Romance Philology (advanced)

This course aims to further students' knowledge of the historical-comparative study of Romance languages and literatures and to introduce them to the guiding principles of textual criticism, its application to medieval texts in the Romance vernaculars and their manuscript tradition.

Knowledge: At the end of the course, students will have a detailed knowledge of the Romance literature of the Middle Ages, set against their literary and historical background. Students will learn the principles of textual criticism, with a focus on the manuscript traditions of the texts written in the Romance languages of the Middle Ages. Students will also learn the historical grammar of the texts studied in the course. They will achieve a wider awareness of the importance of the philological study of the texts and of the tools of textual criticism.

Skills: Students will become skilled in the interpretation of the literary works in their formal aspects, content and broader historical and cultural context. Students will be able to paraphrase Old Italian texts or to translate texts in other Romance languages. They will be able to understand and use secondary literature and the different methodological perspectives it implies. Students will be able to comment on and expand upon the texts and the specific topics covered in the course, using Romance Philology's technical terms.