OVERVIEW

First part - Course title, first semester:  "German Literature from XVIII to the XX Century"

Second part - Course title, second 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)

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

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

PREREQUISITES

Students are not required to have any specific prerequisite.

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 (three weekly hours over 12 weeks) of lectures held by the teacher, during which literary, social and historical analyses will be accompanied by comments on single literary works, even with the reading of chosen texts in Italian translation and in German version. This activity will be meant to provide students with methodological tools and to promote students' participation. Traditional lesson.

In the second semester: 18 hours of lectures held by the teacher.

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

Teaching will be in Italian.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

A. FIRST PART (First semester - Prof.ssa Spazzarini)

The first part will take place during the first semester (October 2024-January 2025) focusing on the study of the following Authors with their works:

1) J. W. von Goethe

'Die Leiden des jungen Werthers' (complete reading)

excerpts from 'Die Wahlverwandschaften'

excerpts from 'Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre'

excerpts from 'Faust'

Poetic production: 'Prometheus', 'Erlkönig', 'Wandrers Nachtlied'

2) Novalis

'Erste Hymne' (Hymnen an die Nacht)

3) Heine

Poetic production: 'Loreley', 'Ein Fichtenbaum steht einsam', 'Das Fräulein stand am Meere', 'Die schlesischen Weber'

4) Fanny Lewald

excerpts from 'Italienisches Bilderbuch' (will be translated during the lessons)

5) Fontane

excerpts from 'Effi Briest'

excerpts from 'Der Stechlin'

6) Brecht

'Leben des Galilei' (complete reading)

excerpts from 'Die Dreigroschenoper' 

Poetic production: 'Verjagt mit gutem Grund', 'Legende vom toten Soldaten', 'Zu Potsdam unter den Eichen', 'Der Führer hat gesagt', 'Das Lied vom Anstreicher Hitler', 'Deutschland'

7) T. Mann

'Der Tod in Venedig' (complete reading)

8) Kafka

'Die Verwandlung' (complete reading)

excerpts from 'Brief an den Vater'

9) Ch. Wolf

excerpts from 'Der geteilte Himmel'

B. SECOND PART (Second semester - Prof.ssa Dacrema)

The second part will take place during the second semester (February 2025- May 2025).

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

• Opposing worlds

• Writing in War

• Rilke

• Egon Friedell

• Hofmannsthal

• Musil

• Writing about war

• Remarque

• Jünger

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

First Part - References

Primary Texts:

J.W. von Goethe, I dolori del giovane Werther. Traduzione di Enrico Ganni. Introduzione di Luigi Forte. Torino, Einaudi (Einaudi Classici)

B. Brecht, Vita di Galileo. Traduzione di Emilio Castellani. Torino, Einaudi

T. Mann, La morte a Venezia. A cura di Elisabeth Galvan. Letteratura Universale Marsilio

F. Kafka, La Metamorfosi. Traduzione di Enrico Ganni. Introduzione di Luigi Forte. Torino, Einaudi (Einaudi Classici)

All the excerpts and/or poetic texts used during the lessons and other teaching material will be available on aulaweb. In general, the notes taken during the lessons and the material on aulaweb are sufficient for the preparation of the exam.
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.

B. Second 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, 2012.

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.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

SERENA SPAZZARINI (President)

NICOLETTA DACREMA

LESSONS

LESSONS START

First semester

Lessons start on October 2024. 

Weekly Timetable:

***

Second Semester

Lessons start on February 2025. 

Weekly Timetable:

Class schedule

GERMAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE II

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

First Part

The exam will be a written test. It will include both essay questions and questions requiring direct answer on the historical-cultural context, on the critical material and on the analysed texts.

Second 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.

Reference textbook: Alberto Destro, I Paesi di lingua tedesca, Il Mulino, 2004 (Manual)

Constant updating on the part of the student on current German political topics (by reading newspapers, listening to TV and radio newscasts) is ‘welcome’.

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

The skills achieved by the student shall be evaluated through targeted exercises, in which the student shall demonstrate the ability to apply the tools provided during the lessons.

Textbooks in references + lecture notes

ASSESSMENT METHODS

First Part

The exam will be a written test. It will include both essay questions and questions requiring direct answer on the historical-cultural context, on the critical material and on the analysed texts.

Second 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.

Exam schedule

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

***

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.