OVERVIEW

This course is made up of 54 hours of lessons, corresponding to 9 credits, and it is divided into three parts, lasting 18 hours each. The first part will be made up of two weekly hours from October to January; the second and the third parts include three weekly hours to be held from the end of February to the end of April.

The course will be entirely held in Italian. During the lessons, texts in Swedish, Danish and Norwegian will be analysed.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

This course aims to introduce the students to the different aspects of cultural and literary history of the Nordic countries, while highlighting elements of uniformity and differentiation among them and, furthermore, in relation to the rest of the European cultural world.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will become acquainted with the development of the Scandinavian society from the late 19th to the late 20th century and will acquire the critical skills to analyse the different phenomena connected with Scandinavian poetry of the same period.

In addition, they will become able to scientifically approach the genre of the Icelandic medieval sagas and of Scandinavian children's literature between the 19th and the 20th century. The main questions relevant to these genres will be addressed and key literary passages will be examined.

TEACHING METHODS

54 hours of lectures. Students are also warmly invited to analyse one or more course topics in depth and to present their work (individually or in groups, as they prefer) during the course, so as to refine their methods and stimulate discussion. This work will be taken into account for the final evaluation; morevoer, presenters will have a shorter list of books to read. Please contact me for further details.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

PART ONE - From the "Men of the modern breakthrough" to Modernism: a journey through Scandinavian literature and society

The aim of this part of the course, which is meant to complete the literary history examined in the first year, is to consider the main aspects of the cultural and socio-historical evolution of the Scandinavian countries from the Eighties of the Nineteenth century to the present. This subject will be analysed in depth from the particular perspective of the cultural and social reflections in poetic texts, by examining a significant corpus from the literary traditions of Denmark, Sweden and Norway from Naturalism to the late expressions of Modernism in the Sixties.

PART TWO - Sagas between mythology, literature and chronicle, from the ancient times to the birth of Iceland: Hervarar saga, Völsunga saga and Njáls saga

A typical Scandinavian literary genre, sagas also preserve a common German cultural heritage and are undoubtedly one of the best examples of the literary flourishing in medieval Scandinavia. Drawing on both myth and history, they document in a precious and sometimes unique manner the richness of ancient German culture as well as the early stages of Nordic history. After an introduction pointing out the characteristics of this kind of narrative (and texts) and clarifying the historical context in which it has developed, the three mentioned sagas will be analysed by reading and commenting on significant passages in Italian translation.

PART THREE - Tradition and transgression in Scandinavian children's literature: the surprising features of a 'minor' genre

During the 20th century, Scandinavian literature offered interesting cases of alternative, provocative and innovative children's books, which often highlighted the contradictions and limitations of traditional literature, the most famous example of which is certainly the series on Pippi Longstocking by the Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. No less disruptive - even though less celebrated - were the adventures of Bibi by the Danish writer Karin Michaëlis and the world of the Moomin created by the Finland-Swedis author Tove Jansson. We will address several issues concerning children's literature, reconstructing its development in the different European socio-cultural contexts, pointing out its characteristic features and focusing on aspects of similarity and diversity among the considered authors and their works. Analysis will also take into account pedagogical aspects and the role of literature in representing, suggesting and promoting social values, specifically related to children's conditions and needs.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Students will have to prove their acquaintance with course contents, including all the texts which will be examined during the course, and will have to read nine Scandinavian works (three by Danish, three by Swedish and three by Norwegian authors) published in the period 1890s-1940s.

For details about the syllabus, the reading list and the materials for students who cannot attend the course, please contact me at davide.finco@unige.it. 

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Lessons will start on Monday, 23rd October, with the following schedule:

Monday, 15-17 in room D (Polo didattico, Via delle Fontane)

Class schedule

SCANDINAVIAN LITERATURES AND CULTURES II

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam at the end of the course or in the following exam sessions. The exam lasts approximately forty minutes and is meant to test both the knowledge of the syllabus (course topics, texts analysed in class and readings) and reasoning skills. Accuracy in the use of the specific language of the discipline will be taken into account.

The examination will take place partly in Italian and partly in Swedish on a topic of the programme chosen and carefully analysed by the student.
 
Students are allowed to divide the syllabus into (no more than) two parts which they may prepare for two different exam sessions. The final evaluation will take into consideration the results of both parts (which must be both pass marks, i.e. both marked at least with 18/30); moreover, students are free to take the exam(s) as many times as they wish to improve their marks.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Oral tests consist of an interview conducted by the teacher who taught the course plus another teacher or expert in the same discipline. For each course, the exam board members establish common and shared evaluation criteria, as illustrated by the lecturer(s) during the course and indicated in the course syllabus template.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Course attendance is not compulsory, but warmly recommended.

Students will not have to formally enrol in this course; however, this course - as any other - is to be included in the learning plan to be officially acknowledged.

Those who want to take the exam must enrol through the university website within three days before the examination. Participants in the course will have to log in to the Aulaweb platform, where course materials will be made available.

This course is obligatory for all second year students who have chosen Swedish as Language A or Language B. Other students may include it in their learning plan, but they are kindly asked to contact me in order to obtain a specific programme designed according to their own academic needs.