COMPARATIVE HISTORY OF THE GERMANIC LANGUAGES MOD. 2

The module is intended for students in the first 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 (Old Norse, West Norse), 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, from a comparative perspective as well, the main texts of the Old Norse corpus, as well as the fundamentals of the modern and contemporary critical debate originating from 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 navigate the examined texts, as well as to familiarize with the modern and contemporary critical debate originating from their study. This will enable them to evaluate the texts and the 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. Attendance at a prior course of Germanic Philology 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.
The runes.
Major linguistic features of Old Norse (phonology, morphology).
Christianization and the development of writing.
Overview of the Old Norse corpus: poetry and prose.
Major linguistic features of West Norse (phonology, morphology, syntax).

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

Compulsory reading material
- R. McTurk (ed.). A Companion to Old Norse-Icelandic Literature. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2005 (chs. 8, 10, 23);
- 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;
- Excerpts from the editions of selected Old Norse texts (and the relative translations), and further readings that will be indicated by the teacher.

Recommended reading material
- P. Hermann. “Literacy”. In The Routledge Research Companion to the Medieval Icelandic Sagas, edited 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. 6, 25);
- M. Clunies Ross. The Cambridge Introduction to the Old Norse-Icelandic Saga. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010 / or / F. Ferrari. Le saghe nordiche. Eroi, vichinghi e poeti nella Scandinavia medievale. Milano: Meltemi, 2022;
- Further reading material recommended by the teacher.

Students who are unable to complete their preparation by attending classes are required to contact the teacher for indications on further readings.

The written exam will consist of three open questions (of content and methodological) and two practical exercises (on the studied texts). The exam will last 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 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.

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