Comparative Literature

This course offers a study of the most representative and influential works in the field of literary thought and creation. Topics include: functions and definitions of art and issues with aesthetic periodization; notions of aesthetics and medieval symbolism; continuities and inflections of the classicist cycle-- from the Renaissance to Enlightenment; aesthetic movements of the 19th century-- from Romanticism to Decadence; aesthetic ruptures of the 20th century-- the Avant-Garde.

This tutorial course focuses on Francophone literature. It discusses two novels centered around the idea of laughter and irony, as well as excerpts from critical texts and other short literary works.

This course offers an overview of the foundations of contemporary theoretical-critical thinking and motivations behind the latest trends in literary theory. Topics include: feminist theory and literary criticism; from feminist theory to gender studies; the debate on reading.

How does America begin? With the fertile imagination of the first Europeans who arrived at its shores? With the creation myths of its indigenous communities? With John Winthrop’s utopian vision of a “City on a Hill?” With the Declaration of Independence that severed the ties with the British Empire? Questions of origin and identity sit at the center of this course. Every week the course analyzes fictional and non-fictional accounts of America as an idea, from its beginnings up to the early nineteenth century. We will pay attention to the so-called “founding fathers” and, especially, to those silenced by their master narrative of “fatherhood:” women, African slaves, and displaced American Indians. Whereas the course revolves around a specific historical context, the course explores relevant themes and problems to your own experience as a 21st century student and citizen: cross-cultural encounters, gender inequality, violence, war, colonialism, racism, democracy, capitalism, and labor rights. 

This Italian-taught course focuses on Italian literature. At the end of the course the student is expected to have a deep knowledge on diachronical aspects of the Italian literary tradition, knows the critical discussion on the keys issues about texts and authors, and is able to use the main tools of the methodological analysis of texts and contexts. The focus of the course changes each term, review the specific term’s course details page in the University of Bologna online course catalog for information on your specific term’s topic. The spring 2023 course focuses on feminine power, from the demonic to the divine.