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 acquire skills and tools to analyse literary texts linguistically and stylistically, working on the Swedish language. In addition to, they will have an overview of the main differences between Swedish, Danish and Norwegian, while developing their skills in textual analysis by working on literary texts in Danish and Norwegian. Students will have to work on their own to provide personal analyses, which will be discussed during the final examination.

TEACHING METHODS

36 hours of classroom activities, articulated in three weekly hours over 12 weeks (each part consisting of 18 hours). The course will take place in the second term (February to May) and corresponds to 6 credits.

Both parts of the course will have a markedly seminar character, therefore students are expected to contribute to analyses and discussion with their own remarks. The observation of the authors’ stylistic features and linguistic strategies will be the starting point to formalize some concepts and methodologies of textual analysis and to show how the outcomes of the analysis can contribute to the interpretation of the text.

Further activities will be announced during the course. The course will be entirely held in Italian.

The course attendance is not compulsory, but highly recommended.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

​

PART ONE – Introduction to the analysis of literary texts in Swedish

Each author necessarily acts within a specific literary and cultural tradition, which exerts its influence both as a source of inspiration and as the context that hosts innovative features. Critically reading of literary texts allows to point out and become aware of a writer’s features and strategies and to obtain useful (sometimes fundamental) information towards a more plausible interpretation of the text. In this part of the course, passages taken from literary works by Swedish authors (e.g. Strindberg, Söderberg) will be examined with and by students.

PART TWO – Introduction to Danish and Norwegian with analysis of literary texts

Scandinavian languages ​​show remarkable similarities, obviously due to the proximity of the respective cultural areas, but also (as regards Danish and Norwegian) to historical-political reasons and common literary tradition along some centuries. Basing our work on the degree of knowledge and skills in the Swedish language expected from third year students, we will examine some of the main phonetic, morphological, lexical and stylistic differences of Danish and Norwegian ​through the reading of some fairy tales that will have been considered (in Italian translation) in the first part of the course. In the case of the Norwegian, the survey will be introduced by a reconstruction of the main cultural and political events (including the numerous linguistic reforms) in which the complex question of language was articulated between the late 19th and the early 20th century.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

​

Students are expected to know the contents of the lessons, 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). These works will have to be read in any translation (or in Scandinavian languages, at students’ choice). In addition to, candidates will have to read two tales (in Swedish) taken from Tove Jansson, Det osynliga barnet and to be able to translate them (some passages chosen by the teacher during the exam) into Italian and summarize them in Swedish.

Further critical bibliography will be given during the course. For details about the programme, the reading list and all the material for students who cannot attend the lessons, please contact me at davide.finco@unige.it.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

DAVIDE AGOSTINO FINCO (President)

CHIARA BENATI

PAOLO MARELLI

LESSONS

LESSONS START

All activities will take place in the second term (from February) and their schedule will be announced immediately before the term starts.

Class schedule

SCANDINAVIAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE MOD.1

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

​

An oral exam at the end of the course and in the following exam sessions. The exam will last about forty minutes and is meant to test both the knowledge of the programme (contents of the lessons, texts analysed and readings) and the reasoning skills. The accuracy in the use of the specific language of the discipline will be taken into account. 

N.B. As mentioned, the final judgement will include the evaluation of a written work consisting in the analysis of literary texts and the discussion of this work with the examiners: students are warmly invited to ask the teacher about indications and details regarding this work.

The examination will take place partly in Italian and partly in Swedish.

Students are allowed to divide the programme into (no more than) two parts to be prepared for two different exam sessions at their choice. The final evaluation will consider the results of both parts (however, they must be both sufficient, i.e. both evaluated at least with 18/30) and students are free to take the exam(s) as many times as they wish to take a better evaluation.

The final mark is announced at the end of the exam and it can be refused by the candidate. In case of a refused mark or a failed exam, the candidate may always sit the exam in the following session (no limit is prescribed in the number of attempts).

For final year or Erasmus students there are special sessions in addition to the six ordinary ones: even in this case, the examination days are indicated in the lecturers’ personal pages or in Genoa university website (students are requested to contact the teachers of “Sezione Scandinavistica” to have further information).

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: capability orientating oneself in the different periods of the literary history, setting the considered works (or texts) in the proper context, comparing different authors, ages, nations, movements, adding a personal critical judgement on the considered phenomena, mainly basing on competences acquired and critical contributions presented during the course.

The part of the exam that has to be taken in Swedish is aimed to make students used to expressing even in this language on formal subjects, like literature, linguistics and culture. The evaluation of students’ language skills will be less strict than that by a language teacher (“lettore”), but it will, however, contribute to the final mark according to grammatical correctness, fluency of expression and richness of vocabulary.

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 first year students of “Laurea Magistrale” (Master) who have chosen Swedish as Language A or Language B.

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.