German literature comprises the written works of the German-speaking peoples. The study of “German literature and culture” should not only provide a concise historical survey of German literature, but also give an understanding of the cultural developments of German-speaking countries.
This course aims to examine literary texts produced in German-speaking countries in their aesthetic value and as powerful instruments to understand the culture of these countries.
By the end of this course you should have:
- Acquired an understanding of German history and culture
- Developed an ability to read and analyse fictional texts
- Developed an ability to understand social, historical and political factors that have influenced the German culture
1. Didactic Unit: 36 hours frontal lecture in Italian, reading text in German
2. Didactic Unit: 18 hours frontal lecture in Italian, reading texts in German
Attendance is not obbligatory, but heartily recommended
1. Didactic Unit: Thomas Mann’s Doktor Faustus and the Faust myth.
The Faust myth plays a very important role in the Occidental culture and reveals different values in each epoch. The course aims to analyze the origin and the metamorphosis of Faust’s pact with the devil up to Thomas Mann’s novel “Doctor Faustus “ and to show the ideological features of this very topical myth.
2. Didactic Unit: Travels to Italy in the 18th and 19th century.
The so called ‘Grand Tour’ was a fundamental experience for many German writers of the 18th and 19th century. The course aims to analyze the most significant features of literary texts dealing with travels to Italy and belonging to different literary genres.
At the beginning of the course students must have this book:
T. Mann, Doctor Faustus. La vita del compositore tedesco Adrian Leverkühn narrata da un amico, trad. it. di L. Crescenzi, Milano, Mondadori, 2017.
Other readings will be made available on the webcourse.
All the readings will be made available on the webcourse..
ELENA GIOVANNINI (President)
MICHAELA BÜRGER-KOFTIS
1. Didactic Unit - Thomas Mann’s Doktor Faustus and the Faust myth: 19th October 2017.
2. Didactic Unit - Travels to Italy in the 18th and 19th century: 1st March 2018.
GERMAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE II
Oral exam
An exam, the length of which varies according to the programme, held by the professor responsible for the course, during which the level of the student’s knowledge will be assessed according to the following criteria:
a) ability to read, translate and comment on and contextualise critically excerpts from texts examined during the course, plus other supplementary texts read and prepared autonomously, see the list which can be downloaded from the professor’s website, the course on aulaweb and can also be consulted on the notice board outside the professor’s office;
b) ability to respond in Italian and German to questions on topics covered during the course and on supplementary texts prepared for the examination, as well as possibly developing an autonomous critical discourse.
For further information please visit aulaweb
