Introduction to Contemporary Literature in Italy
A.Y. 2025/2026
Learning objectives
The course aims to focus on the specific characteristics of contemporary Italian literature, starting from the Unification of Italy and with special attention to the period from World War II to the present day. A first module, of an institutional nature, will provide some fundamental categories for the formal investigation (rhetorical-linguistic and structural) of literary texts from this period and for identifying their relationships with the historical and cultural context. The other two modules will be dedicated to contextualization and in-depth interpretation of some important texts in contemporary Italian literature.
Expected learning outcomes
At the end of the course, the student should demonstrate the ability to master the basic tools of formal analysis and interpretation of texts, defining them theoretically and applying them appropriately and independently to the reading of texts. They should also be able to analyze the texts studied in the two monographic modules, pinpointing their specific formal characteristics and major themes.
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 program will be valid until February 2027 included.
The course aims to focus on the specific characteristics of contemporary Italian literature, starting from the Unification of Italy and with special attention to the period from World War II to the present day. A first module, of an institutional nature, will provide some fundamental categories for the formal investigation (rhetorical-linguistic and structural) of literary texts from this period and for identifying their relationships with the historical and cultural context. The other two modules will be dedicated to contextualization and in-depth interpretation of some important texts in contemporary Italian literature.
In its monographic part (Teaching Units I and III), the course will study themes and forms of four important narrative texts published between the immediate post-World War II period and the early 1960s. In all these works, a harsh conflict emerges dramatically between the individual, with their feelings and aspirations, and a society dominated by economic concerns and the pursuit of profit.
The second module, The Curse of Poverty: Poor in the Countryside and Poor in the City, will focus first on the representation of the arduous and painful life of rural classes in La malora (1954) by Beppe Fenoglio, and then on the unrestrained yet empathetic narration of the hardships faced by a very particular precarious worker, a young prostitute, in La romana (1947) by Alberto Moravia.
The third module, An Ambiguous Modernization: the Suburbs of Pasolini and Testori, will study the depiction of suburbs and popular classes in Rome and Milan, starting with a classic text like Ragazzi di vita (1955) by Pier Paolo Pasolini, which centers on the daily life of some subpro-letarians constantly struggling with everyday survival. Subsequently, the course will examine a major writer not yet fully integrated into the canon, Giovanni Testori, who in Il ponte della Ghi-solfa (1958) portrays the socio-economic dynamics and moral torments of Milanese popular clas-ses, themselves deeply affected by the ambivalent tensions of modernization processes. All of the works covered in the course are characterized by a language infused with dialect, blending realism and experimentation, with strong expressionist features.
The course aims to focus on the specific characteristics of contemporary Italian literature, starting from the Unification of Italy and with special attention to the period from World War II to the present day. A first module, of an institutional nature, will provide some fundamental categories for the formal investigation (rhetorical-linguistic and structural) of literary texts from this period and for identifying their relationships with the historical and cultural context. The other two modules will be dedicated to contextualization and in-depth interpretation of some important texts in contemporary Italian literature.
In its monographic part (Teaching Units I and III), the course will study themes and forms of four important narrative texts published between the immediate post-World War II period and the early 1960s. In all these works, a harsh conflict emerges dramatically between the individual, with their feelings and aspirations, and a society dominated by economic concerns and the pursuit of profit.
The second module, The Curse of Poverty: Poor in the Countryside and Poor in the City, will focus first on the representation of the arduous and painful life of rural classes in La malora (1954) by Beppe Fenoglio, and then on the unrestrained yet empathetic narration of the hardships faced by a very particular precarious worker, a young prostitute, in La romana (1947) by Alberto Moravia.
The third module, An Ambiguous Modernization: the Suburbs of Pasolini and Testori, will study the depiction of suburbs and popular classes in Rome and Milan, starting with a classic text like Ragazzi di vita (1955) by Pier Paolo Pasolini, which centers on the daily life of some subpro-letarians constantly struggling with everyday survival. Subsequently, the course will examine a major writer not yet fully integrated into the canon, Giovanni Testori, who in Il ponte della Ghi-solfa (1958) portrays the socio-economic dynamics and moral torments of Milanese popular clas-ses, themselves deeply affected by the ambivalent tensions of modernization processes. All of the works covered in the course are characterized by a language infused with dialect, blending realism and experimentation, with strong expressionist features.
Prerequisites for admission
Basic knowledge of Italian literary history from the Unification of Italy to the end of the twentieth century. Basic knowledge of poetry analysis, narratology, and rhetoric.
Teaching methods
Lectures
Teaching Resources
Unit 1 - The Contemporary Literature: Institutions, Issues and forms
Attending students will prepare for the exam the following texts:
V. Spinazzola, L'esperienza della lettura, Unicopli, 2010 (i saggi Generi letterari e successo editoriale, pp. 35-59, e Le istituzioni della modernità, pp. 61-83);
P. Giovannetti, La letteratura italiana moderna e contemporanea, Carocci, 2001 (capp. 7-10, Che cos'è la poesia moderna, Le tecniche della poesia moderna, Le forme della narrazione realista e Il romanzo del Novecento. spazio e tempo nella narrativa moderna, pp. 135-233).
In addition to the texts mentioned above, non-attending students must prepare the following texts for the exam:
F. Brioschi, C. Di Girolamo, M. Fusillo, Modi della poesia, in Introduzione alla letteratura, Ca-rocci, 2003 (cap. 7, pp. 81-134);
P. Giovannetti, Il racconto, Carocci 2012 (i capp. 2, 5 e 6, Perché il narratore è diverso dall'autore, Se il tempo domina: gli eventi, Se lo spazio domina: personaggi e ambienti, pp. 41-57; 97-201).
For an overall orientation on contemporary Italian literature, the following volumes are worth mentioning:
Letteratura italiana contemporanea. Narrativa e poesia dal Novecento a oggi, a cura di Beatrice Manetti e Massimiliano Tortora, Carocci;
Alberto Casadei, Il Novecento (nuova edizione), il Mulino.
Unit 2
The Curse of Misery: Country Poors and City Poors
Attending students will study the following texts:
B. Fenoglio, La malora, Torino, Einaudi;
A. Moravia, La romana, Milano, Bompiani.
Critical Bibliography:
M. A. Grignani, Nota introduttiva a La malora, cit., pp. V-XIV.
V. Spinazzola, Moravia, la vitalità della romana, in Id., L'egemonia del romanzo, Milano, il Saggiatore, pp. 148-175.
The non attending students will study all the texts for those attending, to which they will add
the following critical texts:
C. Segre, Analisi tematica sperimentale di un romanzo («La malora» di Beppe Fenoglio), in Id., Intrecci di voci. La polifonia nella letteratura del Novecento, Torino, Einaudi, pp. 117-133;
V. Mascaretti, La speranza violenta. Alberto Moravia e il romanzo di formazione, Bologna, Gedit, pp. 325-3
Unit 3
An ambiguous modernization: the suburbs of Pasolini and Testori
Attending students will study the following texts:
P. P. Pasolini, Ragazzi di vita, Milano, Garzanti oppure in Id., Romanzi e racconti, vol. I, Milano, Mondadori;
G. Testori, Il ponte della Ghisolfa, Milano, Feltrinelli.
Critical Bibliography:
G. Santato, Da «Ragazzi di vita» a «Una vita violenta», in Id., Pier Paolo Pasolini. L'opera poetica, narrativa, cinematografica, saggistica. Ricostruzione critica, Roma, Carocci, pp. 243-274;
G. Turchetta, "Lo spasma dello spirito e lo spasma della materia": I segreti di Milano di Giovanni Testori, in Milano da leggere. Leggere Manzoni, a cura di Barbara Peroni, Milano, Ufficio Scolasti Scolastico per la Lombardia, pp. 88-102.
The non attending students will study all the texts for those attending, to which they will add
the following critical texts:
A. Cascetta, Invito alla lettura di Testori, Milano, Mursia, pp. 45-67;
F. Muzzioli, Come leggere «Ragazzi di vita» di Pier Paolo Pasolini, Milano, Mursia.
Attending students will prepare for the exam the following texts:
V. Spinazzola, L'esperienza della lettura, Unicopli, 2010 (i saggi Generi letterari e successo editoriale, pp. 35-59, e Le istituzioni della modernità, pp. 61-83);
P. Giovannetti, La letteratura italiana moderna e contemporanea, Carocci, 2001 (capp. 7-10, Che cos'è la poesia moderna, Le tecniche della poesia moderna, Le forme della narrazione realista e Il romanzo del Novecento. spazio e tempo nella narrativa moderna, pp. 135-233).
In addition to the texts mentioned above, non-attending students must prepare the following texts for the exam:
F. Brioschi, C. Di Girolamo, M. Fusillo, Modi della poesia, in Introduzione alla letteratura, Ca-rocci, 2003 (cap. 7, pp. 81-134);
P. Giovannetti, Il racconto, Carocci 2012 (i capp. 2, 5 e 6, Perché il narratore è diverso dall'autore, Se il tempo domina: gli eventi, Se lo spazio domina: personaggi e ambienti, pp. 41-57; 97-201).
For an overall orientation on contemporary Italian literature, the following volumes are worth mentioning:
Letteratura italiana contemporanea. Narrativa e poesia dal Novecento a oggi, a cura di Beatrice Manetti e Massimiliano Tortora, Carocci;
Alberto Casadei, Il Novecento (nuova edizione), il Mulino.
Unit 2
The Curse of Misery: Country Poors and City Poors
Attending students will study the following texts:
B. Fenoglio, La malora, Torino, Einaudi;
A. Moravia, La romana, Milano, Bompiani.
Critical Bibliography:
M. A. Grignani, Nota introduttiva a La malora, cit., pp. V-XIV.
V. Spinazzola, Moravia, la vitalità della romana, in Id., L'egemonia del romanzo, Milano, il Saggiatore, pp. 148-175.
The non attending students will study all the texts for those attending, to which they will add
the following critical texts:
C. Segre, Analisi tematica sperimentale di un romanzo («La malora» di Beppe Fenoglio), in Id., Intrecci di voci. La polifonia nella letteratura del Novecento, Torino, Einaudi, pp. 117-133;
V. Mascaretti, La speranza violenta. Alberto Moravia e il romanzo di formazione, Bologna, Gedit, pp. 325-3
Unit 3
An ambiguous modernization: the suburbs of Pasolini and Testori
Attending students will study the following texts:
P. P. Pasolini, Ragazzi di vita, Milano, Garzanti oppure in Id., Romanzi e racconti, vol. I, Milano, Mondadori;
G. Testori, Il ponte della Ghisolfa, Milano, Feltrinelli.
Critical Bibliography:
G. Santato, Da «Ragazzi di vita» a «Una vita violenta», in Id., Pier Paolo Pasolini. L'opera poetica, narrativa, cinematografica, saggistica. Ricostruzione critica, Roma, Carocci, pp. 243-274;
G. Turchetta, "Lo spasma dello spirito e lo spasma della materia": I segreti di Milano di Giovanni Testori, in Milano da leggere. Leggere Manzoni, a cura di Barbara Peroni, Milano, Ufficio Scolasti Scolastico per la Lombardia, pp. 88-102.
The non attending students will study all the texts for those attending, to which they will add
the following critical texts:
A. Cascetta, Invito alla lettura di Testori, Milano, Mursia, pp. 45-67;
F. Muzzioli, Come leggere «Ragazzi di vita» di Pier Paolo Pasolini, Milano, Mursia.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam consists of an oral interview on the topics covered in the syllabus, aimed at assessing the knowledge of the main themes discussed, the acquisition of basic methodological tools for the interpretation of literary texts, and the ability to apply them appropriately and independently to the texts in the syllabus. Attending lectures is strongly recommended for better exam preparation.
The syllabus already includes additional material for students who cannot attend classes. There are no intermediate tests or exams with partial syllabuses: students must present all the teaching units in the exam, without exception. Students must register through the appropriate links on the University's website: only in this case can the exams be regularly recorded.
The syllabus already includes additional material for students who cannot attend classes. There are no intermediate tests or exams with partial syllabuses: students must present all the teaching units in the exam, without exception. Students must register through the appropriate links on the University's website: only in this case can the exams be regularly recorded.
Modules or teaching units
Part A and B
L-FIL-LET/11 - CONTEMPORARY ITALIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 6
Lessons: 40 hours
Part C
L-FIL-LET/11 - CONTEMPORARY ITALIAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor(s)