B005608 - SANSKRIT LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

Italian

The main focus is on the complex grammar of Sanskrit, a useful tool also for linguistics and comparative philology, and on its vast literature. Here poetical and dramatic texts of kāvya, the refined ornate fiction, as well as the Arthaśāstra, on the art of government, shall illustrate several aspects of the Indian civilisation.

a) Language:
1. A. Aklujkar, Sanskrit: an Easy Introduction to an Enchanting Language, Richmond, B.C., 1992 (Svadhyaya Publications, 5346 Opal Place, Richmond, B. C., Canada V7C 5B4).
b) Part of one of these books on Indian history, from the beginning until the year 1000 CE.
R. Thapar, Early India, 2003 Berkeley, (Univ. of California Press)
Burton Steiner, A History of India, Oxford (Blackwell).
3) Set portions (from p. 6 to p. 66; from 127 to 214; from 389 to 534) of
G. Boccali, S. Piano, S. Sani, Le letterature dell’India, Torino 2004 (UTET).
Excerpts from these Sanskrit texts:
Arthaṣāstra, ed. Kangle,...1969.
Kālidāsa, Meghadūta, ed. Kale.

Bhavabhuti, Mālatīmādhava, ed. Coulson

Knowledge: Students shall learn to deal with the complexities of Sanskrit grammar and with the different levels of meaning of a set text
Competence: Students shall be able to translate some texts, and to discuss problems of grammar
Behaviour:
- stimulus to a responsible use of the University structures, of the CdS, of the instruments that orient and organize students’ careers
- stimulus to a behaviour of intellectual participation, and to a correct and useful teacher-student relationship
- stimulus to a civil and shared use of the study resources of the CdS and of the Scuola

Ottima conoscenza dell'italiano (o dell’inglese, nel caso il corso sia tenuto in inglese), and of grammatical and logical analysis. Aptitude for the study of foreign languages. It would be advisable to possess already a basic knowledge of Sanskrit grammar and of Indian ancient history.

The course will feature lectures in grammar and literature, and there shall be also some hours of translation practice on the set literary texts.

Students must attend the major part of the course. In case they could not attend, they must inform the professor, so that an adequate program can be drawn.

There shall be oral examinations also for non-attending students, or Erasmus students. Questions shall relate to aspects of grammar and literature treated during lectures.
The examination aims to verify:
1) The student’s knowledge of Sanskrit grammar, both in theory and in practice, through translation of excerpts of the set texts.
2) The student’s knowledge of the different literary themes and of the set texts.

It is necessary to show a sufficient level of knowledge in order to pass the examination