Literary Communication in Twentieth-Century Italy

Consistent with what is indicated in the objectives of the three-year degree course in Scienze Umanistiche della Comunicazione (Communication Humanities), this course contributes to the aim of acquiring historical and theoretical skills aimed at training professional figures capable of entering the world of communication, in particular, in the specific case, of skills that are related to the field of book-type publishing communication or cultural-type journalistic communication.
Therefore, a historical framework of the development of the contemporary publishing system will be proposed, starting from the Unification of Italy (1861) up to the present day; alongside this, methodological reflections on the meaning and value of editorial mediation will be introduced, as a fundamental element for the creation of the cultural identity of a country and of an era.
Then the presentation of the main movements and authors representing the history of literature of that same chronological arc will follow, through the introduction of some specific case studies: these will be placed historically, in their original place of publication, allowing to understand not only the cultural context in which they are inserted, but also the editorial context. Some pages of narrative texts will be brought to the attention of students in order to understand the different levels on which literary communication is articulated.
Finally, the course will close on a monographic study dedicated to the presentation of a literary work that has entered fully - together with its author - Into the canon of the Twentieth century classics, in order to understand the tools of analysis of a literary text, of stimulate the student's critical awareness in relation to the characteristics of this text, which represents an indispensable object of comparison to allow the learning of reading and interpretation skills necessary for those who intend to enter a professional context based on the communication of the written word.

What is expected of the student is the acquisition of the historical notions, both of the history of publishing and of the history of literature, which underlie the course. Furthermore, the student will acquire awareness of the fundamental role that editorial mediation plays in the cultural dynamics of contemporary society and will be able to understand its tools and articulations; this both in a theoretical key and, from a more concrete point of view, the latter conveyed by the different case studies that will be brought to attention. Finally, the comparison with a high-level literary text will allow the student to learn how to move competently within one of the most complex textual constructions historically produced by man (literature in fact), acquiring critical methods and skills that can then be used in others contexts, especially professional ones, in which the written word is at the center of communication dynamics.