Italian Text Study and Literary Theory Analysis

Postgraduate course

Course description

Objectives and Content

ITAL302 aims to give students extended knowledge of Italian literature and to practice a critical and independent understanding of central questions in the study of literature. The course also aims to give insight into selected and central literary theories.

The course is comprised of two components: a theoretical and methodological part, and a literary part. The main purpose if the course is to provide central theories and methods that are relevant to Italian literary studies.

Moreover, the course provides broader insight into Italian literature through a submersion into a selection of literary works. In this way, the course aims to provide students with a better basis for the choice and theoretical frame for the master's thesis.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the course the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills, and general competence:

Knowledge The student should

  • have a good understanding of individual works of fiction, topics, or genres
  • have a good understanding of the cultural historical framework for syllabus texts
  • have a good understanding of fundamental theories within modern literary studies
  • have a good understanding of and can apply methods that are relevant for literary theses and questions

Skills The student should

  • be able to compare and discuss how the different literary and theoretical syllabus texts are related
  • be able to work independently with problem solving on the basis of insight into the field
  • be able to use the theoretical tools they have acquired to perform text analysis in an independent manner and to discuss the relevance the theories they have gained insight into have in relation to a concrete question or thesis.

General competence The student should

  • be able to complete a theoretically and scholarly demanding project with several dimensions
  • be able to work independently with analytical issues related to the subject matter
  • be proficient in high level Italian

ECTS Credits

15

Level of Study

Master

Semester of Instruction

Fall

Place of Instruction

Bergen and online
Required Previous Knowledge
Bachelor¿s degree with specialization in Italian, or the equivalent.
Recommended Previous Knowledge
Italian 100- and 200-levels, or equivalent.
Credit Reduction due to Course Overlap
None
Access to the Course
The course is open to all students who have been admitted to the master's program in Italian at the University of Bergen
Teaching and learning methods

Student active lectures and seminars. Approximately 4 hours per week for 10 weeks. The teaching will be both on campus and online (hybrid).

In the case that less than five students register for a course, the organized teaching may be adapted to fit the number of students. If this occurs, students will be informed at the start of the semester, and before the registration deadline 1 February/1 September.

Compulsory Assignments and Attendance

In the course of the semester the student must hold an oral presentation of about 10-15 minutes. The term paper is supervised, and the students must complete a mandatory tutorial with the course instructor in order to be allowed to submit the paper. The topic for the oral presentation and the term paper cannot be the same.

The presentation must be passed and the tutorial must be completed in the same semester in order to qualify to sit for the exam of the course.

Compulsory assignments are only valid in the instruction semester.

Forms of Assessment

The exam has two components:

  1. A supervised term paper, which must be submitted by 1 December (or first week day after this date), of about 4000 words, written in Italian. The candidate can choose their thesis question, however it must be related to themes taught in the course. The submission deadline for the term paper is 1 December (or the first workday after this date).
  2. An oral exam where the question for the conversation can be taken from any part of the reading list from the course. The candidate may choose to do the oral exam either at campus or digitally.

The term paper and the oral exam both counts for 50 percent of the grade.

Students who receive an F on the term paper, will not be eligible for the oral exam. Students who receive an F at the oral exam, receive an F for the course as a whole. Both components of the exam must be completed in the same semester.

Grading Scale
The department uses a grading scale ranging from A to F. F is a failing grade.
Assessment Semester
Fall.
Reading List
Information about the selection of literature can found at all times in the reading list online. The reading list will be made ready within 1 June for the fall semester.
Course Evaluation
The course will be evaluated in accordance with University of Bergen's quality assurance system.
Examination Support Material
None
Programme Committee
The Programme Board is responsible for the academic content and structure of the study program, and for the quality of all the subjects therein.
Course Coordinator
Program Board for Italian
Course Administrator
The Department of Foreign Languages at the Faculty of Humanities has the administrative responsibility for the course and the study program.