Tra la fine del XX e l’inizio del XXI secolo, l’Italia è stata al centro di grandi cambiamenti demografici e socio-culturali in seguito all’aumento del numero di arrivi di migranti e rifugiati in...Show moreTra la fine del XX e l’inizio del XXI secolo, l’Italia è stata al centro di grandi cambiamenti demografici e socio-culturali in seguito all’aumento del numero di arrivi di migranti e rifugiati in cerca di una vita migliore e di opportunità di lavoro in Europa centrale. L'obiettivo centrale di questa tesi è di esplorare come la letteratura ed il cinema italiano approcciano il tema dell’immigrazione. La domanda di ricerca è dunque la seguente: in che modo viene trattato il tema dell’immigrazione in generi letterari e cinematografici diversi? In particolare, verrà analizzato in che modo (e perché) le diverse modalità narrative e generi cinematografici e letterari degli ultimi anni (2015-2020) riescano ad approcciare questo tema. La scelta del genere narrativo, influisce sulla modalità di rappresentazione di personaggi e luoghi, ed influisce sullo spessore con cui il tema viene trattato? Inoltre, ha importanza se chi scrive abbia vissuto da vicino, o meno, il viaggio migratorio? Le opere vengono narrate da chi è partito dal proprio paese per emigrare in Italia, oppure da chi sia in Italia e “accoglie? Al fine di rispondere alla domanda di ricerca centrale, e le varie sotto domande nella tesi sono state analizzate tre opere diverse: il film comico Tolo Tolo (2020) diretto da Checco Zalone, il documentario Fuocoammare (2016) diretto da Gianfranco Rossi e il romanzo Adua (2015) scritto da Igiaba Scego. Questa analisi viene fatta attraverso il metodo di lettura ravvicinata nel contesto di genre theory e imagology.Show less
In this thesis, I explore depictions of fascism in 1930s American literature. Specifically, I analyse William Faulkner’s Light in August, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, and Sinclair Lewis’s...Show moreIn this thesis, I explore depictions of fascism in 1930s American literature. Specifically, I analyse William Faulkner’s Light in August, John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, and Sinclair Lewis’s It Can’t Happen Here. The former two novels do not explicitly engage with fascism, but aspects of the texts were linked to fascism by their authors. Faulkner retroactively referred to the character Percy Grimm from his book as a fascist, and Steinbeck linked the agriculture sector in California, which features heavily in his novel, to fascism. Lewis engages with fascism directly in It Can’t Happen Here as he envisions a fascist dictatorship in the United States. These texts are relevant today as fascism is not a concept of the past. They can be used to discuss visions of fascism in 1930s American Literature and what fascism may look like in the United States. I use a combination of close reading and the theory provided by Robert O. Paxton in The Anatomy of Fascism, as well as additional sources for necessary historical context to analyse each of the novels. I will argue that while only one of the novels explicitly engages with fascism, all three texts portray fascism to some extent and can be used to identify possible bases of fascist action.Show less
The special relationship of influence between the Anglophone Modernist pioneer and poet Thomas Stearns Eliot and the two most influential Greek poets of the Generation of the 1930s, Georgios...Show moreThe special relationship of influence between the Anglophone Modernist pioneer and poet Thomas Stearns Eliot and the two most influential Greek poets of the Generation of the 1930s, Georgios Seferis and Odysseus Elytis, will be the central point of investigation of this thesis. Of particular interest is the manner they exploit the notions of culture, (historical) time and identity, and post-war conditions, which I will analyze through extracts from their works, The Waste Land and The Four Quartets, Mythistorema, and Axion Esti.Show less
This thesis provides a Jungian perspective on Joyce's representation of Stephen Dedalus' developmental journey to adulthood and his quest to become a successful artist. It analyses the parallels...Show moreThis thesis provides a Jungian perspective on Joyce's representation of Stephen Dedalus' developmental journey to adulthood and his quest to become a successful artist. It analyses the parallels between Joyce's conception of the unconscious mind and Jung's intricate map of the psyche found in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) and Ulysses (1922).Show less
This thesis begins with an exploration of Samuel Beckett’s early essays on Joyce and Proust to see how they influenced Beckett’s first novel Dream of Fair to Middling Women. This was Beckett’s...Show moreThis thesis begins with an exploration of Samuel Beckett’s early essays on Joyce and Proust to see how they influenced Beckett’s first novel Dream of Fair to Middling Women. This was Beckett’s first extended literary novel and many of the themes and ideas within it are evident in his poetry and later work. The thesis concludes with a brief exploration of Krapp’s Last Tape, where Beckett returns to memories that have first been evoked in the fictional narrative. Beckett’s letters offer valuable insight into his creative imagination and when these are juxtaposed against his prose or dramatic work, it creates a dialogue between the various texts, and this adds to our understanding of Beckett’s creative process.Show less
This thesis explores the views on gender and gender differences that can be found in three works of Virginia Woolf. The focus is on questions of whether there are differences between men and women,...Show moreThis thesis explores the views on gender and gender differences that can be found in three works of Virginia Woolf. The focus is on questions of whether there are differences between men and women, and if there are, what these differences are and whether they natural or cultural. When reading the works To the Lighthouse, Orlando: A Biography, and A Room of One's Own together, a clear preference for the view that differences between men and women are socially constructed rather than the result of biology can be found.Show less
This thesis analyses two Young Adult adaptations of Shakespeare plays (Hannah Capin’s Foul is Fair for The Tragedy of Macbeth and Dot Hutchinson’s A Wounded Name for The Tragedy of Hamlet), and...Show moreThis thesis analyses two Young Adult adaptations of Shakespeare plays (Hannah Capin’s Foul is Fair for The Tragedy of Macbeth and Dot Hutchinson’s A Wounded Name for The Tragedy of Hamlet), and examines how changes in the setting, the characterisation, and the community influence the agency of the female main character.Show less
Dino Buzzati and Anton Koolhaas: two authors from different countries and backgrounds, the first a Dutchman, the second an Italian. They have nonetheless much in common. Not only did they live...Show moreDino Buzzati and Anton Koolhaas: two authors from different countries and backgrounds, the first a Dutchman, the second an Italian. They have nonetheless much in common. Not only did they live during the same day and age, they were both authors and journalists with a keen interest in the world and behaviour of animals. This is particularly visible in their short story collections dedicated to animals, Il Bestiario di Dino Buzzati (2015) edited by Lorenzo Viganò and Alle Dierenverhalen (1992). In their renderings of the animal world, they furthermore actively stimulated readers to leave behind their present position and share the perspective of the animal. This thesis centres around the concept of narrative empathy and explores the ways in which Buzzati and Koolhaas try to elicit an empathetic response from their readers. It thus takes on a comparative approach and, through a close reading analysis of some of the stories, investigates which narrative strategies can be said to influence the evocation of narrative empathy and thus, affect readers’s response. The first section offers a brief overview of the main features of Animal Studies and how the concept of empathy has evolved therein. Then follows a general discussion of the debates and studies surrounding Buzzati’s and Koolhaas animal narratives. The fourth chapter outlines the methodology and discusses the concepts that frame my analysis. The fifth chapter contains my interpretative efforts and offers an analysis of six short stories by Koolhaas and Buzzati. The conclusive chapter will reflect on my findings and point to interesting lines of inquiry for future studies.Show less
This thesis explores four games and their relation with dominant perspectives on their histories: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Nioh, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance....Show moreThis thesis explores four games and their relation with dominant perspectives on their histories: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Nioh, Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance. Through historical simulation theory and theories on hegemonies, it argues that historical games are inherently political. This thesis further argues that historical games can portray conservative frames of thought, through unchanging systems and a focus on individualism. The artistic liberties these games take can lead to both playful and harmless counter-hegemonic play, as well as harmful play that reinforces frames of thought such as conspiracy theories. Furthermore, this thesis argues that claims of realism and accuracy within the genre of historical games are folly, as historical truths are almost impossible to verify. These truths are then left to the interpretation of game developers, which can lead to problematic presentations of history that can even be accused of whitewashing. The comparison between the games will suggest that one constant factor between them is that of an ahistorical protagonist, which gives the player freedom to explore the presented history without being tied to perceived accuracy. Finally, definitions of simulation theory are not yet sufficient enough to explain how Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla simulates its history. This thesis adds to the field of game studies in a few ways. Not many comparative studies have been done in this field, as most papers and online videos focus on a single game. The comparisons lead to broader theories on historical games as a whole, noting similarities and unique errors when it comes to different approaches of historical simulation. Finally, an added definition of historical simulation is proposed, including linearity in an already existing definition of (non-)specific simulation.Show less
