GERMAN LITERATURE 1

The course is a basic and core educational activity of the Bachelor's Degree Programme in "Languages, Civilisation and Science of Language". It addresses students attending the first year of all BA-curricula and introduces to the acquisition of a specific knowledge of German Culture, Literature and Language. The course will provide a knowledge of some of the most significant works of German Literature in the Weimar Republic and in the First Austrian Republic and the ability to comprehend the specific historical and cultural context of Germany and Austria which the analysed works refer to. Students will also learn to use the critical instruments to analyse literary texts from a thematic and stylistic point of view and will learn to comment and translate them.

Aims of this course are 1) a solid knowledge of some of the most significant works of German Literature in the Weimar Republic and in the First Austrian Republic (by E.M. Remarque, J. Roth, A. Schnitzler, A. Döblin and B. Brecht; for more details about the programme see "contents"); 2) the ability to comprehend the specific historical and cultural context of Germany and Austria which the analysed works refer to; 3) the ability to learn and use the right critical instruments to analyse the literary texts from a thematic and stylistic point of view; 4) the ability to develop in the individual work the critical instruments learnt in class with literary texts belonging tho the first half of the 20th century in German-speaking countries; 5) the ability to read and translate a brief text in German drawn from: "Jugend ohne Gott" by Ödön von Horváth (for more details see "referral texts").

Interest for the subject, motivation and if possible a B1 level of German

Literature in German-speaking countries from the First World War to the rise of Nationalsocialism

In German speaking countries the period from 1918 until Hitler's rise to power in 1933 is characterized by serious economic and political crises but also a very fertile time for arts, literature and culture (it's enough to think about new, experimental forms and genres like Bertolt Brecht's epic theatre, Fritz Lang's expressionist cinema, the architecture of the Bauhaus, Arnold Schönberg's dodecaphonic music or Alfred Döblin's metropolitan novel). The seminar aims to offer an introduction to this period through the analysis of very significant literary works written in the final years of the Weimar Republic: Die Dreigroschenoper by Bertolt Brecht, Im Westen nichts Neues by Erich Maria Remarque and Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Döblin. In order to focus on other German-speaking countries the seminar will also concentrate on two important Austrian writers: Joseph Roth (Radetzymarsch) and Arthur Schnitzler (Traumnovelle). The course will illustrate how brilliantly these works reflect on some of the most crucial events of German History in the early 20th century. Videos, music and graphic material will also be used to support the didactic activities.

A.
Bertolt Brecht: Die Dreigroschenoper;
Alfred Döblin: Berlin Alexanderplatz;
Erich Maria Remarque: Im Westen nichts Neues;
Joseph Roth: Radetzkymarsch.
Arthur Schnitzler, Traumnovelle.
All editions are fine.

B.
Ödön von Horváth: "Jugend ohne Gott", Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 1994, pp. 11-75.

C.
- Gustavo Corni, Storia della Germania. Da Bismarck a Merkel, Il Saggiatore, Milano 2017 (or previous editions; chapters IV and V, pp. 113-193).

- La letteratura tedesca. epoche, generi, intersezioni, a cura di Chiara Buglioni, Marco Castellari, Alessandra Goggio e Moira Paleari, Mondadori, Milano 2019, vol. 1: parte terza: panoramica storica e capitoli 11 e 12 e vol. 2: parte quarta: panoramica storica (pp. 3-5) e capitolo 14.

D. For students who cannot attend lessons:
Peter Gay: Weimar culture : the outsider as insider, W.W. Norton, New York/London 2001 (first edition 1968).
Bertolt Brecht: Trommeln in der Nacht (all editions are fine).
Bertolt Brecht: Die Legende vom toten Soldaten (http://www.antiwarsongs.org/canzone.php?id=4687&lang=it )

Students who cannot read the handbooks in Italian are kindly asked to contact the lecturer during the office hours.

During the exam students have to to answer to specific questions and to demonstrate to 1) have a solid knowledge of some of the most significant works of German Literature in the Weimar Republic and in the First Austrian Republic (for more details see "contents"; 2) be able to discuss starting from the specific historical and cultural context of Germany and Austria which the analysed works refer to; 3) be able to use the right critical instruments to analyse in a competent way a literary text from a thematic and stylistic point of view; 4) to be able to use in the individual work the critical instruments learnt with literary texts belonging tho the first half of the 20th century in German-speaking countries; 5) be able to read and translate a brief text in German drawn from "Jugend ohne Gott" di Ödön von Horváth (see "referral texts"). Students have also to present a brief "Lebenslauf" or a subject of their choice in German (this subject has to be decided in advance with the lecturer in the office hours).

Frontal lectures with discussion.
A moodle platform will also be used for didactic material and to communicate with the students.
The lecturer will explain how to study the parts in German. There will also be specific lessons of support held by a tutor.

Italian

Students who cannot attend the lessons are kindly asked to conctact the lecturer during the office hours.

written

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