English Literature 2
A.Y. 2024/2025
Learning objectives
The course is the second step for English Literature major and is devoted to second year undergraduate students. The course analyses the development of English literature, focussing on writers active between the 1870s and the second half of the twentieth century. Students will be taught how to critically read and assess complex literary works. The syllabus includes poetry, novels and dramas.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge: the course aims at familiarizing students with the major works and the literary history of the XIX and XX centuries, through the literary genres of poetry, novel, and drama. Competence: Students will develop different reading techniques such as close reading (textual analysis) and distant reading (historical and genre assessment). The course also aims at strengthening linguistic competence with particular reference to the critical idiom and the literary language. Students attending the classes will be stimulated to develop their critical and analytical abilities with complex literary texts in order to help them become autonomous readers in English.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
A (A-K)
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
Course title: Centre and margins from late Victorian literature to Modernism to Postcolonialism.
Description: The center-margin dynamics provides an understanding of some fundamental aspects of the literary production from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. The course intends to focus on the crucial issue of national identity, which undergoes major transformations in relation also to the changes associated with the two world wars and the process of decolonization, and also highlights the perspective of gender, and thus the role of women. The textual innovations triggered by modernity are analysed and discussed. The first part focuses on fin de siècle imperial fiction, questioning in particular the anxiety it reveals on the destiny of the British Empire. The second part is devoted to Modernist works, which show the growing awareness of fragmentation, disintegration and loss as a result of the changing conditions of Britain and of the world. The third part traces some aspects of the development of the novel from Modernism to Postcolonialism, which provides new narrative strategies, revisiting the relationship between the self and the other.
The course is addressed to second-year students specializing in Foreign Languages and Literatures. It bears 9 credits, and it is not possible to take a 6 credit exam.
The syllabus is valid until February 2026.
Description: The center-margin dynamics provides an understanding of some fundamental aspects of the literary production from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. The course intends to focus on the crucial issue of national identity, which undergoes major transformations in relation also to the changes associated with the two world wars and the process of decolonization, and also highlights the perspective of gender, and thus the role of women. The textual innovations triggered by modernity are analysed and discussed. The first part focuses on fin de siècle imperial fiction, questioning in particular the anxiety it reveals on the destiny of the British Empire. The second part is devoted to Modernist works, which show the growing awareness of fragmentation, disintegration and loss as a result of the changing conditions of Britain and of the world. The third part traces some aspects of the development of the novel from Modernism to Postcolonialism, which provides new narrative strategies, revisiting the relationship between the self and the other.
The course is addressed to second-year students specializing in Foreign Languages and Literatures. It bears 9 credits, and it is not possible to take a 6 credit exam.
The syllabus is valid until February 2026.
Prerequisites for admission
The course is taught in English; the syllabus implies a good knowledge of literary history and the critical skills of textual analysis acquired during the first year. To sit the second-year exam, students need to have passed the first-year English language exam and the first-year English literature exam.
Teaching methods
The course employs the following teaching methods: lectures including close reading and analysis of the texts; audiovisual materials, such as sequences of television and film adaptations or documentaries, etc. Students are encouraged to actively participate in textual analysis and in the discussions in class and in the website forum.
Teaching Resources
GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Arturo Cattaneo, A Short History of English Literature, vol. 2 (the sections on writers and texts included in the syllabus). Alternatively: Paul Poplawski (ed.), English Literature in Context (the sections on writers and texts included in the syllabus).
Other materials will be suggested in class and uploaded on the website of the course (especially for non attending students).
PART I: CONTACT ZONES
Literary texts:
Henry Rider Haggard, King Solomon's Mines (any edition in English)
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (any edition in English, including introduction and notes)
Rudyard Kipling, Kim (any edition in English, including introduction and notes).
PART II: THINGS FALL APART
Literary texts:
William Butler Yeats, 'The Second Coming' (available on the website of the course))
James Joyce, The Dead (any edition in English)
T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land (bilingual edition edited by Alessandro Serpieri, Bur Rizzoli)
Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse (any edition in English, including introduction and notes).
PART III: BOUNDARIES
Literary texts:
Edward Morgan Forster, A Passage to India (any edition in English, including introduction and notes)
Doris Lessing, The Grass is Singing (any edition in English)
Joan Lindsay, Picnic at Hanging Rock (any edition in English).
Some film adaptations of the literary texts analysed will also be used.
Students will also have to read autonomously one work to be chosen from:
Joseph Conrad, The Shadow Line
James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway.
The website of the course is online on the Ariel platform (http://ariel.unimi.it): students will be able to download critical materials. The website also contains general information on the course and is constantly updated.
Arturo Cattaneo, A Short History of English Literature, vol. 2 (the sections on writers and texts included in the syllabus). Alternatively: Paul Poplawski (ed.), English Literature in Context (the sections on writers and texts included in the syllabus).
Other materials will be suggested in class and uploaded on the website of the course (especially for non attending students).
PART I: CONTACT ZONES
Literary texts:
Henry Rider Haggard, King Solomon's Mines (any edition in English)
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness (any edition in English, including introduction and notes)
Rudyard Kipling, Kim (any edition in English, including introduction and notes).
PART II: THINGS FALL APART
Literary texts:
William Butler Yeats, 'The Second Coming' (available on the website of the course))
James Joyce, The Dead (any edition in English)
T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land (bilingual edition edited by Alessandro Serpieri, Bur Rizzoli)
Virginia Woolf, To the Lighthouse (any edition in English, including introduction and notes).
PART III: BOUNDARIES
Literary texts:
Edward Morgan Forster, A Passage to India (any edition in English, including introduction and notes)
Doris Lessing, The Grass is Singing (any edition in English)
Joan Lindsay, Picnic at Hanging Rock (any edition in English).
Some film adaptations of the literary texts analysed will also be used.
Students will also have to read autonomously one work to be chosen from:
Joseph Conrad, The Shadow Line
James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway.
The website of the course is online on the Ariel platform (http://ariel.unimi.it): students will be able to download critical materials. The website also contains general information on the course and is constantly updated.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam consists of an oral interview. The minimum score is 18, the maximum is 30. The oral exam will prove the understanding of literary texts (through reading and translation), the knowledge of literary history (details on the authors, historical and cultural contexts), and the ability to interpret the texts from a critical point of view. Linguistic skills, as well as the ability to make connections between texts, writers, and cultural contexts, will also be part of the assessment. The interview will be (at least partly) in English.
Students may accept or reject the mark, in this case, it will be recorded as "ritirato".
Students may accept or reject the mark, in this case, it will be recorded as "ritirato".
L-LIN/10 - ENGLISH LITERATURE - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professor:
Brazzelli Nicoletta
B (L-Z)
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
The course is addressed to students of Lingue e Letterature Straniere (surname letter: L-Z).
The course bears 9 credits. It is NOT possible to take the exam for 6 credits only.
The course syllabus is valid until February 2026.
The course is entitled: Fin-de-siècle, Modernism and Beyond
Unità didattica A, Prose:
R.L. Stevenson, "The Bottle Imp", "The Yellow Paint", "A Lodging for the Night"
Oscar Wilde, The Happy Prince
James Joyce, "The Sisters", "Araby", "Eveline", "A Painful Case", "The Dead"
Kathrine Mansfield, "The Garden Party"
Joseph Conrad, 'Twixt Land and Sea
Virginia Woolf, Orlando"
Rudyard Kipling, Kim
Janine Utell, Engagements with Narrative. Routledge Engagements with Literature (disponibile anche come e-book)
Laura Winkiel, Modernism: The Basics, Routledge Basics. (disponibile anche come e-book)
Unit B, Poetry:
Th. Hardy "During Wind and Rain", "Neutral Tones", "The Convergence of the Twain", "Ah, Are You Digging on my Grave", "The Darkling Thrush"
W.B. Yeats "Innisfree", "Sailing to Byzanthium", "Leda and the Swann", "the Second Coming", "An Irish Airman Foresees His Doom",
T.S. Eliot The Waste Land (Si consiglia l'edizione BUR a cura di A. Serpieri, obbligatoria per i non frequentanti)
Ted Hughes "Hawk in the Rain", "Wind", "Coming Down Through Somerset"
Seamus Heaney, "Digging", "An Advancement of Learning", "Punishment"
Unit C, Theatre:
The Norton Anthology of English Literature
- G.B. Shaw, St Joan
- S. Beckett, Endgame
In addition to the texts above, students will also choose at least one of the following novels of their choice:
In aggiunta a quanto sopra gli studenti leggeranno almeno uno dei seguenti volumi a propria scelta in qualsiasi edizione:
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
James Joyce, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway
George Orwell, 1984.
E.M. Forster, Passage to India
Alan Sillitoe, The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner
The course bears 9 credits. It is NOT possible to take the exam for 6 credits only.
The course syllabus is valid until February 2026.
The course is entitled: Fin-de-siècle, Modernism and Beyond
Unità didattica A, Prose:
R.L. Stevenson, "The Bottle Imp", "The Yellow Paint", "A Lodging for the Night"
Oscar Wilde, The Happy Prince
James Joyce, "The Sisters", "Araby", "Eveline", "A Painful Case", "The Dead"
Kathrine Mansfield, "The Garden Party"
Joseph Conrad, 'Twixt Land and Sea
Virginia Woolf, Orlando"
Rudyard Kipling, Kim
Janine Utell, Engagements with Narrative. Routledge Engagements with Literature (disponibile anche come e-book)
Laura Winkiel, Modernism: The Basics, Routledge Basics. (disponibile anche come e-book)
Unit B, Poetry:
Th. Hardy "During Wind and Rain", "Neutral Tones", "The Convergence of the Twain", "Ah, Are You Digging on my Grave", "The Darkling Thrush"
W.B. Yeats "Innisfree", "Sailing to Byzanthium", "Leda and the Swann", "the Second Coming", "An Irish Airman Foresees His Doom",
T.S. Eliot The Waste Land (Si consiglia l'edizione BUR a cura di A. Serpieri, obbligatoria per i non frequentanti)
Ted Hughes "Hawk in the Rain", "Wind", "Coming Down Through Somerset"
Seamus Heaney, "Digging", "An Advancement of Learning", "Punishment"
Unit C, Theatre:
The Norton Anthology of English Literature
- G.B. Shaw, St Joan
- S. Beckett, Endgame
In addition to the texts above, students will also choose at least one of the following novels of their choice:
In aggiunta a quanto sopra gli studenti leggeranno almeno uno dei seguenti volumi a propria scelta in qualsiasi edizione:
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
James Joyce, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Virginia Woolf, Mrs Dalloway
George Orwell, 1984.
E.M. Forster, Passage to India
Alan Sillitoe, The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner
Prerequisites for admission
The course is taught in English. To follow the course successfully, a good knowledge of the previous literary periods and good critical skills are required (both should have been acquired during the first-year literature course).
Teaching methods
The course employs the following teaching methods: lectures including close reading and analysis of the texts; audiovisual materials, such as projections of sequences of television and film adaptations or documentaries, etc. Students are encouraged to actively participate in textual analysis and in the discussions in class.
Attending students will be asked to work to realize short presentations.
Attending students will be asked to work to realize short presentations.
Teaching Resources
A general introduction to historical and cultural contexts can be found on
__ Paul Poplawski, English Literature in Context, available online.
Besides, further material can be uploaded on the course TEAM
Students who cannot attend the course will study also:
Riquelme, John Paul: "The Modernity of Thomas Hardy's Poetry" See Kramer, Dale (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Hardy Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press (1999) (Literature Online - http://literature.proquest.com)
Alessandro Vescovi, "The Meaning and Significance of Kim's Great Game", Altre Modernità, https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/AMonline/article/view/4040
I saggi numero 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 14, 17 del Cambridge Companion to Narrative. Questi testi sono disponibili anche online a partire dal sito della biblioteca digitale sulla piattaforma Literature Online > Criticism > Cambridge Companion to Literature.
Giuseppe Sertoli "Introduzione", in J. Conrad, Tra la terra e il mare. Einaudi 2016 (Ariel).
Lucio De Capitani "The playwright, the moralist and the poet: a Brechtian reading of Stevenson's writings on François Villon" - Journal of Stevenson Studies 12 (2015) (from Academia.edu)
__ Paul Poplawski, English Literature in Context, available online.
Besides, further material can be uploaded on the course TEAM
Students who cannot attend the course will study also:
Riquelme, John Paul: "The Modernity of Thomas Hardy's Poetry" See Kramer, Dale (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Hardy Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press (1999) (Literature Online - http://literature.proquest.com)
Alessandro Vescovi, "The Meaning and Significance of Kim's Great Game", Altre Modernità, https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/AMonline/article/view/4040
I saggi numero 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 14, 17 del Cambridge Companion to Narrative. Questi testi sono disponibili anche online a partire dal sito della biblioteca digitale sulla piattaforma Literature Online > Criticism > Cambridge Companion to Literature.
Giuseppe Sertoli "Introduzione", in J. Conrad, Tra la terra e il mare. Einaudi 2016 (Ariel).
Lucio De Capitani "The playwright, the moralist and the poet: a Brechtian reading of Stevenson's writings on François Villon" - Journal of Stevenson Studies 12 (2015) (from Academia.edu)
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam consists of an oral interview assessed in thirtieths; 18/30 is the pass score.
The interview will ascertain: the capacity of students to read and translate the literary texts in the course syllabus (non-Italian students will be asked to paraphrase the same in English); their knowledge of the historical, cultural, and literary context of both texts and writers proposed; their knowledge of the literary works proposed; the ability to interpret the texts from a critical point of view. Linguistic skills as well as the capacity of making connections between texts, writers and cultural contexts will also be part of the assessment. Active and regular participation will be taken into consideration.
To take the exam, it is mandatory to bring along all literary texts listed in this syllabus.
It is possible to take the exam both in English or in Italian (in the latter case, at least one or two answers will have to be given in English).
The final score is expressed in thirtieths; students may accept or reject the mark (in that case the record will be "ritirato", and they will have to take the whole exam again in a future session).
International or Erasmus incoming students are kindly requested to contact the teacher.
Students with any disabilities should contact the teacher in order to agree on alternative examination methods, in agreement with the competent office.
Attending students will be asked to complete two tasks: 1) a piece of creative writing and 2) a PowerPoint presentation to be prepared in a team of 3-4 students.
The interview will ascertain: the capacity of students to read and translate the literary texts in the course syllabus (non-Italian students will be asked to paraphrase the same in English); their knowledge of the historical, cultural, and literary context of both texts and writers proposed; their knowledge of the literary works proposed; the ability to interpret the texts from a critical point of view. Linguistic skills as well as the capacity of making connections between texts, writers and cultural contexts will also be part of the assessment. Active and regular participation will be taken into consideration.
To take the exam, it is mandatory to bring along all literary texts listed in this syllabus.
It is possible to take the exam both in English or in Italian (in the latter case, at least one or two answers will have to be given in English).
The final score is expressed in thirtieths; students may accept or reject the mark (in that case the record will be "ritirato", and they will have to take the whole exam again in a future session).
International or Erasmus incoming students are kindly requested to contact the teacher.
Students with any disabilities should contact the teacher in order to agree on alternative examination methods, in agreement with the competent office.
Attending students will be asked to complete two tasks: 1) a piece of creative writing and 2) a PowerPoint presentation to be prepared in a team of 3-4 students.
L-LIN/10 - ENGLISH LITERATURE - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professor:
Vescovi Alessandro
Professor(s)
Reception:
Every Friday 2:30 pm. Please use the form to reserve a position.
Microsoft Teams. For a different arrangement please see the form