COURSE INFORMATION |
The purpose of this course is to study Petrarch and Petrarchisms, the poetry written in Petrarch's style in the early modern world. The students will gain from this course a direct knowledge of Petrarch’s poetry in multiple languages and discuss its relevance to the formation of the modern and contemporary iidea of poetry. We will read nd analyse the original Italian but also Spanish, French and English translations and rewritings. Each student will focus on his/her target language but will be at the same time exposed to the translations and/or rewritings in other languages. The written exercises and assignments will allow students to develops a specific competence in poetic and literary analysis. This course represents a unique opportunity for the students to study one of the major literary and cultural phenomena in early modern Europe that had significant influence also in Latin American Literature. We will study not only Petrarch’s massive influence on early modern lyric poetry in French, Spanish, English and Latin America (and his enduring authority in contemporary poetry), but also his effect on music and the visual arts. Finally, we will examine how Petrarch's model helped define political power and national identity in mid-sixteenth-century Europe and Latin America. The course features guest lecturers from colleagues and renowned Petrarch’s scholars, and takes advantage of the Petrarch Digital Project being developed at the University of Oregon (https://language.uoregon.edu/petrarch/). This is database-driven website focused on Francis Petrarch’s fourteenth-century poetry collection, the Canzoniere. The website includes, 1) an archive of the original 366 poems of the Canzoniere, 2) full translations in English and Spanish of the original Italian as well as limited translations in 4 other languages, 3) a small collection of commentaries, translations, and rewritings from other writers whose work was influenced by Petrarch, 4) a copyright-free multimedia archive containing art, music, and short movies that illustrate or are inspired by the Canzoniere, 5) a pedagogical structure for both scholars and students to contribute to the site’s contents, and 6) means of communication (forum, newsletter, email). At least one session of the course will be entirely held on line.
Attendance and participation in Electronic Forums In the case of a face to face session we will consider the presence in the classroom. In the case of a synchronous on line session we wil consider the actual participation in the session. In the case of an asynchronus session we will consider the attendance following the rubric for evaluating an on line forum (see the rubric below). Rhetorical analysis, summaries and key words of 8 poems: 4 poems should be from Petrarch and 4 from a Petrarchist. This is an individual activity. Using the Petrarch site and/or other sources to be discussed with the instructor each student will do a summary of the 8 poems and identify the key words and rhetorical figures in each of them. This exercise is based on the format that will be included in the Petrarch site and should take about 2 hours for each poem. It should be posted in the Petrarch site by the end of the weeks in which it is required are required:weeks #2;3;4 and 5 (Sunday at midnight). During weeks #6, 7, 8 and 9 student will do the paraphrases of the 8 poems analyzed in the previous weeks. This is an individual activity. The paraphrase should be a complete rewriting of the 8 poems using words different from the original texts, to express their meaning with greater clarity and to identify differences and similarities. This exercise is based on the format included in the Petrarch site and take about 2 hours for each poem. It should be posted in the Petrarch site by the end of the weeks in which it is required (Sunday at midnight). The last component of the project is a critical analysis of the 4 poems by Petrarch in comparison with the 4 poems by the Petrarchists that students will have sudied during the course. This is a group activity for week #10. Each group should post in the Wiki 2 paragraphs of about 500 words comparing the 8 poems analyzed and discuss the differences and similarities in their reception in different historical and geographical contexts. The comparisons should focus on two poems each time, one from Petrarch and one from a Petrarchist. In doing this critical discussion students may use historical commentaries and other resources included in the Petrarch site or other sources to be discussed with the instructor. The writing of the 2 paragraphs should take about 2 hours and be posted in the wiki by the end of the week #10 (Sunday at midnight). One-page single spaced written statement of the final paper. This should include 2 paragraphs of text and a list of at least four sources you are planning to use for your essay. The first paragraph should introduce the topic of your paper and the reasons it interests you; the second paragraph should explain your methodology. The bibliography should be annotated to show how these references pertain to your essay and how you are going to use them, This assignment is due on Week #7. (The source may be a book, article, feature film, video or a web site) (10%). One 8-page essay (Undergraduate students) or 12-page essay (Graduate students) submitted in two stages. The first draft is due on Week #9 (30%); the second and final draft is due on Week #10 (60%). Possible topics for these papers will be posted on blackboard, and you are welcome to choose your own in consultation with the instructor. Scores for Final paper: * Excellent Essay: A- (90-93) A (94-97) A+ (98-100). * Good Essay: B- (80-83) B (84-87) B+ (88-89). * Satisfactory Essay: C- (70-73) C (74-77) C+ (78-79) Unsatisfactory Essay: D- (64-65); D (66-67); D+ (68-69) Unacceptable Essay: F (60-64) Criteria for each category -The thesis is clear and developed logically and coherently, using vivid and concrete detail and appropriate evidence to back up the argument (20%); -This essay makes a fluid, reasoned, well-supported argument (10%); -It includes pertinent quotations from multiple sources (10%) -Each paragraph is coherent and begins with a topic sentence that presents a point of your argument and relates to your thesis (10%); -It is well-organized: it includes an introduction, a body and a conclusion, and features smooth transitions (10%) -Evidences varied sentence structure, fresh diction, strong voice, appropriate tone, and something memorable and original (5); -This writing interests its audience in what you have to say. It invites reading (10%); -There are only insignificant grammatical and mechanical errors, if any (5%) * Unsatisfactory Essay (D-,D, D+). The writing detracts from the essay’s thesis and may make reading difficult. The essay will have a thesis that is insufficiently supported with specific detail. The thesis itself may not be suitable to the audience or the scope of the assignment, or the thesis and argument of the essay may not be in agreement. Organization may be sketchy or inadequate. There are such errors in grammar, mechanics, logic, sentence structure, or organization that the controlling idea of the essay is obscured rather than clarified, or the ideas themselves lack careful thought. The essay may not be the assigned length. * Unacceptable Essay (F). This essay has no discernible thesis and thus no structure stemming from it. Serious grammatical and mechanical errors abound. There is no attempt to identify or reach an audience with this writing. Unacceptable writing also includes writing that is plagiarized in part or as a whole.
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