BERGAMO
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
The course will provide students with a broad introduction to the main historical and literary features of the Hispano-American literature of the 19th century through the reading of a selection of exemplary texts by several authors, focusing in particular on the peculiarities that characterize the Latin American Romanticism and Modernismo compared to the contemporary European literary movements. ROMANTIC LITERATURE: Andrés Bello, “A la agricultura de la zona tórrida”, in Obra literaria, Biblioteca Ayacucho 1985. Esteban Echeverría, “El matadero” in El matadero y La cautiva, Catedra 1997. José Maria de Heredia, “En el teocalli de Cholula” and “Oda al Niagara”, in Obra poética, Letras cubanas 1993. Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda, “Al partir” and “La noche de insomnio y el alba”, in Obra selecta, Biblitoeca Ayacucho 1990. Julián Del Casal, Nieve, in Poesía completa y prosa selecta, Verbum 2001. José Hernández, El Gaucho Martín Fierro. La ida (canti I, III, VI, VIII, IX), Castalia, 1994. Ricardo Palma, “Palla-Huarcuna” and “Don Dimas de la Tijereta”, in Tradiciones peruanas, Catedra 1994. José M. Oviedo, Historia de la literatura hispanoamericana, Alianza 1995, vol. 1 (solo pp. 355-66) and vol.2, cap. 8 and cap. 9 (only pp. 67-80, 99-107, 117-26) MODERNISTA LITERATURE: José Martí: Ismaelillo (“Príncipe enano”); Versos sencillos (I, XX, XXXIX, XLV); Versos libres (“Poética”, “Banquete de tiranos”). Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera: “De blanco”, “La duquesa Job”. Manuel González Prada: “Discurso del Politeama”; Exóticas (“A una orquídea”, “Lo que yo maldigo”, “Musa Helénica”, “Los pájaros azules”, “Crepuscular”, “Ritmo soñado”). Rubén Darío, Prosas profanas “Era un aire suave...”, “Ite, missa est”, “Sinfonía en gris mayor”, Diálogo de los centauros”; Cantos de vida y esperanza (“Canto de esperanza”, “Los cisnes I”, “Lo fatal”). José Asunción Silva, “Nocturno III”.
Course Prerequisites
None
Teaching Methods
The course will be in Italian and Spanish, with reading, translation and textual analysis of the works indicated in the bibliography. In case the course is delivered in the dual/blended or online mode, what has been stated in the syllabus is susceptible to change in order to make both the classes and the exams accessible in a non face-to-face environment.
Assessment Methods
Students are required to take an oral exam. The exam will test the following abilities: 1. an adequate knowledge of the literary and cultural contexts for the issues discussed in the course; 2. students are expected to read all the texts addressed in Spanish and to be able to translate them into Italian; 3. students must be able to discuss texts critically with reference to the issues addressed in the course. The first part of the exam will test students' knowledge of course contents. In the second part students will translate a text into Italian and describe the historical context of its composition, its themes and its formal features. 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 register with appropriate linguistic terminologies. 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. 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. d. Fair/sufficient (23-18): the student demonstrates 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.
Contents
The fantastic genre develops in Spanish-America XXth century through an approach to writing that has no place in precise schemes made up of literary movements and currents, introducing a metanarrative, metaphysical, philosophical and speculative slant that each author elaborates in a markedly original way. This narrative production, dominated by the short story, is linked not so much to the cliché of the classical supernatural, as to a disturbing vision of reality, where the fantastic element is part of the common daily experience and is linked to the alienated perception of the subject, exploring in some cases the dimension of the surreal and the absurd. The course will consist of a general introduction to the fantastic genre (T. Todorov, J. Alazraki) followed by critical reading, translation and analysis of some works of the following authors: Horacio Quiroga (Cuentos de amor de locura y muerte, Cuentos de la selva), Francisco Coloane (Cabo Horn), Adolfo Bioy Casares (La invención de Morel), Jorge Luis Borges (Ficciones, El libro de arena), Julio Cortazar (Bestiario, Final del juego), Carlos Fuentes (Aura), Felisberto Hernández (Novelas y cuentos), Juan Rulfo (El llano en llamas), Juan José Arreola (Confabulario), Augusto Monterroso (La oveja negra y demas fabulas).
Online Resources
More information
Students should refer to the web page of the course for further information; on the web page will also be uploaded some reference texts of the course. Non-attending students will be required to integrate the exam bibliography with two critical-literary texts which will be communicated later.