Unit ENGLISH LITERATURE
- Course
- Humanities
- Study-unit Code
- A3460005
- Curriculum
- Moderno
- Teacher
- Camilla Caporicci
- Teachers
-
- Camilla Caporicci
- Annalisa Volpone (Codocenza)
- Hours
- 18 ore - Camilla Caporicci
- 18 ore (Codocenza) - Annalisa Volpone
- CFU
- 6
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2024
- Offered
- 2026/27
- Learning activities
- Affine/integrativa
- Area
- Attività formative affini o integrative
- Sector
- L-LIN/10
- Type of study-unit
- Opzionale (Optional)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- English
- Contents
- Prof. Caporicci’s part of the course focuses on Thomas Stearns Eliot’s The Waste Land. We will explore the role of the poem in modernist poetry, its main themes, the use of the “mythical method”, and the complex intertextual dynamics it establishes with the canon of world literature.
Prof.'s Volpone part of the course offers a close reading of James Joyce’s A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), one of the founding texts of literary modernism and one of the most influential accounts of artistic formation in the English language. Through careful attention to the novel’s language, structure, and cultural contexts, students will examine how Joyce transforms the conventions of the Bildungsroman to produce a radically new kind of narrative, in which the development of the protagonist’s consciousness and the emergence of his aesthetic theory are inseparable from the making of the literary work itself. Key themes include the relationship between language and identity, the role of religion, nationalism, and family in the formation of the self, and the nature of the artistic vocation. - Reference texts
- Thomas Stearns Eliot, The Waste Land (Norton Critical Edition).
Joyce, James. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. London, Penguin, 2000.
Supplementary Readings: Selected essays and critical articles will be provided via Unistudium:
https://www.unistudium.unipg.it/unistudium/login/index.php in the page dedicated to the course English Literature III
Students with disabilities and/or with SLD who, having completed regular accreditation through SOL, have obtained access to University services, can apply for the compensatory tools ensured by law (e.g. textbooks in digital format; teaching materials in accessible formats: presentations, handouts, workbooks, provided if necessary in advance of the lessons), for which consult https://www.unipg.it/disabilita-e-dsa.
For the request, students are invited to ask the teacher, who will put them in contact with the Disability and/or DSA Department Coordinator (prof. Alessandra Di Pilla: alessandra.dipilla@unipg.it). - Educational objectives
- By the end of Prof. Caporicci’s part of the course, students will be able to:
Situate Eliot’s poetic output within the cultural and literary panorama of twentieth-century England.
Recognize and discuss Eliot’s poetic techniques.
Actively engage with critical interpretations of The Waste Land, expressing their own perspective.
Communicate their knowledge in an effective way.
By the end of Prof’s Volpone part of the course, students will be able to:
Acquire a solid knowledge of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and its place within the broader context of literary modernism and the Irish cultural revival. Understand the main features of the Bildungsroman tradition and Joyce’s transformation of it.
Read and analyse selected passages from the novel with attention to style, narrative voice, and the development of Stephen’s consciousness. Identify the main cultural and literary references that inform the text.
Develop a personal critical response to the novel, supported by close reading and the contextual materials provided. Begin to reflect on the broader questions the text raises about language, identity, and artistic vocation.
Communication Skills
Express observations on the texts and themes covered in the course clearly and coherently, both orally and in writing, using appropriate disciplinary language. Engage constructively in class discussion.
Learning Skills
Organise independent study effectively, integrating the primary text with the critical and contextual materials provided. Develop a growing confidence in the close reading of modernist prose. - Prerequisites
- Knowledge of the historical and literary context (important) and of the texts examined (useful).
- Teaching methods
- Lectures: Frontal teaching with the use of slides. In Prof. Volpone’s part of the course, each class will begin with a lecture providing context, background information, and an overview of key themes and concepts related to the day's readings.
Close Readings: Detailed analysis of selected passages to uncover deeper meanings and stylistic techniques.
Class Discussions: Active participation in discussions, sharing insights and interpretations of the texts.
Multimedia Resources: interviews, and other media to provide additional perspectives and enhance understanding of the texts.
Supplementary discussions and activities on Unistudium for extended engagement with the material:
https://www.unistudium.unipg.it/unistudium/login/index.php nella pagina dedicata al corso di Letteratura Inglese III. - Other information
- Students with disabilities and/or SLD: for any information on University services, consult the page https://lettere.unipg.it/home/disabilita-e-dsa and contact the Disability and/or DSA Department Coordinator (prof. Alessandra Di Pilla: alessandra.dipilla@unipg.it)
- Learning verification modality
- For Prof. Caporicci’s part of the course, the exam will consist of an ORAL test on texts and topics examined during the course and on the assigned bibliography. The duration of the exam will be about 15 minutes.
For Prof. Volpone's part of the course will be required a 2500 word essay to be submitted at least 10 days before the exam session.
Grading: Each part of the exam (the written essay and the oral test) is worth 50% of the final grade.
The course programme is valid for one year only.
Students with disabilities and/or with SLD who, having completed regular accreditation through SOL, have obtained access to University services, can apply for compensatory tools, dispensatory measures and inclusive technologies ensured by law, to be requested and agreed with the teacher well in advance of tests and exams. For general information, consult the page https://www.unipg.it/disabilita-e-dsa and contact the Disability and/or SLD Department Coordinator (prof. Alessandra Di Pilla: alessandra.dipilla@unipg.it).. - Extended program
- Prof. Caporicci’s part of the course:
1. Introduction to Modernism in English Literature.
2. Introduction to T.S. Eliot.
3. Close reading of The Waste Land, with particular attention to: the main themes and their relationship with the biographical and historical background; the use of the mythical method; the intertextual dynamics characterizing the text.
Step-by-step Course Programme (Prof. Volpone's part):
Course Step by step programme
Introduction to Kazuo Ishiguro and Never Let Me Go
Overview of Ishiguro's life and works
Introduction to the novel's context and themes
Reading and Initial Impressions
Never Let Me Go: Chapters 1-6
Discussion on initial impressions and key questions
Identity and Memory
Never Let Me Go: Chapters 7-12
Themes of identity, memory, and childhood
The Role of Hailsham
Never Let Me Go: Chapters 13-18
The significance of Hailsham and the education system
The Ethics of Cloning
Never Let Me Go: Chapters 19-23
Ethical considerations and societal implications of cloning
Characters Analysis
Never Let Me Go: Chapters 24-28
In-depth analysis of main characters: Kathy, Tommy, and Ruth
Narrative Techniques
Never Let Me Go: Chapters 29-34
Examination of Ishiguro's narrative style and structure
Thematic Analysis
Never Let Me Go: Chapters 35-37
Discussion of overarching themes and motifs
Critical Perspectives
Review of critical essays and secondary sources
Application of literary theories to the novel
Comparative Analysis
Prof. Volpone’s part of the course
-1 Introduction to E. M. Forster
Historical and literary context: the Edwardian era and modernism
Themes and structure of A Room with a View
Convention and authenticity
-2 Reading and analysis: Chapters 1–3
Florence and the “room with a view”
Characters and narrative voice
-3 Reading and analysis: Chapters 4–6
The picnic and the death scene
Nature, emotion, George Emerson
-4 Reading and analysis: Chapters 7–8
The Pension Bertolini as a liminal space
Charlotte Bartlett and female authority
-5 Reading and analysis: Chapters 9–11
Return to England: repression and social conventions
Cecil Vyse and the house as a space of order
-6 Reading and analysis: Chapters 12–14
Courtship and Lucy’s ambivalence
Irony and stylistic ambiguity
-7 Reading and analysis: Chapters 15–17
Lucy’s crisis: lies, escape, awareness
Renunciation of George and the function of the unsaid
-8 Reading and analysis: Chapters 18–20
Finale: return to Florence, choice, transformation
Landscape and individual freedom
-9 Critical perspectives: Trilling, Said, queer reading, Foucault
Cross-cutting themes: class, gender, travel, identity
Summary and conclusions - Obiettivi Agenda 2030 per lo sviluppo sostenibile
- 4 and 5