Information updated until 30/06/2026 CODE 117911 ACADEMIC YEAR 2026/2027 CREDITS 6 cfu anno 2 LINGUE E LETTERATURE MODERNE PER L'INSEGNAMENTO, L'EDITORIA E I MEDIA DIGITALI 11953 (LM-37 R) - GENOVA SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINARY SECTOR L-LIN/13 LANGUAGE German TEACHING LOCATION GENOVA SEMESTER 1° Semester OVERVIEW The course aims to examine how literary texts in the German language from the 19th and 20th centuries are interpreted and adapted in cinema and theatre, in order to understand the role of literature in the cultural transformations of modernity and contemporaneity. It will also address, from a diachronic perspective, the process of editorial mediation, particularly through the study of selected lyrical texts by German-speaking authors (including Rilke) and their Italian translations. The course will therefore be structured into three parts: literature and cinema literature and theatre literature and publishing AIMS AND CONTENT LEARNING OUTCOMES At the end of the course, students will have attained an in-depth knowledge of key texts of German-language literature and culture, within their historical framework, and will have strengthened their ability to analyze cultural products through different critical approaches. They will also be able to navigate the processes of mediation of German-language literary texts. AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES At the end of the course, students will be able to: situate literary texts within their cultural, linguistic, and social contexts understand the role of literature in communicative processes and in the cultural transformations of modernity and contemporaneity analyze literary works by relating them to the publishing system develop independent critical judgments on texts and the contexts in which they are situated acquire methods and tools useful for independently studying and analyzing German-language literary texts and their interaction with other forms of communication PREREQUISITES B2 level in German TEACHING METHODS 36 hours - lessons in German, including text analysis and the viewing of film and multimedia clips in German (and, in part, in Italian), which will be discussed SYLLABUS/CONTENT For the “Literature and Cinema” section, texts by Theodor Fontane, Günter Grass, Thomas Mann and Carl Sternheim will be examined and compared with their respective film adaptations, so as to highlight not only the formal differences, but also the different interpretations of the texts. For the “Literature and Theatre” section, texts by Yvan Goll, Walter Hasenclever, Georg Kaiser, Carl Sternheim, Ernst Toller and Frank Wedekind will be examined, and the relationship between text and theatrical performance will be analysed, so as to understand the mediation process that transforms a written work into a stage production. For the “Literature and Publishing” section, poems by early 20th-century poets will be examined, so that they can be analysed in relation to the publishing market. RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY Books: Theodor Fontane, Effi Briest Yvan Goll, Royal Palace Günter Grass, Die Blechtrommel Walter Hasenclever, Der Sohn Georg Kaiser, Der Protagonist Thomas Mann, Tod in Venedig Rilke, Duineser Elegien Carl Sternheim, Die Hose Ernst Toller, Hopplà, wir leben! Ein vorspiel in fünf Akte Frank Wedekind, Lulu Films: Die Hose, regia Hans Behrendt (1927) Effi Briest, regia Rainer Werner Fassbinder (1974) Morte a Venezia, regia Luchino Visconti (1971) Die Blechtrommel, regia di Volker Schlöndorff (1979) TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD SERENA SPAZZARINI Ricevimento: See personal page (www.lingue.unige.it) MICHAELA BÜRGER-KOFTIS Ricevimento: Upon appointment via mail: in my office Palazzo Serra, Piano Nobile, piazza S. Sabina 2 or in Teams, code: gikqlko LESSONS LESSONS START Lessons'start date will be announced on this page as soon as it is available. Lessons will begin in October 2026 and will run from October 2026 to January 2027. Class schedule The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy EXAMS EXAM DESCRIPTION Oral examination and PowerPoint presentation (followed by an oral commentary on the presentation), which will also include a discussion of topics covered during the course or texts from the reading list ASSESSMENT METHODS The exam will be conducted orally and will cover the topics discussed in class and the texts listed in the bibliography. During the exam, students will also be required to present a PowerPoint presentation prepared in advance. Whilst presenting the PowerPoint, students must comment on the content. FURTHER INFORMATION 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.
