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.

Through the study of the proposed topics, the course aims to consolidate knowledge of the History of German Culture in the early twentieth century, to delve into the historical, social and literary phenomena related to it, as well as to provide the tools to independently contextualize and analyze a corpus of texts, to be able to read them critically and to be able to rework them in an articulate way within one's own reflection.

There are no prerequisites; for a firmer foundation of learning, it is advisable to have taken the German Language and Literature courses of the previous course years established by your curriculum.

Was ist deutsch? This question continues even today, in the face of the emergence of new nationalisms, to be part of a political debate in which the definitions of German ‘national identity’ are constantly being rethought and renegotiated, and not infrequently in relation to (or as an alternative to) a reflection on Europe. As Robert Musil already recalls in an essay from 1914 with the emblematic title ‘Europäertum, Krieg, Deutschtum’, in the context of such debates, war constitutes a catalysing moment, which leads to culturally and socially redefining concepts of identity and foreignness. The module aims to explore the controversial link between Europeanism and (new) nationalism by examining the reflections on ‘German identity’ in some famous writings of the first half of the 20th century by Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Thomas Mann. In these essays, in the face of the collapse of the empires and the world wars, the authors reflect on the German-speaking nation (be it ‘Austria’ or ‘Prussia’) and its position in relation to ‘Europe’. The arguments stem from the two authors' profound critique of the culture of their own time: a Kulturkritik that is rooted in the history of previous centuries, but in the first half of the short century is subject to multiple, and not always easy, reformulations.

The study material consists of the following essays:
Hugo von Homannsthal: L'Austria e l'Europa : saggi 1914-1928, a cura di Gianpiero Cavaglià, Casale Monferrato 1983
1. L’Austria afferma se stessa (Die Bejahung Österreichs, 1914)
2. Noi austriaci e la Germania (Wir Österreicher und Deutschland, 1915)
3. Maria Theresia (Maria Teresa, 1917)
4. L’idea di Austria (Die österreichische Idee, 1917)

Thomas Mann: tutte le opere, vol. 11: Scritti storici e politici, Milano 1957
1. Pensieri di guerra (Gedanken im Kriege, 1914), traduzione di Mirella Battaglia
2. Federico e la grande coalizione (Friedrich und die große Koalition, 1915), traduzione di Mirella Battaglia
3. Della repubblica tedesca (Von deutscher Republik, 1922), traduzione di Cristina Baseggio
4. La Germania e i tedeschi (Deutschland und die Deutschen, 1945), traduzione di Lavinia Mazzucchetti

Four of the eight essays on the program (two by Hofmannsthal and two by Mann) are to be prepared in the original language. More information on this will be given in the first class.

Historical Framework:
- Gustavo Corni, Storia della Germania. Da Bismarck a Merkel, Il Saggiatore, Milano 2017 (capitoli IV e V e VI).

The examination will consist of a 20-minute interview aimed at testing:
- your ability to read and understand the texts in German in the syllabus;
- the work done on the topics covered during the course and the texts in the bibliography.

In order to pass the examination, it is necessary to obtain a sufficient mark in each of the two parts indicated, which will be assessed with points from 0 to 15 each. Sufficiency will be obtained with elementary competence and in the absence of serious errors and gaps, additional points will be obtained according to the breadth of knowledge and the quality of argumentation and exposition. Honours will be awarded where there is an excellent level of knowledge and understanding with reference to the syllabus, judgement and communication skills.

Frontal lectures on cultural-historical framework accompanied by seminar-style activities devoted to textual analysis, during which active student participation will be encouraged.

Italian

oral

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