BERGAMO
Dati Generali
Periodo di attività
Syllabus
Obiettivi Formativi
At the end of the course, the student:
a. has a critical knowledge of the literary and cultural history of the United Kingdom in the nineteenth and the twentieth century through the reading in the original language and the analysis of the set literary texts;
b. has some basic methodological strategies for the critical reading of novels, poems and essays;
c. can apply critical skills to literary texts;
d. describes and discusse literary complexity;
e. makes independent evaluations of literary texs.
Prerequisiti
Successful completion of the course English Language I (first year).
Intermediate knowledge of the English language.
An outline of the history of English literature.
Metodi didattici
Lectures, films. Lessons will include PowerPoint slides, as well as audio-video materials.
Students will be asked to actively participate in these activities, with discussion and debate.
Guest lecturers may contribute to focus on specific topics.
Verifica Apprendimento
Attending students: the first session is a written exam (six questions on the course with open answers, including a brief translation. max. five points for each answer ). The remaining sessions are oral.
Abilities required for the exam:
1. a basic knowledge of the 19th and 20th century cultural and literary issues engaged in the course.
2. students must be able to read all the texts addressed in English and to translate them into Italian.
3. students must be able to develop a critical argument on the issues engaged with adequate references to the texts addressed.
The result of the written exam is visible in the student's webpage. A mail is sent by the system to inform about publication.
Grading scale:
a.Outstanding (30 e lode ): excellent knowledge of all of the contents of the course. Excellent ability to analyze the texts and to contextualize them in an appropriate way. The student uses the academic writing register/style with appropriate linguistic terminologies. The translation if required is correct.
b. Very good (30 to 27): very good knowledge of all of the contents of the course. Very good ability to analyze the texts and to contextualize them in an appropriate way. The translation if required contains hardly any mistakes.
c. Good (26-24): Good knowledge of the contents of the course. Adequate ability to describe the texts. The language used is simple but correct. The translation if required is good.
d. Fair/sufficient (23-18): The exam show sufficient knowledge, coherence, use of appropriate resources and quality of presentation to warrant a basic pass. The ability to analyze the texts is not wholly satisfactory. The answer is very descriptive and does not fully address the issues raised by the question. The translation if required is not wholly satisfactory.
e. Fail (below 18): The student demonstrates only a basic awareness of the contents of the course. The answer is frequently confused and incoherent, contains inaccuracies and major errors.
Contenuti
This course explores the strategic role of the British Empire in shaping ‘metropolitan’ Anglophone literature and culture from the 17th century to the present day. The course specifically examines cultural representations of ‘otherness’ with a focus on race and gender, approached from a postcolonial perspective. Students will engage in critical readings of diverse texts spanning different periods, authors, and genres, including drama (Shakespeare), fiction (Achebe, Cleave), poetry (Kisuule), nonfiction (Woolf, Ghosh), and visual artwork (Wilson).
In addition to introducing fundamental methodological strategies for analyzing different literary genres, the course will offer an overview of the cultural and historical contexts of the selected works.
Primary texts (Complete reading or selected passages, as indicated by the lecturer during the course)
Part 1 (Lecturer: Nicora – 3 CFU)
- William Shakespeare, Othello (1603-4; 1622)
- Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (1958)
Part 2 (Lecturer: Rozzoni – 6 CFU)
(Primary texts)
- Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own (1929) - essay
- Kabe Wilson, Of One Woman or So, by Olivia N’Gowfri (2009-2014) - experimental literature
- Amitav Ghosh, The Nutmeg’s Curse (2021) - essay
- Vanessa Kisuule, Hollow (2020) - poem
- Chris Cleave, The Other Hand (2016) - novel
(Secondary texts)
- Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Can the Subaltern Speak? (1988)
- Homi Bhabha, The Location of Culture (1994)
For the complete reading list (including primary and secondary texts), please visit Leganto or the nd the course’s eLearning (Moodle) page.
Altre informazioni
Students who cannot attend classes need to get in touch with the instructor
Non attending students may be required to attend recorded lessons and to submit the requested assignments in order to be admitted to the exam. A short oral exam will discuss the student's answers.
Coursebooks are also available in the University Library.