Students must possess an advanced knowledge of Spanish as well as a good understanding of the history and culture of Spain.
After completing the course students will have in-depth knowledge of the general problems and individual aspects of the history of literature. They will know how to place literary products in their proper context of literary history; they will have improved their critical skills and consolidated the expertise required to deal with the interpretation of texts, also in connection with later traditions. The students will be able to understand, translate and comment in Spanish, both primary and secondary sources using specific methods for the analysis of literary texts.
The Spanish picaresque novel: "Lazarillo de Tormes". The course will examine a peculiar genre in Spanish literature, focusing particularly on the Lazarillo archetype with extensive references to subsequent works, analysing the importance and the literary and social significance of this genre, including its relationship with the historical period in which these novels were written.
Teaching will take place through lectures, but with a focus on discussion and dialogue directly with the students, who will be able, during class, to formulate proposals for further study or debate. Students will be invited to prepare, either alone or in small groups, one of the critical essays, to be presented to the rest of the class. Such presentations will be subject to ongoing evaluation.
The examination will be oral, in Spanish, and the evaluation will be out of /30. The exam will be structured in four questions concerning the entire syllabus in order to verify the acquisition of contents; a question will focus on the historical and literary context, one or two questions will focus on the main reference text and one or two questions on the critical bibliography.
Essays already presented to the class or to the professor and evaluated during the course will not be the object of the examination.
We will evaluate: use of appropriate language, completeness of contents, correct presentation, critical and elaborative skills, as well as mastery of the Spanish language.
All the texts which appear in the bibliography can be found in the St. Agostino university library.
Non attending students, besides the above bibliography will have to study:
Gonzalo Sobejano "De la intención y valor del "Guzmán de Alfarache", Romanische Forschungen, núm. 71(3/4) (1959), pp. 267-311, Frankfurt am Main: Klosterman, available at http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra/de-la-intencin-y-valor-del-guzmn-de...