OVERVIEW

This course is meant as a prosecution and integration of the first year course: therefore, the development of Scandinavian (Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish) literature from the end of the 19th century to the late 20th century will be investigated; literary phenomena will be, moreover, contextualized historically and socially and some specific topics will be examined in depth (partly with reference to subjects that were dealt with in the first year course).

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. The main questions relevant to this genre will be addressed and key literary passages will be examined.

TEACHING METHODS

54 hours of lectures, where literary, social and historical observations will be accompanied by comments on single literary works, even with reading of selected passages in Italian translation. 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.

The course will be held by prof. Davide FINCO from the beginning to the end of February (30 hours), and by prof. Paolo MARELLI from March to May (24 hours).

Course attendance is not compulsory, but warmly recommended.

As all other literary courses in the second year, this course corresponds to 9 CFU.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

PART ONE - From Naturalism to Modernism: a poetic 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 Egils 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 - Scandinavian literature from Post-Naturalism to the 21st century

This part aims to complete the literary survey begun with both first year course topics and the first part of this programme, by illustrating how Scandinavian countries' cultural development influenced literature and which historical and social contexts lead to literary phenomena between the very end of the 19th century and nowadays. Complementary to the first part, in this excursus prose works will be taken into account, by presenting the most representative authors and the most meaningful and influential works, with further comments on the evolution of literary prose since the end of the 19th century.

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 (four by Swedish, two by Danish, two by Norwegian and one by Icelandic authors) published in the period 1890s-2010s.

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 or prof. Paolo Marelli at paolo.marelli@unige.it.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

DAVIDE AGOSTINO FINCO (President)

PAOLO MARELLI (President)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Lessons will start on Monday, 15th October, with the following schedule:

Monday, 11-13 in room 9 (Albergo dei Poveri)

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

In the overall evaluation, not only the knowledge of the syllabus (course topics, texts analysed in class – or included in the specific list – and readings) and reasoning skills, but also expository skills and accuracy in the use of the specific language of the discipline will be taken into account.

Tha main skills that will be evaluated are: being able to orientate oneself in the different periods of the literary history, to set the considered works (or texts) in the proper context, to compare different authors, ages, nations, movements, to develop a personal critical judgement on the considered phenomena.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students will not have to formally enrol in this course; however, this course – as any other – is to be inserted 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 the Aulaweb platform, where all material that will be examined will be uploaded.

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

Students who have been certified with special educational needs (DSA), such as dyslexia or dysgraphia, are invited to contact me, as well as to familiarise with the services (e.g. “ufficio disabilità  e DSA”) the University offers to support them.