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 Module Content

This module examines six authors spanning from the beginning of the twentieth century to the twenty-first century, selected to reflect a range of gendered, social, and cultural perspectives: Luigi Pirandello, Dino Buzzati, Liana Millu, Anna Maria Ortese, Primo Levi, and Igiaba Scego. Students will explore two short stories by each author. Weekly readings, including both primary texts (in orginal and English translation) and selected secondary scholarship, will be made available via Brightspace.

Assessment consists of two in-class tests and a 10-minute video project:

The two in-class tests will take place in Week 6 and Week 12. These two assessments are completed entirely without AI assistance. Students must rely solely on their existing knowledge, understanding, skills, and ongoing research.

For the 10-minute video study project, AI may be used for the review of assessment format or presentation, such as checking spelling, grammar, and punctuation, or aligning a bibliography or Works Cited with a specific citation style. This category focuses on the effective use of AI for format, presentation and other technical matters. It must not be used for the creation or refinement of content and argument.

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


 

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:

No knowledge of Italian is required.

Module Requisites and Incompatibles

Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.

 

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; “Sette piani” (1939) by Dino Buzzati; "Lily Marlen" (1947) by Liana Millu; “Un paio di occhiali” and "Interno familiare" (1953) by Anna Maria Ortese; “Protezione” (1971) by Primo Levi; “Dismatria” (2005) and “Salsicce” (2003) by Igiaba Scego.

Secondary readings:
E.R. Baer, Rereading Women’s Holocaust Memoirs: Liana Millu’s Smoke Over Birkenau, Lessons and Legacies VIII, 11:2008.
V. DeGasperin, Loss and the Other in the Visionary Work of Anna Maria Ortese, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2014, pp. 106-150.
R. Farneti, Of Humans and Other Portentous Beings: On Primo Levi’s Storie naturali, «Critical Inquiry», 32:4, 2006, 724-740.
P. March-Russell, The Short Story: An Introduction, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2009, pp. 1-11; 53-65; 88-102.
R. Mori, Worlds of “Un-knowledge”: Dystopian Patterns in Primo Levi's Short Stories, «Science Fiction Studies», 42:2, 2015, 274-291.
L. Re, Invisible Sea: Anna Maria Ortese's Il mare non bagna Napoli, «California Italian Studies», 3, 2012, 1-34;
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.
V. Taddei, Epiphanies in the modernist short story: Italian and English perspectives, London, Routledge, 2024, pp. 31-81.

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.