German literature 2 LM. Critical methodologies and textual interpretation (2019/2020)

Learning outcomes

The course is held in German and aims at analysing and comparing literary texts of various genres, from the XVIIIth to the XXth Century, with the most recent instru-ments of literary criticism, such as semiotics, intertexu-ality, intermediality, narratology, reception theory and history, cultural studies and translation studies.
At the end of the course students will have to attain deep knowledge both of the historical context and of the different literary works. They will also have to be able to analyse and understand the texts dealt with during the lessons and to properly express their knowledge in German.

PROGRAMMA
Letture del “Laocoonte”: Winckelmann, Lessing, Heinse, Hirt, Goethe.
Il Corso è strutturato in un unico modulo (didattica frontale); il corso si svolge interamente in lingua tedesca. Verranno trattati i seguenti argomenti:
- La storia del Laocoonte a partire dalla sua riscoperta nel Rinascimento
- Il Laocoonte nella storia dell’arte contemporanea
- Il genere dell’ecfrasi: riflessioni critiche sul rapporto fra segni iconici e segni verbali
- Le descrizioni del Laocoonte ad opera di Winckelmann, Lessing, Heinse, Hirt e Goethe
Bibliografia
- Helmut Pfotenhauer (a cura di): Frühklassizismus. Position und Opposition: Winckelmann, Mengs, Heinse, Frankfurt M., 1995.
- Gotthold Ephraim Lessing: Laokoon. Stuttgart, Reclam, 1986.
- Wilhelm Heinse: Ardinghello und die glückseligen Inseln. Stuttgart, Reclam, 1975.
- Aloys Hirt: Laokoon. In: Die Horen, 3. Jg., 10. Stück 1997, Darmstadt, 1959, pp. 1-26.
- Johann Wolfgang Goethe: Über Laokoon, in: Id., Ästhetische Schriften 1771-1805, a cura di Friedmar Apel, Frankfurt M., 1998, pp. 489-500.
Ulteriore bibliografia sarà fornita durante il corso.

Ulteriori letture consigliate:
- G. E. Lessing, Hamburgische Dramaturgie. Reclam.
- J. W. Goethe, Faust I. Der Tragödie erster Teil. Fischer Taschenbuch.
- Fr. Schiller, Über naive und sentimentalische Dichtung. Reclam.
- W. H. Wackenroder / L. Tieck, Herzensergießungen eines kunstliebenden Klosterbruders. Reclam.

Una parte dei testi verrà messo a disposizione degli studenti in forma di fotocopia.

Gli studenti non frequentanti avranno la possibilità di concordare con il docente un programma che integri l’analisi intersemiotica dei testi con una essenziale bibliografia critica sull’argomento.

Students will have to produce a written essay (ca. 10 pages) on one of the topics dealt with during the course.
The final oral exam is in German. It is aimed at testing students’ knowledge of all topics dealt with during the course and in particular at testing
- The depth and breadth of students’ knowledge
- Students’ ability to analyse and understand literary texts
- Students’ ability to discuss and connect different topics in a literary and intersemiotic perspective
- Students’ speaking ability in German
The final evaluation is expressed in marks out of thirty.
ERASMUS students are kindly requested to get in touch with the Professor in order to make arrangements.