From Antonio Gramsci to Roberto Saviano: Italian Political Novels and Thought

This course will not only look at the political content of the books to be studied but it will also analyze the social context in which the works were written. Particular attention will be paid to the post-Fascist period. The novels will be studied in a historical context and emphasis will be put on how they reflect a certain understanding of society which is often at odds with the ruling classes. A close reading of the works will also allow for a better understanding of the social function of literature in contemporary society.

Required Text:
Romano Luperini, La scrittura e l’interpretazione, Edizione Rossa, Volume 6 - Modernità e Contemporaneità (Dal 1925 ai nostri giorni). Palumbo Editore.

Novels:
Cesare Pavese, La luna e i falò/. Torino Einaudi, any edition.
Leonardo Sciascia, /Il giorno della civetta. Adelphi, any edition.
P.P. Pasolini Una vita violenta, on line @ http://www.altrestorie.net/libri/Pasolini.Una%20Vita%20Violenta%20Pier.pdf
Roberto Saviano, Gomorra. Milano: Mondadori 2006.
Dacia Maraini, La ragazza di via Maqueda, Rizzoli, 2009.