Ateneo - UPO

“Is there a poem in this class?” Rhythms, meters and chronotopes in literary teaching

EMANUELE ZINATO (a cura di), Insegnare letteratura. Teorie e pratiche per una didattica indocile, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2022.
STEFANO COLANGELO, Come si legge una poesia. Nuova edizione, Roma, Carocci, 2023.
COSTANZO DI GIROLAMO, Manualetto di metrica italiana, Roma, Carocci, 2021.

The poetic texts analyzed will be shared on the DIR page of the course.

Supplementary reading for non-attending Students:
MARTHA C. NUSSBAUM, Cultivating Humanity. A Classical Defense of Reform in Liberal Education.

Non-attending students are invited to contact the teacher before or during exam preparation.

The course aims to offer the fundamental theoretical and methodological tools for critical knowledge and updated skills in the field of literature teaching.
The main issues relating to the teaching of literature in secondary school will be presented and discussed, between the constraints of regulations and manuals and the encounter between imaginations in the reading experience.
The main issues of theory of literature and literary criticism, and the main methods and tools of analysis, understanding, and sharing of the literary work will be presented and addressed in the light of their didactic application, with particular attention to the reading and writing of the poetic text.

Interest in teaching literature

Frontal lessons, readings aloud, analysis and comments on poetic texts, individual and group writing exercises.
DIR website will be used, uploading materials that will constitute an indispensable part of the preparation of the exam

Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services- students-physical-or-learning-disabilities Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning didactic aspects.

Students can choose between the written and oral forms of examination. Both in the oral and written form the exam will consist of two parts: 1) One or more questions on the issues addressed in the volume edited by Emanuele Zinato Insegnare la letteratura; 2) Reading, paraphrase, metric-rhythmic, stylistic-rhetorical and thematic analysis of a poetic text among those examined in class; overall comment on the poem and proposal for its didactic rendering in a given school context: how would you present this poem to the class (with specification of the type of school and year)? The Student is thus required to demonstrate: 1. KNOWLEDGE Critical knowledge of the main issues relating to the teaching of literature in secondary school, between the constraints of norms and manuals and the encounter between imaginations in the reading experience. Knowledge of the main issues of theory of literature and literary criticism, and the main methods and tools of analysis, understanding, and sharing of the literary work in the light of their didactic application, with particular attention to the reading and writing of the poetic text. Knowledge of the basic elements of Italian metrics, the main verses and the main strophic forms. Knowledge of some exemplary texts of the Italian poetic tradition, of their metric-rhythmic, stylistic, rhetorical and thematic characteristics and the most effective methods of their teaching. 2. SKILLS Ability to analyze a poetic work by understanding its compositional, metric-rhythmic, stylistic, rhetorical and thematic characteristics; Ability to to transmit these skills in teaching. Ability to write and ability to teach writing an Italian verse based on its rhythmic structure. 3. (TRANSVERSAL SKILLS) - ability to present information and opinions clearly and convincingly, using the appropriate language and terminology. In particular, the following weight will be given to the verification of the achievement of the aforementioned training objectives: 1. 40%; 2. 40%; 3. 20%. N.B. The evaluation of the written exam will also include grammatical correctness (orthography, morphology, syntax).

1st week
Introduction to the course. Emanuele Zinato, Teaching literature: Part 1, The profession of the teacher. The regulatory references; For good use of manuals.
What is metric. A dialogic and pragmatic approach. Governing rules and constitutive rules. What is a verse. Voice, intonations, tones, accents. The power of rhythm.
Second week
Emanuele Zinato, Teaching literature: Part 1, The profession of the teacher. A pedagogy in the discipline. Part 2, Building teaching. Teaching literature in lower secondary school.
What is a verse. Syllable and accent. Location and stroke. Rhythmic patterns. Metric figures. Italian verses: parisyllables and impersyllables. From the hendecasyllable to the bisyllable. The hendecasyllable. The septenary. Exercises.
III week
Emanuele Zinato, Teaching literature. Part 2, Building teaching. Against inertia. Teaching literature in the first two years. Periodization and the canon. Teaching literature for three years.
What is a verse. Couplet. Triplet. Quatrain. Strophic forms. The sonnet. Reading, analysis and commentary on sonnets from their origins to today. Exercises.
4th week
Emanuele Zinato, Teaching literature. Part 2, Building teaching. The lyrics and the story. Reading at school.
Dante's triplet. Reading, analysis, commentary of a song from the Divine Comedy. Exercises

Fifth week
Emanuele Zinato, Teaching literature. Part 3, Criticism tools and applications at school. Intertwining of voices. Polyphonic ambiguity as a training resource. Matter of style. Teaching poetry.
The The triplet in history. Pascoli, Italy. Pasolini, Gramsci's Ashes. Exercises.

VII week
Emanuele Zinato, Teaching literature. Part 3, Criticism tools and applications at school. Teaching with variations. Teaching by themes. A laboratory experience.
The song and the ballad. The civil song. Reading, analysis, comment on two examples. Exercises.
VIII week
Emanuele Zinato, Teaching literature. Part 3, Tools of criticism and applications at school Teaching by genres. From epic to novel. Convergences and divergences. Between literature and science. Testing concepts: Dante and literary experience.
Poetry for fun. Visual poetry. Non-sense poetry. Reading, analysis, comment on some examples. Exercises. Conclusion of the course.

In order to achieve the knowledge and skills corresponding to the minimum level of sufficiency, the student is asked to demonstrate:

1. KNOWLEDGE

Knowledge of the main issues relating to the teaching of literature in secondary school, from regulatory references to the choice of manual, to the different contexts in lower and upper secondary schools. Knowledge of the operational possibilities in different contexts.
Knowledge of the main issues of theory of literature and literary criticism, and of the main methods and tools of analysis, understanding and sharing of the literary work in the light of their didactic application, with particular attention to the reading and writing of the poetic text.

Knowledge of the basic elements of Italian metrics, the main verses and the main strophic forms. Knowledge of some exemplary texts of the Italian poetic tradition, of their metric-rhythmic, stylistic, rhetorical and thematic characteristics and the most effective methods of their teaching.

2. SKILLS
ability to analyze a poetic work by capturing its compositional, metric-rhythmic, stylistic, rhetorical and thematic characteristics; ability to transmit these skills in teaching.

Ability to write and teach to write an Italian verse based on its rhythmic structure.

3. 4TRANSVERSAL SKILLS)
- ability to present information and opinions clearly and convincingly,
using the appropriate language and terminology.

To achieve an advanced level, the student must demonstrate:

A global and unitary understanding of the path of the course, with the acquired complementarity between theoretical-methodological skills and interpretative and communicative skills, with particular attention to the teaching context.
The ability to autonomously re-elaborate the contents of the course and to apply the tools and knowledge acquired to texts and materials, including other ones than those in the program.

The active and confident competence in critical and theoretical terminology combined with excellent appropriate expression.

The ability to propose and apply original teaching methods.