OVERVIEW

First part - Course title, First semester: "The First World War as an opportunity for Literature"

This annual course provides 9 credits and consists of 54 hours of lessons (36 hours: First part - first semester; 18 hours: Second part - second semester).

The 6 CFU course consists of 36 hours of lessons (First part - first semester)

Second part - Course title, second semester: "The Novella in German-language Literature" 

This annual course provides 9 credits and consists of 54 hours of lessons (36 hours: First part - first semester; 18 hours: Second part - second semester).

The 6 CFU course consists of 36 hours of lessons (First part - first semester)

The course will be held in Italian.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

This course aims to study literary texts of the German-speaking region, in their inherent aesthetic character and as a privileged pathway to understanding German culture.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

First part

Attendance and active participation in the proposed training activities (lectures and online activities) and individual study will enable the student to: - Know the general lines of the development of German Literature from XVIII to XX Century, contextualizing literary productions in culture and in the historical period of reference

- Know in depth the specific manifestations of Austrian and German War Propaganda during the First World War

- Be acquainted with basic critical tools

- Acquire an adequate sector-specific vocabulary of the intercultural communication

- Be familiar with the literary genres involved in War Propaganda

Second part

At the end of the course, the student will be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of the general development of German culture and literature from the 18th to the 20th century
• Contextualize literary works within their cultural and historical framework
• Acquire an appropriate specialized vocabulary for intercultural communication
• Develop the theoretical knowledge necessary to undertake critical interpretation of textual content
• Comment on texts using specific methodologies for literary analysis.

PREREQUISITES

There are no specific requirements.

It goes without saying that good linguistic competence in spoken and written Italian, skills in expression, and the background required for understanding the European historical context (acquired through proper secondary school learning), are taken for granted.

TEACHING METHODS

During the first semester: 36 hours of lectures held by the professor.

During the course 2 mock exams and 1 role playing game will take place.

In the second semester, the course will continue with 18 hours of lectures (2 hours per week). The analyses carried out in class will serve as examples of in-depth study, intended to stimulate students’ reflections and encourage their active participation. During the course, a sample exam (relating to this part of the second-semester program) will be provided and discussed together with the students.

The course will be taught in Italian.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

A. FIRST PART (First semester)

The first part will take place during the first semester .

The course titled "The First World War as an opportunity for Literature" will take place during the second semester and will focus on the narrative of the Great War by Austrian and German authors, both during and after the conflict.

The analysis of works born out of the experience of the First World War will provide an opportunity to reflect on the aesthetic function of literature, as well as its ethical function and the controversial role of the intellectual figure.

The course will be structured around the following topics:

• The First World War

• Writing in War – Austrian Authors

• Rilke’s War Poems

The distruction of the world in Trakl

• Egon Friedell’s war articles

• Hofmannsthal’s wartime speeches

• War according to Musil

• Writing about war – German Authors

• Remarque

• Jünger

B. SECOND PART (Second semester)

The course entitled “The Novella in German-Language Literature” will take place entirely during the second semester and will focus on the study of the following authors and their respective works:

Goethe, Eine Novelle

Kleist, Die Marquise von O...

G.Keller, Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe

T.Mann, Mario und der Zauberer

Schnitzler, Leutnant Gustl

Zweig, Schachnovelle

On the basis of the study of the indicated texts, as well as their reading, commentary, and analysis carried out during the lectures, it will be possible to acquire a deeper understanding of the genre of the novella, grasping its formal, thematic, and stylistic characteristics.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

First Part - References

A. Destro, I paesi di lingua tedesca, Il Mulino, 2004 (Manuale)

R. Musil, La guerra parallela (a cura di F. Orlandi; trad. di C. Groff), Silvy, 20

It will be the professor’s responsibility to provide the students, in each instance, with photocopies related to the documents studied during lessons and to prepare lecture notes at the end of the course.

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:

Non-attending students shall present the programme specified above, with the above cited critical literature and with the addition of the following textbooks:

* Robert Musil, La guerra parallela (a cura di F. Orlandi; trad. di C. Groff), Silvy, 2012

* Eric Maria Remarque, Niente di nuovo sul fronte occidentale

* Ernst Jünger, Nelle tempeste d’acciaio

Non-attending students are in any case kindly requested to contact the professor.

B. Second Part - References

Goethe, Eine Novelle (Una novella)

Kleist, Die Marquise von O... (La Marchesa di O...)

G.Keller, Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe (Romeo e Giulietta nel villaggio)

T.Mann, Mario und der Zauberer (Mario e il mago)

Schnitzler, Leutnant Gustl (Il sottotenente Gustl)

Zweig, Schachnovelle (La novella degli scacchi)

It will be the professor’s responsibility to provide the students, in each instance, with photocopies related to the documents studied during lessons and to prepare lecture notes at the end of the course.

The following books are suggested as supporting texts (non attending Students):

Buglioni, Castellari, Goggio, Paleari (a cura di), Letteratura tedesca. Epoche, generi, intersezioni. Vol. 1: Dal Medioevo al primo Novecento. Vol. 2: Dal primo dopoguerra al nuovo millennio. Le Monnier, 2019

or:

Anton Reininger, La Letteratura tedesca dal Settecento ai giorni nostri. Torino, Rosenberg&Sellier, 2005

Non-attending students are in any case kindly requested to contact the professor.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Lessons'start date will be announced on this page as soon as it is available. 

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Written examination. For further details, please refer to the assessment methods.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

First part

First Part

Learning assessment includes a written test.

Knowledge related to the course will be assessed via:

1. Yes-and-no questions, for which the student shall demonstrate knowledge of the main cultural foundations (literary, historical, geographical, political) related to the German world.

2. Open-ended questions in which the student shall demonstrate knowledge of concepts related to the topic of the course.

The assessment of the exam will take into account, as well as the knowledge of the program to be carried out, also the exhibition capacity and accuracy in the use of the specific language of the discipline.

FURTHER INFORMATION

Criteria for assigning the final mark:

- skill in debate and summarisation

- syntactically correct writing and use of the specific terminology

- syntactically correct writing and use of the specific terminology of war literature

- capability to organise written text with clarity of thought

Second part

The assessment of learning consists of a written examination.

Knowledge related to the course will be assessed through multiple-choice questions and open-ended questions in which students will be required to demonstrate:

1. the knowledge they have acquired regarding the literature and culture of the relevant period, as well as the specific features of the texts studied;
2. the ability to analyze short excerpts, applying the methodological approach developed during the course.

Assessment will also take into account clarity of expression and accuracy in the use of subject-specific terminology, as well as argumentative and summarizing skills, and the ability to structure a written text with clarity of ideas.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For further information, students are advised to consult regularly the AulaWeb page dedicated to the course.

Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities on file with the University and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework and exams, should speak both with the instructor and with Prof. Sara Dickinson (sara.dickinson@unige.it), the Department's disability liaison.