Italian Literature Today: from Postmodern to New Realism

The course will span the panorama of current Italian literature (poetry and fiction), from the so-called “return” and from the advent of Postmodernism in the eighties to the present day. The course will study the fundamental characteristics of postmodernism: the primacy of hermaneutics and the relativism of “truth,” literary research as spectacle and entertainment to the point that “merit” and “success” are synonymous. The course will also examine the emerging trend towards a “new realism” characterized by a shift towards social reality and respect for ethical foundations with concern for the most dramatic topics of current times in Italy and abroad.

Required Text: G. TELLINI, Letteratura italiana d’oggi. Dal Postmoderno al Nuovo realismo, Firenze, 2019 (Instructor will provide additional materials).