BERGAMO
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
Provide knowledge and skills essential for studying British literature and culture, as well as related critical approaches, consistent with the guidelines of the scientific sector L-LIN/10 and with the aims of the bachelor’s degree in Modern foreign languages and literatures.
At the end of the course, students:
Will demonstrate knowledge of the differences between and the intertwining of some genres and cultural forms: of English literature: novel and short story, mainstream and formula fiction, literature and audiovisual products.
Will be aware of the need to interpret genre both historically and critically.
Will have acquired familiarity with the formal, thematic and rhetorical features of the texts.
Will have refined their sensitivity to the expressive power of the English language.
Course Prerequisites
Adequate knowledge of English.
Teaching Methods
Lectures, videos analysis, use of PowerPoint slides. Students will be asked to actively participate.
The course will be taught in Italian (mostly); texts will be read and must be studied in English.
Assessment Methods
The program is valid for three years.
Students will be assessed ONLY VIA A WRITTEN EXAM in Italian or, at student’s request, in English.
Required skills for the exam:
1. students must show adequate knowledge of the literary and cultural contexts for the issues discussed in the course;
2. students are expected to read all the texts in English and should 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 written exam of Modern and Contemporary English literature lasts 120 minutes and comprises two parts. The first part is a multiple-choice test on primary and secondary sources. Successful completion of this test gives access to the second part, consisting of a short translation from one of the texts and two open questions, where students will be asked to write a brief essay (each of them 1 to 2 pages long), in Italian or, upon request, in English. In order to pass the exam, it is necessary to write both essays. Students will be notified via email once exam results have been posted on their webpage.
Evaluation criteria for the attribution of grades:
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 is correct.
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 contains hardly any mistakes.
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 is passable.
Fair/sufficient (23-18): The work has 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 work is very descriptive and does not fully address the issues raised by the question. The translation is not wholly satisfactory.
Fail (below 18): The student demonstrates only a basic awareness of the contents of the course. The work is frequently confused and incoherent. Both the essay and the translation contain inaccuracies and major errors.
Contents
British catastrophic imagination: from history to science fiction.
We nowadays live in an “age of catastrophes”, both global and local. The course, taught in Italian, addresses British modern and contemporary catastrophic imagination as shaped by the Gothic novel and scientific romance as well as, subsequently, by science fiction. The themes of human identity, alien invasion, nuclear menace and space disaster will be examined as traces of a cultural history indelibly marked by traumatic experience.
Online Resources
More information
Lessons will take place in the second semester.
It is possible to read other editions of the novels and short story, provided that they correspond to what is in the program.
Class handouts and slides will be made available online at the end of the course. Students are reminded that they are provided only as general guidelines. They are by no means sufficient for preparing the exam.
Erasmus students may contact Prof. Guidotti either during office hours or via email for further information, if necessary.