Ateneo - UPO

HISTORY OF ITALIAN LEXICOGRAPHY AND EARLY TWENTIETH-CENTURY POETRY: PASCOLI AND D’ANNUNZIO

The first part of the course is devoted to the history of Italian lexicography and to the presentation of lexicographic projects currently being developed at the Accademia della Crusca. Online resources useful for the study of Italian linguistics will be introduced, and possible educational applications of different types of dictionaries at various levels of schooling will be discussed. The second part of the course aims to develop the fundamental methodological tools for the study of the Italian language and literature at the turn of the Nineteenth and Twentieth centuries through direct engagement with the poetic and prose works of Giovanni Pascoli and Gabriele d’Annunzio.

HISTORY OF ITALIAN LEXICOGRAPHY:
1. V. DELLA VALLE, Dizionari italiani: storia, tipi, struttura, nuova edizione, Roma, Carocci, 2024.
2. C. MARAZZINI, L’ordine delle parole. Storia di vocabolari italiani, Bologna, il Mulino, 2009 (capp. III-VIII).
3. M. APRILE, Dalle parole ai dizionari, III ed., Bologna, il Mulino, 2015 (capp. IV-VII e IX-XI).
4. Ppt files archived in DIR (for attending students only).
Non-attending students must add to the bibliography listed above: 5. R. MERIDA, Il salvagente dell’italiano. Dizionari, grammatiche, servizi di consulenza ecc., Firenze, Cesati, 2023.

ITALIAN LITERATURE - PASCOLI AND D'ANNUNZIO:
1) The teacher will prepare a booklet containing the texts that will be discussed during class, which will be deposited at the Copisteria Lisa in Vercelli (Via Galileo Ferraris 76) before the start of class. When the booklet is available, a notice will be posted on the DIR platform, in the course area.

2) Other reference texts for further study (non-mandatory reading): Gianfranco Contini, Il linguaggio di Pascoli (1955), in Varianti e altra linguistica, Turin, Einaudi, 1970; Giorgio Bàrberi Squarotti,
Interpretazione della simbologia pascoliana, in «Lettere Italiane», 3, 1963, pp. 286-318 (pdf downloadable from Jstor); Pietro Gibellini, Conclusioni provvisorie o dell'impaziente Odisseo, in Il mito nella letteratura italiana, vol. IV, L'età contemporanea, edited by Marinella Cantelmo, Brescia, Morcelliana, 2007; Pietro Gibellini, Introduzione, in Giovanni Pascoli, Poemi conviviali, edited by Maria Belponer, Milan, BUR, 2009, pp. I-XIII; Francesca Suppa, Il fanciullo: sulla genesi di un testo programmatico, in «Archivio d’Annunzio», vol. 1, June 2014 (open-access link: https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/media/pdf/article/archivio-dannunzio/2014/1/il-fanciullo-sulla-genesi-di-un-testo-prog/art-10.14277-2421-292X-12p.pdf); Cristina Montagnani, Pierandrea De Lorenzo, Come lavorava D’Annunzio, Rome, Carocci, 2018; Elena Maiolini, Stato, problemi, applicazioni critiche della filologia dannunziana, in «Archivio d’Annunzio», vol. 6, October 2019 (open-access link: https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/media/pdf/article/archivio-dannunzio/2019/6/art-10.14277-AdA-2421-292X-2019-06-007_oten1gH.pdf); Cecilia Gibellini, Tra estetica e politica: le Città del silenzio di Gabriele d’Annunzio, in Le città italiane nelle letterature del XX secolo, Proceedings of the Conference (Kragujevac, Faculty of Philology and Arts, 7 December 2019), Kragujevac, 2021, pp. 75–87; Lessico critico pascoliano, edited by Marino Biondi and Giovanni Capecchi, Rome, Carocci, 2023.

3) Other materials, including those from the D'Annunzio Philology Laboratory, will be uploaded to the DIR platform during the course, so it's a good idea to check it regularly.

The course learning outcomes are articulated at two levels.

BASIC LEVEL: 1. Demonstrate a sound knowledge of the history of Italian lexicography. 2. Use the principal lexicographical reference works for the Italian language, in both print and digital formats. 3. Demonstrate an understanding of the historical and cultural contexts of the works of Giovanni Pascoli and Gabriele D’Annunzio. 4. Read, paraphrase, analyse, and critically comment on the texts studied during the course.

ADVANCED LEVEL: 1. Use online resources effectively for research in Italian linguistics and literary studies. 2. Apply the principal lexicographical reference works for the Italian language effectively in educational and school contexts. 3. Demonstrate advanced competencies in textual scholarship (through practical work on philology and textual variants), intertextual analysis (identifying major sources and the processes of their adaptation and reworking), stylistic analysis (including lexis, syntax, metre, and rhetoric), and bibliographical research (through the use of the principal critical resources on Pascoli and D’Annunzio).

The 12 credits to be earned are allocated as follows for attending students: 3 credits of taught and interactive instruction; 9 credits of individual study.

Students who have not previously completed at least 12 ECTS credits in the History of the Italian Language (s.s.d. L-FIL-LET/12 or LIFI-01/A) are also advised to study the following text: C. MARAZZINI, La lingua italiana. Storia, testi, strumenti, Bologna, il Mulino, 2015 (capitoli 12-21). For the Italian Literature component of the course, students are expected to have a basic knowledge of Italian literary history, as well as fundamental competencies in linguistic and stylistic analysis, and metrics (prosody).

Teaching methods include lectures held in the classroom, library, and computer laboratory, with the active participation of students through practical exercises and class discussions. Instruction is supported by teaching materials, including PowerPoint presentations and audiovisual resources. Course activities also include the guided reading, paraphrase, and critical analysis of literary texts, as well as hands-on workshops on manuscripts and critical editions.

SCHOOL TEACHING. Possible pedagogical applications of dictionaries and online resources will be presented and discussed, with reference to teaching and learning across all levels of the school system.

DSA and BES. Students with disabilities, Specific Learning Disabilities (DSA), or Special Educational Needs (BES) can request specific services and tools by contacting the Career Development and Coordination and Student Services Staff or by visiting the dedicated page on the University website: https://uniupo.it/it/servizi/servizi-studentesse-e-studenti-condizione-di-disabilit%C3%A0-e-dsa. Students with disabilities, DSA, or BES, once they have contacted the University Staff, can contact the professor in charge of the course regarding the specific exam methods and teaching aspects.

DIR. Teaching materials will be made available by the instructors through the University's online learning platform (DIR), which students may access and enrol in before the beginning of the course.
Students who are unable to attend most of the classes are encouraged to contact the teacher responsible for the Italian Literature component of the course (cecilia.gibellini@uniupo.it) for general guidance on examination preparation and recommendations for supplementary readings.

ORAL EXAMINATION for the History of Italian Lexicography component and a WRITTEN EXAMINATION for the Italian Literature component.

HISTORY OF ITALIAN LEXICOGRAPHY. Oral exam on the books listed in the bibliography. The exam lasts 20 minutes ca. Students will be asked to answer four or five questions structured as follows in order to value the achievement of the above objectives: - Three or four questions on the history of the Italian lexicography and on the dictionaries listed in the program of the exam. Value 60% (= basic level). - One question on electronic dictionaries, on Internet tools for lexicographers, on new lexicographic projects of the Accademia della Crusca, on didactic strategies for teaching ancient and modern Italian trough dictionaries. Value 20% (= advanced level). - The oral presentation and the dialectical conversation with the teacher will be assessed. Value 20%.

ITALIAN LITERATURE. The exam consists of a two-hour written test designed to assess knowledge and the ability to apply it to the texts covered in the course. Specifically, the exam will consist of three open-ended questions, structured as follows:

1) A question assessing knowledge of the biographical events, poetics, and major works of Pascoli and D'Annunzio (chronology, development, structure, themes, formal characteristics). [30% of the exam grade]

2) A question assessing the ability to reconstruct the textual development of a passage by D'Annunzio and comment on authorial variants, through examination of an autograph draft supported by a critical edition. [30% weighting of the exam grade]

3) A question aimed at testing the ability to paraphrase, contextualize, and interpret texts and to expresscritical and reasoned judgments: paraphrase, analysis, and commentary on a passage from the texts studied during the course. [40% weighting of the exam grade]

To pass the exam, students must provide satisfactory answers to all three questions, demonstrating knowledge of the biographical events, poetics, and major works of the two authors at least in their key areas, the ability to correctly paraphrase and contextualize the texts studied during the course, and the ability to comment on them using appropriate terminology. A broader knowledge of the syllabus content, expressed through the ability to establish connections between different texts and to justify them through specific references to those texts, will lead to a grade above passing. To achieve an excellent grade, students must be able to present their knowledge independently, even beyond the guidance provided in class, comparing it with other primary texts and the critical bibliography, and formulating critical and reasoned judgments. In text analysis and commentary exercises, to achieve an excellent grade, students must enrich the literal explanation of the text and its contextualization with considerations of a philological nature (textual development, authorial variants), intertextuality (sources, methods of reworking them), and stylistic nature (vocabulary, syntax, rhetorical figures).

HISTORY OF ITALIAN LEXICOGRAPHY.
1. What is a dictionary? Which is the difference between the word “dictionary” and “vocabulary”? Different type of dictionaries for different aims. 2. Voice structure in monolingual vocabulary. 3. Electronic dictionaries, online dictionaries and paper dictionaries. 4. General dictionaries published in the XX century: VOLIT, GRADIT, De Mauro by Paravia editor and DIB, Zingarelli, DISC, Devoto-Oli, Garzanti, Treccani. 5. The Accademia della Crusca and the Italian lexicography in the XVII century. Continuity and innovation: Alberti di Villanova Illuminist lexicographer. 6. The XIX century. The Crusca’s model in the first half of the century and suggestions of correction to the Vocabolario. The “Crusca veronese” by Antioni Cesari. The “Proposta” by Vincenzo Monti. The Tramater. The fifth edition of the Vocabolario degli Accademici della Crusca. The Tommaseo-Bellini. The Giorgini-Broglio. The Rigutini-Fanfani. The Petrocchi. 7. Synonym dictionaries from the XIX century to the present days: how a dictionary can change its structure. 8. The XX century. The “Dizionario moderno” by Alfredo Panzini and other dictionaries of neologisms (from the XIX century to the present days). 9. Dictionaries by the Accademia d’Italia. The first Dizionario aereo italiano by F.T. Marinetti. 10. The DOP by Migliorini, Tagliavini e Fiorelli (pronunciation dictionary). 11. Historical dictionaries: GDLI and TLIO. 12. Etymological dictionaries: DEI, DELI, LEI, Dizionario storico-etimologico Treccani. 13. “Dizionari di famiglie di parole”: DIR and RIF. 14. Web resources for Italian Linguistics and Lexicographers. 15. Lexicographical projects carried on by the Accademia della Crusca. Methods for collecting backdated words.

ITALIAN LITERATURE: PASCOLI AND D'ANNUNZIO.
Introduction to the analysis of poetic texts.
Biographical plots.
Poetics.
Nature.

To achieve a BASIC LEVEL, students are expected to demonstrate:

KNOWLEDGE 1. Adequate knowledge of the history of Italian lexicography. 2. Knowledge of the main stages of the lives, poetics, and works of Giovanni Pascoli and Gabriele D'Annunzio, also in relation to the broader European cultural context of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 3. Knowledge of the chronology, compositional history, structure, themes, and formal characteristics of the principal works examined during the course. 4. Knowledge of D'Annunzio's writing and compositional practices through the consultation of autograph drafts and critical editions.

COMPETENCES 1. Ability to read, paraphrase, and contextualize the texts examined during the course, situating them within their literary genres and relating them to relevant biographical, ideological, and literary contexts.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS 1. Ability to present knowledge, information, and critical observations on the topics and texts covered in the course clearly and effectively, using appropriate academic language and disciplinary terminology.

To achieve an ADVANCED LEVEL, students are expected to demonstrate:

KNOWLEDGE 1. In-depth knowledge of the history of Italian lexicography. 2. Knowledge of, and ability to use for academic purposes, the research tools presented during the course, including electronic dictionaries and online databases. 3. Knowledge of the principal methods and resources of philological and D'Annunzio studies.

COMPETENCES 1. Ability to analyse texts from an intertextual perspective, identifying their principal sources and literary echoes and examining the ways in which these are reworked. 2. Ability to undertake stylistic analysis, with particular attention to vocabulary, syntax, and rhetorical devices. 3. Ability to discuss interpretative issues with reference to the relevant critical scholarship. 4. Ability to use D'Annunzio's critical editions to reconstruct the compositional process of his works and analyse authorial variants.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS 1. Ability to formulate independent, well-argued critical judgments on literary texts by comparing them with other primary texts and engaging autonomously with the relevant critical bibliography, including beyond the material covered in class. 2. Ability to use linguistic and literary terminology accurately, appropriately, and consistently.