HISTORY OF GERMAN CULTURE

The course of History of German Culture is a core educational activity of the Bachelor's Degree Programme in "Languages, Civilisation and Science of Language" (Literary-Cultural curriculum and Political-International curriculum) and provides a a specific knowledge of German Culture, Literature and Language according to the aims of the Bachelor's Degree Programme.

Aims of this course are 1) the analysis of some of the most significant texts of the „Criminal Literature“ in Germany between the late 18th and the beginning ot the 19th century and of the (still sensitive) interactions of literature, psychology and law in this period (for more details about te programme see "Contents" and "Referral texts"); 2) the comprehension of the criminal literature in its cultural and historical context; 3) the ability to develop critical and methodological instruments to comprehend and analyze the texts in a competent and autonomous way; 4) the ability to understand and use the original language learnt by an accurate reading of the texts, an oral presentation in German and an introduction to scientific writing in German.

Students of the curriculum "Letterario-culturale" have to be familiar with the contents of German literature 2.
Other students have to be familiar with the contents of German Literature 1 (class 1 or 2).
Other students and Erasmus students are kindly requested to contact the lecturer.

Power, law-breaking and justice. Criminal Literature in Germany between the late 18th and the beginning ot the 19th century

The genre of the „criminal literature“ is very popular in Germany between the late 18th and the beginning ot the 19th century. Significant works (particularly dramatic plays) of authors such as Heinrich von Kleist, Friedrich Schiller, Georg Büchner and E.T.A. Hoffmann tell about the adventures and misadventures of robbers, murders and (real or pretended) criminals. They perform intrigues, crimes and acts of violence and ask about the criminal psychology as well as about the complex relation of power, law-breaking and justice. The module will offer an overview of the „criminal literature“ of this age focussing on epochal texts such as "Michael Kohlhaas" (1810) and "Der zerbrochne Krug" (1811) by Heinrich von Kleist, "Die Räuber" (1781) and "Der Verbrecher aus Infamie" (1786, then: "Der Verbrecher aus verlorener Ehre") by Friedrich Schiller, "Das Fräulein von Scuderi" (1819) by E.T.A. Hoffmann and "Woyzeck" (1836) by Georg Büchner. Aim of the course is that of concentrating on the (still sensitive) interactions of literature, psychology and law between the late 18th and the beginning of the 19th century.

1.
Heinrich von Kleist: Michael Kohlhaas (text online: http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/583/1 );

Heinrich von Kleist: Der zerbrochene Krug (text online: http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/der-zerbrochene-krug-590/1 );

Friedrich Schiller: Die Räuber (text online: http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/3339/1 );

Friedrich Schiller: Der Verbrecher aus verlorener Ehre (text online: http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/3329/1 );

E.T.A. Hoffmann: Das Fräulein von Scuderi (text online: http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/3084/1 );

Georg Büchner: Woyzeck (text online: http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/419/1 ).


Important: The programm will be discussed in the first class. Students are advised to procure Die Räuber von F. Schiller before the beginning of the first class.

2.

Giuliano Baioni: Introduzione, in: Heinrich von Kleist: I racconti, trad. di Andrea Casalegno, Garzanti 1977, pp. VII-XXVII;

Susanne Lüdemann: “Literarische Fallgeschichten : Schillers Verbrecher aus verlorener Ehre und Kleists Michael Kohlhaas”, in: Das Beispiel: Epistemologie des Exemplarischen, hrsg. von Jens Ruchatz, Kadmos, Berlin 2007, S. 208-223;

3.

Anton Reininger, La letteratura tedesca dal Settecento ai nostri giorni, 3. edizione, Rosenberg & Sellier, Torino 2005, chapter III (pp. 109-224) and chapter IV (pp. 225-228 and pp. 264-284).

Students who cannot read the handbook and the critical literature in Italian are kindly asked to contact the lecturer.

An oral exam divided into three parts:
- a translation of a text passage from German into Italian;
- a brief presentation of an aspect of the course in German;
- a general check about the whole programme.

Front lectures and seminars.

Italian

1. An introduction to scientific writing will be part of this course.
2. Students who cannot attend the lessons have also to read:
Heinrich von Kleist: Die Marquise von O...(https://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/die-marquise-von-o-1-580 ).
Heinrich von Kleist: Das Erdbeben in Chili (https://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/das-erdbeben-in-chili-584/1 )

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development