Undergraduate Course: Rewriting Orlando from Ariosto to Calvino (ELCI10030)
Course Outline
| School | School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | 'Of women, knights, arms, and love': this is the first line of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furioso (1516-32), the most influential epic poem of the Italian Renaissance, and it programmatically presents the themes
that will be studied and discussed in this course. Orlando was a military leader under Charlemagne during the wars between Christians and Muslims in the Middle Ages, and he became one of the main literary myths of the Renaissance. The course focuses on the complexity and richness of Ariosto's poem, including the history of its composition and its intertextual patterns, as well as on the enduring literary afterlife of the figure Orlando: from the formation of his myth during the Middle Ages, and its consolidation as part of the Italian literary
canon during the Renaissance, to its legacy in contemporary Italian culture.
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| Course description |
The course introduces and examines the role played by the myth of the Carolingian knight Orlando in the Italian literary canon, from Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando furioso (1516-32) to contemporary authors such as Italo Calvino and Beppe Fenoglio. A
close reading of selected passages from
the primary texts will allow students to discuss relevant issues in the formation of the Italian literary canon and engage the representation of major literary topics such as war, love, and madness in the context of political and cultural conflicts from the Crusades to WWII. Textual
analysis will be combined with the study of the epic genre and its evolving functions in different historical contexts. Students will attend two hours of interactive lectures per week. A detailed schedule of readings will be provided, and all students will be required to give short presentations in class on a set text or topic, for which they will receive formative feedback. Students will have the opportunity to demonstrate their achievement of the intended learning outcomes through participation in class
discussions, presentations, essays, and the
final examination.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Advanced knowledge of Italian (Italian 2 level 08 courses) |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge and awareness of the history of and critical responses to Ariosto¿s Orlando furioso.
- Demonstrate skills in analysing key themes, concepts and ideas in Renaissance and contemporary texts in relation to the myth of Orlando, and assess the significance of these texts.
- Apply knowledge and understanding of the theories of intertextuality in relation to the myth of Orlando.
- Evaluate critical responses to the research untaken by others and construct clear, coherent and complex arguments, supported by relevant ideas and examples that demonstrate an in depth and contextualised understanding of the problems and themes of enquiry.
- Demonstrate communication skills and self- confidence in class discussions and presentations, also demonstrating initiative and ability to work with others effectively.
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Reading List
. D. Beecher, M. Ciavolella, R. Fedi (eds), Ariosto today. Contemporary Perspectives, di D. Beecher, M. Ciavolella, R. Fedi (Toronto Buffalo London: University of Toronto Press, 2003) . Lanfranco Caretti, Ariosto e Tasso (Torino: Einaudi, 2001) . Albert Ascoli, Ariosto's Bitter Armony. Crisis and Evasion in the Italian Renaissance (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987) . R. M. Durling, The figure of the poet in Renaissance epic (Cambridge: Harvard Uiversity Press, 1965) . Giuseppe Sangirardi, Ariosto (Firenze: Le Monnier, 2006) . Sergio Zatti, Il Furioso fra epos e romanzo (Pisa: Pacini Fazzi, 2001).
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Epic poetry,Novel,War Wold II,Religious conflict,Love,Madness |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Nicolo Maldina
Tel: (0131 6)50 3642
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Fiona Jack
Tel: (0131 6)50 3635
Email: |
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