OVERVIEW

This course is made up of 36 hours of lectures (three weekly hours over 12 weeks) and it is divided into a monographic part and a seminar on linguistic analysis of literary texts. It is worth 6 credits and will take place from the end of February to the end of May.

The course will be entirely held in Italian. In the seminar, texts in Swedish will be analysed.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

On the basis of competence and skills acquired in the previous three years of study, this course aims to enable students to critically analyse a wide range of aspects and periods of the Scandinavian literature and culture, starting (although not exclusively) from literary texts and considering translation issues.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students 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. Students will also acquire the basic tools to analyse literary texts, in this case in Swedish.

TEACHING METHODS

18 hours of lectures and 18 hours of seminar. 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

Students are asked to choose one of the two following monographic parts and to participate in a seminar on the analysis of modern Swedish literary texts, whose organization and class schedule will be announced at the beginning of the second term (end of February). Students will also have to write an essay looking at Swedish literary texts chosen with the teacher's help: instructions on this activity will be given during the seminar.

PART ONE - 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 to 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 TWO - 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-Swedish 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 eight works of contemporary Scandinavian literature (two for each country: Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Iceland).

Further critical bibliography will be given during the course. 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

All activities will take place in the second term (end of February / beginning of March) and their schedule will be announced immediately before the term starts.

Class schedule

SCANDINAVIAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE MOD.1

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam at the end of the course or in the following exam sessions. The exam lasts approximately fortyfive 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. As mentioned, the final judgement will include the evaluation of a written work consisting in the analysis of Swedish literary texts and the discussion of this work with the examiners.

The examination will take place partly in Italian and partly in Swedish.
 
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 first year students of the "Laurea Magistrale" (Master) who have chosen Swedish as Language A or Language B. Other students may include it, but they are kindly asked to contact me in order to obtain a specific syllabus designed according to their own academic needs.