OVERVIEW

This course is meant as a prosecution and integration of the first year course: therefore, the development of Scandinavian (Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish) literature from the end of the 19th century to the late 20th century will be investigated; literary phenomena will be, moreover, contextualized historically and socially, and some specific topics will be examined in depth (partly with reference to subjects that were dealt with in the first year course).

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

This course aims to introduce the students to the different aspects of cultural and literary history of the Nordic countries, while highlighting elements of uniformity and differentiation among them and, furthermore, in relation to the rest of the European cultural world.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will become acquainted with the development of Scandinavian society from the late 19th to the late 20th century and will acquire the critical skills to analyse the different phenomena connected with Scandinavian poetry of the same period.

In addition, they will become able to scientifically approach the genre of fin de siècle novel in Nordic countries, addressing the main questions relevant to this literary phenomenon, and to critically deal with the genre of Nordic noir, while identifying and outlining the peculiarities of the Scandinavian tradition and trends.

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

- outline the evolution of lyric poetry in continental Scandinavia from Naturalism to Modernism;

- identify the main historical and social phenomena that affected the Nordic countries between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries;

- evaluate the relationship between tradition and innovation in the texts and poets of the corpus;

- scientifically approach the genre of the fin-de-siècle novel;

- use literary categories to analyse prose works;

- reconstruct the evolution of detective fiction in the European context, highlighting Scandinavian peculiarities;

- becoming aware of the presence of traditional and innovative elements in contemporary Nordic detective stories.

PREREQUISITES

No binding prerequisite is foreseen, but the knowledge of the main trends in the development of Scandinavian literature, especially in the modernity, is warmly recommended.

TEACHING METHODS

54 hours of lectures, where literary, social and historical observations will be accompanied by comments on single literary works, even with reading of selected passages in Italian translation.

The monographic module on fin de siècle novels will include a presentation of the respective writers, with focus on their view of modernity and their stances towards literary movements and trends (Naturalism, Impressionism, Expressionism, and so on). Selected excerpts will be read and commented on, highlighting narrative strategies, social and cultural backdrops, stylistic features. General considerations on the works will be suggested, with the aim of stimulating a personal critical evaluation. 

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.

The analyses conducted in class are intended as examples of in-depth analysis, hopefully aimed at stimulating reflections by students, who will often be invited to participate. Further teaching activities will be indicated during the lessons.

The first 18 hours of the course (Scandinavian poetry) will be held in the first term, with a schedule of two weekly hours, the other 36 hours (fin de siècle novel, 18 hours, and the Nordic noir, 18 hours) will take place in the second term (from the end of February, three weekly hours).

Course attendance is not compulsory, but warmly recommended.

As all other literary courses in the second year, this course corresponds to 9 credits.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

PART ONE - From Naturalism to Modernism: a (poetic) journey through Scandinavian literature and society

The aim of this part of the course, which is meant to complete the literary history examined in the first year, is to consider the main aspects of the cultural and socio-historical evolution of the Scandinavian countries from 1880s to the present. This subject will be analysed in depth from the particular perspective of the cultural and social reflections in poetic texts, by examining a significant corpus from the literary traditions of Denmark, Sweden and Norway from Naturalism to the late expressions of Modernism in 1960s.​​

PART TWO - The novel in Scandinavia at the turn of the twentieth century, between identity crisis and social criticism: Niels Lyhne (1880) by Jens Peter Jacobsen, Hunger (1890) by Knut Hamsun and Doctor Glas (1905) by Hjalmar Söderberg

​This part will address the issue of the individual crisis and the reactions to the irruption of modernity during the transition from the late 19th to the early 20th century. This phenomenon will be contextualized with regard to the European and Scandinavian Realism, Naturalism and Decadentism, with students as active agents (individually or in group) in the analysis of the mentioned three novels this part is focused on.

PART THREE - 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.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Students will have to prove their acquaintance with course contents, including all the texts which will be examined during the course, and will have to read a number of Scandinavian works published in the period 1890s-1940s (part one). Furthermore:

PART TWO

Jens Peter Jacobsen, Niels Lyhne, Iperborea 2017

Knut Hamsun, Fame, Adelphi 2009

Hjalmar Söderberg, Il Dottor Glas, Lindau 2015

PART THREE

Gunhild Agger, Anne Marit Waade (red.), Den skandinaviske krimi. Bestseller og blockbuster, Göteborg, Nordicom, 2010

Elvio Guagnini, Dal giallo al noir e oltre: declinazioni del poliziesco italiano, Formia, Ghenomena, 2010

Michael Tapper, Snuten i Skymningslandet. Svenska polisberättelser i roman och på film 1965-2010, Lund-Falun, Nordic Academic Press, 2011

Barry Forshaw, Death in a Cold Climate. A Guide to Scandinavian Crime Fiction, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillian, 2012

Kerstin Bergman, Swedish Crime Fiction, the Making of Nordic Noir, Sesto San Giovanni, Mimesis International, 2014

Steven Peacock, Swedish Crime Fiction: Novel, Film, Television, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2014

Michael Tapper, Swedish Cops: from Sjöwahl & Wahlöö to Stieg Larsson, United Kingdom, Intellect Books, 2014

Jakob Stougaard-Nielsen, Scandinavian Crime Fiction, London, Bloomsbury Academic, 2017

Renato Zatti, “Il giallo nordico”, in Massimo Ciaravolo (a cura di), Storia delle letterature scandinave. Dalle origini a oggi, Milano, Iperborea, 2019, pp. 818-844

For further details about the syllabus, the reading list and the materials for students who cannot attend the course, please contact the teacher.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Lessons start at the end of September, with a schedule that will be announced a few weeks earlier.

Class schedule

SCANDINAVIAN LITERATURES AND CULTURES II

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

Oral exam at the end of the course or in the following exam sessions (please check the dates on unige.it). The exam lasts approximately forty minutes. It is specified that:

1) The questions will focus on the history and literary history of the Scandinavian countries, on their position in the European context, on the texts examined in class (or included in the list for non-attending students), some of which - chosen by the teachers - will have to be discussed by candidates.

2) The second part of the exam will focus on the analysis of the three novels, applying the methodologies and categories presented in class to the sections not directly examined during the lessons, and drawing comparisons between the works (connections to other literatures are welcome).

The third part of the exam will consist of questions on literary history related to the detective story genre and a request for in-depth analysis from candidates on the individual works chosen for personal analysis, according to the instructions provided during the course.

3) As regards the nine (or six) readings required for part one, the teacher will assess that they have been read and will ask the candidates for personal analyses and reflections, and any comparisons and judgments based on the literary knowledge acquired during the course, keeping in mind that the works were not subjected to specific analysis in class, but constitute an enrichment of the contents.

4) Students are, moreover, requested to make a little, autonomous research on a topic at their choice, provided that it is related to the course programme. To fulfil this task, students may adopt a literary, historical, social, cultural, comparative or interdisciplinary perspective, according to the general instructions that will be given during the course (students are expected to ask the lecturer about details of this task in case they cannot attend the course). This research will have to be presented in Swedish during the exam (not necessarily in a written form).

The examination will take place partly in Italian and partly in Swedish on a topic of the programme chosen and carefully analysed by the student (see point 4).

Students are allowed to divide the syllabus into (no more than) two parts, which they may prepare for two different exam sessions. The final evaluation will take into consideration the results of both parts (which must be both pass marks, i.e. both marked at least with 18/30); moreover, students are free to take the exam(s) as many times as they wish in case of exam failure or if they are not satisfied with the final mark.

Non-Scandinavianists (that is to say, students who do not have Swedish as their language A or B of specialization) will not be examined on the works included in the reading list (see Bibliography) nor will they have to take the part of the exam in Swedish.

For final year or Erasmus students special sessions in addition to the seven ordinary ones will be provided: even in this case, the examination days are indicated in the lecturers’ personal pages or in the university website (students are invited to contact the teachers of "Sezione Scandinavistica" to have further information).

ASSESSMENT METHODS

In the overall evaluation, not only the knowledge of the syllabus (course topics, texts analysed in class – or included in the specific list for non-attendants – and readings indicated in the bibliography) 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: being able to orientate oneself in the different periods of the literary history, to set the considered works (or texts) in the proper context, to compare different authors, ages, nations, movements, to develop a personal critical judgement on the considered phenomena.

As regards the personal research on a topic to be presented in Swedish, students will be evaluated according to the complexity and originality of the chosen topic, the perspective they will have adopted, their research methodology and their proficiency in Swedish.

FURTHER INFORMATION

The course will be entirely held in Italian. During the lessons, texts in Swedish, Danish and Norwegian will be examined (part one).

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 material that will be examined will be uploaded.

This course is mandatory for all second year students who have chosen Swedish as Language A or Language B. Other students may insert it in their learning plan, but they are warmly asked to contact prof. Finco, even to have a specific programme designed according to their own academic needs.

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 teachers and with prof. Sara Dickinson (sara.dickinson@unige.it), the Department's disability liaison. Further information available at https://unige.it/disabilita-dsa.