OVERVIEW

The course consists in a first approach to Byzantine literary Civilization in a twofold perspective: (a) continuity with ancient Greek literature (mostly preserved/transmitted via Byzantium) and (b) change.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

In the frame of the three-year degree course no. 10, this course aims at the following: (a) understanding essential development(s) of Byzantine Literature and literary genres via relevant texts to be read in Greek; (b) understanding linguistic evolution of Byzantine Greek, especially as regards diglossia; (c) interpreting/analyzing essential features of relevant texts, discerning continuity with and change from ancient Greek world.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

AIMS

To remember continuity and change features of Byzantine Greek with/from Classical Greek (lexicon and style).

To understand different meanings of the texts presented during classes.

To recognize different literary genres and their ‘code’.

To analyze the essential features of Byzantine civilization in the text presented in class: paideia (‘education’) & basileia (‘imperial polity’).

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• To be able to contextualize authors & texts presented in class in their historical period & literary genre;
• To be able to translate in English (or Italian) the Greek texts presented in class and their lexical, morphological, stylistic, rhetoric and metric features;
• To be able to recognize essential themes, especially as regards the μίμησις (‘literary imitation’) of ancient authors and, vice versa, the innovative aspects;
• To be able to follow argumentation in a scholarly contribution and to produce a written text in English (or Italian) accurately reporting it.

PREREQUISITES

A knowledge of ancient Greek is necessary to take the course.

TEACHING METHODS

Lectures with the help of Power Point/pdf presentations; laboratory of translation via online lexica (GI, LSJ, LBG and so on).

Attending the lessons is strongly recommended.

Highly recommended to subscribe on aul@web as well, in order to get information and didactic material.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

“From Byzantium to Constantinople to Genoa: a journey through the language, a journey through the texts”

Programme for students taking the course for 6 cfu

Byzantine literature and ancient Greek literature: continuity & change. An approach through the texts of different authors, periods and literary genres.

Greek language through the Byzantine millennium: continuity and change.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bibliography 

Greek texts to be read in class will be offered in pdf format.

Students who want to choose a whole English bibliography are kindly requested to contact the professor as soon as possible via email (pia.carolla@unige.it).

A. KAMBYLIS, Compendio della letteratura bizantina, in H.-G. NESSELRATH, Introduzione alla filologia greca, trad. it., Roma, Salerno Editrice, 2004, pp. 446-478.

R. BROWNING, Medieval and Modern Greek, London-Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1969.

M. MORANI, Introduzione alla linguistica greca, Alessandria, Edizioni dell’Orso, 1999 (cap. IV).

S. KACZKO, La koiné, in A.C. CASSIO (a cura di), Storia delle lingue letterarie greche, Firenze, Le Monnier, 2008, pp. 357-391.

A. ROLLO, “ Greco medievale” e “greco bizantino”, in AION. Annali del Dipartimento di Studi del Mondo Classico e del Mediterraneo Antico. Sezione linguistica, 30 (2008), pp. 429-473.

C. CARPINATO, O. TRIBULATO (a cura di), Storia e storie della lingua greca, Venezia, Edizioni Ca' Foscari, 2014.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

PIA CAROLLA (President)

AGNESE FONTANA

LIA RAFFAELLA CRESCI (Substitute)

FRANCESCA GAZZANO (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

16.09.2019

Class schedule

BYZANTINE PHILOLOGY

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Oral exam: reading, translation and historical-literary, philological, linguistic commentary of texts presented in lectures to assess students’ knowledge and abilities to identify literary genres, the diachronic development of language and dialectical imitation/innovation in ancient Greek literature.

A written presentation is requested about one of the texts listed in bibliography (or another one to be agreed upon) to assess student’s capacity for analysis and synthesis.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Please contact the professor for any further information in English.