OVERVIEW OF 20TH CENTURY ITALIAN LITERATURE

Degree course: 
Corso di First cycle degree in COMMUNICATION SCIENCES
Academic year when starting the degree: 
2023/2024
Year: 
2
Academic year in which the course will be held: 
2024/2025
Course type: 
Basic compulsory subjects
Seat of the course: 
Varese - Università degli Studi dell'Insubria
Credits: 
7
Period: 
First Semester
Standard lectures hours: 
56
Detail of lecture’s hours: 
Lesson (56 hours)
Requirements: 

A prerequisite for the course is a good ability to analyze the text and knowledge of the general lines of the development of Italian literary history of the twentieth century, with the historical-critical framework of its main literary movements and the cultural and biographical profile of the major authors. The placement of the course in the second year therefore allows the reference to the acquisitions of the Italian Literature course of the first year.

Final Examination: 
Orale

The final exam consists of an oral test aimed at testing the acquisition, comprehension and re-elaboration of the course contents, on the basis of the synchronic structure consistent with the course organisation.
Textbooks, alongside with other books required by the course program and slides (available on the e-learning platform) provide the general knowledge of the topic and of expositive and critical-analysis skills.
The final mark is calculated primarily on the basis of the correctness and pertinence of the answers given during the oral exam (70%), with regard to communicative skills and the ability to adequately justify statements, analysis and evaluations during the oral test (30%).

Assessment: 
Voto Finale

With the aim of drawing some lines of literary Italian in the geo-history of the Twentieth century, the course provides a panorama of the forms through which the relationship (stimulating, critical, contrastive...) of writers with society, between printed paper and public space, has been expressed. The intent is to involve students in an indepth reflection on the use of the linguistic tool in theater, in poetry, in long and short fiction and in translation, stimulating their ability to perceive the value of a text and its cultural significance, introducing a portion of the history of literary Italian. The teaching therefore pertains to an essential area of the educational path of communication sciences, focusing on the complex phenomenon of the text, between the history of the Italian language, literary typologies and ideological frameworks.

The course explores the dynamics between literary language and language of use through the research of individual writers of a common language. It is structured in three parts: the analysis of some cases of literary Italian in prose and narrative, then in poetry, is followed by a thematic study of centers and peripheries in twentieth-century narrative prose, with particular attention to Southern Italy and to Italy outside Italy.

• Literary language and language of use: the search for a common language
• The funcionality of the literary language
• Syntactic complexity and expressive setting
• Expressionism and neorealism
• Crisis and resources of poetic language
• Centers and peripheries in narrative prose: Southern Italy, Italy outside of Italy

The learning goals of the course will be achieved through frontal lessons (total time 56 hours). Remakable texts will be delivered and discussed with and adequate historical overview. The linguistic and rhetorical perspectives of the texts will assume a particular importance, together with the investigation of the iteration among contemporary literary, artistic and philosophical phenomenon.

Upon email request (ev.maiolini@uninsubria.it), at the end of the classes.