German Literature I (2018/2019)

Learning outcomes

This course’s aim is to offer an introduction to the German Language Literature of the twentieth-century. The student shall be able to understand and explain the texts which will be given during the lessons, to comment both their subjects and their aesthetical style, to situate them in the historical, cultural and literary context of the German twentieth-century.

During the lessons we will read the following texts:

Narrative:
Thomas Mann: Tod in Venedig, Mario und der Zauberer
Franz Kafka: Die Verwandlung, Bericht fuer eine Akademie, Josefine die Saengerin oder das Volk der Maeuse

Poetry:
Georg Trakl: An den Knaben Elis
Gottfried Benn: Kleine Aster
Bertolt Brecht: Schlechte Zeit für Lyrik, An die Nachgeborenen
Paul Celan: Todesfuge, Corona
Ingeborg Bachmann: Die gestundete Zeit, Alle Tage

Theatre:
Bertolt Brecht: Der aufhaltsame Aufstieg des Arturo Ui
Friedrich Dürrenmatt: Der Besuch der alten Dame

Students are then supposed to read one of the following texts on their own:
Thomas Mann: Tonjo Kröger
Franz Kafka: Das Urteil
Bertolt Brecht: Der gute Mensch von Sezuan, Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder
Peter Weiss: Die Ermittlung
Christa Wolf: Der geteilte Himmel

The final exam will be oral and held in Italian. The exam will consist in a conversation aimed at testing:
- depth and wideness of the acquired knowledge
- the ability of critical reflection and analysis of the texts included in the programme
- the ability to contextualize texts from a historical and cultural point of view

The final mark will be in 30ths.
ERASMUS students are required to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course to agree upon the exam modality

STUDENT MODULE EVALUATION - 2017/2018