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Lecturer(s)
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Špička Jiří, prof. Mgr. Ph.D.
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Amendola Francesco, Ph.D.
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Course content
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Part I 1. The "Galaxy" of Digital Humanities Definitions and historical development of the field; major methods, projects and electronic resources for the study of medieval and Renaissance Italian literature. 2. From Character Encoding to Markup Languages Leading-in to the digital representation of textual data, from ASCII and Unicode to file formats and markup languages. 3. A Gentle Introduction to XML Basic XML syntax: elements, attributes, hierarchical structure, nesting and the root element; well-formedness and validity; introduction to DTDs. Comparison between HTML and XML. Part II 4. The Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) The basic structure of a TEI document: the "teiHeader" and "text" elements. 5. Encoding Prose Texts in TEI Textual divisions, headings and paragraphs, direct speech, quotations, personal names and places. The module also applies these principles to letters, through examples from Bembo. 6. Encoding Poetry in TEI This module combines TEI with an introduction to Italian prosody and metrics. Students will learn to identify and encode the main verse types of Italian poetry (endecasillabo and settenario), as well as stanzas and rhyme schemes. The focus is on three major metrical forms: sonetto, canzone and ottava, and on Renaissance Petrarchism in its historical context, with examples from Petrarch, Bembo, Ariosto, Vittoria Colonna, Della Casa and Berni.
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Lecture, Dialogic Lecture (Discussion, Dialog, Brainstorming), Work with Text (with Book, Textbook), Demonstration, Work Activities
- Attendace
- 26 hours per semester
- Semestral Work
- 10 hours per semester
- Homework for Teaching
- 102 hours per semester
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Learning outcomes
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The course introduces students to the methodological foundations of Digital Humanities, with a focus on medieval and Renaissance Italian literature. It is divided into two parts. The first surveys web-based tools for literary studies, character encoding, file formats and markup languages, with particular attention to HTML and XML. The second focuses on the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) and its application to prose and poetry. Markup is treated not only as a technical skill, but also as a form of close reading. Particular attention is given to Renaissance poetry and its Petrarchan models: students will learn to recognise major metrical forms and represent them in TEI. Through case studies drawn from Petrarch, Bembo, Vittoria Colonna and other authors, this approach helps students read and appreciate Renaissance poetry.
After completing the course, students will be able to: - understand the main concepts and methodological issues in the Digital Humanities; - distinguish character encoding, file formats and markup languages; - understand the basic syntax and structure of XML; - encode prose and poetry texts in TEI-XML, including textual divisions, dialogue, named entities and basic correspondence structures; - analyse the principal formal features of Italian verse, including syllable count, metre, stress pattern, stanza structure and rhyme scheme; - recognise the sonetto, canzone and ottava, and explain their role in the Petrarchan and Renaissance poetic tradition; - combine digital methods with close reading and traditional literary-historical analysis.
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Prerequisites
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None
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Oral exam, Student performance, Analysis of Activities ( Technical works)
Regular attendance and active participation in class discussions and practical exercises are expected. Preparatory readings and short materials on authors, texts and metrical forms will be made available on Moodle. Students are encouraged to bring their own laptops to class for hands-on work (no tablet). Assessment is based on class participation, completion of the exercises assigned during the course and an oral examination. Students will prepare a text from medieval or Renaissance Italy in TEI-XML, assigned by the instructor. During the examination, they will present their encoding strategy, explain the structure of the document, and justify their choice of elements and attributes. For poetic texts, they will also identify the verse types, rhyme scheme and metrical form. They will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the topics covered and briefly present one digital resource relevant to the literary traditions studied.
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Recommended literature
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Fabio Ciotti. (2023). Introduzione. La galassia delle Digital Humanities. Roma, Digital Humanities. Metodi, strumenti, saperi, a cura di Fabio Ciotti, pp. 19-34.
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Fabio Ciotti. (2023). La codifica del testo, XML e la TEI. Roma, Digital Humanities. Metodi, strumenti, saperi, a cura di Fabio Ciotti, pp. 66-90.
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Gabriele Baldassari, Guglielmo Barucci. (2022). Antologia della letteratura italiana. Dalla Scuola poetica siciliana a Alessandro Manzoni. Milano.
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Luca Marcozzi. (2017). Bembo. Firenze.
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Pietro G. Beltrami. (2012). Gli strumenti della poesia. Bologna.
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Simone Albonico. Epistulae. Uno strumento per lo studio dell'epistolografia e della sua tradizione. , 2023.
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