Contemporary Scandinavian Literature
A.Y. 2023/2024
Learning objectives
This course aims to present and discuss authors and themes of contemporary Scandinavian literature within their historical and cultural context. Relevant methodological approaches to literary analysis will be used.
Expected learning outcomes
Students will be able to analyze contemporary Scandinavian literature in the original language (partially in Italian translation for BA students) by applying appropriate critical approaches and contextualizing the works in history and culture. They will also be able to identify and discuss problems and issues specific to the topic of the course.
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 title of this module is "Human, post-human and post-apocalyptic. Narrations and representations of the Anthopocene in contemporary Scandinavian literature and film" (6/9 CFU). The module aims at investigating contemporary Scandinavian literary and TV products through the lens of the most current developments within the field of eco-criticism. In particular, the module will focus on the relationship between human and nature, and on the ideas of post-human and post-apocalyptic connected to the environmental crisis and climate change.
Part B, compulsory for those who wish to obtain 9 CFU, will focus on Scandinavian noir, offering readings of the popular genre from the perspective of eco-criticism through the analysis of literary texts and TV productions and films.
The syllabus for this module is valid until September 2024.
Part B, compulsory for those who wish to obtain 9 CFU, will focus on Scandinavian noir, offering readings of the popular genre from the perspective of eco-criticism through the analysis of literary texts and TV productions and films.
The syllabus for this module is valid until September 2024.
Prerequisites for admission
The course is taught primarily in Italian and partially in Scandinavian languages.
The course is not recommended to first-year students.
The course is not recommended to first-year students.
Teaching methods
The teaching methodology combines lectures and class discussions; self-study of primary texts and critical bibliography.
Teaching Resources
Part A (6 cfu)
· Garrard G., Ecocriticism, Routledge (2nd edition)
· Iovino S., Ecologia letteraria. Una strategia di sopravvivenza
· Henning R., Jonasson A.K., Dagerman P. (2018), Nordic narratives of nature and the environment. Ecocritical approaches to northern European literatures and cultures.
· Malmio K., Kurikka K. (2020), Contemporary Nordic Literature and Spatiality, Palgrave Macmillan (cap.1 e 5).
· Further materials will be uploaded on ARIEL
Among the following texts, at least 5 (with at least 1 from each category):
Poetry
· Ørntoft T., Digte 2014*
· Jacobsen R., selected poems
· Sten-Knudsen J., Spor efter fugle*
Fiction
· Vesaas T., Fuglane / Gli uccelli
· Andersson L., Egenmäktig förfarande / Sottomissione Volontaria
· Ørstavik H., Det finnes en stor åpen plass i Bordeaux / A Bordeaux c'è una grande piazza aperta
· Magnason A.S., Il tempo e l'acqua
· Lunde M., Bienes historie / La storia delle api
· - , Blå / La storia dell'acqua
· Hjorth V., Snakk til meg*
· Ørntoft T., Solar*
· Selected texts from Forfatternes klimaaksjon*
N.B. I testi indicati con un * sono reperibili solo in lingua originale.
Parte B (9 cfu)
· Ciaravolo M., - Il giallo nordico (estratto Storia delle letterature della scandinavia)
· Nilsson, Damrosch, D'haen - Crime fiction as world literature (estratto)
· Haverty Rugg L. - Displacing crime against nature
· Nestingen A. - Crime and Fantasy in Scandinavia ("Introduction", "Nordic Noir and Neo Noir e "The new popular culture")
· Grydehøj A. - Nordic Noir
· Mrozewic - The Landscapes of Eco Noir
· Bruhn - Ecology as a pre-text. The paradoxical presence of ecological thematics in contemporary Scandinavian quality TV
· Ferrari - Il giallo scandinavo come giallo sociale
· Berni - Il giallo danese contemporaneo in Italia
· De Marco - L'onda anomala del giallo scandinavo in Italia
· Agger & Wade - Den skandinaviske krimi*
· Badley, Nestingen, Seppälä - Nordic Noir, Adaptation, Appropriation [soltanto capp. 1-8-9]
· Peacock S. - Swedish crime fiction. Novel film and television (estratto)
All are compulsory. At least one needs to be read in its original version.
· Høeg P., Frøken Smillas fornemmelse for sne / Il senso di Smilla per la neve
· Ekman K., Händelser vid vatten / Il buio scese sul'acqua
· Berg Holm I., Rasende binne / La rabbia dell'orsa
Serie TV
· Ragnarok (2020)
· Broen (2011)
· Okkupert (2015)
· Garrard G., Ecocriticism, Routledge (2nd edition)
· Iovino S., Ecologia letteraria. Una strategia di sopravvivenza
· Henning R., Jonasson A.K., Dagerman P. (2018), Nordic narratives of nature and the environment. Ecocritical approaches to northern European literatures and cultures.
· Malmio K., Kurikka K. (2020), Contemporary Nordic Literature and Spatiality, Palgrave Macmillan (cap.1 e 5).
· Further materials will be uploaded on ARIEL
Among the following texts, at least 5 (with at least 1 from each category):
Poetry
· Ørntoft T., Digte 2014*
· Jacobsen R., selected poems
· Sten-Knudsen J., Spor efter fugle*
Fiction
· Vesaas T., Fuglane / Gli uccelli
· Andersson L., Egenmäktig förfarande / Sottomissione Volontaria
· Ørstavik H., Det finnes en stor åpen plass i Bordeaux / A Bordeaux c'è una grande piazza aperta
· Magnason A.S., Il tempo e l'acqua
· Lunde M., Bienes historie / La storia delle api
· - , Blå / La storia dell'acqua
· Hjorth V., Snakk til meg*
· Ørntoft T., Solar*
· Selected texts from Forfatternes klimaaksjon*
N.B. I testi indicati con un * sono reperibili solo in lingua originale.
Parte B (9 cfu)
· Ciaravolo M., - Il giallo nordico (estratto Storia delle letterature della scandinavia)
· Nilsson, Damrosch, D'haen - Crime fiction as world literature (estratto)
· Haverty Rugg L. - Displacing crime against nature
· Nestingen A. - Crime and Fantasy in Scandinavia ("Introduction", "Nordic Noir and Neo Noir e "The new popular culture")
· Grydehøj A. - Nordic Noir
· Mrozewic - The Landscapes of Eco Noir
· Bruhn - Ecology as a pre-text. The paradoxical presence of ecological thematics in contemporary Scandinavian quality TV
· Ferrari - Il giallo scandinavo come giallo sociale
· Berni - Il giallo danese contemporaneo in Italia
· De Marco - L'onda anomala del giallo scandinavo in Italia
· Agger & Wade - Den skandinaviske krimi*
· Badley, Nestingen, Seppälä - Nordic Noir, Adaptation, Appropriation [soltanto capp. 1-8-9]
· Peacock S. - Swedish crime fiction. Novel film and television (estratto)
All are compulsory. At least one needs to be read in its original version.
· Høeg P., Frøken Smillas fornemmelse for sne / Il senso di Smilla per la neve
· Ekman K., Händelser vid vatten / Il buio scese sul'acqua
· Berg Holm I., Rasende binne / La rabbia dell'orsa
Serie TV
· Ragnarok (2020)
· Broen (2011)
· Okkupert (2015)
Assessment methods and Criteria
Students that regularly attend classes (frequentanti) will:
a) submit an essay on a topic linked to the module. The subject of the essay has to be accepted by the instructor.
b) do a short presentation (10-15 mins) on the same topic of the essay at the end of term. Presentations can be done individually or in pairs.
Students will be assessed through an oral examination conducted by the instructor. Students are expected to be able to to answer questions concerning topics discussed in class; to provide analyses and comments to passages from texts on the reading list; to demonstrate the capacity to contextualize the literary works and analyze structural elements also with the help of the methodological tools provided by the theoretical texts in the syllabus.
All students are required to write a short essay. M.A. students will write in the Scandinavian language they are specializing in (min. 8.000 characters, max. 10.000 characters), third-year students may choose to write in Italian (min. 6.000, max 8.000 characters). The paper should concentrate on aspects and themes relevant to the specific module. The essay must be submitted no less than 10 days before the exam session for which the student has registered. Students who attend the module will present a paper (individually or in group) on one of the topics connected to the module. Students who deliver a successful presentation will be exempted from taking the oral exam (but not from submitting the written essay).
M.A. students take the exam in Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish. B.A. students may take the exam in Italian. Grades are expressed on a scale of 30. Students have the right to reject the mark.
International and incoming Erasmus students who intend to take this course are requested to contact the instructor upon arrival.
Students with any disabilities are kindly requested to contact the teacher in order to agree on alternative examination methods, according to the current legislation.
a) submit an essay on a topic linked to the module. The subject of the essay has to be accepted by the instructor.
b) do a short presentation (10-15 mins) on the same topic of the essay at the end of term. Presentations can be done individually or in pairs.
Students will be assessed through an oral examination conducted by the instructor. Students are expected to be able to to answer questions concerning topics discussed in class; to provide analyses and comments to passages from texts on the reading list; to demonstrate the capacity to contextualize the literary works and analyze structural elements also with the help of the methodological tools provided by the theoretical texts in the syllabus.
All students are required to write a short essay. M.A. students will write in the Scandinavian language they are specializing in (min. 8.000 characters, max. 10.000 characters), third-year students may choose to write in Italian (min. 6.000, max 8.000 characters). The paper should concentrate on aspects and themes relevant to the specific module. The essay must be submitted no less than 10 days before the exam session for which the student has registered. Students who attend the module will present a paper (individually or in group) on one of the topics connected to the module. Students who deliver a successful presentation will be exempted from taking the oral exam (but not from submitting the written essay).
M.A. students take the exam in Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish. B.A. students may take the exam in Italian. Grades are expressed on a scale of 30. Students have the right to reject the mark.
International and incoming Erasmus students who intend to take this course are requested to contact the instructor upon arrival.
Students with any disabilities are kindly requested to contact the teacher in order to agree on alternative examination methods, according to the current legislation.
Unita' didattica A
L-LIN/15 - NORDIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Unita' didattica B+C
L-LIN/15 - NORDIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES - University credits: 6
Lessons: 40 hours
Professor(s)