BERGAMO
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
This course is aimed at students of the ‘Intercultural Processes’ major and will investigate how the classic Italian novel I promessi sposi by Alessandro Manzoni has been rewritten and adapted for different literary genres and media, including theatre, music, novels, art and comics.
After exploring some aspects of Manzoni’s novel, the most significant rewritings from the 19th and 20th centuries will be analysed.
Course Prerequisites
A solid basic knowledge of Italian literature from the eighteenth to the twentieth century is required, through good high school material.
Teaching Methods
The course includes 54 hours of lectures. The teacher will present some exemplary texts and critically analyse them in order to provide interpretative keys that students can apply independently for the critical reading of other similar texts. In some cases, especially for the explanation of complex methodological issues, the teacher makes use of PowerPoint presentations to be found in the e-learning page of the course.
Assessment Methods
The exam will take the form of a written test about the topics of the course (authors, texts, topics). Students must answer in one hour and three quarters.
The test will consist of six open questions. The last one will propose a short literary passage the student must comment on according to the interpretative keys used by the teacher during his lectures. The student must show his/her learning skills and the ability to formulate judgments that include reflections on relevant cultural and literary issues connected to the course.
The final grade is assigned according to the following criteria:
1. for each answer the student will achieve from 0 to 5 points;
2. each answer is evaluated according to:
a) pertinence
b) ability to synthesize
c) correct use of language
The final grade will be published online according to the procedures described before the exam.
The exam schedule is online (see the page of the course in Foreign languages, literatures and cultures).
Erasmus students must contact the teacher to agree on a differentiated program and exam methods.
Contents
The course, aimed at students of the Intercultural Processes major, aims to investigate how a classic of Italian literature, I promessi sposi by Alessandro Manzoni, is rewritten, adapted to different literary genres and different media (theatre for music, theatre, novel, art, comics).
After having framed and explored some aspects of Alessandro Manzoni's novel, the most significant and interesting rewritings of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries will be analyzed.
Bibliography:
- Alessandro Manzoni, "I promessi sposi. Storia della colonna infame", edizione diretta da Francesco de Cristofaro, commento di Francesco de Cristofaro e Marco Viscardi (I promessi sposi) e Matteo Palumbo (Storia della colonna infame), commento alle immagini di Giancarlo Alfano, Milano, BUR, 2015.
- Pierantonio Frare, Leggere «I promessi sposi», a cura di Andrea Battistini. Bologna, il Mulino, 2016.
- "Promessi sposi", Melodramma in 4 parti, musica di Amilcare Ponchielli, rappresentato la 1° volta a Cremona il 30 agosto 1856, Cremona, co’ tipi dell’Erede Manini, 1856 [edizione gratuita su GoogleBooks, verrà caricata sulla pagina E-learning del corso].
- Antonio Ghislanzoni, "I Promessi sposi", melodramma in quattro atti, musica del cavaliere Errico Petrella, Milano, coi tipi di Francesco Lucca, 1869 [edizione gratuita su GoogleBooks, verrà caricata sulla pagina E-learning del corso].
- Cletto Arrighi, "Gli sposi non promessi. Parafrasi a contrapposti dei «Promessi sposi»", a cura di Ermanno Paccagnini, Otto/Novecento, 2018 [editio princeps/prima edizione: 1895].
- Guido Da Verona, "I Promessi Sposi", a cura di Max Bruschi, Milano, Otto/Novecento, 2008 [editio princeps/prima edizione: 1930].
- Dino Buzzati, "La colonna infame", in Id., Teatro, a cura di Guido Davico Bonino, Milano, Mondadori, 1980 (pp. 453-524) oppure 2006 (pp. 493-571) [editio princeps/prima edizione: 1962].
- "I Promessi sposi raccontati da Topolino", con la prefazione degli Oblivion, Modena, Panini Comics, 2023 [Edoardo Segantini - Giulio Chierchini, "I Promessi Paperi", editio princeps/prima edizione: 1976; Bruno Sarda, con disegni di Franco Valussi, "I Promessi Topi", editio princeps/prima edizione: 1989].
Non-attending students can enrich their knowledge through the full reading of:
- Gianfranco Bettetini, Aldo Grasso, Laura Tettamanzi, "Le mille e una volta dei promessi sposi", Torino, Nuova ERI, 1990.
- Antonio Piromalli, "Guido da Verona e la parodia dei «Promessi sposi»", «Il lettore di provincia», V, 19, 1974, pp. 26-31.
- Francesco Cento, "I promessi sposi nel melodramma: quasi un promemoria. Del libretto d’opera e del romanzo storico", in "Die Musik des Mörders. Les romantiques et l’Opéra" / "I romantici e l’Opera", a cura di Camillo Faverzani, Lucca, LIM - Libreria Musicale Italiana, 2018, pp. 337-346.
- Filippo Grendene, "Quel «desiderio sempre crescente». Intertestualità e ri-usi della «Colonna infame»", «Enthymema», XV, 2016, pp. 48-71.
- "Il Manzoni illustrato", scritti di Fernando Mazzocca, Gian Luigi Daccò, Gianmarco Gaspari, Milano, Biblioteca di via Senato, 2006 (nelle parti che verranno indicate nel programma dettagliato).
The lecture notes and the slides projected during them are an integral part of the exam material; the slides will be made available to students on the E-learning platform.
The detailed critical bibliography will be communicated during the lessons and published at the end of the course in Moodle.
At the end of the course, the list of possible questions that will be used for the written test will also be published.
The course program will expire after three years. Students with expired programs should contact the teacher.
Online Resources
More information
Attendance is strongly recommended.
Students are reminded that the Added Educational Obligation (OFA) of Italian must be compulsorily fulfilled before taking the exam in Italian Literature and Orientalism.
The course is valid for three years. After three years the student will necessarily have to adopt the program for the current year. Never it is possible to choose the year of the exam independently of the year of attendance.