Polish Literature 3
A.Y. 2024/2025
Learning objectives
The course is part of the specialization path in the field of Polish literature and aims to provide specific knowledge and and a series of skills within the topics covered in class and in the bibliography attached to the present program.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding: at the end of the course the student must demonstrate that he has acquired an excellent knowledge of Polish history and literature, focused on the topics presented in class. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: at the end of the course the student will have to demonstrate to be able to remember and analyze the salient features of the works undergoing analysis and to know how to place them in their proper historical framework, in the context of the history of Polish and European literature as well as in the tradition of critical studies. He will also have to demonstrate an excellent knowledge of the most important authors treated in class, possibly in a context of comparison with other European authors. He / she must be able to analyze the texts from the point of view of style and content, basing on the information received during the lessons and obtained from consulting the texts indicated in the bibliography. He/She must be able to carry out an independent critical evaluation of the examined works.
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
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
The course intends to retrace the 'Polish' tradition of travel reportage in Africa by adopting some of the interpretative categories offered by Edward W. Said in his studies of Orientalism (1978) and Culture and Imperialism (1993). In particular, Henryk Sienkiewicz's Letters from Africa (1891) will be examined, comparing them with Heart of Darkness (1899) by the English writer (but of Polish origin!) Joseph Conrad and with the subsequent children's novel In Deserts and Wilderness (1911) also by H. Sienkiewicz. Sienkiewicz's paternalistic and colonialist theories were polemised by the journalist Marian Brandys in his fine reportage On the Trails of Staś and Nel (1956), while decolonizing and post-colonial Africa is at the center of many of the works of the famous reporter Ryszard Kapuściński. In the third unit, we will analyze how the events of the colonization of West Africa and those of the Mahdi uprising (1881-1898) were reported in H. Sienkiewicz's In Deserts and Wilderness, in its various Italian translations and its two subsequent cinematographic adaptations (Poland 1973; Poland-South Africa 2001).
Prerequisites for admission
The course, materials, and examination bibliography presuppose skills acquired in previous classes. The prerequisites for students in the degree course in foreign languages and literature are those in force. Students from other degree courses interested in taking the examination must contact the lecturer.
Teaching methods
The course adopts the following teaching methods: lectures, reading, translation, and commentary of Polish fiction, essays, and watching videos of Polish films.
Teaching Resources
Bibliographic indications
General:
Edward D. Said, Orientalism, Turin, Bollati Boringhieri, 1991;
Edward W. Said, Culture and Imperialism, Milan, Feltrinelli 2023
L. Bernardini, Busz po polsku: the literary reportage of travel in Africa - Polish tradition, in Avant-Gardes and Traditions in the 20th and 21st Centuries between Poland, Italy, and Europe, Proceedings of the Conference of Italian Polonists, 22-23 April 2010, edited by Marina Ciccarini, Leszek Kuk, Luigi Marinelli, Polish Academy, Rome, 2013, pp. 230-254, ISSN 0208-5623
Unit A.
Henryk Sienkiewicz, Per Deserti e per foreste, in: Quo Vadis - Per Deserti e per foreste, Turin, UTET, 1978;
Henryk Sienkiewicz, Listy z Afryki, Warszawa , PWN, 1955
Joseph Conrad, Cuore di tenebra, Milan, Feltrinelli, 2003;
Unit B
Ryszard Kapuściński, Ebano, translation by Vera Verdiani, Milan, Feltrinelli, 2000;
Ryszard Kapuściński, Il Negus: splendors and miseries of an autocrat, translation by Vera Verdiani, Milan, Feltrinelli, 2003;
Marian Brandys, Sladami Stasia i Nel, Warszawa, Nasza Księgarnia 1961;
Unit C:
Filmography:
W pustyni i w puszczy (Through deserts and forests; reg. W. Slesicki, Poland 1973)
W pustyni i w puszczy (In desert and wilderness, reg. G. Hood, Poland 2001)
Bibliography;
Wiesław Kot, W pustyni i w puszczy. Prawda i legenda, G & P, Poznań, 2001
General:
Edward D. Said, Orientalism, Turin, Bollati Boringhieri, 1991;
Edward W. Said, Culture and Imperialism, Milan, Feltrinelli 2023
L. Bernardini, Busz po polsku: the literary reportage of travel in Africa - Polish tradition, in Avant-Gardes and Traditions in the 20th and 21st Centuries between Poland, Italy, and Europe, Proceedings of the Conference of Italian Polonists, 22-23 April 2010, edited by Marina Ciccarini, Leszek Kuk, Luigi Marinelli, Polish Academy, Rome, 2013, pp. 230-254, ISSN 0208-5623
Unit A.
Henryk Sienkiewicz, Per Deserti e per foreste, in: Quo Vadis - Per Deserti e per foreste, Turin, UTET, 1978;
Henryk Sienkiewicz, Listy z Afryki, Warszawa , PWN, 1955
Joseph Conrad, Cuore di tenebra, Milan, Feltrinelli, 2003;
Unit B
Ryszard Kapuściński, Ebano, translation by Vera Verdiani, Milan, Feltrinelli, 2000;
Ryszard Kapuściński, Il Negus: splendors and miseries of an autocrat, translation by Vera Verdiani, Milan, Feltrinelli, 2003;
Marian Brandys, Sladami Stasia i Nel, Warszawa, Nasza Księgarnia 1961;
Unit C:
Filmography:
W pustyni i w puszczy (Through deserts and forests; reg. W. Slesicki, Poland 1973)
W pustyni i w puszczy (In desert and wilderness, reg. G. Hood, Poland 2001)
Bibliography;
Wiesław Kot, W pustyni i w puszczy. Prawda i legenda, G & P, Poznań, 2001
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam consists of an individual interview, which includes questions the teacher asks, interactions between teacher and student, and the analysis and commentary of one or more passages from the works in the program. The interview has a variable duration depending on the student's ability to respond and takes place in Italian or, optionally, in Polish. The exam aims to verify the knowledge of the topics presented in class, of the texts read, the ability to contextualize authors and works, to frame them critically, the ability to expose, and the precision in using specific terminology. The vote is shown out of thirty. An excellent knowledge of historical events, authors, non-fiction, essays, fiction narrative, cinematographic and prose works, supported by a broad and systematic vision of the topics addressed in class and of the readings indicated in the bibliography, the demonstration of an expressive mastery and specific language will be evaluated with marks of excellence (29-30). The mostly mnemonic knowledge of the subject, the ability to synthesize and analyze not in-depth, and correct but not always appropriate language will lead to discrete evaluations (24-28). Rough knowledge, superficial understanding, poor analytical skills, and inappropriate expression will lead to evaluations around or above sufficiency (18-23). Obvious training gaps, inappropriate language, and a lack of orientation within the bibliographic materials offered in the program will be negatively evaluated. They will lead to the need to repeat the exam.
International or incoming Erasmus students are requested to contact the teacher. The examination methods for students with disabilities and SLDs must be agreed upon with the teacher in agreement with the competent office.
International or incoming Erasmus students are requested to contact the teacher. The examination methods for students with disabilities and SLDs must be agreed upon with the teacher in agreement with the competent office.
L-LIN/21 - SLAVIC STUDIES - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours