| Unit name | Constructing the Canon: The Three Crowns in the Cinquecento |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ITAL30047 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Rhiannon Daniels |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Italian |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio began to be grouped together as a trio of writers and used as propaganda for the cultural achievements of Florence barely twenty years after Boccaccio’s death in 1375, and still today they are arguably the best known and most studied authors in Italian literature. This unit proposes to go beyond simply reading the texts of these authors in order to consider how a study of their reception – how, where, and by whom they are read – can not only offer new insights into the literary history of some of Italy’s most famous exports, but also inform us about a rich period of Italy’s cultural history. We will be focusing on the Cinquecento, when Italian prose matured enough to take over from Latin as a serious medium for literary writing and authors began to assume celebrity status as the printing press made texts available all over Europe. Using a combination of primary and secondary printed material – including sixteenth-century editions of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio held in the University Library – and digital resources, we will consider topics and issues such as literary imitation, linguistic debates, censorship, biographies, the commentary tradition, the rise of author-function, and the visual tradition surrounding the three authors. Aims: - to introduce students to reception theory and different ways of constructing production and reading practices within this theoretical discipline - to develop an understanding of some of the processes by which Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio have assumed a canonical status - to use reception studies as a means of reflecting on the cultural history of Cinquecento Italy - to introduce students to object-based analysis, using rare books in Bristol University Library
By the end of the module students will be able to: - evaluate critically the complex relationship and reciprocal influences that exist between receiving cultures and authors - analyse in detail specific instances of reception and appropriation relating to Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio, and display a good understanding of their cultural context - evaluate critically the role played by Cinquecento print culture in the authorization of Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio - distinguish between and evaluate different theoretical approaches to reception - conduct primary research on rare books
Lectures, seminars, and visits to Special Collections
One 15 minute oral presentation (25%) One written assignment of 1500 words (25%) One written assignment of 3000 words (50%) The longer essay will require students to demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of theories of reception and apply them effectively to an analysis of a specific aspect of sixteenth century Italian literary culture. The shorter tasks will require students to demonstrate the ability to analyse the language and structure of early Italian texts and deploy an understanding of print culture of the period. This will be enhanced through close study of existing material in the Library’s Special Collections.
Rhiannon Daniels, Boccaccio and the Book: Production and Reading in Italy 1340-1520 (London: Legenda, 2009) Simon Gilson, Dante in Renaissance Florence (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005) William J. Kennedy, Authorizing Petrarch (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1994) Martin McLaughlin, Literary Imitation in the Italian Renaissance: The Theory and Practice of Literary Imitation in Italy from Dante to Bembo (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1995) Deborah Parker, Commentary and Ideology: Dante in the Renaissance (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1993) Brian Richardson, Print Culture in Renaissance Italy: The Editor and the Vernacular Text, 1470-1600 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994)
