Course teached as: B004682 - LETTERATURE NORDICHE 1 (12 CFU) 3-years First Cycle Degree (DM 270/04) in LANGUAGES, LITERATURES AND INTERCULTURAL STUDIES Curriculum STUDI LINGUISTICI, LETTERARI E INTERCULTURALI
Teaching Language
Italian. Reading: Old Norse, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish
Course Content
The course focuses on the common Nordic heritage as seen through its literary works. The ancient texts are, therefore, at the core of a stylistic and linguistic analysis extended from the origins to the 19th century. The languages in question are Old Norse, Swedish, Norwegian and Danish, whose contemporary versions constitute a constant standard of comparison. The common thread consists of recurring images, echoed through centuries of literature.
Il Canzoniere eddico, a cura di G. Scardigli, Garzanti, Milano, 1982 (Profezia della veggente: pp.5-15; Canzone di Vafþrúðnir: pp.47-56)
La Saga dei Volsunghi, a cura di L. Koch, Nuova Pratiche Editrice, Parma, 1994
La Saga di Eirik il Rosso, a cura di R. Caprini, Nuova Pratiche Editrice, Parma, 1995
Edda di Snorri, Introduzione e traduzione dal norreno di G. Chiesa Isnardi, Milano, Tea, 2003
La saga di Egill, in Antiche saghe nordiche, a cura di Marcello Meli, Mondadori, Milano 1997
(online è disponibile una versione inglese: Egils saga Skallagrímssonar: http://sagadb.org/egils_saga.en)
H. Ibsen, Casa di bambola, Mondadori, Milano, 1991
H. Ibsen, Peer Gynt, Einaudi, Torino, 1959
H. C. Andersen, Fiabe e Storie, Feltrinelli, 2012 (La sirenetta, pp.56-74; I vestiti nuovi dell’imperatore, pp.75-78; Il brutto anatroccolo, pp.207-214; La regina delle nevi, pp.222-247; Le scarpe rosse, pp.261-265).
A. Strindberg, La contessina Julie, Einaudi, Torino 1988
A. Strindberg, Danza di morte in Tutto il teatro. Volume 3 (1899-1901), Mursia, Milano, 1996
Ballate magiche svedesi, a cura di M. Panza, Luni editrice, Milano, 1999
M. Ciaravolo, Le letterature nordiche dalle origini alla fine dell’Ottocento (lecture notes from the previous course).
M. Ciaravolo, Lineamenti di storia della Scandinavia (lecture notes from the previous course)
V. Natella, L’esilio dal ruolo sociale in Casa di bambola di Ibsen (online article: http://www.segniecomprensione.it/files/segni_66.pdf, pp.59-75).
F. Perrelli, Strindberg. La scrittura e la scena, Le Lettere, Firenze, 2009
Selection of excerpts from literary works used by the teacher in class
Learning Objectives
Didactic goals
Alongside with the ancient-modern dialectic in terms of formal patterns, stereotyped motifs and cultural memes, a constant work is carried out on the texts, always compared with modern equivalents in Swedish, Danish and Norwegian – with occasional reference to colloquial speech developments of our age. Such a choice relies on the inextricable connection between literature history and language history – since the former rests on and originates from the latter. Words are seen as “speech atoms”. This course aims therefore at building up the students’ critical and analytical sense while helping them to detect literary style through syntax and basilar meaning through lexicon and roots. A wider perspective on literature as language in contest will allow for students to profit from the acquired skills also in other curricular teachings. At the same time, they will own the right tools to face further literary works of their interest being aware of the underlying communicative purposes, intonation, genre and chronology.
Prerequisites
Pre-conditions
Basic notions of Scandinavian languages are required.
Teaching Methods
Teaching methods
The teaching is frontal and prompts students to give their active contribution by enriching the dissertation in the first place by means of previously acquired knowledge of scholastic or personal origin.
Further information
Further information
Course duration: one term – 6 hours/week during 12 weeks, with the addition of 4 extra lessons on the teacher’s initiative; i.e., from September 19 to December 20.
The course also aims at strengthening the linguistic awareness of the students from a diachronic perspective.
Type of Assessment
Learning evaluation methods
The test is worth 12 ECTS and is based on a final oral examination, aimed at assessing the student’s general knowledge of the subject, i.e. his/her acquaintance with the texts – both those studied during the course and those assigned for individual study – in the light of their genre affiliation and language shape. The test has a variable duration, but typically lasts from 20 to 30 minutes.
Course program
Expanded programme
The course aims at portraying the inherent continuity of Nordic culture through centuries of literature. It therefore centers on four points, i.e.: 1) the heathen/Christian dichotomy, with ancient suggestions surviving in (folk)literature; 2) the author as an individual (from rune masters to skaldic poets and modern writers); 3) society as a binary power structure (collectivism vs elitism/male vs female); 4) the supernatural and some of its stereotyped crystallizations. On a different level, the diachronic developments of Swedish, Danish and Norwegian are mutually perused and set against the background of Old Norse.