Contemporary English Literature
A.Y. 2023/2024
Learning objectives
The course offers a series of readings between the late xx and the early xxi century; its aim is to showcase how the anglophone literary world has reflected upon the present offering highly original interpretations and suggestions. The textual analyses imply a thorough knowledge of the historical and literary contexts and the acquisition of critical abilities.
Expected learning outcomes
During the course, students will acquire a general knowledge of the outlines of contemporary English literature (after 1945), with an insight into its complex interaction with other media and other cultures. Students will be able to position a literary text within its literary and cultural contexts. Students will be working on new critical approaches to literature and literary movements.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
The course, entitled "Watery Shapes in Contemporary English Literature", explores an area of environmental studies that has come to be known by the name of blue humanities; in other words, it focuses on the relationship between humans and water, be it the waterscape or the sheer element of water. This can be seen from a natural or cultural perspective, often both. The literary texts in the syllabus offer diverse outlooks on water, ranging from natural resource to destroying agent. Moreover, waters are also a site of encounters between human and non-human animals, where different species may create conflicts or forms of symbiosis. Literary works register these encounters in various and intriguing ways that we shall try follow.
The third part of the course (Part C) includes non-human animals into the picture: accordingly, it investigates the relationship between living beings and water, with a focus on the ways in which narrative attempts a representation of what exceeds the boundaries of human experience. The third part, therefore, though not compulsory, is fully integrated into the ecocritical and ethical approach of the entire course.
The novels The Hungry Tide and Waterland will be studies in conjunction with a class from the North Bengal University, Siliguri. Some classes will be taught online by prof. Binayak Roy from that University and students from both universities will be involved in joint group presentations.
The texts proposed, which include novels, short stories, poems, and videos, have been selected in order to lead the students through different ecological and literary responses to modernity.
Parts A and B will be taught by prof. Vescovi, part C by prof. Iannaccaro.
The present syllabus is valid until February 2025.
The third part of the course (Part C) includes non-human animals into the picture: accordingly, it investigates the relationship between living beings and water, with a focus on the ways in which narrative attempts a representation of what exceeds the boundaries of human experience. The third part, therefore, though not compulsory, is fully integrated into the ecocritical and ethical approach of the entire course.
The novels The Hungry Tide and Waterland will be studies in conjunction with a class from the North Bengal University, Siliguri. Some classes will be taught online by prof. Binayak Roy from that University and students from both universities will be involved in joint group presentations.
The texts proposed, which include novels, short stories, poems, and videos, have been selected in order to lead the students through different ecological and literary responses to modernity.
Parts A and B will be taught by prof. Vescovi, part C by prof. Iannaccaro.
The present syllabus is valid until February 2025.
Prerequisites for admission
The course — entirely in English — and the primary and secondary bibliography require a good knowledge of English, both oral and written, as well as a basic knowledge of the English classics. The course is not recommended to first-year students.
Teaching methods
The course deploys the following teaching methods: lectures with close reading and textual analysis; whenever possible, videos, images and music will also be employed. Students will be asked to take active part in the critical reading of the texts; they should therefore be willing to read some works during the course.
Teaching Resources
Unità didattica A
- Greg Garrard, Ecocriticism, Routledge (2nd edition)
- Steve Mentz, Ice/Water/Vapor in The Cambridge Companion to Literature and the Environment
- Rachel Carson, Silent Spring (part I)
- Graham Swift, Waterland
- Derek Walcott, Sea Grapes, The Sea is History, The Schooner Flight
Unità didattica B
- Alice Oswald, A Sleepwalk on the Severn
- Amitav Ghosh, The Hungry Tide
- Arnae Ness, "Deep Ecology Platform" https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/arne-naess-and-george-sessions-basic-principles-of-deep-ecology
- Ramachandra Guha, "Radical American Environmentalism and Wilderness Preservation: A Third World Critique", https://www.uky.edu/~rsand1/china2017/library/Guha.pdf
- Bristow, Tom. "A Sleepwalk on the Severn." The Anthropocene Lyric: An Affective Geography of Poetry, Person, Place. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. 77-106. Web.
- Filipova, Lenka. "Chapter 14 Place as Process in Amitav Ghosh's The Hungry Tide". Amitav Ghosh's Culture Chromosome.
Unità didattica C
Short stories: a selection from: "Among Animals. The Lives of Animals and Humans in Contemporary Short Fiction", Ashland Creek Press. The list of the stories to be read will be uploaded on Teams.
Interviews: For each story, there is an interview with the author, which must also be read [Free online].
Book review: Sascha Morrell, "Among Animals: The Lives of Animals and Humans in Contemporary Short Fiction", 2014 [Free online].
Novel: Mda, Zakes, The Whale Caller, New York, Picador, 2005.
Critical essay: Matthew Calarco, "Thinking Through Animals. Identity, Difference, Indistinction", 2015 [Anglistica Library and Unimi database].
Critical essay: Giuliana Iannaccaro, "Sharing Life on Earth: Material and Immaterial Needs in The Whale Caller", English in Africa, Vol. 48, n. 2, August 2021, pp. 43-62. [Unimi database].
NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS
All students must be able to analyse and discuss the narrative techniques employed in the literary texts. In addition to the above-listed materials, students who do not attend classes must also study:
- Manfred Jahn, "Narratology 2.2: A Guide to the Theory of Narrative", 2021 [Free online].
- Manfred Jahn, "Narratology 2.2: A Guide to the Theory of Narrative", 2021 [Free online].
- Matthew Calarco, "Thinking Through Animals. Identity, Difference, Indistinction", 2015 [Anglistica Library and Unimi database].
- Le biografie degli autori, che si trovano sulla banca dati Unimi LION (Literature Online): https://www.sba.unimi.it/ > Literature Online > Opere di riferimento > nome dell'autore > ProQuest Biography
Paul Poplawsky. From English Literature in Context, Cambridge U.P., Chapter 7.
- Greg Garrard, Ecocriticism, Routledge (2nd edition)
- Steve Mentz, Ice/Water/Vapor in The Cambridge Companion to Literature and the Environment
- Rachel Carson, Silent Spring (part I)
- Graham Swift, Waterland
- Derek Walcott, Sea Grapes, The Sea is History, The Schooner Flight
Unità didattica B
- Alice Oswald, A Sleepwalk on the Severn
- Amitav Ghosh, The Hungry Tide
- Arnae Ness, "Deep Ecology Platform" https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/arne-naess-and-george-sessions-basic-principles-of-deep-ecology
- Ramachandra Guha, "Radical American Environmentalism and Wilderness Preservation: A Third World Critique", https://www.uky.edu/~rsand1/china2017/library/Guha.pdf
- Bristow, Tom. "A Sleepwalk on the Severn." The Anthropocene Lyric: An Affective Geography of Poetry, Person, Place. London: Palgrave Macmillan UK. 77-106. Web.
- Filipova, Lenka. "Chapter 14 Place as Process in Amitav Ghosh's The Hungry Tide". Amitav Ghosh's Culture Chromosome.
Unità didattica C
Short stories: a selection from: "Among Animals. The Lives of Animals and Humans in Contemporary Short Fiction", Ashland Creek Press. The list of the stories to be read will be uploaded on Teams.
Interviews: For each story, there is an interview with the author, which must also be read [Free online].
Book review: Sascha Morrell, "Among Animals: The Lives of Animals and Humans in Contemporary Short Fiction", 2014 [Free online].
Novel: Mda, Zakes, The Whale Caller, New York, Picador, 2005.
Critical essay: Matthew Calarco, "Thinking Through Animals. Identity, Difference, Indistinction", 2015 [Anglistica Library and Unimi database].
Critical essay: Giuliana Iannaccaro, "Sharing Life on Earth: Material and Immaterial Needs in The Whale Caller", English in Africa, Vol. 48, n. 2, August 2021, pp. 43-62. [Unimi database].
NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS
All students must be able to analyse and discuss the narrative techniques employed in the literary texts. In addition to the above-listed materials, students who do not attend classes must also study:
- Manfred Jahn, "Narratology 2.2: A Guide to the Theory of Narrative", 2021 [Free online].
- Manfred Jahn, "Narratology 2.2: A Guide to the Theory of Narrative", 2021 [Free online].
- Matthew Calarco, "Thinking Through Animals. Identity, Difference, Indistinction", 2015 [Anglistica Library and Unimi database].
- Le biografie degli autori, che si trovano sulla banca dati Unimi LION (Literature Online): https://www.sba.unimi.it/ > Literature Online > Opere di riferimento > nome dell'autore > ProQuest Biography
Paul Poplawsky. From English Literature in Context, Cambridge U.P., Chapter 7.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam consists of an oral test assessed in thirtieths. 18/30 is the pass score. The test (an interview) will ascertain: the capacity of students to read and translate the literary texts studied (non-Italian students will be asked to paraphrase the same in English); their knowledge of the historical, cultural, and literary context of both texts and writers in the reading list; their knowledge of the literary works proposed; their critical abilities (their capacity to analyse the literary works and to connect different authors, texts and literary trends). Linguistic precision will also be part of the assessment. In order to sit the exam, it is mandatory to bring along all the literary texts.
It is possible to sit the exam both in Italian and English, but at least one or two questions will have to be answered in English.
The final score is expressed in thirtieths; students may accept or reject the mark - in the latter case it will be recorded as "ritirato" and they will have to repeat the whole exam (all Units) in a future session.
Students with any disabilities are kindly requested to contact the teacher in order to agree on alternative examination methods, according to the current legislation.
The present syllabus is valid until February 2024.
It is possible to sit the exam both in Italian and English, but at least one or two questions will have to be answered in English.
The final score is expressed in thirtieths; students may accept or reject the mark - in the latter case it will be recorded as "ritirato" and they will have to repeat the whole exam (all Units) in a future session.
Students with any disabilities are kindly requested to contact the teacher in order to agree on alternative examination methods, according to the current legislation.
The present syllabus is valid until February 2024.
Unita' didattica A
L-LIN/10 - ENGLISH LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor:
Vescovi Alessandro
Unita' didattica B
L-LIN/10 - ENGLISH LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor:
Vescovi Alessandro
Unita' didattica C
L-LIN/10 - ENGLISH LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor:
Iannaccaro Giuliana
Educational website(s)
Professor(s)
Reception:
Tuesday, 16:30-19:30, either in person or on Teams. Please send me a mail in advance to make an appointment.
Piazza S. Alessandro 1, Anglistica; or Microsoft Teams Platform
Reception:
Every Friday 2:30 pm. Please use the form to reserve a position.
Microsoft Teams. For a different arrangement please see the form