Scandinavian Literature (MA)
A.Y. 2021/2022
Learning objectives
This course aims at developing interpretive and analytic skills in the evaluation of a specific thematic strand in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish literary works from the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition, it will put the tools of text analysis to the test with a view to practice critical discussion and writing about relevant themes, texts and authors.
Expected learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding: students will approach Scandinavian 19th and 20th century literature by focusing on a chosen theme present in works by Danish, Norwegian and Swedish writers, they will acquire knowledge of the critical discussion and the tools of analysis regarding the chosen topic. Applying knowledge and understanding: students will learn how to examine a chosen theme by working knowledgeably with secondary literature, practice critical reading of texts written in all three Scandinavian languages, examine the primary literature with a critical eye.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
More detailed information on the modes of teaching in the academic year 2021/22 will be provided in the coming months in line with the development of the public health situation.
Course syllabus
PARODIES, PASTICHES, REVERSALS. This course (9 cfu) focuses on the study of the parody by drawing on central theoretical concerns and by analyzing forms and narrative techniques in a selection of parodic texts. Unit A looks at the genre of travel literature through the lens of parodies mainly from the 19th century. Unit B investigates works from the 20th century imitating genres such as Gothic literature, the coming-of-age novel, autobiography. Unit C offers an insight into the history of Scandinavian literature in the 20th century.
Unit A: H.C. Andersen, A. Strindberg, K. Hamsun
Unit B: K. Blixen, T. Jansson, E, Loe
Unit C: 'Tingdikter' in 20th-century poetry
Each unit has a weekly appointment.
STUDENTS TAKING THIS COURSE FOR 6 ETCS ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT THE INSTRUCTOR TO MAKE AGREEMENTS AS TO THE CHOICE OF UNITS.
This course syllabus is valid until December 2023.
Unit A: H.C. Andersen, A. Strindberg, K. Hamsun
Unit B: K. Blixen, T. Jansson, E, Loe
Unit C: 'Tingdikter' in 20th-century poetry
Each unit has a weekly appointment.
STUDENTS TAKING THIS COURSE FOR 6 ETCS ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT THE INSTRUCTOR TO MAKE AGREEMENTS AS TO THE CHOICE OF UNITS.
This course syllabus is valid until December 2023.
Prerequisites for admission
The course is taught both in Italian and in the Scandinavian languages and a majority of the works on the reading list is written in Danish, Norwegian or Swedish. A thorough knowledge of the Scandinavian languages is therefore required.
Teaching methods
The teaching methodology combines lectures and class discussions.
Teaching Resources
General: D. Sangsue, La parodia, Armando editore, 2006.
Unit A:
H.C. Andersen: Fodreise fra Holmens Kanal til Østpynten af Amager i Aarene 1828-29 (1829; Passeggiata nella notte di Capodanno, It. transl. by. A. Cambieri, Lubrina, 1987);
A. Strindberg: Rom på en dag (1885; Roma in un giorno) and Mitt Venedig (1889; La mia Venezia) Swedish original in Samlade verk 18, Norsteds, 2007, or online: https://litteraturbanken.se/forfattare/StrindbergA/titlar/Kvarstadsresan/sida/172/etext and https://litteraturbanken.se/forfattare/StrindbergA/titlar/Kvarstadsresan/sida/296/etext /, It. transl. by B. Berni, Dall'Italia, Biblioteca del Vascello, 1993;
K. Hamsun: I Æventyrland (1903; Terra favolosa, It. transl. by C. Giannini in K. Hamsun, I capolavori, Casini, 1953).
Saggi critici:
H. van der Liet: On Your Feet! H. C. Andersen's Maiden Trip into Literary Space, in Aktualitet - Litteratur, Kultur Og Medier 13 (2). https://tidsskrift.dk/aktualitet/article/view/114472;
C. Storskog: Resa, snabbt och långsamt. August Strindberg och parodins praktik, Strindbergiana 34, 2019, pp. 38-56;
E. Oxfeldt, The Ironic Traveler: Danger and Identity in Knut Hamsun's Oriental Travelogues, in Journeys from Scandinavia, University of Minnesota Press, 2010, pp. 58-77.
Unit B:
K. Blixen: Gengældelsens Veje (1944; I vendicatori angelici) any unabridged edition in Italian or English;
T. Jansson: Muminpappans memoarer (1968; Le memorie di papà Mumin, It- transl. by A. Palme Larussa Sanavio, Salani, 2007;
E. Loe: Naiv. Super (1996; Naif. Super, It. transl. by G. Paterniti, Iperborea, 2002).
Saggi critici:
K. Kastbjerg: "Dressed up in the body of an old woman": Gothic Conventions in Ingemann, Andersen, Blixen and Høeg, Scandinavian-Canadian Studies Journal / Études scandinaves au Canada 18, 2007-2009, pp. 24-42;
B. Westin: Det parodiska. Muminpappans bravader, in Familjen i dalen. Tove Janssons muminvärld, Bonniers, 1988, pp. 191-217;
E. Tjønneland; Naiviteten i Erlend Loes Naiv. Super: regresjon eller estetisk utopi?, Edda 1, 2001, pp. 85-94
Unit C:
During the lessons focus will be on an anthology of 'tingdikter' handed out at the beginning of the course. A knowledge of selected pages (subsequently indicated) from one of the following hadbooks is required:
A. Kittang & A. Aarseth, Lyriske strukturer. Innføring i diktanalyse, Universitetsforlaget AS, 1998 OR L. Elleström, Lyrikanalys, Studentlitteratur, 1999 OR K. Gall Jørgensen, Litterær analyse. Prosa og lyrik, Munksgaard, 1994.
IN ADDITION:
B. Brown, Thing Theory, Critical Inquiry 28: 1, 2001, pp. 1-22
H. Parland, Sakernas uppror, i Id., Säginteannat. Samlad prosa II, red. O. Parland, Stockholm, 1970, pp. 55-55
C. Storskog, Dikter om ting och människor. Eller: (HT) + (TT) + (TH) + (HH), AION XXVII: 1-2, 2017, pp. 155-168
C. Zilliacus, Henry Parlands prosating, in P. Ahokas, O. Lappalainen et. al. (toim.), Arjen merkit: arki, taide ja tutkimus, Kirjastopalvelu, Helsinki 1991, pp. 105-114.
M.A. students are required to read all literary works in the original language (in any unabridged edition). If present, the critical apparatus (introductions, forewords, afterwords, notes) is to be considered part of the reading.
Unit A:
H.C. Andersen: Fodreise fra Holmens Kanal til Østpynten af Amager i Aarene 1828-29 (1829; Passeggiata nella notte di Capodanno, It. transl. by. A. Cambieri, Lubrina, 1987);
A. Strindberg: Rom på en dag (1885; Roma in un giorno) and Mitt Venedig (1889; La mia Venezia) Swedish original in Samlade verk 18, Norsteds, 2007, or online: https://litteraturbanken.se/forfattare/StrindbergA/titlar/Kvarstadsresan/sida/172/etext and https://litteraturbanken.se/forfattare/StrindbergA/titlar/Kvarstadsresan/sida/296/etext /, It. transl. by B. Berni, Dall'Italia, Biblioteca del Vascello, 1993;
K. Hamsun: I Æventyrland (1903; Terra favolosa, It. transl. by C. Giannini in K. Hamsun, I capolavori, Casini, 1953).
Saggi critici:
H. van der Liet: On Your Feet! H. C. Andersen's Maiden Trip into Literary Space, in Aktualitet - Litteratur, Kultur Og Medier 13 (2). https://tidsskrift.dk/aktualitet/article/view/114472;
C. Storskog: Resa, snabbt och långsamt. August Strindberg och parodins praktik, Strindbergiana 34, 2019, pp. 38-56;
E. Oxfeldt, The Ironic Traveler: Danger and Identity in Knut Hamsun's Oriental Travelogues, in Journeys from Scandinavia, University of Minnesota Press, 2010, pp. 58-77.
Unit B:
K. Blixen: Gengældelsens Veje (1944; I vendicatori angelici) any unabridged edition in Italian or English;
T. Jansson: Muminpappans memoarer (1968; Le memorie di papà Mumin, It- transl. by A. Palme Larussa Sanavio, Salani, 2007;
E. Loe: Naiv. Super (1996; Naif. Super, It. transl. by G. Paterniti, Iperborea, 2002).
Saggi critici:
K. Kastbjerg: "Dressed up in the body of an old woman": Gothic Conventions in Ingemann, Andersen, Blixen and Høeg, Scandinavian-Canadian Studies Journal / Études scandinaves au Canada 18, 2007-2009, pp. 24-42;
B. Westin: Det parodiska. Muminpappans bravader, in Familjen i dalen. Tove Janssons muminvärld, Bonniers, 1988, pp. 191-217;
E. Tjønneland; Naiviteten i Erlend Loes Naiv. Super: regresjon eller estetisk utopi?, Edda 1, 2001, pp. 85-94
Unit C:
During the lessons focus will be on an anthology of 'tingdikter' handed out at the beginning of the course. A knowledge of selected pages (subsequently indicated) from one of the following hadbooks is required:
A. Kittang & A. Aarseth, Lyriske strukturer. Innføring i diktanalyse, Universitetsforlaget AS, 1998 OR L. Elleström, Lyrikanalys, Studentlitteratur, 1999 OR K. Gall Jørgensen, Litterær analyse. Prosa og lyrik, Munksgaard, 1994.
IN ADDITION:
B. Brown, Thing Theory, Critical Inquiry 28: 1, 2001, pp. 1-22
H. Parland, Sakernas uppror, i Id., Säginteannat. Samlad prosa II, red. O. Parland, Stockholm, 1970, pp. 55-55
C. Storskog, Dikter om ting och människor. Eller: (HT) + (TT) + (TH) + (HH), AION XXVII: 1-2, 2017, pp. 155-168
C. Zilliacus, Henry Parlands prosating, in P. Ahokas, O. Lappalainen et. al. (toim.), Arjen merkit: arki, taide ja tutkimus, Kirjastopalvelu, Helsinki 1991, pp. 105-114.
M.A. students are required to read all literary works in the original language (in any unabridged edition). If present, the critical apparatus (introductions, forewords, afterwords, notes) is to be considered part of the reading.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Students will be assessed through an oral examination conducted by the instructor. Students are expected to be able to to answer questions concerning topics discussed in class; to provide analyses and comments to passages from texts on the reading list; to demonstrate the capacity to contextualize the literary works and analyze structural elements also with the help of the methodological tools provided by the theoretical texts in the syllabus.
Unit C: All students are required to write a short essay in the Scandinavian language they are specializing in (min. 8000 characters, max. 10 000 characters) analyzing one of the poems present in the anthology. Students at M.A. level are expected to write the paper in their Scandinavian language of specialization. The essay must be handed in no less than 10 days before the exam session for which the student has registered.
M.A. students will take the exam in Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish. Grades are expressed on a scale of 30. Students have the right to reject the mark.
International and incoming Erasmus students who intend to take this course are requested to contact the instructor upon arrival.
Le modalità d'esame per studenti con disabilità e/o con DSA dovranno essere concordate col docente, in accordo con l'Ufficio competente.
Unit C: All students are required to write a short essay in the Scandinavian language they are specializing in (min. 8000 characters, max. 10 000 characters) analyzing one of the poems present in the anthology. Students at M.A. level are expected to write the paper in their Scandinavian language of specialization. The essay must be handed in no less than 10 days before the exam session for which the student has registered.
M.A. students will take the exam in Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish. Grades are expressed on a scale of 30. Students have the right to reject the mark.
International and incoming Erasmus students who intend to take this course are requested to contact the instructor upon arrival.
Le modalità d'esame per studenti con disabilità e/o con DSA dovranno essere concordate col docente, in accordo con l'Ufficio competente.
Unita' didattica A
L-LIN/15 - NORDIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor:
Storskog Camilla Carita
Unita' didattica B
L-LIN/15 - NORDIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor:
Storskog Camilla Carita
Unita' didattica C
L-LIN/15 - NORDIC LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Professor:
Storskog Camilla Carita
Professor(s)