| CODE | 65296 |
|---|---|
| ACADEMIC YEAR | 2021/2022 |
| CREDITS |
|
| SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINARY SECTOR | L-LIN/15 |
| LANGUAGE | Italian |
| TEACHING LOCATION |
|
| SEMESTER | Annual |
| MODULES | This unit is a module of: |
| TEACHING MATERIALS | AULAWEB |
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.
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.
Students will acquire skills and tools to analyse literary texts linguistically and stylistically, working on the Swedish language. In addition to, they will critically approach the genre of the Nordic noir. Students will have to work on their own to provide personal analyses, which will be discussed both in class and during the final examination.
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.
Unless otherwise indicated (and depending on the evolution of the state of emergency), the course will be regularly held in classrooms. Please, ask the teacher for further instructions or in case of doubts.
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.
As regards the analysis of literary texts in Swedish, 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. This work will be introduced and initially lead by the teacher, but participants will be later asked to contribute with their own examination of assigned excerpts or even texts of their own choice (Swedish literary examples of the 20th or 21st century).
The monographic module on the Nordic noir will initially deal with general considerations on the characteristics of the genre and its history, later focusing on the examination of Scandinavian peculiarities, the most relevant phenomena and the most significant authors. This survey, primarily aimed at stimulating a discussion among the participants, will be finally enriched by their contribution, with the analysis of a Nordic crime fiction work of their choice to be presented in the classroom.
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.
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 the author’s innovative contributions. 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 - The Nordic noir: origins, evolution and trends of a contemporary international breakthrough
Crime fiction is undoubtedly one of the genres that characterize the contemporary world, in particular the industrialized urban society. Its origins can be traced back to the late 19th century, but it is in the 20th century that criminal stories and investigations flourish, in a fruitful union between literary, film and television versions. In the last fifteen years, crime fiction has become one of the international brands of Nordic literature, from Finland to Iceland, passing through Sweden where Stieg Larsson’s Millennium triggered the breakthrough of Nordic noir writers overwhelming bookstores all over Europe. In this part of the course the principles and features of this genre will be highlighted, later on moving to a historical-literary examination of the main Scandinavian authors and phenomena. Starting from these analyses, students will be asked to contribute with their own survey of a Scandinavian crime novel at their choice.
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 a number of tales in Swedish to be able to translate them (some passages will be 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 the teacher at davide.finco@unige.it.
Office hours: By appointment in my office or on Microsoft Teams. Students are warmly asked to regularly check the teacher's personal page on the Department website to make sure about office hours.
All activities will take place in the second term (from February) and their schedule will be announced immediately before the term starts.
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. The final judgement will include the evaluation of two written works (in Italian):
- the first paper will have to deal with the analysis of literary texts in Swedish – which will be chosen by the students and communicated to the teacher in advance – according to the skills acquired during the course.
- the second paper will have to investigate an example of Nordic noir at students’ choice.
Students are warmly invited to ask the teacher about indications and details regarding these works.
The examination will take place partly in Italian and partly in Swedish on course topics.
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 mentioned term papers can be presented apart, provided that they will have to be discussed with the examiners as a necessary subject for the final 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).
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.
The 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, developing 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.
| Date | Time | Location | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24/01/2022 | 09:30 | GENOVA | Orale | Gli esami si svolgeranno a distanza sulla piattaforma Teams. |
| 08/02/2022 | 09:30 | GENOVA | Orale | Gli esami si svolgeranno a distanza sulla piattaforma Teams. |
| 28/04/2022 | 14:30 | GENOVA | Orale | Gli esami si svolgeranno in aula M al Polo Fontane. |
| 17/06/2022 | 09:30 | GENOVA | Orale | Salvo variazioni, gli esami si svolgeranno in aula A (Polo didattico in Via Fontane). |
| 11/07/2022 | 09:30 | GENOVA | Orale | Salvo variazioni, gli esami si svolgeranno in aula A (Polo didattico in Via Fontane). |
| 12/09/2022 | 09:30 | GENOVA | Orale | Salvo variazioni, gli esami si svolgeranno in aula C (Polo didattico in Via Fontane). |
| 27/09/2022 | 09:30 | GENOVA | Orale | Salvo variazioni, gli esami si svolgeranno in aula A (Polo didattico in Via Fontane). |
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.