500062 - ITALIAN LITERATURE

courses

ID:

500062

Duration (hours):

84

CFU:

SSD:

LETTERATURA ITALIANA

Located in:

CREMONA

Year:

2025

Date/time interval

Primo Semestre (29/09/2025 - 23/01/2026)

Course Objectives

Through the analysis of problems of significant importance, the course aims to introduce the knowledge of Italian literature in its diachronic development and in its formal characteristics, focusing on the reading and analysis of texts, in consideration of their process of processing and transmission; in this way it is also intended to achieve the acquisition of skills in literary forms and genres, research tools and methods, general frameworks of the history of poetics.

Course Prerequisites

Knowledge acquired through the training process of upper secondary school, in particular with regard to language skills and basic knowledge of Italian literature

Teaching Methods

The course takes place with face-to-face lessons, open to student intervention, largely based on the direct reading of literary texts; a part of exercises is foreseen, dedicated in particular to the study of metrics; all lessons will be recorded live, in audio format, creating podcasts available to enrolled students. Necessary materials of different kinds (texts, diagrams, reproductions, video, etc.) will be available, both for lessons and for personal study, on the kiro platform.

Assessment Methods

The exam is oral and takes place in person; it assesses preparation for both the monographic and general sections. For the monographic section, direct knowledge of the texts and recognition of their basic structural and formal aspects will be assessed, as well as the ability to understand and connect them, reconstructing the proposed interpretations, including through personal interpretations. For the general section, knowledge of the textbooks is required. It is possible to take this section only with an optional written test before the January and June exam sessions; this test will consist of three or four open-ended questions and will last two hours.

Texts

A) For the monographic section, the course is based on: 1) reading the following works (in the editions indicated): Luciano di Samosata, Dialoghi di dei e di cortigiane, Milano, BUR Rizzoli, 1986 (o ristampe) Voltaire, Candido ovvero l’ottimismo, traduzione di Riccardo Bacchelli, Milano, Oscar Mondadori, 2016 G. Leopardi, Operette morali, selezione e commento di Giorgio Panizza, Milano, Edizioni scolastiche Bruno Mondadori, 1991 (digital reproduction available on kiro); G. Leopardi, Operette morali, a cura di Laura Melosi, Milano, BUR, 2008; G. Leopardi, Operette morali, Edizione commentata, Milano, Le Monnier università, 2024 2) on the following studies: O. Besomi, Tra preistoria e cronaca delle Operette, in G. Leopardi, Operette morali, edizione critica a cura di O. Besomi, Milano, Fondazione Arnoldo e Alberto Mondadori, 1979, pp. XIII-LVI (digital reproduction available on kiro); L. Blasucci, La posizione ideologica delle “Operette morali”, in Leopardi e i segnali dell’infinito, Bologna, il Mulino, 1985, pp. 165-226; E. Russo, Ridere del mondo. La lezione di Leopardi, Bologna, il Mulino, 2017; G. Panizza, A proposito delle Operette morali. Una discussione sul libro di Emilio Russo, Ridere del mondo. La lezione di Leopardi, «Giornale storico della letteratura italiana», 2019, pp. 70-90 (digital reproduction available on kiro). Reproductions of Leopardi's autographs held by the National Library of Naples will be used: https://dl.bnnonline.it/handle/20.500.12113/4758 Materials and excerpts from the Zibaldone will be made available on kiro. The paperback edition of the Zibaldone is recommended: Roma, Newton Compton, 1997 B) The general part must be prepared on: 1) Giulio Ferroni, Storia della letteratura italiana. Dal Cinquecento al Settecento, Milano, Mondadori università, 2021: epoca 6; Giulio Ferroni, Storia della letteratura italiana. Dall’Ottocento al Novecento, Milano, Mondadori università, 2021: epoche 7 e 8 2) for the study of Italian metrics, we recommend: Aldo Menichetti, Prima lezione di metrica, Roma – Bari, Laterza, 2013

Monographic part: Philology and Philosophy. On Leopardi's "Operette morali" General Section: 1) Italian literary history from the early eighteenth century to the unification of Italy; 2) Fundamentals of Italian metrics (prosody, main metric forms)

Course Language

Italian

More information

The program is identical for both attending and non-attending students. Students authorized to benefit from inclusive teaching must contact the instructor in advance to arrange procedures and activities specifically for them. It is particularly important to emphasize the availability of lecture recordings and tutoring services for everyone.