American Literature 1
A.Y. 2026/2027
Learning objectives
The course is a first formative step in the curriculum specializing in American Literature, which is organized by literary genres. The first year will be a survey of US poetic production and is addressed to 1st-year students. The course will provide the historical and cultural contextualization for the literary period considered - which extends from the colonial Puritan origins to Modernism - focusing on the genre of poetry. It will offer the tools necessary for a critical analysis of the poetic text, both in its contents and aesthetic forms. The course is divided into three didactic units, which will treat three specific literary periods: "The Puritans," "The Romantics," and "The Modernists."
Expected learning outcomes
Required knowledge: at the end of the course, students should be able to situate the primary texts included in the reading list in their historical, cultural and literary context. They should also be able to contextualize each author within the or literary period to which they belong. They should demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of all the literary works included in the reading list. Required linguistic skills: at the end of the course, students should demonstrate the ability to read the original versions of the literary works included in the reading list, and to translate them into Italian (or to paraphrase them in English, in the case of international students). Required literary skills: at the end of the course, students should be able to perform a critical and formal text analysis of the literary works included in the reading list, and an ability to make connections between the various authors and works they have been studying.
Lesson period: Second 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
Second semester
Course syllabus
The course is offered as an option within the Laurea Magistrale curriculum in LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE FOR EDUCATION, CRITICISM AND TRANSLATION (Classe LM-37 R). Students who choose this curriculum are strongly recommended to attend Prof. Sara Sullam's preparatory course "Traduzione letteraria e editoria".
The course is titled "American Poetry & Translation" and is delivered in two different, alternating editions (A and B). This year's edition (A) consists of the following didactic parts:
A: For a theory of poetry translation
B: Translating ecopoetry
C: Poets' translations from and into American poetry
Students from both Lingue and other-than-Lingue degree courses who want to acquire 6 credits should complete Parts A and B; those who want to acquire 9 credits should complete the whole course syllabus.
The course will first propose a model specifically constructed for poetry translation and then present theories of eco-translation and poets' versions. Critical analyses of case studies of both the translation of American poems into Italian and of Italian poems into American will be led in class, as well as the evaluation of exercises in translation.
The course syllabus is valid until February 2028.
The course is titled "American Poetry & Translation" and is delivered in two different, alternating editions (A and B). This year's edition (A) consists of the following didactic parts:
A: For a theory of poetry translation
B: Translating ecopoetry
C: Poets' translations from and into American poetry
Students from both Lingue and other-than-Lingue degree courses who want to acquire 6 credits should complete Parts A and B; those who want to acquire 9 credits should complete the whole course syllabus.
The course will first propose a model specifically constructed for poetry translation and then present theories of eco-translation and poets' versions. Critical analyses of case studies of both the translation of American poems into Italian and of Italian poems into American will be led in class, as well as the evaluation of exercises in translation.
The course syllabus is valid until February 2028.
Prerequisites for admission
Students from Lingue must have taken and passed the English language test administered by the degree course.
The course is completely delivered in English. Lectures, materials and bibliography require a sound knowledge of the English language.
International students and Erasmus students are welcome as long as they own the required linguistic skills.
The course is completely delivered in English. Lectures, materials and bibliography require a sound knowledge of the English language.
International students and Erasmus students are welcome as long as they own the required linguistic skills.
Teaching methods
The course is mainly delivered as seminar-and-partly workshop classes, in which students will be involved in reading and interpreting literary texts, discussing theoretical and critical essays, writing and analyzing poetry translations. Students must come to class having prepared the readings assigned for the week's syllabus. Moreover, they will be asked to do presentations as part of their training in the skills of literary criticism and poetry translation. Audio-visual materials may be used in class.
Teaching Resources
Part A:
· George Steiner, After Babel, 1998 (1975): Preface to the Third Edition (pp. vii-viii), Preface to the Second Edition (pp. ix-xviii), chapter 1: Understanding and Translation (pp. 1-50, for the students who have not read it for Prof. Sullam's course in Traduzione letteraria ed editoria), chapter 5: The Hermeneutic Motion (pp. 312-319) (UNIMI LIBRARIES & ONLINE BOOKSTORES).
· Gianpaolo Vincenzi, Per una teoria della traduzione poetica, EUM, 2010: "Introduzione" and chapters 2 and 3 (UNIMI LIBRARIES & FROM EUM).
· Lawrence Venuti, "How to Read a Translation", in Translation Changes Everything: Theory and Practice, Routledge, 2013. (UNIMI LIBRARIES & ONLINE BOOKSTORES).
· JANE GALLOP, "Close Reading in 2009", ADE Bulletin, no. 149 , 2010, pp. 15-19 (ON MYARIEL).
Part B:
· J. Scott Bryson, "Introduction", and John Elder, "Foreword", in Bryson, ed., Ecopoetry: A Critical Introduction, Salt Lake City, University of Utah Press, 2002 (ON MYARIEL).
· Paola Loreto (a cura di), Introduzione, "Agosto", "Un incontro" e "Attraversando la palude", in Mary Oliver, Primitivo americano. Einaudi, 2023 (UNIMI LIBRARIES & ONLINE BOOKSTORES)
· Poems by A. R. Ammons, Jane Hirshfield and Jorie Graham (ON MYARIEL).
Part C:
· Lawrence Venuti, "The Poet's Version; Or, An Ethics of Translation", in Translation Changes Everything: Theory and Practice, Routledge, 2013.
· From Franco Buffoni (a cura di), La traduzione del testo poetico, Milano, Guerini e Associati, 1989: F. Buffoni, "Introduzione" (pp. 11-30); Luciano Erba, "Traduzione come bricolage" (pp. 138-142); Edoardo Sanguineti, "Per la storia di un'imitazione" (pp. 202-209); Antonio Prete, "Traduzione come esegesi" (pp. 230-33); Nadia Fusini, "Gli enigmi della traduzione" (pp. 272-278) (UNIMI LIBRARIES & ONLINE BOOKSTORES).
· From Rosita Copioli (a cura di), L'altro versante: Tradurre poesia, Paideia, 1983: Sergio Solmi, pp. 247-51; Giacomo Leopardi, pp. 13-14; Luciano Anceschi, pp. 15-19 (ON MYARIEL).
· Octavio Paz, "Translation: Literature and Letters", Traducción: literatura y literalidad, 1971 (ON MYARIEL).
· Robert Lowell, "Introduction" and "The Infinite", in Imitations, The Noonday Press, 1990 (UNIMI LIBRARIES & ONLINE BOOKSTORES).
· Attilio Bertolucci, "Polvere di neve", in Imitazioni, Scheiwiller, 1994 (ON MYARIEL).
· From "Versioni d'autore": P1389 (Campo), P712 (Giudici), P258 (Luzi), P1593 (Montale), P632 (Rosselli), in Emily Dickinson, Tutte le poesie, a cura di Marialuisa Bulgheroni, Mondadori 1997, pp. 1641-1667 (UNIMI LIBRARIES & ONLINE BOOKSTORES).
· Paola Loreto, "«Englishing» Dante: Three Recent American Poets' Translations of the Inferno." ACME 74.2 (2022): 181-195 (OPEN ACCESS).
· Excerpts from W.S. Merwin's Purgatorio (2000), Michael Palma's Inferno (2002) and Mary Jo Bang's Inferno (2012) (ON MYARIEL).
· George Steiner, After Babel, 1998 (1975): Preface to the Third Edition (pp. vii-viii), Preface to the Second Edition (pp. ix-xviii), chapter 1: Understanding and Translation (pp. 1-50, for the students who have not read it for Prof. Sullam's course in Traduzione letteraria ed editoria), chapter 5: The Hermeneutic Motion (pp. 312-319) (UNIMI LIBRARIES & ONLINE BOOKSTORES).
· Gianpaolo Vincenzi, Per una teoria della traduzione poetica, EUM, 2010: "Introduzione" and chapters 2 and 3 (UNIMI LIBRARIES & FROM EUM).
· Lawrence Venuti, "How to Read a Translation", in Translation Changes Everything: Theory and Practice, Routledge, 2013. (UNIMI LIBRARIES & ONLINE BOOKSTORES).
· JANE GALLOP, "Close Reading in 2009", ADE Bulletin, no. 149 , 2010, pp. 15-19 (ON MYARIEL).
Part B:
· J. Scott Bryson, "Introduction", and John Elder, "Foreword", in Bryson, ed., Ecopoetry: A Critical Introduction, Salt Lake City, University of Utah Press, 2002 (ON MYARIEL).
· Paola Loreto (a cura di), Introduzione, "Agosto", "Un incontro" e "Attraversando la palude", in Mary Oliver, Primitivo americano. Einaudi, 2023 (UNIMI LIBRARIES & ONLINE BOOKSTORES)
· Poems by A. R. Ammons, Jane Hirshfield and Jorie Graham (ON MYARIEL).
Part C:
· Lawrence Venuti, "The Poet's Version; Or, An Ethics of Translation", in Translation Changes Everything: Theory and Practice, Routledge, 2013.
· From Franco Buffoni (a cura di), La traduzione del testo poetico, Milano, Guerini e Associati, 1989: F. Buffoni, "Introduzione" (pp. 11-30); Luciano Erba, "Traduzione come bricolage" (pp. 138-142); Edoardo Sanguineti, "Per la storia di un'imitazione" (pp. 202-209); Antonio Prete, "Traduzione come esegesi" (pp. 230-33); Nadia Fusini, "Gli enigmi della traduzione" (pp. 272-278) (UNIMI LIBRARIES & ONLINE BOOKSTORES).
· From Rosita Copioli (a cura di), L'altro versante: Tradurre poesia, Paideia, 1983: Sergio Solmi, pp. 247-51; Giacomo Leopardi, pp. 13-14; Luciano Anceschi, pp. 15-19 (ON MYARIEL).
· Octavio Paz, "Translation: Literature and Letters", Traducción: literatura y literalidad, 1971 (ON MYARIEL).
· Robert Lowell, "Introduction" and "The Infinite", in Imitations, The Noonday Press, 1990 (UNIMI LIBRARIES & ONLINE BOOKSTORES).
· Attilio Bertolucci, "Polvere di neve", in Imitazioni, Scheiwiller, 1994 (ON MYARIEL).
· From "Versioni d'autore": P1389 (Campo), P712 (Giudici), P258 (Luzi), P1593 (Montale), P632 (Rosselli), in Emily Dickinson, Tutte le poesie, a cura di Marialuisa Bulgheroni, Mondadori 1997, pp. 1641-1667 (UNIMI LIBRARIES & ONLINE BOOKSTORES).
· Paola Loreto, "«Englishing» Dante: Three Recent American Poets' Translations of the Inferno." ACME 74.2 (2022): 181-195 (OPEN ACCESS).
· Excerpts from W.S. Merwin's Purgatorio (2000), Michael Palma's Inferno (2002) and Mary Jo Bang's Inferno (2012) (ON MYARIEL).
Assessment methods and Criteria
Oral: the exam is an interview, which will begin with the discussion of a paper consisting of either the analysis of a translation from the course reading list, or an attempt at newly translating an American poem into Italian, accompanied by a commentary of the translating work. The paper will have to be handed in ahead of the exam date. During the remaining part of the oral exam, students will demonstrate: their ability to read and translate from the American poems included in the books listed in the course syllabus; their knowledge of the historical, cultural, and literary context of both the texts and writers proposed; their knowledge of the literary works proposed; their critical abilities (i.e., their capacity to analyze the literary works, to evaluate translations, and to connect different authors, texts and literary trends). A midterm written text will help students manage their study of the exam materials and will focus on the theory of poetry translation.
LM students from Lingue are required to take their exams in English. Students from other-than-Lingue degree courses may choose to take their exam either in Italian or in English.
The final score is expressed in thirtieths, 18/30 being the pass score. Students may accept or reject the result during the exam (in which case the record will be "ritirato," and they will have to take the whole exam again in a future session).
International or Erasmus incoming students are kindly requested to contact the teacher. Students with any disabilities should contact the teacher, too, to agree on alternative examination methods, in agreement with the competent office.
It is mandatory to bring along an academic edition of all the literary texts listed in the syllabus.
LM students from Lingue are required to take their exams in English. Students from other-than-Lingue degree courses may choose to take their exam either in Italian or in English.
The final score is expressed in thirtieths, 18/30 being the pass score. Students may accept or reject the result during the exam (in which case the record will be "ritirato," and they will have to take the whole exam again in a future session).
International or Erasmus incoming students are kindly requested to contact the teacher. Students with any disabilities should contact the teacher, too, to agree on alternative examination methods, in agreement with the competent office.
It is mandatory to bring along an academic edition of all the literary texts listed in the syllabus.
Modules or teaching units
Part A and B
ANGL-01/B - Anglo-American Literature - University credits: 6
Lessons: 40 hours
Professor:
Loreto Paola Maria
Part C
ANGL-01/B - Anglo-American Literature - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor:
Loreto Paola Maria
Professor(s)
Reception:
In the Fall semester (teaching period) on Wednesdays at 14:30; in the Spring Semester (teaching period) on Thursdays at 14:30. Otherwise: check the dates on this site. Please write Prof. Loreto to fix an appointment.
Dept. of Lingue, Anglistica section, third Floor (Sottotetto), piazza Sant'Alessandro 1