Comparative Literature

The study offers a study of poetry in English from various cultures and periods designed to promote an understanding of how poetry works and competence in practical criticism.

This course examines Japanese short fiction in the modern period, by focusing on texts containing encounters between representatives of Japan and what lies beyond its shores. These encounters are not confined to meetings between individuals but also includes a "meeting of minds" when the protagonist or the text itself can be seen to have engaged with something from beyond Japan. 

All texts are discussed on the basis of their English-language translations and the language of discussion is English. However, the original Japanese texts are available and native speakers of Japanese are particularly encouraged to use their knowledge of the original language to contribute to the discussion.

This course not only focuses on literature study but also serves as a critical guide to various thoughts that troubled modern people. The course explores how the industrial revolution, the World Wars, the Cold War, Feminism, Post-colonialism, gender liberation, and concurrent globalization has transformed the English-speaking world. Has the core of humanity changed? How do tradition and modernity contradict one another and in what way are they compromised? To what extent do modern arts push our tolerance of ethics further? Does the British Empire still exist in one form or another? Do globalization and modernity transform our culture fundamentally or only reshuffle it? How do intellectuals—not just creative writers—promote, manipulate, or hinder these exciting but unsettling changes?

This course surveys Asian North American literature and criticism. Given their similar immigration policies and cultural specificities, North America here includes Canada and the U.S.A., and Asia here is understood as East Asia as South(east) Asia has another complicated British/European colonial history. Since this is an introductory class in nature, students read the excerpts and a long novel from major works from the late 19th century to the present. While discerning the broad scope of Asian American literature as a whole, the course emphasizes the recurring themes, the bi-cultural contexts in which these writers wrote, and their literary experimentation and innovation over the time. To supplement readings of literary texts, students examine selected works of criticism, history, and social sciences. As heterogeneity is a crucial concept in defining the umbrella term “Asian American,” an important goal is to understand Asian North Americans as diverse groups and individuals given their different historical and cultural backgrounds. The course covers both East Asian (Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Eurasian) and North American (American and Canadian) writers, and also attempts to cover all genres (short story, poetry, fiction, prose, graphics) to give the students a panoramic view of the “heterogeneity” in this quite established discipline.

This course introduces the students to the universe of graphic novels in the Global Iberian World. The focus is on the transnational understanding of the main themes, styles and influences emerging from different disciplinary and national traditions, as well across media. It provides conceptual and analytical tools for students to systematise their experience as critical readers of graphic novels, moving beyond the Western fictional universe to the expanding field of Portuguese speaking Africa and Latin America.

The course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program and is intended for advanced level students. The course is taught in Italian. Enrolment is by consent of the instructor. The course has two separate modules on two different topics, PART A and PART B. Students who complete a research paper on a pre-approved topic are awarded 1 extra unit for the course. Maximum units for the course are 8, 4 for each part. The course focuses on diachronic aspects of the Italian literary tradition, the critical discussion regarding key issues about texts and authors, and the use of the principal tools of methodological analysis of texts and contexts. The topic for spring 2022 is on types of identity and women writings. Through a conceptual and thematic point of view, the course focuses on female identity in literature. PART A: The first module is dedicated to the writings of Elena Ferrante, Goliarda Sapienza, and Maria Rosa Cutrufelli. PART B: The second module is devoted to Sibilla Aleramo and Anna Banti. The course includes traditional lectures and seminars on specific texts as well as the use of audio and visual materials.