HISTORY OF GERMAN CULTURE MOD. 2

The course of History of German Culture (1 and 2) belongs to the curriculum German Literature of the Master's Degree Programme European, American and Postcolonial Language and Literature. According to the aims of the Master's Degree and to the areas Literatures and Cultures, the course provides the ability to consolidate advanced critical and methodological instruments and a solid knowledge of literary texts and debates in their cultural and historical context.

Aims of this course are 1) the ability to analyse critically some of the most significant thoretical and literary texts of the cultural debates subject of the course; 2) the comprehension of these debates in their cultural and historical context; 3) the ability to consolidate critical and methodological instruments; 4) the ability to comprehend and analyze texts and contexts in a competent and autonomous way; 5) the ability to perfectionate comunication and production in the original language by an accurate reading of the texts, the discussion and presentation in class and and a detailed study of scientific writing in German; 6) the ability to write a well-discussed and formally correct scientific paper in German; 7) the ability to discuss with international lecturers in seminars and workshops about the subjects of the course.

Degree in Modern languages according to the rules of the course LLEAP.
Other students and Erasmus students are kindly asked to contact the lecturer.

Offene Wunden / Open Wounds: Lenz in German 20th and 21st century Culture

„Immer noch rasiert Woyzeck seinen Hauptmann, ißt die verordneten Erbsen, quält mit der Dumpfheit seiner Liebe seine Marie […]. Woyzeck ist die offene Wunde”. These are the words of the German playwright Heiner Müller in his brief but intense speech "Die Wunde Woyzeck", hold when he received the renowned Büchner Prize in 1985. In this speech great names of German literature come together with crucial moments and representative figures of German 20th century-history and of its revolutions: Kleist, Kafka and Lenz are mentioned together with Rosa Luxemburg and Ulrike Meinhof. By doing that, the text brings us through the murder of the Spartacist leaders, the battle of Stalingrad and the student protests up to the Berlin Wall, which should fall four years later.
Starting from these premises, the course will concentrate on one of the authors cited by Müller, Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz, showing how this figure (due to his evocative power, his symbolic force and his revolutionary potential) in German culture from Büchner on has grown into a myth. Lessons will also question if and why Lenz has remained an “open wound” (as defined by Müller) in crucial moments of the history of the 20th and 21st century.

Sources
Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz: Die Soldaten (https://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/die-soldaten-5199/1 )
Jakob Michael Reinhold: Der Hofmeister (https://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/der-hofmeister-5196/1 )
Jakob Michael Reinhold: Der neue Menoza (http://www.zeno.org/Literatur/M/Lenz,+Jakob+Michael+Reinhold/Dramen/Der+neue+Menoza )
Georg Büchner: Lenz (https://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/lenz-422/1 )
Georg Büchner: Woyzeck (http://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/419/1 .
Georg Büchner: Dantons Tod (https://gutenberg.spiegel.de/buch/dantons-tod-417/1 )
Bertolt Brecht: Der Hofmeister (in: Stücke. Bearbeitungen I, Suhrkamp 1984)
Peter Schneider: Lenz, Rotbuch Verlag 1973
Christoph Hein: Der neue Menoza, in: Cromwell und andere Stücke, Aufbau Verlag 1981
Heinar Kipphardt: Die Soldaten, Suhrkamp 1968
Albert Ostermaier: Lenz im Libanon, Suhrkamp 2015

Literature
Siegrid Damm: Vögel, die verkünden Land. Das Leben des Jakob Reinhold Lenz, Insel 1985
Büchner-Handbuch. Leben – Werk – Wirkung, Metzler 2015 (parts)
J.M.R. Lenz-Handbuch, de Gruyter 2017 (parts)

Moreover, for students who cannot attend the lessons:
Inge Stephan, Hans-Gerd Winter: Ein vorübergehendes Meteor? J. M. R. Lenz u. seine Rezeption in Deutschland, Metzler 1984
Inge Stephan: "Die Wunde Lenz". J. M. R. Lenz - Leben, Werk und Rezeption, Lang 2003 (pp. 401-440)

An oral exam divided into three parts:

Module 1:
- a translation of a text passage from German into Italian;
- a general check about the whole programme;
- a brief presentation of a paper written in German (5-10 pages).

Module 2:
- a translation of a text passage from German into Italian;
- a general check about the whole programme;
- a brief presentation of a paper written in German (10-15 pages).

The exam can be held in German.

Front lectures, seminars, oral presentations by the students.

1. An introduction to scientific writing will be a part of this course.
2. Students who cannot attend the lessons are kindly requested to contact the lecturer in the office hours.
3. A special Seminar, with debates and discussions involving both students and professors, will be held by professor Franco Moretti (Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne) on the 16th, 17th, and 18th October 2019. It is the second of a Cycle of three Seminars ( Seminari Annuali LLEAP 2018/2019- 2020/2021) on the studying and teaching of literature. This year special subject will be “Modern Tragedy”, and the Seminar will be an essential addition to this course as part of the 2019/2020 teaching activities for all the LLEAP Students.

written and 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