German Literature (MA)
A.Y. 2022/2023
Learning objectives
The course in German Literature for the Master's Degree is considered as a consolidation of the literary topics of the Bachelor's Degree. After a broad chronological overview of the most important periods and authors of the history of German literature from the 18th century to contemporary times has been provided during the Bachelor courses, our programme focuses on specific issues and moments of German literature, aiming to deepen the subjects through rigorous textual analysis and in-depth critical interpretation. Students will have the opportunity to master complex textual analysis tools as well as to deepen methodological skills in literary analysis.
Expected learning outcomes
The student will be able to analyze critically and independently the works examined and the historical, cultural and artistic frame of reference. They will also deepen and use the tools enabling the analysis of the different genres. During the oral examination students will be able to show autonomy in commenting literary texts and in reworking the topics of the course independently.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
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
First semester
Course syllabus
The course consists of followings parts:
Part A (20 hours, 3 ects): Goethes Italien - eine Spurensuche (Marco Castellari - [email protected])
Part B (20 hours, 3 ects): Italienbilder um 1900 (Moira Paleari - [email protected])
Parte C (20 hours, 3 ects): Italien in der deutschsprachigen Gegenwartsliteratur (Alessandra Goggio - [email protected])
The course, which is held in German, is intended for students of the the Master's Degree in European and Extra-European Languages and Literatures and provides for the acquisition of 6 or 9 ects. Those interested in acquiring 6 ects will follow the syllabus of teaching units A and B; those interested in acquiring 9 ects will follow the full syllabus.
The course programme is valid until February 2024.
Course presentation
The course focuses on 'Italienbilder' in German literature, dealing with texts from the Classical-Romantic period to the present day by authors who propose images of the 'belpaese' in their work.
Part A is dedicated to the image of Italy in Goethe's work. Through the reading of selected excerpts from the Italienische Reise, a travel book merging experience, reconstruction and idealisation, and texts that interweave artistic-literary models, historical-cultural constellations and images of art, life and nature (the drama Torquato Tasso and the poetry collection of the Römische Elegien), we will be confronted with the paradigmatic model of 'Italian' writing in German-speaking culture.
Part B is concentrated on the textual strategies through which the city of Venice is represented and on the role it plays in literature from the fin de siècle to the 1920s. The focus lies on Thomas Mann's short novel Tod in Venedig and on the genre of poetry; special attention is also paid to the interaction between literature and the visual arts with regard to the depiction of Venice.
Part C focuses on literary representations (from the 1980s to the present) of two Italian regions of great importance in the German imagination, Tuscany and Sicily. By analyzing various textual (and intermedial) genres, an overview is given of the dominant themes and models of Belpaese visualization in contemporary German-language literature.
Part A (20 hours, 3 ects): Goethes Italien - eine Spurensuche (Marco Castellari - [email protected])
Part B (20 hours, 3 ects): Italienbilder um 1900 (Moira Paleari - [email protected])
Parte C (20 hours, 3 ects): Italien in der deutschsprachigen Gegenwartsliteratur (Alessandra Goggio - [email protected])
The course, which is held in German, is intended for students of the the Master's Degree in European and Extra-European Languages and Literatures and provides for the acquisition of 6 or 9 ects. Those interested in acquiring 6 ects will follow the syllabus of teaching units A and B; those interested in acquiring 9 ects will follow the full syllabus.
The course programme is valid until February 2024.
Course presentation
The course focuses on 'Italienbilder' in German literature, dealing with texts from the Classical-Romantic period to the present day by authors who propose images of the 'belpaese' in their work.
Part A is dedicated to the image of Italy in Goethe's work. Through the reading of selected excerpts from the Italienische Reise, a travel book merging experience, reconstruction and idealisation, and texts that interweave artistic-literary models, historical-cultural constellations and images of art, life and nature (the drama Torquato Tasso and the poetry collection of the Römische Elegien), we will be confronted with the paradigmatic model of 'Italian' writing in German-speaking culture.
Part B is concentrated on the textual strategies through which the city of Venice is represented and on the role it plays in literature from the fin de siècle to the 1920s. The focus lies on Thomas Mann's short novel Tod in Venedig and on the genre of poetry; special attention is also paid to the interaction between literature and the visual arts with regard to the depiction of Venice.
Part C focuses on literary representations (from the 1980s to the present) of two Italian regions of great importance in the German imagination, Tuscany and Sicily. By analyzing various textual (and intermedial) genres, an overview is given of the dominant themes and models of Belpaese visualization in contemporary German-language literature.
Prerequisites for admission
Knowledge of modern and contemporary German literature acquired during the B.A. Course and ability to analyse the works dealt with as well as to rework critically the topics addressed during the course.
Students are supposed to have at least a linguistic competence of level B2.
Students are supposed to have at least a linguistic competence of level B2.
Teaching methods
The lectures, both face-to-face and seminar-based, involve direct teacher-student discussion and the critical participation of students in the discussion of the texts and topics addressed during the lectures. Attendance at lectures also constitutes in this sense a fundamental formative moment for active and passive skills in the German language.
Teaching Resources
Bibliographical References
Part A
- Johann Wolfgang Goethe: Torquato Tasso (any edition of the German text, annotated and/or critical editions are recommended)
- Johann Wolfgang Goethe: Römische Elegien (any edition of the German text, annotated and/or critical editions are recommended)
- Johann Wolfgang Goethe: Italienische Reise (any edition of the German text, annotated and/or critical editions are recommended) - with particular attention to the passages covered in class)
- Reader A Goethes Italienbilder - Texte und Materialien (Ariel Letteratura tedesca LM) - the reader contains texts and critical and methodological materials that are indispensable for reading literary works at the level of depth required for a Germanist in the Master's degree programme
Part B
- Thomas Mann, Der Tod in Venedig. In der Fassung der großen kommentierten Frankfurter Ausgabe, Frankfurt/Main, Fischer, 2017ff. ISBN: 978-3-596-90407-5
- Reader B Venedigbilder in der deutschsprachigen Literatur um 1900 (Ariel Letteratura tedesca LM)
Part C
- Robert Gernhardt, Toscana mia, Frankfurt am Main, Fischer, 2011.ISBN: 978-3-100-25512-9
- Reader C Toskana- und Sizilienbilder in der deutschsprachigen Literatur um 2000 (Ariel Letteratura tedesca LM)
Non-attending students should read following books:
Johann Gottfried Seume, Spaziergang nach Syrakus im Jahre 1802, Frankfurt/Main, Insel, 2019 (ISBN: 978-3-458-35183-2)
Friedrich Christian Delius, Der Spaziergang von Rostock nach Syrakus. Erzählung. Reinbek bei Hamburg, Rowohlt, 1998 (ISBN 978-3-499-22278-8).
Gunter E. Grimm, Ursula Breymayer, Walter Erhart (Hrsg.), »Ein Gefühl von freierem Leben«. Deutsche Dichter in Italien, Stuttgart, Metzler, 1990 (ISBN 978-3-476-00710-0).
Part A
- Johann Wolfgang Goethe: Torquato Tasso (any edition of the German text, annotated and/or critical editions are recommended)
- Johann Wolfgang Goethe: Römische Elegien (any edition of the German text, annotated and/or critical editions are recommended)
- Johann Wolfgang Goethe: Italienische Reise (any edition of the German text, annotated and/or critical editions are recommended) - with particular attention to the passages covered in class)
- Reader A Goethes Italienbilder - Texte und Materialien (Ariel Letteratura tedesca LM) - the reader contains texts and critical and methodological materials that are indispensable for reading literary works at the level of depth required for a Germanist in the Master's degree programme
Part B
- Thomas Mann, Der Tod in Venedig. In der Fassung der großen kommentierten Frankfurter Ausgabe, Frankfurt/Main, Fischer, 2017ff. ISBN: 978-3-596-90407-5
- Reader B Venedigbilder in der deutschsprachigen Literatur um 1900 (Ariel Letteratura tedesca LM)
Part C
- Robert Gernhardt, Toscana mia, Frankfurt am Main, Fischer, 2011.ISBN: 978-3-100-25512-9
- Reader C Toskana- und Sizilienbilder in der deutschsprachigen Literatur um 2000 (Ariel Letteratura tedesca LM)
Non-attending students should read following books:
Johann Gottfried Seume, Spaziergang nach Syrakus im Jahre 1802, Frankfurt/Main, Insel, 2019 (ISBN: 978-3-458-35183-2)
Friedrich Christian Delius, Der Spaziergang von Rostock nach Syrakus. Erzählung. Reinbek bei Hamburg, Rowohlt, 1998 (ISBN 978-3-499-22278-8).
Gunter E. Grimm, Ursula Breymayer, Walter Erhart (Hrsg.), »Ein Gefühl von freierem Leben«. Deutsche Dichter in Italien, Stuttgart, Metzler, 1990 (ISBN 978-3-476-00710-0).
Assessment methods and Criteria
The test, in German, consists of a Referat on a topic of your choice to be agreed upon with the lecturers, to be held during the "appello", and an interview on the topics in the syllabus, aimed at verifying the acquisition of the contents (historical-cultural and critical-methodological) and the ability to analyse and interpret the works examined using tools and vocabulary appropriate to the study of German at the Master's level.
L-LIN/13 - GERMAN LITERATURE - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professors:
Castellari Marco, Goggio Alessandra Maria, Paleari Moira
Professor(s)