GERMANIC PHILOLOGY 2 MOD. 1

The module is intended for students in the second year of the Master’s Degree Programmes in ‘Language Sciences’ and in ‘European, American and Postcolonial Languages and Literatures’. It is designed as an introduction to the study of Old Norse language and literature (prose), and it aims to give the students the opportunity to acquire advanced knowledge in Germanic Philology, as well as advanced learning skills that should enable them to continue to study in a manner that may be largely self-directed or autonomous.

Student Learning Objectives (SLO) are:

1. Knowledge and understanding.
Students will know and understand the main characteristics of Old Norse, the main prose texts of the Old Norse corpus and the relative cultural and historical context, as well as the fundamentals of the modern and contemporary critical debate applied to their study. Such knowledge and understanding will be founded upon and will extend that typically associated with the first cycle, and it will also provide a basis for originality in developing and/or applying ideas, often within a research context.

2. Applying knowledge and understanding.
- Students will be able to apply the research methods acquired in the course to the linguistic analysis of simple texts of the Old Norse corpus, as well as to the translation of simple sentences, while aptly contextualising the same sources both culturally and historically;
- Students will be able to apply their knowledge and understanding, and problem solving abilities in new or unfamiliar environments within broader contexts related to Germanic Philology (e.g. textual criticism, and literary reading skills applied to Germanic medieval texts).

3. Making judgements.
- Students will be able to orient themselves in the examined texts, as well as to become familiar with the modern and contemporary critical debate as applied to their study. In turn, this will enable them to evaluate different hypotheses posed by the scholars, as well as to formulate alternative hypotheses;
- Students will be able to integrate knowledge and handle complexity, and formulate judgements with incomplete or limited information – a typical situation in the philological field. The ability of making judgements will include reflecting on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge (e.g. the educational and social impact of philological studies).

4. Communication skills.
Students will be able to communicate their conclusions – and the knowledge and rationale underpinning the same – clearly and unambiguously, to both specialist and non-specialist audiences, by using the appropriate language register.

5. Learning skills.
Students will develop those learning skills that should enable them to continue to study in a manner that may be largely self-directed or autonomous.

Good knowledge and understanding of English. A prior MA module of Germanic Philology (6 cfu) is recommended. However, the basic notions necessary to tackle the main topics of the course, as listed in the content section below, will be provided by the teacher during the first lectures.

Presentation of the course and examination modalities.
Old Norse and the other Germanic languages: historical overview.
Major linguistic features of Old Norse (phonology, morphology, syntax).
Christianization and the development of writing.
Overview of the Old Norse corpus: poetry and prose.
The earliest prose texts.
Prose Edda.
The saga and its genres.
The question of genre in saga literature.

For the linguistic part

Reference book:
- M. Barnes. A New Introduction to Old Norse. Part I, Grammar. London: Viking Society for Northern Research, 1999.

Compulsory reading material:
- M. Barnes. “Language”. In A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature, ed. by Rory McTurk, 173-89. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2005;
- O.W. Robinson. “Old Norse”. In Old English and its Closest Relatives: A Survey of the Earliest Germanic Languages, 69-98. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1992;
- Further reading material indicated or uploaded to Moodle by the teacher.


For the literary part

Compulsory reading material:
- M. Bampi. “Genre”. In The Routledge Research Companion to the Medieval Icelandic Sagas, ed. by Ármann Jakobsson and Sverrir Jakobsson, 4-14. London: Routledge, 2017;
- M. Clunies Ross. The Cambridge Introduction to the Old Norse-Icelandic Saga. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010 / oppure / F. Ferrari. Le saghe nordiche. Eroi, vichinghi e poeti nella Scandinavia medievale. Milano: Meltemi, 2022;
- R. McTurk (ed.). A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2005 (chs. 9, 13);
- Excerpts from the editions of the various Old Norse texts (and the relative translations), and further readings that will be indicated or uploaded to Moodle by the teacher.

Reference book and readings:
- M. Battaglia. Snorri Sturluson. Edda. Milano: Meltemi, 2021;
- P. Hermann. “Literacy”. In The Routledge Research Companion to the Medieval Icelandic Sagas, ed. by Ármann Jakobsson and Sverrir Jakobsson, 34-47. London: Routledge, 2017;
- R. McTurk (ed.). A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2005 (chs. 5, 8, 27);
- Further reading material indicated or uploaded to Moodle by the teacher.

Non-attending students:
Non-attending students are required to contact the teacher for further readings.

The written exam consists of three open questions (of content and methodological) and two practical exercises (on the studied texts). The exam lasts 90 minutes.
A specific score will be assigned to each question/exercise, for a total of 30/30 (and praise).

More specifically:
- Knowledge and understanding: checked through content questions;
- Applying knowledge and understanding: checked through the practical exercises;
- Making judgements: checked through methodological questions;
- Communication skills: checked through the students’ ability to communicate their conclusions clearly and unambiguously, as well as the knowledge and rationale underpinning the same;
- Learning skills: evaluation of the students’ ability to communicate the course contents and to make judgements.

In-class lectures (in English), teacher-led discussions, practical exercises in class (both individually and in team).

English

Given the nature of the course, attendance is highly recommended.

written