The University of Western Ontario
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures
Fall 2008

ITALIAN 2230F/CLC 2291F
The Italian Literary Tradition I: From Dante to the Baroque (former Italian 230F)

Professor Luca Pocci
Office: University College 357
Classes: Monday and Wednesday 7pm-8:30pm, UC 207
Office Hours: Wednesday 10:30am-12:30pm
E-mail: lpocci@uwo.ca

 

Couse Content and Aims
An introduction to major authors and works in the Italian literary tradition from the Middle Ages to the Baroque, this course will focus on the love poetry of Dante, Cavalcanti and Petrarca, on Boccaccio's and Basile's novellas, on Machiavelli as playwright and political thinker, and on the visionary utopia of Tommaso Campanella. We will discuss some recurring themes - love, the secular and the sacred, the nature of power, and the ideal state - drawing continuous connections between different works and authors. Special attention will be given to the relationship(s) between the authors under discussion and the historical context in which they lived and wrote. The course is taught in English. All works will be available in English translation.

Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course the students will have become acquainted with some of the major works of Italian literature from the Middle Ages to the Baroque. They are expected to have grasped the way in which the transformation of literary genres, themes, and devices reflects changes in terms of cultural and political values. At the same time they should have acquired a good understanding of the contribution of Italian authors to the evolution of the literary forms (lyric poetry; the treatise on love; the novella; the Renaissance comedy) and themes (the experience of love; the relation of the secular and the sacred, the nature of power and of the ideal state) which play a central role in European literature and civilization in the historical period under examination. Students will improve their ability to express themselves on these and other related topics, both orally (through in-class presentations) and in writing (in the form of essays).

Course Guidelines
Students are expected to attend all lectures and to complete all required readings before coming to class. Essays must be submitted within the deadline. Late essays will be fined 5% per day.

Mark Breakdown
attendance and participation 20%
2 oral presentations 30%
2 essays (15 pages each) 50%

Required Texts (available at the University Bookstore)

- Basile, Giambattista. The Tale of Tales, or Entertainment for Little Ones. Nancy L. Canepa trans. Wayne State University Press, 2007. ISBN: 0814328660
- Boccaccio, Giovanni. The Decameron. Signet Classics, 2002. ISBN: 0451528662
- Campanella, Tommaso. The City of the Sun. In Ideal Commonwealths. Dedalus Classics, 1989. ISBN 094662626
- Dante. Vita Nuova. Mark Musa ed and trans. Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN: 0192839357
- Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince and The Mandrake. In The Portable Machiavelli. Peter Bondanella and Mark Musa ed. and trans. Penguin (Viking portable), 1979. ISBN: 0192837702
- Petrarch. Canzoniere. Anthony Mortimer trans. Penguin Classics, 2002. ISBN: 0140448160
- Peter Brand & Lino Pertile (eds.). The Cambridge History of Italian Literature. Cambridge University Press: 1999. ISBN: 0521666228

COURSE SCHEDULE

September 8
General Introduction

September 10
READING:
· Dante, La vita nuova
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: "Dante" (pp. 39-69)

September 15
READING
· Dante, La vita nuova
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: "Dante" (pp. 39-69)

September 17
READING
· Dante and Guido Cavalcanti (selection of poems)
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: "Poetry" (pp. 5-27)

September 22
READING
· Petrarch, Canzoniere
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: "Petrarch" (pp. 89-107).

September 24
READING
· Petrarch, Canzoniere
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: "Petrarch" (pp. 89-107).

September 29
READING
· Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: "Boccaccio" (pp. 70-88)

October 1
READING
· Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: "Boccaccio" (pp. 70-88)

October 6
READING
· Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: "Boccaccio" (pp. 70-88)

October 8
READING
· Giovanni Boccaccio, Decameron
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: "Boccaccio" (pp. 70-88)

October 13
Thanksgiving

October 15
FILM SCREENING
· The Decameron (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1971)

October 20
· Presentations
1st ESSAY DUE

October 22
· Presentations

October 27
READING
· Presentations
· Niccolò Machiavelli, excerpts from "The Prince"
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: (pp. 181-298)

October 29
· Niccolò Machiavelli, excerpts from "The Prince"
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: (pp. 181-298)

November 3
READING
· Niccolò Machiavelli, "The Mandrake"
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: (pp. 181-298)

November 5
READING
· Tommaso Campanella, "The City of the Sun"
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: "The Seicento: Poetry, Philosophy and Science" (pp. 301-317)

November 10
READING
· Tommaso Campanella, "The City of the Sun"
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: "The Seicento: Poetry, Philosophy and Science" (pp. 301-317)

November 12
READING
· Tommaso Campanella, "The City of the Sun"
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: "The Seicento: Poetry, Philosophy and Science" (pp. 301-317)

November 17
READING
· Giambattista Basile, "The Tale of Tales"
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: "The Seicento: Narrative Prose and Theatre"

November 19
READING
· Giambattista Basile, "The Tale of Tales"
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: "The Seicento: Narrative Prose and Theatre"

November 24
READING
· Giambattista Basile, "The Tale of Tales"
· The Cambridge History of Italian Literature: "The Seicento: Narrative Prose and Theatre"
November 26
Presentations

December 1
Presentations
2nd ESSAY DUE

December 3
Presentations
Course conclusion

Please note: You are responsible for ensuring that you have successfully completed all course prerequisites (or have special permission from your Dean to waive the prerequisite) and that you have not taken an antirequisite course. If you are not eligible for the course, you may be removed from it at any time, and it will be deleted from your record. In addition, you will receive no adjustment to your fees. These decisions can not be appealed.


Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a major academic offense (see Scholastic Offense Policy in the Western Academic Calendar). Plagiarism is the inclusion of someone else's verbatim or paraphrased text in one's own written work without immediate reference. Verbatim text must be surrounded by quotation marks or indented if it is longer than four lines. A reference must follow right after borrowed material (usually the author's name and page number). Without immediate reference to borrowed material, a list of sources at the end of a written assignment does not protect a writer against the possible charge of plagiarism. The University of Western Ontario uses a plagiarism-checking site called Turnitin.com.

Absenteeism
Students seeking academic accommodation on medical grounds for any missed tests, exams, participation components and/or assignments must apply to the Academic Counselling office of their home Faculty and provide documentation. Academic accommodation cannot be granted by the instructor or department.

UWO's Policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness (https://studentservices.uwo.ca/secure/index.cfm)

Downloadable Student Medical Certificate (SMC): https://studentservices.uwo.ca under the Medical Documentation heading