Ateneo - UPO

The course focuses on literary communication, from Dante to Eco, fron Petrarca to Magris, in its general section, and on Emilio Salgari (1862–1911) in its monographic section.
Gioele Cristofari (UNINSUBRIA) will also speak during the general session on the topic of «Artificial intelligence (and its impact on literary communication and creativity)».
The monographic section also features a contribution by Alberto Brambilla on «Mens sana in corpore sano: literary gymnastics and the culture of sport in Emilio Salgari».

For the general section, the reference work is: Luciano Curreri, Lucia Rodler (eds.), *Comunicare la letteratura. Un vivace Abc*, illustrated by Giuseppe Palumbo, Le Monnier Università / Mondadori Education, Milan, 2026, 220 pp.

For the monographic section, the reference work is: Luciano Curreri, *Emilio Salgari. An Intellectual Biography, Marsilio, Venice, 2026 (due to be published in autumn; students will be invited to choose, at their discretion, and to read three books by Salgari)

The reference textbook is: Roberto Carnero, Giuseppe Iannaccone, Literature, the Present, the Future, Treccani Giunti TVP, Florence, 2025.

The first aim is to re-evaluate our humanism, which still exists, even though there are those who have sought to marginalise Italian literature, separating it from the ethical, social and political imagination, and from the knowledge and skills needed to live in a world that is changing but which remains ours: a shared world. The second is to re-examine Salgari and recognise him once and for all as a true author of Italian literature, placing him rightfully within a lineage stretching from Dante to Eco, and demonstrating that his fictional output is indispensable for understanding and appreciating the vast and complex context of 19th- and 20th-century fiction.
Teaching format: lectures: 1,2 CFU (30 hours of lessons); self-study: 4,8 CFU.
Lecture-based teaching involves interaction with and amongst students.

Basic literary-historical, linguistic-stylistic and critical knowledge.

Lectures followed by discussions; reading and commenting on texts in the classroom, with questions; web-based teaching if necessary.

DSA/BES. 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 academic aspects.

The final assessment consists of an oral examination, which will focus on the following points: 1. Assessment of knowledge of the aforementioned and prescribed text, Luciano Curreri, Lucia Rodler (eds.), *Comunicare la letteratura. Un vivace Abc*, accounting for 50 per cent of the final mark; 2. Assessment of the skills required to analyse and interpret Salgari’s works, based on Luciano Curreri, *Emilio Salgari. Una biografia intellettuale*, Marsilio, Venice, 2026 (due to be published in autumn) and the reading of three books by Salgari, accounting for 50% of the exam mark. To pass the exam, students must achieve at least a ‘sufficient’ mark on each of the two points.
The possible mark ranges are: 18–22; 23–26; 27–30; 30 with distinction.

General section: Dante, or the exemplary case; Eco (or on talent, erudition and popularisation); Philology (or of papers and books); Graphic Novels/Essays (or of visualising literary communication); Artificial Intelligence (or of its impact on communication and literary creativity); Mens sana in corpore sano (literary gymnastics and sports culture); Humanism and New Humanism (or from Petrarch to Magris); Value (or on value judgements, literary criticism and its influence); Weltanschauung (or on worldview, on one’s conception of it); X (or on female chromosomes in literature); Young Adult (or on youth literature or literature for teenagers).

Monographic section: Emilio Salgari (1862), almost a contemporary of Gabriele d’Annunzio (1863); Always being the last book one writes; Where do ‘the tears of the Black Corsair’ end? A summary and a brief reflection; An author-genre, an author-adventure: Is Salgari (1862) the Italian equivalent of Verne (1828) or May (1842)?; The lesson of much-maligned imperialism: the ‘thirty-year period’ of the Indo-Malayan cycle (1883–1913) as seen through *The Fall of an Empire* (1911); The cornerstones of the Salgarian canon: *The Black Corsair* (1898), *The Queen of the Caribbean* (1901), *Jolanda, Daughter of the Black Corsair* (1905); The failings of Risorgimento rhetoric, the setbacks of colonial policy and the successes of adventure literature: *Extraordinary Adventures of a Sailor in Africa* (1899); The importance of minor works: *The Sea Raiders* (1900); A ‘phantom Asia’? *The Eagles of the Steppe* (1905–1906); From *The Daughters of the Pharaohs* (1905) to *Carthage in Flames* (1906 and 1908) or the Italian-style peplum; From the pirate epic to the picaresque epic: the iterative textuality of the cycles in *The Last Filibusters* (1908); An ‘autobiographical’ utopia shortly before the end, *La Bohème italiana* (1909).

In order to attain the knowledge and skills corresponding to the ‘sufficient’ level, students are required to demonstrate: (KNOWLEDGE) an understanding of the diverse forms and characteristics of literary communication; (SKILLS) the ability to analyse and interpret literary texts (particularly those by Emilio Salgari), linking historical, literary and linguistic elements to ethical and political ones; (TRANSVERSAL SKILLS) the ability to present knowledge, information and opinions relating to the texts and issues covered clearly and effectively, using appropriate language and terminology. To achieve a more advanced level, students must demonstrate: an independent perspective on the topics covered in class, combined with a critical capacity for analysis and synthesis.