Corso di laurea magistrale in
Culture moderne comparate

Knowledge of the main lines of Italian literary history and the tools of literary text analysis.

The teaching contributes to the in-depth knowledge of the history and criticism of literary expression in a comparative dimension, as required by the specific educational objectives of the master's degree course in Comparative Modern Cultures. In particular, it aims to deepen the changes in the interaction between Italian literature and other European literatures through the history and theorizing of a multifaceted genre such as the essay; and the focus on a theme and a practice that characterizes it: the reflection on the reading and the representation of the writer as a reader.

All this in accordance with the goals declared in the SUA-CdS document.

At the end of the course, students must be able to

1) briefly present the main features and the theoretical debate on the history and form of the literary essay in European culture;

2) discuss the forms and role of the genre in twentieth century Italian literature;

3) assess the importance of literary essays in the overall path of the authors addressed;

4) interpret and comment on the texts in the program;

5) comment independently and pertinently also similar texts not present in the program.

For a portrait of the writer as a reader

The teaching is divided into two main parts: the first introduces and discusses the main lines of the history and theory of the literary essay in European culture, with particular attention to the aspects that have the greatest importance for Italian writers of the twentieth century; and proposes a set of tools for the analysis of this elusive and multifaceted genre. The second part deals with the issue, decisive for the essay, of the presence of the reader, understood both as a reflection on ways and times of reading in general, and as a construction in the text of a particular familiarity of the essayist with the reader and as a representation of the writer himself as a reader.

In particular, the following topics will be covered:

- history and theory of the essay in European modernity (from Montaigne to the English eighteenth-nineteenth century to Lukács and the German culture of the early twentieth century);

- profile of essay forms in twentieth century Italian literature;

- analysis scheme of the essay forms;

- comment and discussion of the essays in program, in relation to the topic addressed and the overall trajectory of the writers;

- comparison with similar experiences of other literatures.

Teaching takes place in the classroom, with both lectures and seminars involving the active participation of students.

Learning will be tested in part during teaching, through active participation in discussions; then more specifically through the writing of a paper, of about ten pages, on an appropriate topic to be agreed with the lecturer, which must be handed in within a week before the examination. Finally, by means of an oral examination, with a grade expressed in thirtieths, in which the paper will be discussed and the ability to expound with clarity and propriety on general topics and to interpret and comment on individual texts will be assessed.

Students with Specific Learning Difficulties are encouraged to contact the lecturer at the beginning of the course to arrange individual learning paths suited to their needs, and that could go beyond the compensatory and dispensatory measures guaranteed for the exam.
In general, Students with SLD or disabilities are asked to take note of the university modalities

• of support (https://www.unito.it/servizi/lo-studio/studenti-con-disabilitaopen_in_newopen_in_new),

• of welcoming (https://www.unito.it/accoglienza-studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsaopen_in_newopen_in_new),

• and of the procedures to request support for the exams: https://www.unito.it/servizi/lo-studio/studenti-e-studentesse-con-disabilita/supporto-studenti-e-studentesse-con 

Examination programme:

1) Selection of texts on the history and theory of the essay (in the Teaching material)

2) Texts on reader and reading (present in the Teaching material):

- Mario Praz, Lettrice notturna (1948); La casa della vita, pp. 361-367

- Franco Fortini, Per una critica come servizio (1951); La biblioteca immaginaria (1953); Verifica dei poteri (1960); Il controllo dell’oblio (1982).

- Italo Calvino, Natura e storia nel romanzo (1958); La luce negli occhi (1982); Cecchi e i pesci-drago (1984).

- Leonardo Sciascia, Del rileggere (1981); Goethe e Manzoni (1981)

- Michele Mari, Le copertine di Urania; Otto scrittori e La freccia nera, in Tu, sanguinosa infanzia (1997)

3) One of the following four books:

- Davide Dalmas, Il saggio, il gusto e il cliché. Per un’interpretazione di Mario Praz, Palermo, :duepunti edizioni, 2012.

- Alfonso Berardinelli, La forma del saggio. Definizione e attualità di un genere letterario, Venezia, Marsilio, 2002.

- Andrea Cortellessa, Libri segreti. Autori-critici nel Novecento italiano, Firenze, Le Lettere, 2008.

- Bruno Pischedda, Scrittori polemisti. Pasolini, Sciascia, Arbasino, Testori, Eco, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 2011.