ITAL20170

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module students will be able to:
- Engage in analytical discussion on Italian 20th- and 21st-century short stories, focusing on the multifaceted concept of identity;
- Critically evaluate the place of each work in its historical and cultural context;
- Analyse texts in terms of both form and content by providing a detailed commentary on individual texts;
- Use empirical evidence to support synthetic conclusions and interpretations;
- Effectively navigate library, electronic, and online resources to conduct independent research and select material judiciously;
- Actively and constructively participate in group activities and present ideas orally.

Indicative Module Content:

Indicative course outline:

Week 1: Introduction to the Module; Luigi Pirandello
Week 2: Il treno ha fischiato” (1914) by LP; “La cariola” (1917) by LP
Week 3: Elsa Morante; “Il soldato siciliano” (1945) by EM
Week 4: “I miei vestiti” (1939) by EM; Dino Buzzati;
Week 5: “Sette piani” (1939) by DB; “Innocenza” (1939) by EM e “Il mantello” (1942) by DB
Week 6: Anna Maria Ortese; “Un paio di occhiali” (1953) by AMO
Week 7: Revision; Class test

Reading Week

Week 8: Primo Levi; “Quaestio de Centauris” (1961) by PL
Week 9: “Protezione” (1971) by PL; Italo Calvino
Week 10: Marcovaldo (1963) by IC; Igiaba Scego
Week 11: “Dismatria” (2005) by IS; “Salsicce” (2003) by IS
Week 12: Revision; Class test

Student Effort Hours:

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:

Lectures and tutorials will focus on in-depth discussions of core texts and critical readings, supplemented by interactive exercises and textual analysis. The course prioritises active, task-based, and case-based learning, incorporating group work as an integral component of the learning process. Active class participation is strongly encouraged, with students expected to fully engage with the materials provided on the educational platform each week.
The module encourages critical thinking and empathy, preparing students to engage with complex societal issues and making them more informed, active, and responsible citizens.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Learning Recommendations:

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.

Module Requisites and Incompatibles

Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy

 

Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 

Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Individual and group feedback will be given on the tutorial activities and on in-class tests within 20 working days of the submission. This feedback will help students in their preparation for similar tasks that must be completed in the end-of-semester examination.

Indicative Reading list

Core texts: “Il treno ha fischiato” (1914) and “La cariola” (1917) by Luigi Pirandello; “I miei vestiti” (1939) “Innocenza” (1939), and “Il soldato siciliano” (1945) by Elsa Morante; “Sette piani” (1939) and “Il mantello” by Dino Buzzati; “Un paio di occhiali” (1953) by Anna Maria Ortese; “Quaestio de Centauris” (1961) and “Protezione” (1971) by Primo Levi; Marcovaldo, ovvero le stagioni in città (1963) by Italo Calvino; “Dismatria” (2005) and “Salsicce” (2003) by Igiaba Scego.

Secondary readings:
W(eek) 1: P. March-Russell, The Short Story: An Introduction, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2009, pp. 1-11; 53-65.
W2: P. March-Russell, The Short Story: An Introduction, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2009, pp. 88-102; V. Taddei, Epiphanies in the modernist short story: Italian and English perspectives, London, Routledge, 2024, pp. 31-81.
W3: S. Zangrandi, Trasfigurare il mondo con la fantasia. Tracce fantastiche nella narrativa breve di Elsa Morante e Anna Maria Ortese, «Cuadernos de filología italiana», 21, 2014, 215-232; E. Porciani, Percorsi diegetici e tematici della scrittura giovanile di Elsa Morante, «Cuadernos de filología italiana», 21, 2014, 157-172.
W4: C. Toscani, Guida alla lettura di Buzzati, Milan, Oscar manuali, 1987, pp. 147-162; M.B. Mignone, Anormalità e angoscia nella narrativa di Dino Buzzati, Ravenna, Longo, 1981, pp. 11-57.
W6: A. Baldi, Infelicità senza desideri: Il mare non bagna Napoli di Anna Maria Ortese, «Italica», 77, 2000, 81-104; L. Re, Invisible Sea: Anna Maria Ortese's Il mare non bagna Napoli, «California Italian Studies», 3, 2012, 1-34; V. DeGasperin Loss and the Other in the Visionary Work of Anna Maria Ortese, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 106-150.
W8: R. Mori, Worlds of “Un-knowledge”: Dystopian Patterns in Primo Levi's Short Stories, «Science Fiction Studies», 42:2, 2015, 274-291. R. Farneti, Of Humans and Other Portentous Beings: On Primo Levi’s Storie naturali, «Critical Inquiry», 32:4, 2006, 724-740.
W9: M. M. Cantarin and M. C. Marino, Post-War Ecosophic Intuition: About the (Im)Possibility of Ecological Coexistence in Marcovaldo, or The Seasons in the City by Italo Calvino, «Humanities», 7:3, 2018, 1-12. Adele Sanna, «The Hybrid “Biocitizen” in Italo Calvino’s Marcovaldo or the Seasons in the City», Ecocritical Approaches to Italian Culture and Literature. The denatured Wild, ed. by Pasquale Verdicchio, Lanham, Maryland, Lexington Books, 2016, p. 31-40.
W10: C. E. Skalle, Nostalgia and Hybrid Identity in Italian Migrant Literature: The Case of Igiaba Scego, «Bergen Language and Linguistics Studies»,7, 2017, 73-86. S. Smythe, Black Italianità: Citizenship and Belonging in the Black Mediterranean, «California Italian Studies», 9, 2019, 1-19.