Geography of Languages and Literatures

The existing relationships between linguistic forms, literary narratives and spatial organisation will be analysed in the course through the lenses and tools of human geography. The course will analyse the importance of languages and literatures in the various actions taken by different human groups in order to improve the space in which they live and to shape the different involved landscapes. Attention will also be given to the representations and narratives enacted in various regions of the world and in the vast literary production influenced by the geographical dimension, as well as to the new eco-critical, dystopian and post-apocalyptic forms of writing. The course therefore aims to highlight all the environmental, cultural, political, geo-political, social and territorial mechanisms present in the linguistic communities, in their related literary forms and in a group of authors considered representative of the main regions of the world.

At the end of the course, students will be able to interpret the main contemporary linguistic and literary systems set in the broader context of the geographical reality, the cultural and socio-economic contexts as well as the contemporary territorial practices. These systems will be interpreted by the students not only in their traditional and established dimensions, but also in their responsible, ethical, critical, solidarity-based and sustainable facets.