IT 310 Elements of Italian Literature

The course will introduce students to the study of Italian literature; it is designed for those students who have reached 300-level proficiency in Italian language and also functions as a preparatory course for those who wish to study Italian literature at higher levels. The first part of the course focuses on a preliminary explanation of basic literary terminology and teaches students to recognize codes and genres in a limited selection of Italian literary texts. In the second part of the course, students will read samples from significant works of Italian literature in conjunction with selected passages from the canon of Italian literary criticism. They will practice their critical and writing skills by applying the concepts learned during the course to the analysis and reading of the literary texts under consideration. At an introductory level, students will begin to appreciate the difference between commentary and criticism and between both historical and formal approaches to the study of Italian literature.

Previous title was: IT 310 Introduction to the Study of Italian Literature