Programme

Literary theory—a discipline that, at the beginning of the last century, had set out to investigate the very foundations of literary art in order to identify its general laws and fundamental principles—underwent, throughout the twentieth century, a gradual scaling back of the maximalist program developed by early scholars within the so-called Russian Formalism and, subsequently, within the structuralist variant of the method, particularly in its French reception. In general terms, there has been a gradual shift away from the literary text understood as an autonomous entity toward a broadening of horizons that has led to intersections with, among others, philosophical, anthropological, and neuroscientific knowledge, ultimately shaping an interdisciplinary landscape. The turbulent course of the debate surrounding the nature of the literary text has been characterized, since the second half of the last century, by “turns,” paradigm shifts, and more or less abrupt epistemological shifts. The concept of the “turn” has therefore taken on a distinctive meaning within the discipline, beginning with the Linguistic Turn (1967), to the extent that it allows for a diachronic analysis of the vicissitudes of literary theory from the second half of the 1960s to the present. This course will enable students to retrace these turns and, in doing so, reconstruct an overview of the most recent debate in the field of literary theory

Core Documentation

G. Carrara, L. Neri (edited by), Teoria della letteratura. Campi, problemi, strumenti, Carocci 2022

Reference Bibliography

a selection of readings compiled by the teacher

Attendance

Attendance is free and will not be recorded by the teacher. Attendance is necessary but not compulsory.

Type of evaluation

Questionnaire of open-ended questions on course topics and related literature

Programme

Literary theory—a discipline that, at the beginning of the last century, had set out to investigate the very foundations of literary art in order to identify its general laws and fundamental principles—underwent, throughout the twentieth century, a gradual scaling back of the maximalist program developed by early scholars within the so-called Russian Formalism and, subsequently, within the structuralist variant of the method, particularly in its French reception. In general terms, there has been a gradual shift away from the literary text understood as an autonomous entity toward a broadening of horizons that has led to intersections with, among others, philosophical, anthropological, and neuroscientific knowledge, ultimately shaping an interdisciplinary landscape. The turbulent course of the debate surrounding the nature of the literary text has been characterized, since the second half of the last century, by “turns,” paradigm shifts, and more or less abrupt epistemological shifts. The concept of the “turn” has therefore taken on a distinctive meaning within the discipline, beginning with the Linguistic Turn (1967), to the extent that it allows for a diachronic analysis of the vicissitudes of literary theory from the second half of the 1960s to the present. This course will enable students to retrace these turns and, in doing so, reconstruct an overview of the most recent debate in the field of literary theory

Core Documentation

G. Carrara, L. Neri (edited by), Teoria della letteratura. Campi, problemi, strumenti, Carocci 2022

Reference Bibliography

a selection of readings compiled by the teacher

Attendance

Attendance is free and will not be recorded by the teacher. Attendance is necessary but not compulsory.

Type of evaluation

Questionnaire of open-ended questions on course topics and related literature