Unit COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
- Course
- Italian, classical studies and european history
- Study-unit Code
- GP005246
- Curriculum
- Letteratura e filologia italiana
- Teacher
- Stefano Giovannuzzi
- Teachers
-
- Stefano Giovannuzzi
- Hours
- 54 ore - Stefano Giovannuzzi
- CFU
- 6
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2023
- Offered
- 2023/24
- Learning activities
- Affine/integrativa
- Area
- Attività formative affini o integrative
- Academic discipline
- L-FIL-LET/14
- Type of study-unit
- Opzionale (Optional)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- Italian
- Contents
- Utopia, Dystopia. This course focuses on the complex dialectic between utopia and dystopia from a transmedia perspective, focusing on some key works to understand how this dialectic is enacted in mass culture.
- Reference texts
- Yevgeny Zamyatin, Noi, 1924.
A. Huxley Il Mondo Nuovo (Brave New World, 1932; any edition).
G. Orwell, 1984, (1949; any edition)
Arancia meccanica (A Clockwork Orange), 1971 written, produced and directd by Stanley Kubrick.
Soylent Green, 1973, directed by Richard Fleischer
Blade Runner, 1982, directed by Riddley Scott.
Brazil, 1985, directed by Terry Gilliam.
M. Atwood, Il racconto dell’ancella (The Handmaid's Tale) 1985.
The Matrix, trilogy, 1999-2003, written and directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski.
S. Collins, The hunger games, 2008
- Hunger Games (The Hunger Games), 2012, co-written and directed by Gary Ross.
Snowpiercer, 2013, directed by Bong Joon-ho.
Westworld, TV series, 2016-20, created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy.
Severance, 2022, created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle
A selection of PDF essays on utopia / dystopia - Educational objectives
- The teaching aims to illustrate the phenomenology of dystopian narratives in the contemporary world through literature, cinema and TV series, starting with a theoretical basis to frame the complex relationship between dystopian universes and the real world. At the end of the course, and with the necessary in-depth self-study, the student should possess an adequate knowledge of the phenomenology of dystopian narratives, covered in the course of lectures, demonstrating the ability to critically analyze the works commented on in class, to possess a solid frame of reference on the genre, and to be able to orient themselves using and reworking with autonomy what is discussed in the course.
- Prerequisites
- It is indispensable, both for attending and non-attending students, a fluent knowledge of Italian and possibly English; main notions of history of Italian and Western literature are requested as well learnt in high school and / or in the “triennale” degree.
- Teaching methods
- Teaching, conceived in an interdisciplinary and seminar style, is organized in class lessons (in the ways in which it will be possible to do it) that can be integrated using power-point. Clips from movies and TV series will be shown. A detailed lesson program will be available before the class beginning on the unistudium platform.
All materials useful for the course, except novels, will also be made available on unistudium. Checking the platform regularly is highly recommended. - Other information
- Attendance is highly recommended.
For not-attending students the definitive program will be available on unistudium by the end of the course
NB: Students with disabilities and / or SLDs are requested to contact the teacher in time for all the useful aids to follow the course and to agree on the examination methods. - Learning verification modality
- The exam will consist of an oral examination of about 30 minutes, in order to verify both the students’ knowledge of the course bibliography and their ability to critically analyze the texts discussed and commented in class. In place of part of the exam, students are also allowed to write a paper, in agreement and under the Professors guidance.
The definitive program will be available on unistudium by the end of the course. - Extended program
- The course is divided into two blocks of 36 (for students of Italian studies and European history) and 54 (for students of languages, comparative literature and intercultural translation).
A first part of the lectures will be devoted to the discussion of a theoretical apparatus useful for entering the utopia/dystopia dialectic. Fictional readings from Plato, Machiavelli, Marcuse, Baudrillard, Foucault, and Deleuze will be offered.
The theoretical tools will then be applied in the remainder of the course to the reading of individual works, offering insight into the complex interplay between dystopian narratives and society in the twentieth century and contemporary times. - Obiettivi Agenda 2030 per lo sviluppo sostenibile
- 4, 5, 8, 10, 17