This course aims at a critical understanding of the main trends of Italian literature from early 20th century to today. Critical issues, such as cultural implications of modern Italian literary canon; coexistence of national and regional cultures in Italian literary tradition; the historical marginalization of Italian women writers until recent years; relationships between literature, society, and national history, as well as the impact of global studies on the current interpretation of the Italian literary tradition will be discussed by combining close readings of the most paradigmatic works and authors with secondary sources both in Italian and in English.