This module offers a space for advanced, research-based learning in literary and cultural studies across languages, geographic areas, and historical periods. It aims to develop a comparative and interdisciplinary approach, with particular attention to the theoretical study of genres and themes in the following areas: world literature, ecocriticism, literary and cultural theory, material and visual culture, reception studies, and intermediality. The module intends to foster autonomy in academic research, dialogue skills, and critical-creative practices. Moreover, it seeks to promote the acquisition of advanced knowledge and critical methodologies for text analysis, the consolidation of theoretical tools, and the development of skills in collecting and interpreting scientific and bibliographic information.
Curriculum
teacher profile teaching materials
In the analysis of texts, various critical approaches will be employed, including adaptation theory, media studies, intermediality studies, and genre theory. The course will also explore dystopia in relation to broader themes such as social transformations, technological change, totalitarianism, and capitalist modernity.
1. Linda Hutcheon, A Theory of Adaptation, 2006; trad. it. Teoria degli adattamenti, Roma,Armando 2011: capp. 1; 2.
2. Douwe W. Fokkema, Perfect Worlds, Amsterdam UP, 2011: capp. Intro; 2; 3; 14. (presenti su Jstor)
3. Massimo Fusillo, Passato presente futuro, in Francesco de Cristofaro (a cura di), Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020, pp. 13-30.
4. Un capitolo a scelta presente nello stesso volume (Francesco de Cristofaro, a cura di, Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020) tra: Il dialogo intertestuale di Chiara Lombardi; Riscritture di Irene Fantappiè; La letteratura e le altre arti di Elisabetta Abbignente; La letteratura e i media di Giuseppe Episcopo.
5. Gregory Claeys, Three Variants on the Concept of Dystopia, in Fátima Vieira (ed.), Dystopia(n) Matters, Cambridge Scholars Publisher 2013, pp. 14-18;
6. George Woodcock, Utopias in Negative, in “The Sewanee Review”, Jan. - Mar., 1956, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1956), pp. 81-97;
7. Ursula Le Guin, Utopyin, Utopyang (2015), in Thomas More, Utopia, Timeo, Palermo, 2023
8. Irina O. Rajewsky, Intermediality, Intertextuality, and Remediation: A Literary Perspective on Intermediality. In «Intermédialités / Intermediality», n. 6, 2005, pp. 43-64.
9. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Walter Benjamin, Il narratore. Considerazioni sull’opera di Nikolaj Leskov, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp.320-345; Oppure: Walter Benjamin, L ’opera d'arte nell’epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp. 271-303.
10. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Elke Huwiler, Storytelling by sound: a theoretical frame for radio drama analysis, in “The Radio Journal – International Studies in Broadcast and Audio Media”, 2005, 3: 1, pp. 45–59. (In Teams); Oppure: Tim Crook, The Audio Dramatist’s Critical Vocabulary in Great Britain, in Lars Bernaerts and Jarmila Mildorf (eds.), Audionarratology: Lessons from Radio Drama. Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State University Press, pp. 19-50. (in Teams)
11. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Jamie Sherry, Paratextual adaptation: Heart of Darkness as Hearts of Darkness via Apocalypse Now, in Deborah Cartmell (ed.), A companion to literature, film, and adaptation, Malden (MA),Wiley-Blackwell 2012, pp. 374-390; Oppure: Susan Sontag, Film and Theatre, in “The Tulane Drama Review”, Autumn, 1966, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 24- 37 (presente su Jstor)
Opere creative:
1. Un’opera a scelta tra:
Thomas More, Utopia; oppure Tommaso Campanella, La città del Sole; oppure Francis Bacon ,New Atlantis; oppure Margaret Cavendish, The Blazing World: any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata)
2. George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four [1948], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) e UNA trasposizione a scelta tra: [Film] Nineteen Eighty-Four, directed by film Michael Radford, UK 1984 [Opera] Nineteen Eighty-Four, composed and directed by Lorin Maazel, libretto by J. D. McClatchy and Thomas Meehan, premiered in London, May 3 2005, Royal Opera House; [Radio Drama] Nineteen Eighty-Four, dramatised by Jonathan Holloway, directed by Jeremy Mortimer, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 10th and 17th February 2013.
3. Un’opera di partenza e un suo adattamento (a scelta tra quelle indicate nel programma e riportate di seguito)
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale [1985], London, Vintage Classics 2017 (trad. it. C Pennati, Il racconto dell'ancella, Milano, Mondadori 1988) > Series: The Handmaid’s Tale, created by Bruce Miller, Hulu and MGM, USA-Canada 2017–
Radio drama: The Raft of Medusa, written by Simon Armitage, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 18th April 2015
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 [1953], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Fahrenheit 451, directed by François Truffaut, France 1966.
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness [1899], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Apocaliypse Now, directed by F.F. Coppola, USA 1979.
P.D. James, Children of Men, London, Faber and Faber, 1992 (I figli degli uomini, trad. it. di A, Biavasco e V. Guani, Milano, Mondadori, 1993) > Film: Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, UK-USA 2006.
Stanisław Lem, Solaris (1961), trad. it. di V. Verdiani, Palermo, Sellerio, 2013 > Film: Solaris, directed by Andrej Tarkovskij, USSR, 1972.
Jack London, The Scarlet Plague [1912], (trad it. di O. Fatica, Milano, Adelpho, 2009) > Radio, The Scarlet Plague, CBS 1954
Cormac McCarthy, The Road, New York, Alfred A. Knopf 2006 (trad. it. di M. Testa, Torino, Einaudi, 2007) > Film: The Road, directed by John Hillcoat, USA 2009
Alan Moore and David Lloyd, V. for Vendetta [1982-1989], any available edition (trad. it. V per Vendetta, Milano, Rizzoli 2006) > Film: V. for Vendetta, directed by James McTeigue, UK-USA, 2005.
Héctor Oesterheld and Francisco Solano López, El Eternauta, Hora Cero, 1957-1959. > Radio teatro: El Eternauta. Vestigios del Futuro, Radio Provincia de Buenos Aires, 2010;
José Saramago, Ensaio sobre a Cegueira, 1995 (trad. it. R. Desti, Torino, Einaudi, 1996) >Film: Blindness, directed by Fernando Meirelles, USA 2008
H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds [1898], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Radio: The War of the Worlds, directed by Orson Welles, CBS, USA 1938.
Evgenij Ivanovič Zamjatin, Noi (1919), ogni traduzione accreditata; > Radio: We, directed by Jim Poyser on BBC Radio 4, april 2004.
Per i non frequentanti un testo a scelta tra
Gregory Claeys, Dystopia: A Natural History. Oxford UP 2017; Diletta De Cristofaro, The Contemporary Post-Apocalyptic Novel, Bloomsbury, 2020; Patricia McManus, Critical theory and dystopia, Manchester UP 2022; Francesco Muzzioli, Scritture della catastrophe, Meltemi 2021.
Programme
"Utopia is an idyllic world, described by the hero and regarded as perfect in comparison to the world from which they have departed. Dystopia, by contrast, depicts a nightmarish world, recognized as such in opposition to a better world the hero has experienced, either through memories of a past era or through the reading of forbidden books dedicated to a distant past" (Hélène Greven-Borde, Formes modernes du roman utopique en Grande-Bretagne (1918-1960), in Études Anglaises, 1, 1977: 20).The course aims to provide an in-depth overview of the emergence and development of dystopia in literature and culture over the past two centuries. It also seeks to examine adaptation theory and the theoretical questions associated with it. To this end, the course will consider a wide selection of adaptations produced for radio, opera, cinema, and television.In the analysis of texts, various critical approaches will be employed, including adaptation theory, media studies, intermediality studies, and genre theory. The course will also explore dystopia in relation to broader themes such as social transformations, technological change, totalitarianism, and capitalist modernity.
Core Documentation
Opere Critiche:1. Linda Hutcheon, A Theory of Adaptation, 2006; trad. it. Teoria degli adattamenti, Roma,Armando 2011: capp. 1; 2.
2. Douwe W. Fokkema, Perfect Worlds, Amsterdam UP, 2011: capp. Intro; 2; 3; 14. (presenti su Jstor)
3. Massimo Fusillo, Passato presente futuro, in Francesco de Cristofaro (a cura di), Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020, pp. 13-30.
4. Un capitolo a scelta presente nello stesso volume (Francesco de Cristofaro, a cura di, Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020) tra: Il dialogo intertestuale di Chiara Lombardi; Riscritture di Irene Fantappiè; La letteratura e le altre arti di Elisabetta Abbignente; La letteratura e i media di Giuseppe Episcopo.
5. Gregory Claeys, Three Variants on the Concept of Dystopia, in Fátima Vieira (ed.), Dystopia(n) Matters, Cambridge Scholars Publisher 2013, pp. 14-18;
6. George Woodcock, Utopias in Negative, in “The Sewanee Review”, Jan. - Mar., 1956, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1956), pp. 81-97;
7. Ursula Le Guin, Utopyin, Utopyang (2015), in Thomas More, Utopia, Timeo, Palermo, 2023
8. Irina O. Rajewsky, Intermediality, Intertextuality, and Remediation: A Literary Perspective on Intermediality. In «Intermédialités / Intermediality», n. 6, 2005, pp. 43-64.
9. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Walter Benjamin, Il narratore. Considerazioni sull’opera di Nikolaj Leskov, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp.320-345; Oppure: Walter Benjamin, L ’opera d'arte nell’epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp. 271-303.
10. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Elke Huwiler, Storytelling by sound: a theoretical frame for radio drama analysis, in “The Radio Journal – International Studies in Broadcast and Audio Media”, 2005, 3: 1, pp. 45–59. (In Teams); Oppure: Tim Crook, The Audio Dramatist’s Critical Vocabulary in Great Britain, in Lars Bernaerts and Jarmila Mildorf (eds.), Audionarratology: Lessons from Radio Drama. Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State University Press, pp. 19-50. (in Teams)
11. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Jamie Sherry, Paratextual adaptation: Heart of Darkness as Hearts of Darkness via Apocalypse Now, in Deborah Cartmell (ed.), A companion to literature, film, and adaptation, Malden (MA),Wiley-Blackwell 2012, pp. 374-390; Oppure: Susan Sontag, Film and Theatre, in “The Tulane Drama Review”, Autumn, 1966, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 24- 37 (presente su Jstor)
Opere creative:
1. Un’opera a scelta tra:
Thomas More, Utopia; oppure Tommaso Campanella, La città del Sole; oppure Francis Bacon ,New Atlantis; oppure Margaret Cavendish, The Blazing World: any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata)
2. George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four [1948], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) e UNA trasposizione a scelta tra: [Film] Nineteen Eighty-Four, directed by film Michael Radford, UK 1984 [Opera] Nineteen Eighty-Four, composed and directed by Lorin Maazel, libretto by J. D. McClatchy and Thomas Meehan, premiered in London, May 3 2005, Royal Opera House; [Radio Drama] Nineteen Eighty-Four, dramatised by Jonathan Holloway, directed by Jeremy Mortimer, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 10th and 17th February 2013.
3. Un’opera di partenza e un suo adattamento (a scelta tra quelle indicate nel programma e riportate di seguito)
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale [1985], London, Vintage Classics 2017 (trad. it. C Pennati, Il racconto dell'ancella, Milano, Mondadori 1988) > Series: The Handmaid’s Tale, created by Bruce Miller, Hulu and MGM, USA-Canada 2017–
Radio drama: The Raft of Medusa, written by Simon Armitage, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 18th April 2015
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 [1953], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Fahrenheit 451, directed by François Truffaut, France 1966.
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness [1899], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Apocaliypse Now, directed by F.F. Coppola, USA 1979.
P.D. James, Children of Men, London, Faber and Faber, 1992 (I figli degli uomini, trad. it. di A, Biavasco e V. Guani, Milano, Mondadori, 1993) > Film: Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, UK-USA 2006.
Stanisław Lem, Solaris (1961), trad. it. di V. Verdiani, Palermo, Sellerio, 2013 > Film: Solaris, directed by Andrej Tarkovskij, USSR, 1972.
Jack London, The Scarlet Plague [1912], (trad it. di O. Fatica, Milano, Adelpho, 2009) > Radio, The Scarlet Plague, CBS 1954
Cormac McCarthy, The Road, New York, Alfred A. Knopf 2006 (trad. it. di M. Testa, Torino, Einaudi, 2007) > Film: The Road, directed by John Hillcoat, USA 2009
Alan Moore and David Lloyd, V. for Vendetta [1982-1989], any available edition (trad. it. V per Vendetta, Milano, Rizzoli 2006) > Film: V. for Vendetta, directed by James McTeigue, UK-USA, 2005.
Héctor Oesterheld and Francisco Solano López, El Eternauta, Hora Cero, 1957-1959. > Radio teatro: El Eternauta. Vestigios del Futuro, Radio Provincia de Buenos Aires, 2010;
José Saramago, Ensaio sobre a Cegueira, 1995 (trad. it. R. Desti, Torino, Einaudi, 1996) >Film: Blindness, directed by Fernando Meirelles, USA 2008
H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds [1898], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Radio: The War of the Worlds, directed by Orson Welles, CBS, USA 1938.
Evgenij Ivanovič Zamjatin, Noi (1919), ogni traduzione accreditata; > Radio: We, directed by Jim Poyser on BBC Radio 4, april 2004.
Per i non frequentanti un testo a scelta tra
Gregory Claeys, Dystopia: A Natural History. Oxford UP 2017; Diletta De Cristofaro, The Contemporary Post-Apocalyptic Novel, Bloomsbury, 2020; Patricia McManus, Critical theory and dystopia, Manchester UP 2022; Francesco Muzzioli, Scritture della catastrophe, Meltemi 2021.
Reference Bibliography
Opere Critiche: 1. Linda Hutcheon, A Theory of Adaptation, 2006; trad. it. Teoria degli adattamenti, Roma,Armando 2011: capp. 1; 2. 2. Douwe W. Fokkema, Perfect Worlds, Amsterdam UP, 2011: capp. Intro; 2; 3; 14. (presenti su Jstor) 3. Massimo Fusillo, Passato presente futuro, in Francesco de Cristofaro (a cura di), Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020, pp. 13-30. 4. Un capitolo a scelta presente nello stesso volume (Francesco de Cristofaro, a cura di, Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020) tra: Il dialogo intertestuale di Chiara Lombardi; Riscritture di Irene Fantappiè; La letteratura e le altre arti di Elisabetta Abbignente; La letteratura e i media di Giuseppe Episcopo. 5. Gregory Claeys, Three Variants on the Concept of Dystopia, in Fátima Vieira (ed.), Dystopia(n) Matters, Cambridge Scholars Publisher 2013, pp. 14-18; 6. George Woodcock, Utopias in Negative, in “The Sewanee Review”, Jan. - Mar., 1956, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1956), pp. 81-97; 7. Ursula Le Guin, Utopyin, Utopyang (2015), in Thomas More, Utopia, Timeo, Palermo, 2023 8. Irina O. Rajewsky, Intermediality, Intertextuality, and Remediation: A Literary Perspective on Intermediality. In «Intermédialités / Intermediality», n. 6, 2005, pp. 43-64. 9. Un saggio a scelta tra: Walter Benjamin, Il narratore. Considerazioni sull’opera di Nikolaj Leskov, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp.320-345; Oppure: Walter Benjamin, L ’opera d'arte nell’epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp. 271-303. 10. Un saggio a scelta tra: Elke Huwiler, Storytelling by sound: a theoretical frame for radio drama analysis, in “The Radio Journal – International Studies in Broadcast and Audio Media”, 2005, 3: 1, pp. 45–59. (In Teams); Oppure: Tim Crook, The Audio Dramatist’s Critical Vocabulary in Great Britain, in Lars Bernaerts and Jarmila Mildorf (eds.), Audionarratology: Lessons from Radio Drama. Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State University Press, pp. 19-50. (in Teams) 11. Un saggio a scelta tra: Jamie Sherry, Paratextual adaptation: Heart of Darkness as Hearts of Darkness via Apocalypse Now, in Deborah Cartmell (ed.), A companion to literature, film, and adaptation, Malden (MA),Wiley-Blackwell 2012, pp. 374-390; Oppure: Susan Sontag, Film and Theatre, in “The Tulane Drama Review”, Autumn, 1966, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 24- 37 (presente su Jstor) Opere creative: 1. Un’opera a scelta tra: Thomas More, Utopia; oppure Tommaso Campanella, La città del Sole; oppure Francis Bacon ,New Atlantis; oppure Margaret Cavendish, The Blazing World: any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) 2. George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four [1948], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) e UNA trasposizione a scelta tra: [Film] Nineteen Eighty-Four, directed by film Michael Radford, UK 1984 [Opera] Nineteen Eighty-Four, composed and directed by Lorin Maazel, libretto by J. D. McClatchy and Thomas Meehan, premiered in London, May 3 2005, Royal Opera House; [Radio Drama] Nineteen Eighty-Four, dramatised by Jonathan Holloway, directed by Jeremy Mortimer, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 10th and 17th February 2013. 3. Un’opera di partenza e un suo adattamento (a scelta tra quelle indicate nel programma e riportate di seguito) Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale [1985], London, Vintage Classics 2017 (trad. it. C Pennati, Il racconto dell'ancella, Milano, Mondadori 1988) > Series: The Handmaid’s Tale, created by Bruce Miller, Hulu and MGM, USA-Canada 2017– Radio drama: The Raft of Medusa, written by Simon Armitage, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 18th April 2015 Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 [1953], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Fahrenheit 451, directed by François Truffaut, France 1966. Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness [1899], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Apocaliypse Now, directed by F.F. Coppola, USA 1979. P.D. James, Children of Men, London, Faber and Faber, 1992 (I figli degli uomini, trad. it. di A, Biavasco e V. Guani, Milano, Mondadori, 1993) > Film: Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, UK-USA 2006. Stanisław Lem, Solaris (1961), trad. it. di V. Verdiani, Palermo, Sellerio, 2013 > Film: Solaris, directed by Andrej Tarkovskij, USSR, 1972. Jack London, The Scarlet Plague [1912], (trad it. di O. Fatica, Milano, Adelpho, 2009) > Radio, The Scarlet Plague, CBS 1954 Cormac McCarthy, The Road, New York, Alfred A. Knopf 2006 (trad. it. di M. Testa, Torino, Einaudi, 2007) > Film: The Road, directed by John Hillcoat, USA 2009 Alan Moore and David Lloyd, V. for Vendetta [1982-1989], any available edition (trad. it. V per Vendetta, Milano, Rizzoli 2006) > Film: V. for Vendetta, directed by James McTeigue, UK-USA, 2005. Héctor Oesterheld and Francisco Solano López, El Eternauta, Hora Cero, 1957-1959. > Radio teatro: El Eternauta. Vestigios del Futuro, Radio Provincia de Buenos Aires, 2010; José Saramago, Ensaio sobre a Cegueira, 1995 (trad. it. R. Desti, Torino, Einaudi, 1996) >Film: Blindness, directed by Fernando Meirelles, USA 2008 H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds [1898], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Radio: The War of the Worlds, directed by Orson Welles, CBS, USA 1938. Evgenij Ivanovič Zamjatin, Noi (1919), ogni traduzione accreditata; > Radio: We, directed by Jim Poyser on BBC Radio 4, april 2004. Per i non frequentanti un testo a scelta tra Gregory Claeys, Dystopia: A Natural History. Oxford UP 2017; Diletta De Cristofaro, The Contemporary Post-Apocalyptic Novel, Bloomsbury, 2020; Patricia McManus, Critical theory and dystopia, Manchester UP 2022; Francesco Muzzioli, Scritture della catastrophe, Meltemi 2021.Attendance
Attendance is strongly recommended. Active participation in lectures and seminars is an essential part of the learning process and will be taken into account in the development of the course program.Type of evaluation
The course will be offered in Italian. Students are required to read the literary texts in the original language whenever possible. The exam will consist of an oral test designed to assess the students' skills and depth of understanding in the following areas: theoretical-methodological aspects of comparative literature and intermedia studies, the themes of utopia and dystopia, and textual analysis. Only students who attended the module are eligible to write a 2500-word thesis on an agreed topic, which must be submitted to the lecturer at least one week before the chosen date of evaluation. The thesis may be written in either Italian or English. On the day of the evaluation, the lecturer will discuss the thesis with the student in the language of the student's choice (Italian or English). teacher profile teaching materials
In the analysis of texts, various critical approaches will be employed, including adaptation theory, media studies, intermediality studies, and genre theory. The course will also explore dystopia in relation to broader themes such as social transformations, technological change, totalitarianism, and capitalist modernity.
1. Linda Hutcheon, A Theory of Adaptation, 2006; trad. it. Teoria degli adattamenti, Roma,Armando 2011: capp. 1; 2.
2. Douwe W. Fokkema, Perfect Worlds, Amsterdam UP, 2011: capp. Intro; 2; 3; 14. (presenti su Jstor)
3. Massimo Fusillo, Passato presente futuro, in Francesco de Cristofaro (a cura di), Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020, pp. 13-30.
4. Un capitolo a scelta presente nello stesso volume (Francesco de Cristofaro, a cura di, Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020) tra: Il dialogo intertestuale di Chiara Lombardi; Riscritture di Irene Fantappiè; La letteratura e le altre arti di Elisabetta Abbignente; La letteratura e i media di Giuseppe Episcopo.
5. Gregory Claeys, Three Variants on the Concept of Dystopia, in Fátima Vieira (ed.), Dystopia(n) Matters, Cambridge Scholars Publisher 2013, pp. 14-18;
6. George Woodcock, Utopias in Negative, in “The Sewanee Review”, Jan. - Mar., 1956, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1956), pp. 81-97;
7. Ursula Le Guin, Utopyin, Utopyang (2015), in Thomas More, Utopia, Timeo, Palermo, 2023
8. Irina O. Rajewsky, Intermediality, Intertextuality, and Remediation: A Literary Perspective on Intermediality. In «Intermédialités / Intermediality», n. 6, 2005, pp. 43-64.
9. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Walter Benjamin, Il narratore. Considerazioni sull’opera di Nikolaj Leskov, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp.320-345; Oppure: Walter Benjamin, L ’opera d'arte nell’epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp. 271-303.
10. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Elke Huwiler, Storytelling by sound: a theoretical frame for radio drama analysis, in “The Radio Journal – International Studies in Broadcast and Audio Media”, 2005, 3: 1, pp. 45–59. (In Teams); Oppure: Tim Crook, The Audio Dramatist’s Critical Vocabulary in Great Britain, in Lars Bernaerts and Jarmila Mildorf (eds.), Audionarratology: Lessons from Radio Drama. Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State University Press, pp. 19-50. (in Teams)
11. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Jamie Sherry, Paratextual adaptation: Heart of Darkness as Hearts of Darkness via Apocalypse Now, in Deborah Cartmell (ed.), A companion to literature, film, and adaptation, Malden (MA),Wiley-Blackwell 2012, pp. 374-390; Oppure: Susan Sontag, Film and Theatre, in “The Tulane Drama Review”, Autumn, 1966, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 24- 37 (presente su Jstor)
Opere creative:
1. Un’opera a scelta tra:
Thomas More, Utopia; oppure Tommaso Campanella, La città del Sole; oppure Francis Bacon ,New Atlantis; oppure Margaret Cavendish, The Blazing World: any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata)
2. George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four [1948], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) e UNA trasposizione a scelta tra: [Film] Nineteen Eighty-Four, directed by film Michael Radford, UK 1984 [Opera] Nineteen Eighty-Four, composed and directed by Lorin Maazel, libretto by J. D. McClatchy and Thomas Meehan, premiered in London, May 3 2005, Royal Opera House; [Radio Drama] Nineteen Eighty-Four, dramatised by Jonathan Holloway, directed by Jeremy Mortimer, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 10th and 17th February 2013.
3. Un’opera di partenza e un suo adattamento (a scelta tra quelle indicate nel programma e riportate di seguito)
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale [1985], London, Vintage Classics 2017 (trad. it. C Pennati, Il racconto dell'ancella, Milano, Mondadori 1988) > Series: The Handmaid’s Tale, created by Bruce Miller, Hulu and MGM, USA-Canada 2017–
Radio drama: The Raft of Medusa, written by Simon Armitage, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 18th April 2015
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 [1953], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Fahrenheit 451, directed by François Truffaut, France 1966.
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness [1899], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Apocaliypse Now, directed by F.F. Coppola, USA 1979.
P.D. James, Children of Men, London, Faber and Faber, 1992 (I figli degli uomini, trad. it. di A, Biavasco e V. Guani, Milano, Mondadori, 1993) > Film: Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, UK-USA 2006.
Stanisław Lem, Solaris (1961), trad. it. di V. Verdiani, Palermo, Sellerio, 2013 > Film: Solaris, directed by Andrej Tarkovskij, USSR, 1972.
Jack London, The Scarlet Plague [1912], (trad it. di O. Fatica, Milano, Adelpho, 2009) > Radio, The Scarlet Plague, CBS 1954
Cormac McCarthy, The Road, New York, Alfred A. Knopf 2006 (trad. it. di M. Testa, Torino, Einaudi, 2007) > Film: The Road, directed by John Hillcoat, USA 2009
Alan Moore and David Lloyd, V. for Vendetta [1982-1989], any available edition (trad. it. V per Vendetta, Milano, Rizzoli 2006) > Film: V. for Vendetta, directed by James McTeigue, UK-USA, 2005.
Héctor Oesterheld and Francisco Solano López, El Eternauta, Hora Cero, 1957-1959. > Radio teatro: El Eternauta. Vestigios del Futuro, Radio Provincia de Buenos Aires, 2010;
José Saramago, Ensaio sobre a Cegueira, 1995 (trad. it. R. Desti, Torino, Einaudi, 1996) >Film: Blindness, directed by Fernando Meirelles, USA 2008
H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds [1898], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Radio: The War of the Worlds, directed by Orson Welles, CBS, USA 1938.
Evgenij Ivanovič Zamjatin, Noi (1919), ogni traduzione accreditata; > Radio: We, directed by Jim Poyser on BBC Radio 4, april 2004.
Per i non frequentanti un testo a scelta tra
Gregory Claeys, Dystopia: A Natural History. Oxford UP 2017; Diletta De Cristofaro, The Contemporary Post-Apocalyptic Novel, Bloomsbury, 2020; Patricia McManus, Critical theory and dystopia, Manchester UP 2022; Francesco Muzzioli, Scritture della catastrophe, Meltemi 2021.
Programme
"Utopia is an idyllic world, described by the hero and regarded as perfect in comparison to the world from which they have departed. Dystopia, by contrast, depicts a nightmarish world, recognized as such in opposition to a better world the hero has experienced, either through memories of a past era or through the reading of forbidden books dedicated to a distant past" (Hélène Greven-Borde, Formes modernes du roman utopique en Grande-Bretagne (1918-1960), in Études Anglaises, 1, 1977: 20).The course aims to provide an in-depth overview of the emergence and development of dystopia in literature and culture over the past two centuries. It also seeks to examine adaptation theory and the theoretical questions associated with it. To this end, the course will consider a wide selection of adaptations produced for radio, opera, cinema, and television.In the analysis of texts, various critical approaches will be employed, including adaptation theory, media studies, intermediality studies, and genre theory. The course will also explore dystopia in relation to broader themes such as social transformations, technological change, totalitarianism, and capitalist modernity.
Core Documentation
Opere Critiche:1. Linda Hutcheon, A Theory of Adaptation, 2006; trad. it. Teoria degli adattamenti, Roma,Armando 2011: capp. 1; 2.
2. Douwe W. Fokkema, Perfect Worlds, Amsterdam UP, 2011: capp. Intro; 2; 3; 14. (presenti su Jstor)
3. Massimo Fusillo, Passato presente futuro, in Francesco de Cristofaro (a cura di), Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020, pp. 13-30.
4. Un capitolo a scelta presente nello stesso volume (Francesco de Cristofaro, a cura di, Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020) tra: Il dialogo intertestuale di Chiara Lombardi; Riscritture di Irene Fantappiè; La letteratura e le altre arti di Elisabetta Abbignente; La letteratura e i media di Giuseppe Episcopo.
5. Gregory Claeys, Three Variants on the Concept of Dystopia, in Fátima Vieira (ed.), Dystopia(n) Matters, Cambridge Scholars Publisher 2013, pp. 14-18;
6. George Woodcock, Utopias in Negative, in “The Sewanee Review”, Jan. - Mar., 1956, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1956), pp. 81-97;
7. Ursula Le Guin, Utopyin, Utopyang (2015), in Thomas More, Utopia, Timeo, Palermo, 2023
8. Irina O. Rajewsky, Intermediality, Intertextuality, and Remediation: A Literary Perspective on Intermediality. In «Intermédialités / Intermediality», n. 6, 2005, pp. 43-64.
9. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Walter Benjamin, Il narratore. Considerazioni sull’opera di Nikolaj Leskov, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp.320-345; Oppure: Walter Benjamin, L ’opera d'arte nell’epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp. 271-303.
10. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Elke Huwiler, Storytelling by sound: a theoretical frame for radio drama analysis, in “The Radio Journal – International Studies in Broadcast and Audio Media”, 2005, 3: 1, pp. 45–59. (In Teams); Oppure: Tim Crook, The Audio Dramatist’s Critical Vocabulary in Great Britain, in Lars Bernaerts and Jarmila Mildorf (eds.), Audionarratology: Lessons from Radio Drama. Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State University Press, pp. 19-50. (in Teams)
11. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Jamie Sherry, Paratextual adaptation: Heart of Darkness as Hearts of Darkness via Apocalypse Now, in Deborah Cartmell (ed.), A companion to literature, film, and adaptation, Malden (MA),Wiley-Blackwell 2012, pp. 374-390; Oppure: Susan Sontag, Film and Theatre, in “The Tulane Drama Review”, Autumn, 1966, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 24- 37 (presente su Jstor)
Opere creative:
1. Un’opera a scelta tra:
Thomas More, Utopia; oppure Tommaso Campanella, La città del Sole; oppure Francis Bacon ,New Atlantis; oppure Margaret Cavendish, The Blazing World: any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata)
2. George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four [1948], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) e UNA trasposizione a scelta tra: [Film] Nineteen Eighty-Four, directed by film Michael Radford, UK 1984 [Opera] Nineteen Eighty-Four, composed and directed by Lorin Maazel, libretto by J. D. McClatchy and Thomas Meehan, premiered in London, May 3 2005, Royal Opera House; [Radio Drama] Nineteen Eighty-Four, dramatised by Jonathan Holloway, directed by Jeremy Mortimer, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 10th and 17th February 2013.
3. Un’opera di partenza e un suo adattamento (a scelta tra quelle indicate nel programma e riportate di seguito)
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale [1985], London, Vintage Classics 2017 (trad. it. C Pennati, Il racconto dell'ancella, Milano, Mondadori 1988) > Series: The Handmaid’s Tale, created by Bruce Miller, Hulu and MGM, USA-Canada 2017–
Radio drama: The Raft of Medusa, written by Simon Armitage, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 18th April 2015
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 [1953], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Fahrenheit 451, directed by François Truffaut, France 1966.
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness [1899], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Apocaliypse Now, directed by F.F. Coppola, USA 1979.
P.D. James, Children of Men, London, Faber and Faber, 1992 (I figli degli uomini, trad. it. di A, Biavasco e V. Guani, Milano, Mondadori, 1993) > Film: Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, UK-USA 2006.
Stanisław Lem, Solaris (1961), trad. it. di V. Verdiani, Palermo, Sellerio, 2013 > Film: Solaris, directed by Andrej Tarkovskij, USSR, 1972.
Jack London, The Scarlet Plague [1912], (trad it. di O. Fatica, Milano, Adelpho, 2009) > Radio, The Scarlet Plague, CBS 1954
Cormac McCarthy, The Road, New York, Alfred A. Knopf 2006 (trad. it. di M. Testa, Torino, Einaudi, 2007) > Film: The Road, directed by John Hillcoat, USA 2009
Alan Moore and David Lloyd, V. for Vendetta [1982-1989], any available edition (trad. it. V per Vendetta, Milano, Rizzoli 2006) > Film: V. for Vendetta, directed by James McTeigue, UK-USA, 2005.
Héctor Oesterheld and Francisco Solano López, El Eternauta, Hora Cero, 1957-1959. > Radio teatro: El Eternauta. Vestigios del Futuro, Radio Provincia de Buenos Aires, 2010;
José Saramago, Ensaio sobre a Cegueira, 1995 (trad. it. R. Desti, Torino, Einaudi, 1996) >Film: Blindness, directed by Fernando Meirelles, USA 2008
H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds [1898], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Radio: The War of the Worlds, directed by Orson Welles, CBS, USA 1938.
Evgenij Ivanovič Zamjatin, Noi (1919), ogni traduzione accreditata; > Radio: We, directed by Jim Poyser on BBC Radio 4, april 2004.
Per i non frequentanti un testo a scelta tra
Gregory Claeys, Dystopia: A Natural History. Oxford UP 2017; Diletta De Cristofaro, The Contemporary Post-Apocalyptic Novel, Bloomsbury, 2020; Patricia McManus, Critical theory and dystopia, Manchester UP 2022; Francesco Muzzioli, Scritture della catastrophe, Meltemi 2021.
Reference Bibliography
Opere Critiche: 1. Linda Hutcheon, A Theory of Adaptation, 2006; trad. it. Teoria degli adattamenti, Roma,Armando 2011: capp. 1; 2. 2. Douwe W. Fokkema, Perfect Worlds, Amsterdam UP, 2011: capp. Intro; 2; 3; 14. (presenti su Jstor) 3. Massimo Fusillo, Passato presente futuro, in Francesco de Cristofaro (a cura di), Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020, pp. 13-30. 4. Un capitolo a scelta presente nello stesso volume (Francesco de Cristofaro, a cura di, Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020) tra: Il dialogo intertestuale di Chiara Lombardi; Riscritture di Irene Fantappiè; La letteratura e le altre arti di Elisabetta Abbignente; La letteratura e i media di Giuseppe Episcopo. 5. Gregory Claeys, Three Variants on the Concept of Dystopia, in Fátima Vieira (ed.), Dystopia(n) Matters, Cambridge Scholars Publisher 2013, pp. 14-18; 6. George Woodcock, Utopias in Negative, in “The Sewanee Review”, Jan. - Mar., 1956, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1956), pp. 81-97; 7. Ursula Le Guin, Utopyin, Utopyang (2015), in Thomas More, Utopia, Timeo, Palermo, 2023 8. Irina O. Rajewsky, Intermediality, Intertextuality, and Remediation: A Literary Perspective on Intermediality. In «Intermédialités / Intermediality», n. 6, 2005, pp. 43-64. 9. Un saggio a scelta tra: Walter Benjamin, Il narratore. Considerazioni sull’opera di Nikolaj Leskov, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp.320-345; Oppure: Walter Benjamin, L ’opera d'arte nell’epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp. 271-303. 10. Un saggio a scelta tra: Elke Huwiler, Storytelling by sound: a theoretical frame for radio drama analysis, in “The Radio Journal – International Studies in Broadcast and Audio Media”, 2005, 3: 1, pp. 45–59. (In Teams); Oppure: Tim Crook, The Audio Dramatist’s Critical Vocabulary in Great Britain, in Lars Bernaerts and Jarmila Mildorf (eds.), Audionarratology: Lessons from Radio Drama. Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State University Press, pp. 19-50. (in Teams) 11. Un saggio a scelta tra: Jamie Sherry, Paratextual adaptation: Heart of Darkness as Hearts of Darkness via Apocalypse Now, in Deborah Cartmell (ed.), A companion to literature, film, and adaptation, Malden (MA),Wiley-Blackwell 2012, pp. 374-390; Oppure: Susan Sontag, Film and Theatre, in “The Tulane Drama Review”, Autumn, 1966, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 24- 37 (presente su Jstor) Opere creative: 1. Un’opera a scelta tra: Thomas More, Utopia; oppure Tommaso Campanella, La città del Sole; oppure Francis Bacon ,New Atlantis; oppure Margaret Cavendish, The Blazing World: any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) 2. George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four [1948], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) e UNA trasposizione a scelta tra: [Film] Nineteen Eighty-Four, directed by film Michael Radford, UK 1984 [Opera] Nineteen Eighty-Four, composed and directed by Lorin Maazel, libretto by J. D. McClatchy and Thomas Meehan, premiered in London, May 3 2005, Royal Opera House; [Radio Drama] Nineteen Eighty-Four, dramatised by Jonathan Holloway, directed by Jeremy Mortimer, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 10th and 17th February 2013. 3. Un’opera di partenza e un suo adattamento (a scelta tra quelle indicate nel programma e riportate di seguito) Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale [1985], London, Vintage Classics 2017 (trad. it. C Pennati, Il racconto dell'ancella, Milano, Mondadori 1988) > Series: The Handmaid’s Tale, created by Bruce Miller, Hulu and MGM, USA-Canada 2017– Radio drama: The Raft of Medusa, written by Simon Armitage, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 18th April 2015 Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 [1953], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Fahrenheit 451, directed by François Truffaut, France 1966. Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness [1899], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Apocaliypse Now, directed by F.F. Coppola, USA 1979. P.D. James, Children of Men, London, Faber and Faber, 1992 (I figli degli uomini, trad. it. di A, Biavasco e V. Guani, Milano, Mondadori, 1993) > Film: Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, UK-USA 2006. Stanisław Lem, Solaris (1961), trad. it. di V. Verdiani, Palermo, Sellerio, 2013 > Film: Solaris, directed by Andrej Tarkovskij, USSR, 1972. Jack London, The Scarlet Plague [1912], (trad it. di O. Fatica, Milano, Adelpho, 2009) > Radio, The Scarlet Plague, CBS 1954 Cormac McCarthy, The Road, New York, Alfred A. Knopf 2006 (trad. it. di M. Testa, Torino, Einaudi, 2007) > Film: The Road, directed by John Hillcoat, USA 2009 Alan Moore and David Lloyd, V. for Vendetta [1982-1989], any available edition (trad. it. V per Vendetta, Milano, Rizzoli 2006) > Film: V. for Vendetta, directed by James McTeigue, UK-USA, 2005. Héctor Oesterheld and Francisco Solano López, El Eternauta, Hora Cero, 1957-1959. > Radio teatro: El Eternauta. Vestigios del Futuro, Radio Provincia de Buenos Aires, 2010; José Saramago, Ensaio sobre a Cegueira, 1995 (trad. it. R. Desti, Torino, Einaudi, 1996) >Film: Blindness, directed by Fernando Meirelles, USA 2008 H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds [1898], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Radio: The War of the Worlds, directed by Orson Welles, CBS, USA 1938. Evgenij Ivanovič Zamjatin, Noi (1919), ogni traduzione accreditata; > Radio: We, directed by Jim Poyser on BBC Radio 4, april 2004. Per i non frequentanti un testo a scelta tra Gregory Claeys, Dystopia: A Natural History. Oxford UP 2017; Diletta De Cristofaro, The Contemporary Post-Apocalyptic Novel, Bloomsbury, 2020; Patricia McManus, Critical theory and dystopia, Manchester UP 2022; Francesco Muzzioli, Scritture della catastrophe, Meltemi 2021.Attendance
Attendance is strongly recommended. Active participation in lectures and seminars is an essential part of the learning process and will be taken into account in the development of the course program.Type of evaluation
The course will be offered in Italian. Students are required to read the literary texts in the original language whenever possible. The exam will consist of an oral test designed to assess the students' skills and depth of understanding in the following areas: theoretical-methodological aspects of comparative literature and intermedia studies, the themes of utopia and dystopia, and textual analysis. Only students who attended the module are eligible to write a 2500-word thesis on an agreed topic, which must be submitted to the lecturer at least one week before the chosen date of evaluation. The thesis may be written in either Italian or English. On the day of the evaluation, the lecturer will discuss the thesis with the student in the language of the student's choice (Italian or English). teacher profile teaching materials
In the analysis of texts, various critical approaches will be employed, including adaptation theory, media studies, intermediality studies, and genre theory. The course will also explore dystopia in relation to broader themes such as social transformations, technological change, totalitarianism, and capitalist modernity.
1. Linda Hutcheon, A Theory of Adaptation, 2006; trad. it. Teoria degli adattamenti, Roma,Armando 2011: capp. 1; 2.
2. Douwe W. Fokkema, Perfect Worlds, Amsterdam UP, 2011: capp. Intro; 2; 3; 14. (presenti su Jstor)
3. Massimo Fusillo, Passato presente futuro, in Francesco de Cristofaro (a cura di), Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020, pp. 13-30.
4. Un capitolo a scelta presente nello stesso volume (Francesco de Cristofaro, a cura di, Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020) tra: Il dialogo intertestuale di Chiara Lombardi; Riscritture di Irene Fantappiè; La letteratura e le altre arti di Elisabetta Abbignente; La letteratura e i media di Giuseppe Episcopo.
5. Gregory Claeys, Three Variants on the Concept of Dystopia, in Fátima Vieira (ed.), Dystopia(n) Matters, Cambridge Scholars Publisher 2013, pp. 14-18;
6. George Woodcock, Utopias in Negative, in “The Sewanee Review”, Jan. - Mar., 1956, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1956), pp. 81-97;
7. Ursula Le Guin, Utopyin, Utopyang (2015), in Thomas More, Utopia, Timeo, Palermo, 2023
8. Irina O. Rajewsky, Intermediality, Intertextuality, and Remediation: A Literary Perspective on Intermediality. In «Intermédialités / Intermediality», n. 6, 2005, pp. 43-64.
9. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Walter Benjamin, Il narratore. Considerazioni sull’opera di Nikolaj Leskov, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp.320-345; Oppure: Walter Benjamin, L ’opera d'arte nell’epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp. 271-303.
10. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Elke Huwiler, Storytelling by sound: a theoretical frame for radio drama analysis, in “The Radio Journal – International Studies in Broadcast and Audio Media”, 2005, 3: 1, pp. 45–59. (In Teams); Oppure: Tim Crook, The Audio Dramatist’s Critical Vocabulary in Great Britain, in Lars Bernaerts and Jarmila Mildorf (eds.), Audionarratology: Lessons from Radio Drama. Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State University Press, pp. 19-50. (in Teams)
11. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Jamie Sherry, Paratextual adaptation: Heart of Darkness as Hearts of Darkness via Apocalypse Now, in Deborah Cartmell (ed.), A companion to literature, film, and adaptation, Malden (MA),Wiley-Blackwell 2012, pp. 374-390; Oppure: Susan Sontag, Film and Theatre, in “The Tulane Drama Review”, Autumn, 1966, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 24- 37 (presente su Jstor)
Opere creative:
1. Un’opera a scelta tra:
Thomas More, Utopia; oppure Tommaso Campanella, La città del Sole; oppure Francis Bacon ,New Atlantis; oppure Margaret Cavendish, The Blazing World: any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata)
2. George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four [1948], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) e UNA trasposizione a scelta tra: [Film] Nineteen Eighty-Four, directed by film Michael Radford, UK 1984 [Opera] Nineteen Eighty-Four, composed and directed by Lorin Maazel, libretto by J. D. McClatchy and Thomas Meehan, premiered in London, May 3 2005, Royal Opera House; [Radio Drama] Nineteen Eighty-Four, dramatised by Jonathan Holloway, directed by Jeremy Mortimer, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 10th and 17th February 2013.
3. Un’opera di partenza e un suo adattamento (a scelta tra quelle indicate nel programma e riportate di seguito)
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale [1985], London, Vintage Classics 2017 (trad. it. C Pennati, Il racconto dell'ancella, Milano, Mondadori 1988) > Series: The Handmaid’s Tale, created by Bruce Miller, Hulu and MGM, USA-Canada 2017–
Radio drama: The Raft of Medusa, written by Simon Armitage, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 18th April 2015
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 [1953], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Fahrenheit 451, directed by François Truffaut, France 1966.
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness [1899], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Apocaliypse Now, directed by F.F. Coppola, USA 1979.
P.D. James, Children of Men, London, Faber and Faber, 1992 (I figli degli uomini, trad. it. di A, Biavasco e V. Guani, Milano, Mondadori, 1993) > Film: Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, UK-USA 2006.
Stanisław Lem, Solaris (1961), trad. it. di V. Verdiani, Palermo, Sellerio, 2013 > Film: Solaris, directed by Andrej Tarkovskij, USSR, 1972.
Jack London, The Scarlet Plague [1912], (trad it. di O. Fatica, Milano, Adelpho, 2009) > Radio, The Scarlet Plague, CBS 1954
Cormac McCarthy, The Road, New York, Alfred A. Knopf 2006 (trad. it. di M. Testa, Torino, Einaudi, 2007) > Film: The Road, directed by John Hillcoat, USA 2009
Alan Moore and David Lloyd, V. for Vendetta [1982-1989], any available edition (trad. it. V per Vendetta, Milano, Rizzoli 2006) > Film: V. for Vendetta, directed by James McTeigue, UK-USA, 2005.
Héctor Oesterheld and Francisco Solano López, El Eternauta, Hora Cero, 1957-1959. > Radio teatro: El Eternauta. Vestigios del Futuro, Radio Provincia de Buenos Aires, 2010;
José Saramago, Ensaio sobre a Cegueira, 1995 (trad. it. R. Desti, Torino, Einaudi, 1996) >Film: Blindness, directed by Fernando Meirelles, USA 2008
H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds [1898], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Radio: The War of the Worlds, directed by Orson Welles, CBS, USA 1938.
Evgenij Ivanovič Zamjatin, Noi (1919), ogni traduzione accreditata; > Radio: We, directed by Jim Poyser on BBC Radio 4, april 2004.
Per i non frequentanti un testo a scelta tra
Gregory Claeys, Dystopia: A Natural History. Oxford UP 2017; Diletta De Cristofaro, The Contemporary Post-Apocalyptic Novel, Bloomsbury, 2020; Patricia McManus, Critical theory and dystopia, Manchester UP 2022; Francesco Muzzioli, Scritture della catastrophe, Meltemi 2021.
Programme
"Utopia is an idyllic world, described by the hero and regarded as perfect in comparison to the world from which they have departed. Dystopia, by contrast, depicts a nightmarish world, recognized as such in opposition to a better world the hero has experienced, either through memories of a past era or through the reading of forbidden books dedicated to a distant past" (Hélène Greven-Borde, Formes modernes du roman utopique en Grande-Bretagne (1918-1960), in Études Anglaises, 1, 1977: 20).The course aims to provide an in-depth overview of the emergence and development of dystopia in literature and culture over the past two centuries. It also seeks to examine adaptation theory and the theoretical questions associated with it. To this end, the course will consider a wide selection of adaptations produced for radio, opera, cinema, and television.In the analysis of texts, various critical approaches will be employed, including adaptation theory, media studies, intermediality studies, and genre theory. The course will also explore dystopia in relation to broader themes such as social transformations, technological change, totalitarianism, and capitalist modernity.
Core Documentation
Opere Critiche:1. Linda Hutcheon, A Theory of Adaptation, 2006; trad. it. Teoria degli adattamenti, Roma,Armando 2011: capp. 1; 2.
2. Douwe W. Fokkema, Perfect Worlds, Amsterdam UP, 2011: capp. Intro; 2; 3; 14. (presenti su Jstor)
3. Massimo Fusillo, Passato presente futuro, in Francesco de Cristofaro (a cura di), Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020, pp. 13-30.
4. Un capitolo a scelta presente nello stesso volume (Francesco de Cristofaro, a cura di, Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020) tra: Il dialogo intertestuale di Chiara Lombardi; Riscritture di Irene Fantappiè; La letteratura e le altre arti di Elisabetta Abbignente; La letteratura e i media di Giuseppe Episcopo.
5. Gregory Claeys, Three Variants on the Concept of Dystopia, in Fátima Vieira (ed.), Dystopia(n) Matters, Cambridge Scholars Publisher 2013, pp. 14-18;
6. George Woodcock, Utopias in Negative, in “The Sewanee Review”, Jan. - Mar., 1956, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1956), pp. 81-97;
7. Ursula Le Guin, Utopyin, Utopyang (2015), in Thomas More, Utopia, Timeo, Palermo, 2023
8. Irina O. Rajewsky, Intermediality, Intertextuality, and Remediation: A Literary Perspective on Intermediality. In «Intermédialités / Intermediality», n. 6, 2005, pp. 43-64.
9. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Walter Benjamin, Il narratore. Considerazioni sull’opera di Nikolaj Leskov, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp.320-345; Oppure: Walter Benjamin, L ’opera d'arte nell’epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp. 271-303.
10. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Elke Huwiler, Storytelling by sound: a theoretical frame for radio drama analysis, in “The Radio Journal – International Studies in Broadcast and Audio Media”, 2005, 3: 1, pp. 45–59. (In Teams); Oppure: Tim Crook, The Audio Dramatist’s Critical Vocabulary in Great Britain, in Lars Bernaerts and Jarmila Mildorf (eds.), Audionarratology: Lessons from Radio Drama. Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State University Press, pp. 19-50. (in Teams)
11. Un saggio a scelta tra:
Jamie Sherry, Paratextual adaptation: Heart of Darkness as Hearts of Darkness via Apocalypse Now, in Deborah Cartmell (ed.), A companion to literature, film, and adaptation, Malden (MA),Wiley-Blackwell 2012, pp. 374-390; Oppure: Susan Sontag, Film and Theatre, in “The Tulane Drama Review”, Autumn, 1966, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 24- 37 (presente su Jstor)
Opere creative:
1. Un’opera a scelta tra:
Thomas More, Utopia; oppure Tommaso Campanella, La città del Sole; oppure Francis Bacon ,New Atlantis; oppure Margaret Cavendish, The Blazing World: any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata)
2. George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four [1948], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) e UNA trasposizione a scelta tra: [Film] Nineteen Eighty-Four, directed by film Michael Radford, UK 1984 [Opera] Nineteen Eighty-Four, composed and directed by Lorin Maazel, libretto by J. D. McClatchy and Thomas Meehan, premiered in London, May 3 2005, Royal Opera House; [Radio Drama] Nineteen Eighty-Four, dramatised by Jonathan Holloway, directed by Jeremy Mortimer, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 10th and 17th February 2013.
3. Un’opera di partenza e un suo adattamento (a scelta tra quelle indicate nel programma e riportate di seguito)
Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale [1985], London, Vintage Classics 2017 (trad. it. C Pennati, Il racconto dell'ancella, Milano, Mondadori 1988) > Series: The Handmaid’s Tale, created by Bruce Miller, Hulu and MGM, USA-Canada 2017–
Radio drama: The Raft of Medusa, written by Simon Armitage, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 18th April 2015
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 [1953], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Fahrenheit 451, directed by François Truffaut, France 1966.
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness [1899], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Apocaliypse Now, directed by F.F. Coppola, USA 1979.
P.D. James, Children of Men, London, Faber and Faber, 1992 (I figli degli uomini, trad. it. di A, Biavasco e V. Guani, Milano, Mondadori, 1993) > Film: Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, UK-USA 2006.
Stanisław Lem, Solaris (1961), trad. it. di V. Verdiani, Palermo, Sellerio, 2013 > Film: Solaris, directed by Andrej Tarkovskij, USSR, 1972.
Jack London, The Scarlet Plague [1912], (trad it. di O. Fatica, Milano, Adelpho, 2009) > Radio, The Scarlet Plague, CBS 1954
Cormac McCarthy, The Road, New York, Alfred A. Knopf 2006 (trad. it. di M. Testa, Torino, Einaudi, 2007) > Film: The Road, directed by John Hillcoat, USA 2009
Alan Moore and David Lloyd, V. for Vendetta [1982-1989], any available edition (trad. it. V per Vendetta, Milano, Rizzoli 2006) > Film: V. for Vendetta, directed by James McTeigue, UK-USA, 2005.
Héctor Oesterheld and Francisco Solano López, El Eternauta, Hora Cero, 1957-1959. > Radio teatro: El Eternauta. Vestigios del Futuro, Radio Provincia de Buenos Aires, 2010;
José Saramago, Ensaio sobre a Cegueira, 1995 (trad. it. R. Desti, Torino, Einaudi, 1996) >Film: Blindness, directed by Fernando Meirelles, USA 2008
H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds [1898], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Radio: The War of the Worlds, directed by Orson Welles, CBS, USA 1938.
Evgenij Ivanovič Zamjatin, Noi (1919), ogni traduzione accreditata; > Radio: We, directed by Jim Poyser on BBC Radio 4, april 2004.
Per i non frequentanti un testo a scelta tra
Gregory Claeys, Dystopia: A Natural History. Oxford UP 2017; Diletta De Cristofaro, The Contemporary Post-Apocalyptic Novel, Bloomsbury, 2020; Patricia McManus, Critical theory and dystopia, Manchester UP 2022; Francesco Muzzioli, Scritture della catastrophe, Meltemi 2021.
Reference Bibliography
Opere Critiche: 1. Linda Hutcheon, A Theory of Adaptation, 2006; trad. it. Teoria degli adattamenti, Roma,Armando 2011: capp. 1; 2. 2. Douwe W. Fokkema, Perfect Worlds, Amsterdam UP, 2011: capp. Intro; 2; 3; 14. (presenti su Jstor) 3. Massimo Fusillo, Passato presente futuro, in Francesco de Cristofaro (a cura di), Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020, pp. 13-30. 4. Un capitolo a scelta presente nello stesso volume (Francesco de Cristofaro, a cura di, Letterature comparate [nuova ed.], Roma, Carocci 2020) tra: Il dialogo intertestuale di Chiara Lombardi; Riscritture di Irene Fantappiè; La letteratura e le altre arti di Elisabetta Abbignente; La letteratura e i media di Giuseppe Episcopo. 5. Gregory Claeys, Three Variants on the Concept of Dystopia, in Fátima Vieira (ed.), Dystopia(n) Matters, Cambridge Scholars Publisher 2013, pp. 14-18; 6. George Woodcock, Utopias in Negative, in “The Sewanee Review”, Jan. - Mar., 1956, Vol. 64, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1956), pp. 81-97; 7. Ursula Le Guin, Utopyin, Utopyang (2015), in Thomas More, Utopia, Timeo, Palermo, 2023 8. Irina O. Rajewsky, Intermediality, Intertextuality, and Remediation: A Literary Perspective on Intermediality. In «Intermédialités / Intermediality», n. 6, 2005, pp. 43-64. 9. Un saggio a scelta tra: Walter Benjamin, Il narratore. Considerazioni sull’opera di Nikolaj Leskov, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp.320-345; Oppure: Walter Benjamin, L ’opera d'arte nell’epoca della sua riproducibilità tecnica, in Id., Opere complete. VI. Scritti 1934-1937, a cura di R. Tiedemann, H. Schweppenhäuser, E. Ganni, H. Riediger, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp. 271-303. 10. Un saggio a scelta tra: Elke Huwiler, Storytelling by sound: a theoretical frame for radio drama analysis, in “The Radio Journal – International Studies in Broadcast and Audio Media”, 2005, 3: 1, pp. 45–59. (In Teams); Oppure: Tim Crook, The Audio Dramatist’s Critical Vocabulary in Great Britain, in Lars Bernaerts and Jarmila Mildorf (eds.), Audionarratology: Lessons from Radio Drama. Columbus, Ohio: The Ohio State University Press, pp. 19-50. (in Teams) 11. Un saggio a scelta tra: Jamie Sherry, Paratextual adaptation: Heart of Darkness as Hearts of Darkness via Apocalypse Now, in Deborah Cartmell (ed.), A companion to literature, film, and adaptation, Malden (MA),Wiley-Blackwell 2012, pp. 374-390; Oppure: Susan Sontag, Film and Theatre, in “The Tulane Drama Review”, Autumn, 1966, Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 24- 37 (presente su Jstor) Opere creative: 1. Un’opera a scelta tra: Thomas More, Utopia; oppure Tommaso Campanella, La città del Sole; oppure Francis Bacon ,New Atlantis; oppure Margaret Cavendish, The Blazing World: any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) 2. George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four [1948], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) e UNA trasposizione a scelta tra: [Film] Nineteen Eighty-Four, directed by film Michael Radford, UK 1984 [Opera] Nineteen Eighty-Four, composed and directed by Lorin Maazel, libretto by J. D. McClatchy and Thomas Meehan, premiered in London, May 3 2005, Royal Opera House; [Radio Drama] Nineteen Eighty-Four, dramatised by Jonathan Holloway, directed by Jeremy Mortimer, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 10th and 17th February 2013. 3. Un’opera di partenza e un suo adattamento (a scelta tra quelle indicate nel programma e riportate di seguito) Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale [1985], London, Vintage Classics 2017 (trad. it. C Pennati, Il racconto dell'ancella, Milano, Mondadori 1988) > Series: The Handmaid’s Tale, created by Bruce Miller, Hulu and MGM, USA-Canada 2017– Radio drama: The Raft of Medusa, written by Simon Armitage, broadcast on BBC Radio 4, 18th April 2015 Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 [1953], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Fahrenheit 451, directed by François Truffaut, France 1966. Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness [1899], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Film: Apocaliypse Now, directed by F.F. Coppola, USA 1979. P.D. James, Children of Men, London, Faber and Faber, 1992 (I figli degli uomini, trad. it. di A, Biavasco e V. Guani, Milano, Mondadori, 1993) > Film: Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, UK-USA 2006. Stanisław Lem, Solaris (1961), trad. it. di V. Verdiani, Palermo, Sellerio, 2013 > Film: Solaris, directed by Andrej Tarkovskij, USSR, 1972. Jack London, The Scarlet Plague [1912], (trad it. di O. Fatica, Milano, Adelpho, 2009) > Radio, The Scarlet Plague, CBS 1954 Cormac McCarthy, The Road, New York, Alfred A. Knopf 2006 (trad. it. di M. Testa, Torino, Einaudi, 2007) > Film: The Road, directed by John Hillcoat, USA 2009 Alan Moore and David Lloyd, V. for Vendetta [1982-1989], any available edition (trad. it. V per Vendetta, Milano, Rizzoli 2006) > Film: V. for Vendetta, directed by James McTeigue, UK-USA, 2005. Héctor Oesterheld and Francisco Solano López, El Eternauta, Hora Cero, 1957-1959. > Radio teatro: El Eternauta. Vestigios del Futuro, Radio Provincia de Buenos Aires, 2010; José Saramago, Ensaio sobre a Cegueira, 1995 (trad. it. R. Desti, Torino, Einaudi, 1996) >Film: Blindness, directed by Fernando Meirelles, USA 2008 H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds [1898], any available edition (trad. it. ogni traduzione accreditata) > Radio: The War of the Worlds, directed by Orson Welles, CBS, USA 1938. Evgenij Ivanovič Zamjatin, Noi (1919), ogni traduzione accreditata; > Radio: We, directed by Jim Poyser on BBC Radio 4, april 2004. Per i non frequentanti un testo a scelta tra Gregory Claeys, Dystopia: A Natural History. Oxford UP 2017; Diletta De Cristofaro, The Contemporary Post-Apocalyptic Novel, Bloomsbury, 2020; Patricia McManus, Critical theory and dystopia, Manchester UP 2022; Francesco Muzzioli, Scritture della catastrophe, Meltemi 2021.Attendance
Attendance is strongly recommended. Active participation in lectures and seminars is an essential part of the learning process and will be taken into account in the development of the course program.Type of evaluation
The course will be offered in Italian. Students are required to read the literary texts in the original language whenever possible. The exam will consist of an oral test designed to assess the students' skills and depth of understanding in the following areas: theoretical-methodological aspects of comparative literature and intermedia studies, the themes of utopia and dystopia, and textual analysis. Only students who attended the module are eligible to write a 2500-word thesis on an agreed topic, which must be submitted to the lecturer at least one week before the chosen date of evaluation. The thesis may be written in either Italian or English. On the day of the evaluation, the lecturer will discuss the thesis with the student in the language of the student's choice (Italian or English).