledge of English.

Situated in the context of a planetary environmental crisis, this course examines the multiple ways in which literature represents, illuminates, and mediates the relationship between humans and water, through the critical lens of the Blue Humanities. This emerging interdisciplinary field, in Steve Mentz’s definition, "explores the many ways humans engage with water, utilizing literary, cultural, historical, and theoretical connections and ecologies to introduce students to the history and theory of water-centric thinking.” Our starting point will be the works of William Shakespeare, filled with oceans, seas, rivers, rainstorms, and vapours. The main text under scrutiny will be The Tempest, to show how a classic author – continuously adapted and reinvented by every time and culture in multiple cultural forms (theatre, film, poetry, fiction, visual arts, dance, memes, etc.) – can become our contemporary in an age of environmental crisis. Other plays will include The Merchant of Venice, Othello, Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and Antony and Cleopatra.
We will examine the main concepts of the Blue Humanities and taking advantage of the resources of NICHE – The New Institute Center for the Environmental Humanities, with its unique water-focused research activities and lectures.
The course will also have a crucial creative, material component: we aim at producing a collective, illustrated book on Shakespeare’s waters for a non-academic audience. Students will be expected to join a group of four or five members, in a mandatory mix of Italian and international students. Each group will have to make its contribution to the book, containing a variety of written, visual, and material contents reflecting the themes of the course and the group’s discussions. We will discuss modern ecocritical interpretations of the water imagery and dynamics in his works and the strategies used by modern directors and actors to bring environmental concerns to the Shakespearean stage. Shakespeare and the Blue Humanities will illuminate one another in search of memory and vision, fear and hope, diagnosis and transformation, community and activism.

Required Texts:

W. Shakespeare, THE TEMPEST, Arden Shakespeare Third series, eds. Alden T. Vaughan and Virginia Mason Vaughan, 2014.
S. Mentz, INTRODUCTION TO THE BLUE HUMANITIES, Routledge, 2023.

Important Note on Shakespeare Edition: Please be aware that numerous editions of Shakespeare's plays exist, varying significantly in length and line numbering. While you are welcome to consult other versions (including those with parallel texts and translations in your preferred language), it is essential that all students possess the specified Arden Shakespeare Third series edition for this course.

Additional critical materials will be available on the Moodle page.

The final written exam will consist of open questions covering the mandatory texts, class discussions, and activities. Students unable to participate in teamwork will be assigned supplementary readings.

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Answering fewer than three questions will automatically result in a failing grade.
Inaccurate citations of names and titles will negatively impact the grade.
Adhering to the recommended length for answers (based on the space provided on the examination sheet) is essential.

The course will involve lectures, class discussions, and participatory creative work. Students are expected to attend regularly and to complete the assigned readings before each class.

Questo insegnamento tratta argomenti connessi alla macroarea "Capitale naturale e qualità dell'ambiente" e concorre alla realizzazione dei relativi obiettivi ONU dell'Agenda 2030 per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile