Modern Italian literature and society II
A Pagliaro
8 points
* 3 hours per week
* First semester
* Clayton
*
Prerequisites: A first-year subject in Italian, or equivalent knowledge of the
language
Objectives Through a reading of prescribed novels, documents on narrative techniques and ideology regarding Italian Verismo and the study of the Italian historical context in the late 19th century, students should gain an understanding of the relationship between literary production and ideology. During the subject students should also develop an understanding of the nature and limitations of attempts at supposedly `realistic' representation and acquire the skills which will enable them to analyse a literary text, to understand the roles of author and narrator and the relationship between reader and text.
Synopsis The subject will analyse the sociohistorical context of unified Italy through the reading of three major Sicilian novels fundamental to the development of the modern novel form. Factors involved in the genesis of these three novels, as well as their position in the broader context of modern Italian narrative will be examined. Attention will be given to the theory behind narrative techniques intended to represent objective reality and the subsequent redirection of focus towards various modern questions of identity, reality and social conventions.
Assessment Written (3000 words): 70%
* Test (2 hours): 20%
*
Seminar participation: 10%
Prescribed texts
De Roberto F I Viceré Garzanti, 1994
Pirandello L Il fu Mattia Pascal Oscar Mondadori, 1988
Verga G I Malavoglia Oscar Mondadori, 1991
| Published by Monash University, Clayton, Victoria
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