German Literature 2

A.Y. 2020/2021
9
Max ECTS
60
Overall hours
SSD
L-LIN/13
Language
Italian
Learning objectives
The course is the second phase in the three-year German Literature Programme and is aimed at second-year students who have already been introduced into the German literary field and its classic-romantic canon and are being taught German language for four semesters. The course aims to develop in students an understanding and appreciation of literary growth and traditions (history of literature 1815-1918 in German speaking countries) and competences in close-reading (poems and extracts in German), autonomous reading and critical interpretation (entire prose and drama works both in German and Italian, literary criticism), theoretical and methodological issues. The course thus aims to equip students for a further training in German studies and for a growing awareness of historical, philological and critical complexity in the field of German literature and culture.
Expected learning outcomes
As far as the Dublin Descriptors are concerned, following learning outcomes are expected: Knowledge and understanding: overview of literary ages and genres in the German literary field between 1815 and 1918, with reference to major authors and works and to the socio-political, cultural and artistic background; understanding of formal and thematic features of literary texts and of the main critical approaches to them in contemporary German studies. Applying knowledge and understanding: skills in the close-reading of a given set of literary texts in the original language and in discussing entire works and putting them into larger cultural context after autonomous reading (in Italian or German); ability in processing class contents and self-study into personal statements and critical readings (both in written and oral form); ability in comparing literary phenomena and in linking them to parallel tendencies in cultural and art history of the given time span.
Single course

This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.

Course syllabus and organization

Single session

Responsible
Lesson period
Second semester
Course syllabus
Title of the course: German Literature from XIX century to the Avant-garde of the early twentieth century

The course, which takes place mainly in Italian, with short historical-literary introductions and reading of texts in German, is aimed at students in the 2nd year of the Bachelor's Degree Course in Lingue e letterature straniere and provides for the compulsory acquisition of 9 cfu; for the examination, therefore, the complete course syllabus must be followed (the course syllabus is valid until September 2022).

The course consists of three Teaching Units and aims to analyse and interpret key texts by authors of German literature of Vormärz and Biedermeier, Poetic Realism, Naturalism, Fin de siècle, Expressionism, Dadaism, with particular attention to the analysis of fundamental texts of the introduced literary currents.

In detail:

Teaching Unit A (20 hours): L'Ottocento realista (Moira Paleari)

Teaching Unit B (20 hours): Tra Ottocento e Novecento: tradizione, modernità e avanguardia (Moira Paleari)

Teaching Unit C (20 hours): Il romanzo tra Ottocento e Novecento (Alessandra Goggio - [email protected])
Prerequisites for admission
Following skills are required: a solid knowledge of German literature of previous literary currents (from Aufklärung to Spätromantik) and the ability to analyse texts belonging to different literary genres.
Teaching methods
The course adopts the following teaching method: lectures consisting in presentation of the literary currents and textual analysis
Teaching Resources
Bibliographical References:

- C.M. Buglioni, M. Castellari, A. Goggio, M. Paleari, Letteratura tedesca. Epoche, generi, intersezioni, Firenze, Le Monnier Università-Mondadori Education, 2019 (Chapters 8-13, including in-depth materials and glossary).
- Reader 2020-2021 and materials about textual analysis downloadable from the Website Ariel Letteratura tedesca 2.
- Full edition texts (see below: Teaching Units).

Teaching Unit A:
- C.M. Buglioni, M. Castellari, A. Goggio, M. Paleari, Letteratura tedesca. Epoche, generi, intersezioni, Firenze, Le Monnier Università-Mondadori Education, 2019 (Chapters 8 and 9).
- Reader 2020-2021 (see Ariel Letteratura tedesca 2)
- Materials about textual analysis (see Ariel Letteratura tedesca 2).

Teaching Unit B:
- C.M. Buglioni, M. Castellari, A. Goggio, M. Paleari, Letteratura tedesca. Epoche, generi, intersezioni, Firenze, Le Monnier Università-Mondadori Education, 2019 (Chapters 10, 11, 12, 13).
- Reader 2020-2021 (see Ariel Letteratura tedesca 2)
- Materials about textual analysis (see Ariel Letteratura tedesca 2).

For the teaching units A and B students have to read individually the texts of one of the following groups (in German or Italian, any complete edition):

Group A:
Theodor Storm, Der Schimmelreiter
Frank Wedekind, Frühlings Erwachen
Robert Walser, Geschwister Tanner

Group B:
Adalbert Stifter, Brigitta
Gerhard Hauptmann, Die Weber
Heinrich Mann, Professor Unrat

Group C:
Gottfried Keller, Kleider machen Leute
Franz Grillparzer, Sappho
Franz Kafka, Der Prozeß

Teaching Unit C:
Theodor Fontane, Effi Briest
Thomas Mann, Buddenbrooks. Verfall einer Familie
(the texts are to be read in full, in German or Italian)

Recommendes Editions:
Theodor Fontane, Effi Briest, Frankfurt am Main, Suhrkamp (Suhrkamp Basisbibliothek 47, ISBN: 978-3-518-18847-7)
Thomas Mann, Buddenbrooks. Verfall einer Familie, Frankfurt am Main, Fischer. (ISBN: 978-3-596-90400-6)

Theodor Fontane, Effi Briest, Milano, Garzanti.
Thomas Mann, I Buddenbrook, Torino, Einaudi.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The examination, which can be taken either in Italian or German depending on the candidate's choice, consists of an interview on the scheduled topics, aimed at verifying the acquisition of the historical, literary and critical-methodological contents and the ability to analyse a text. During the term there will be two intermediate written tests, consisting of questionnaires on periods and genres with reference to the contents of the handbook. The score of the two tests will be averaged with the one of the oral part, which is based on the analysed texts.
Unita' didattica A
L-LIN/13 - GERMAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor: Paleari Moira
Unita' didattica B
L-LIN/13 - GERMAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor: Paleari Moira
Unita' didattica C
L-LIN/13 - GERMAN LITERATURE - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor: Goggio Alessandra Maria
Professor(s)