OVERVIEW

The course is addressed to the second-year students of the curriculum "Lingue, letterature e culture moderne" studying at least one Germanic language (English, German or Swedish). The course introduces the history and culture of the Germanic peoples, as well as the Germanic linguistics and philology, paying particular attention to the problems connected with textual criticism in the Germanic language areas.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Germanic Philology I A aims at providing the basic knowledge necessary to analyze - on a comparative level - the linguistic, historical and cultural phenomena connected with the Germanic peoples, as well as at stimulating the development of a correct methodological approach to the editions of Medieval Germanic texts.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

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

- present the historical events connected to the Germanic peoples and their migration;

- describe the most significant features of Germanic culture;

- understand the problems connected with the edition of Old Germanic texts;

- discuss the editing strategies most adequate to the tradition of the texts presented in class;

- delineate the linguistic evolution from Indo-European to Germanic;

- reconstruct the regular linguistic evolution into Germanic of a given Indo-European root;

- use specific philological terminology accurately.

PREREQUISITES

There are no specific prerequirements to this course.

TEACHING METHODS

The course will be held in presence. Materials will be available on the Aulaweb platform.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

1. Germanic Philology: meaning and methods;

2. The Germanic peoples: their origin and history;

3. Germanic culture;

4. Germanic linguistics, phonology and morphology in particular;

5. Textual criticism of Germanic texts.

No distinctiion is going to be made between students who have attended classes and those who have not.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

The syllabus of the course "Materiali inerenti al Corso I A dell'a.a. 2026-2027" by C. Benati is available on the platform Aulaweb.

Moreover following texts are necessary to prepare the exam:
- S. Leonardi - E. Morlicchio: La filologia germanica e le lingue moderne, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2009;
- TH. Bein: Introduzione alla critica dei testi tedeschi medievali, Edizioni ETS, Pisa 1999 (or the "Critica testuale" notes available on the platform Aulaweb);
- M.G. Saibene - M. Buzzoni: Manuale di linguistica germanica, Cisalpino, Milano, 2006, pp. 75-80; pp. 269-307; pp. 331-344; pp. 367-390;
- J. Dubois e altri: Dizionario di linguistica, Zanichelli, Bologna, ult. ed. only the parts indicated).

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

CHIARA BENATI (President)

CLAUDIA THERESIA HANDL

LAURA POGGESI

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The course begins during the first week of the semester on

Thursday 10-11 Aula 6

Friday 9-11 Aula 6

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam, usually in Italian, on the various topics dealt with during the course. 

There will be two exam session in Winter (January-February), three in Summer (June-July) and two in Fall (September). 

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The oral exam will deal with the course topics, paying particular attention to the socio-cultural evolution of the Germanic language area and to the linguistic and culture heritage in Italy. The evaluation will not only take into account the student's knowledge, but also his/her ability to use appropriate language and terminology.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The course program is valid until Summer 2029.

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.