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Curricular information is subject to change
On successful completion of this module students should be able to: recognize the place of each work in its historical and cultural context; analyse the post-Renaissance texts in terms of both form and content through providing a detailed commentary on individual texts; write a critical essay of a high standard, addressing content, structure, style, and issues of genre and incorporating critical reading; present ideas orally and engage in discussion.
Indicative Module Content:This module focusses on the development of the short story, and particularly on its changing form through the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. Students will read some short stories by Boccaccio in English; we will focus closely on 'Rosso malpelo' and 'L'amante di Gramigna' by Giovanni Verga, and on 'Terno secco' by Matilde Serao as 19th-century examples of short stories. In terms of the 20th century, we will focus on 'La giara', 'Uno di piu'', 'La signora Frola e il signor Ponza, suo genero' and 'Colloqui coi personaggi' by Luigi Pirandello, and 'Sette piani' and 'I sette messaggeri' by Dino Buzzati; our 21st-century examples are Roberto Saviano's 'Il contrario della morte' and Valeria Parrella's 'Il premio'. All of the stories other than those by Boccaccio will be read in Italian. The list above is not meant to be exhaustive; students are encouraged to read other stories by the selected authors.
Indicative course outline:
Course outline:
Week 1: Tuesday tutorial - Introduction to the module (reading list, course outline discussion); introductory comments on short stories through the centuries, and on our authors
Thursday lecture: Boccaccio, beginnings, background
Week 2: Tuesday - Boccaccio tutorial & commentary work (please read set stories in advance, on Brightspace and available from bookshop)
Thursday: Verga, verismo; ‘Rosso malpelo’
Week 3: Tuesday – Verga tutorial and commentary work ( read ‘Rosso malpelo’in advance)
Thursday: Verga, verismo; ‘L’amante di Gramigna’
Week 4: Tuesday – Verga tutorial and commentary work (read ‘L’amante di Gramigna’ in advance)
Thursday: Serao and verismo; ‘Terno secco’
Week 5: Tuesday – Serao tutorial and commentary work (read indicated sections of ‘Terno secco’ in advance)
Thursday: Pirandello between naturalism and modernism
Week 6: Tuesday – Pirandello tutorial and commentary work (read 'La signora Frola' in advance)
Thursday: Pirandello and modernism; ‘La signora Frola’, ‘Colloquii coi personaggi’
Week 7: Tuesday – Pirandello tutorial and commentary work (re-read ‘LsF’ and read ‘Ccp’ in advance)
Thursday: Buzzati’s ideas; ‘Sette piani’ ESSAY/COMMENTARY DUE THIS WEEK
Week 8: Tuesday – Buzzati tutorial and commentary work (read ‘Sette piani’ in advance)
Thursday: Buzzati and form; ‘I sette messaggeri’
Week 9: Tuesday – Buzzati tutorial & commentary work (read ‘I sette messaggeri’ in advance)
Thursday: Contemporary authors and theories; Saviano, ‘Il contrario della morte’
Week 10: Tuesday – Saviano tutorial and commentary work (read ‘Il contrario della morte’ in advance)
Thursday: Contemporaries; Parrella (‘Il premio’)
Week 11: Tuesday – Parrella tutorial & commentary work (read ‘Il premio’ in advance)
Thursday: Contemporaries continued
Week 12: Tuesday – Extra tutorial & commentary work (you will be notified of reading in advance)
Thursday: Overview; developments over the centuries
Student Effort Type | Hours |
---|---|
Specified Learning Activities | 40 |
Autonomous Student Learning | 46 |
Lectures | 12 |
Tutorial | 12 |
Total | 110 |
It is recommended that students have successfully completed Italian language Ib (ITAL10030) and Italian language IIa (ITAL20010) before beginning this module (or that they have equivalent language competency). If in doubt, please contact the module coordinator.
Description | Timing | Component Scale | % of Final Grade | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Assignment(Including Essay): Commentary of at least 1,500 words on one of the nineteenth-century short stories discussed in first half of the module; available in Brightspace and to be submitted through Brightspace | Week 7 | Graded | No | 30 |
No |
Group Work Assignment: Group presentation on one of the texts studied in the module; the presentation grade will be averaged from both an individual and group grade (equally-weighted). | Week 5, Week 6, Week 9, Week 10, Week 11 | Graded | No | 20 |
No |
Exam (In-person): 2-hour end of semester examination (1 essay, 1 commentary) on twentieth century and contemporary short stories discussed in class. | End of trimester Duration: 2 hr(s) |
Graded | No | 50 |
No |
Resit In | Terminal Exam |
---|---|
Autumn | Yes - 2 Hour |
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
Individual and group feedback will be given on the commentary submitted in week 7, within 20 working days of the submission. This feedback will help students in their preparation for the similar tasks that must be completed in the end of semester examination. Individual and group feedback will also be given post-presentation (usually within a week of the presentation having been done in class).
Name | Role |
---|---|
Assoc Professor Paolo Acquaviva | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
Dr Marco Bellardi | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |
Professor Ursula Fanning | Lecturer / Co-Lecturer |