Marina LOPS | ENGLISH LITERATURE 4
Marina LOPS ENGLISH LITERATURE 4
cod. 4322100123
ENGLISH LITERATURE 4
| 4322100123 | |
| DEPARTMENT OF HUMANISTIC STUDIES | |
| EQF7 | |
| MODERN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES | |
| 2020/2021 |
| YEAR OF COURSE 1 | |
| YEAR OF DIDACTIC SYSTEM 2018 | |
| PRIMO SEMESTRE |
| SSD | CFU | HOURS | ACTIVITY | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| L-LIN/10 | 9 | 45 | LESSONS |
| Objectives | |
|---|---|
| THE COURSE WILL BUILD UPON AND EXPAND ON THE WORK DONE IN THE THREE-YEAR DEGREE COURSE. IT AIMS TO PROVIDE A MORE IN-DEPTH KNOWLEDGE OF THE HISTORY OF LITERATURE THROUGH AN ANALYSIS OF SPECIFIC CULTURAL MATERIAL AND LITERARY TEXTS. IT ALSO AIMS TO PROVIDE KNOWLEDGE THAT CAN BE USED IN AREAS OF WORK THAT REQUIRE ENGLISH. |
| Prerequisites | |
|---|---|
| GOOD KNOWLEDGE OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND CULTURE. STUDENTS MUST HAVE PASSED THE EXAMS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE OF THE THREE-YEAR DEGREE COURSE. |
| Contents | |
|---|---|
| THE COURSE AIMS AT RECONSTRUCTING THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH SPY FICTION. THOUGH CONVENTIONALLY LABELLED AS A FORM OF TRIVIALLITERATUR, SPY FICTION ACTUALLY SEEMS TO QUESTION THE LEGITIMACY OF ANY INTEPRETATIVE PERSPECTIVE BASED ON A CLEAR-CUT DISTINCTION BETWEEN “HIGH” AND “MASS” LITERATURE. THE RISE OF THE GENRE DATES BACK TO THE FIRST DECADE OF THE 20TH CENTURY, AN AGE OF DEEP SOCIAL AND POLITICAL TURMOIL THAT WOULD LEAD TO THE OUTBREAK OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR AND THE COLLAPSE OF 19TH-CENTURY EUROPE. IF, ON THE ONE HAND SPY FICTION REVEALS ITS DESCENDANCY FROM LATE VICTORIAN ADVENTURE NOVEL, ON THE OTHER IT SHOWS AN UNDISPUTABLE CAPACITY TO QUESTION THE NATURE OF POWER AND TO INVESTIGATE ITS MECHANISMS. WHILE MANY SPY STORIES REMAIN CONFINED WITHIN THE LIMITS OF A MERE CONSUMERISTIC PRODUCTION, OTHERS CERTAINLY GAIN FULL LITERARY DIGNITY AND SOME ARE REAL MASTERPIECES. HENCE THE RELATIVELY RECENT ACADEMIC INTEREST IN THE TRADITION OF THE SPY FICTION. THE COURSE INTENDS TO DESCRIBE THE EVOLUTION OF THIS NARRATIVE TRADITION FROM THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY TO ITS MORE RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND AIMS AT IMPROVING THE STUDENTS’ AWARENESS OF THE FORMAL AND THEMATIC CONVENTIONS OF SPY FICTION AND OF ITS CAPACITY TO REFLECT AND INTERPRET ITS OWN TIME. |
| Teaching Methods | |
|---|---|
| LECTURES. THE LANGUAGE OF TUITION WILL BE ENGLISH. STUDENTS WILL BE ENCOURAGED TO GIVE PRESENTATIONS OR WRITE SHORT ESSAYS ON TOPICS OF THEIR OWN CHOICE RELATED TO THE COURSE. |
| Verification of learning | |
|---|---|
| FINAL ORAL EXAM IN ENGLISH. STUDENTS WILL BE ASKED TO DISCUSS THE PRIMARY TEXTS INCLUDED IN THE READING LIST USING THE CRITICAL MATERIAL RELATED TO THE TEXTS. SHORT PRESENTATIONS AND/OR ESSAYS WILL BE ASSESSED DURING THE COURSE. |
| Texts | |
|---|---|
| PRIMARY TEXTS JOSEPH CONRAD, THE SECRET AGENT (1907) WILLIAM SOMERSET MAUGHAM, ASHENDEN, OR THE BRITISH AGENT (1928) GRAHAM GREENE, OUR MAN IN HAVANA (1958) GRAHAM GREENE, THE HUMAN FACTOR (1978) JOHN LE CARRÈ, THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD (1963) JOHN LE CARRÈ, TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY (1974) CRITICISM PAOLO BERTINETTI, AGENTI SEGRETI. I MAESTRI DELLA SPY STORY INGLESE, ROMA, EDIZIONI DELL’ASINO, 2015 DAVID SEED, “SPY FICTION”, IN MARTIN PRIESTMAN (ED.), THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO CRIME FICTION, CAMBRIDGE, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2003, PP. 115-134 ALLAN HEPBURN “DETECTIVES AND SPIES”, IN ROBERT L. CASERIO, THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY ENGLISH NOVEL, CAMBRIDGE, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, PP. 210-222 DAVID A. T. STAFFORD, “SPIES AND GENTLEMEN: THE BIRTH OF THE BRITISH SPY NOVEL, 1893-1914”, VICTORIAN STUDIES 24.IV (SUMMER 1981), PP. 489-509. J.H. STAPE (ED.), THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO JOSEPH CONRAD, CAMBRIDGE, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1996, I SEGUENTI SAGGI: JACQUES BERTHOUD, “THE SECRET AGENT”, 100-121; JAKOB LOTHE, “CONRADIAN NARRATIVE”PP. 160-178; GENE M. MOORE, “CONRAD’S INFLUENCE”, PP. 223-241. ALLAN H. SIMMONS, JOSEPH CONRAD, CRITICAL ISSUES, BASINGSTOKE, PALGRAVE, 2005, CAPITOLI 1 RICHARD AMBROSINI, “L’AGENTE SEGRETO. UN RACCONTO SEMPLICE”, IN RICHARD AMBROSINI, LE STORIE DI CONRAD. BIOGRAFIA INTELLETTUALE DI UN ROMANZIERE, ROMA, CAROCCI, 2019, PP. 216-2 JEANNE F. BEDELL, “SOMERSET MAUGHAM’S ASHENDEN AND THE MODERNIZATION OF POPULAR FICTION”, STUDIES IN POPULAR CULTURE 7 (1984), PP. 40-46 DOROTHEA BARRETT, “GRAHAM GREENE”, IN ADRIAN POOLE (ED.), THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO ENGLISH NOVELISTS, CAMBRIDGE, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2009, PP. 423-437 ROBERT LANCE SNYDER, “’HE WHO FORMS A TIE IS LOST’: LOYALTY, BETRAYAL AND DECEPTION IN THE HUMAN FACTOR”, SOUTH ATLANTIC REVIEW 73, 3, SUMMER 2008, PP. 23-43. JOHN G. CAWELTI AND BRUCE A. ROSENBERG, “THE COMPLEX VISION OF JOHN LE CARRÉ” CAP. 7 IN JOHN G. CAWELTI AND BRUCE A. ROSENBERG THE SPY STORY, CHICAGO, CHICAGO UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1987, PP. 156-186 DAVID SEED, “THE WELL-WROUGHT STRUCTURES OF JOHN LE CARRÈ’S EARLY FICTION”, IN CLIVE BLOOM (ED.), SPY THRILLERS: FROM BUCHAN TO LE CARRÈ, LONDON, MACMILLAN, 1990, PP. 140-159 |
| More Information | |
|---|---|
| THE COURSE IS TAUGHT IN ENGLISH. STUDENTS ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND CLASSES. A SPECIFIC PROGRAMME FOR ERASMUS STUDENTS WILL BE PROVIDED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE COURSE. |
BETA VERSION Data source ESSE3 [Ultima Sincronizzazione: 2022-05-23]
