31338 - Dutch Literature 3

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student has gained a basis knowledge of the history of  Dutch and Flemish Literature from the origins until the contemporary period, with special attention to the relation between the literary production and the historical as well as linguistic context. During the course s/he will become acquainted with the fundamental instruments of analysis and interpretation of the literary text in relation to both prose and poetry.

Course contents

Dutch and Flemish Language and Linguistics 1

 

Linguistic and metalinguistic competence of Dutch and Flemish Language. At the end of the course, the student has a basis knowledge of grammar and an elementary linguistic competence of Dutch, both spoken and written, which allows him to manage communication in non-complex linguistic situations. This competence is collocated at basic level A1 as standardized by the Counsel of Europe.

 

Programme

 

In the first semester (cycles 1+2) the course aims to provide basic knowledge of Dutch language through the study of phonological and morphological elements and with the reading of a selection of elementary texts, supported by manuals and translations. Special attention will be given to the following themes: vowel and consonant systems, syllabical division, the simple sentence and lexical elements for beginners.

The course (cycle of lessons and individual study) also includes reflections on themes such as the nature of  language, its position among  other languages, standard language and dialect, the linguistic situation of Flemish Belgium and an introduction to the history of the language (I part).

Exam: written (exercises) and oral exam on knowledge obtained from the lessons.

Each student will present a list of new words (project Woordenschat, at least 30) with the related main meanings (use of the dictionary Van Dale/Zanichelli is suggested) and will be able to speak about elementary texts previously discussed in class.

 

Dutch and Flemish Language and Linguistics 2

Linguistic and metalinguistic competence of Dutch and Flemish Language.

 

Programme

 

The course begins in the first semester (cycle 1 only) and includes the study of language from the  point of view of sentence structures and textual linguistics through the reading and analysis of texts

of a general nature. The second year course includes also reflections on themes such as the position of the language in the world, the dialects of the Netherlands and Belgium, the formation of a  standard language and more readings on the position of the language among the Germanic languages.

Part of the course will be dedicated to the history of the language until the contemporary situation (II part: from late Middle Ages to XIX Century).

Exam: written (exercises) and oral exam on the knowledge obtained from the lessons. During the oral exam the students of II and III year will be asked to analyze a short text previously discussed in class.

 

Dutch and Flemish Language and Linguistics 3

Linguistic and metalinguistic competence of Dutch and Flemish Language.

 

Programme

 

The course begins in the first semester (cycle 1 only) and includes the study of the language on the basis of semantics and textual linguistics.

The course of the third year (cycle of lessons and individual study) also includes reflections on themes such as linguistic changes on semantic and lexical levels, the composition of texts, different textual typologies, lexical elements for advanced users and the complex verbal forms. Part of the course will be dedicated to the history of the language (part III)  and to the theme of the diffusion of the language in the world.

Exam: written (exercises) and oral exam on the knowledge obtained from the lessons. During the oral exam the students of II and III year will be asked to analyze a short text previously discussed in class.

 

DUTCH AND FLEMISH LITERATURE 1 (includes II and III year)

 

The course begins in the first semester and includes cycles 1+2.

 

The Shoah in testimonies from occupied Holland. Concentration camp literature and post-memory in Dutch literature.

 

From the first edition of the famous Diary of Anne Frank, Dutch literature has sought to give expression to, both histriographically and literary, and transmit the traumatic memory of the war and the annihilation of the Jews in the Netherlands. Today national and international criticism is still very much occupied with this theme. Direct testimonies, their re-elaborations and the memories of the second and the third generations still caracterize to a large extent the current development of Dutch literature. This course aims to introduce the student to this particular part of the literary history of the Netherlands, beginning with the historical and political context of the years between 1939 and 1945, and presenting a panorama of the direct testimonies of the Shoah. Also subgenres like letters and the diary will be taken into consideration, with the best-known written testimonies on the persecution of the Ducth Jews (with the support of translations for the 1st year). In addition there will be study of the diary as a text that should be placed between ego-document and literary text (Anne Frank, Abel J. Herzberg, Etty Hillesum, Philip Mechanicus). The exam will focus also on the novel as individual testimony and literary re-elaboration (selection of texts from the work by J. Presser, J. Oberski, G. Durlacher, M. Minco), through the analysis of a selection of texts that are to be placed in the uncertain grey area between document and literature. The multiple forms of explicit post-memory in Dutch literature will be illustrated through the analysis of a selection of works, i.e. the narratives of the contemporary writers like Jessica Durlacher. Finally a general discussion will be offered regarding the examined texts in the perspective of a large interpretative context that regards the compositive methods of memory, the diary and the letter.

For the second-year students: capita selecta of documents and novels in the original language, chosen by the students and critical bibliography which will be suggested during the lessons.

For the third-year students: texts in the original language and supplementary didactic materials in Dutch.

 

Readings/Bibliography

Dutch and Flemish Language and Linguistics 1
Short bibliography:

D. Ross & E. Koenraads, Grammatica neerlandese di base, Hoepli, 2007; B.C. Donaldson, Dutch. A Linguistic History of Holland and Belgium, Leiden, M. Nijhoff, 1983; P. Kleijn de e E. Nieuwborg, Basiswoordenboek Nederlands, Groningen, Wolters-Noordhoff, 1983; Van Dale handwoordenboek Italiaans-Nederlands / Nederlands-Italiaans, Zanichelli, 2001; L. Schram-Pighi (et. al.): Italiaans Nederlands, Utrecht, Uitgeverij Het Spectrum, 1993; G. Visser - Boezaardt et al., Nederlands Italiaans, Utrecht, Uitgeverij Het Spectrum, 1993. Vandeputte, J.H. Meter et al., Il Nederlandese, Stichting Ons Erfdeel, 1981, M. van der Wal, Geschiedenis van het Nederlands, Utrecht: Spectrum, 1992 (capita selecta previamente discussi in aula); A.M. Fontein, A. Pescher-ter Meer, Nederlandse Grammatica voor Anderstaligen, Utrecht, Nederlands Centrum Buitenlanders, 1994; J. A. Kossmann-Putto, E. H. Kossmann, I Paesi Bassi, Ons Erfdeel, 1993; R. Rizza, La lingua e la letteratura nederlandese in Italia. Saggi introduttivi e bibliografia dei contributi italiani dal 1897 ad oggi, Bologna, Cappelli, 1987; R. Rizza, "Il nederlandese, questo sconosciuto" in: Passato e futuro della lingua nederlandese. Atti del Convegno Internazionale, (Roma, 5.11.1992), Istituto Olandese di Roma, 1994, pp. 41-52; R. Trampus-Snel, Introduzione allo studio della lingua neerlandese, vol. I, Grammatica, Edizioni Universitarie di Lettere Economia Diritto, 1993; R. van Ertvelde, Introduzione alla fonologia nederlandese (capita selecta).

Study material supplied during the lessons.
Further bibliographical indications will be given at the beginning of the course.

Dutch and Flemish Language and Linguistics 2
Short bibliography:

D. Ross & E. Koenraads, Grammatica neerlandese di base, Hoepli, 2007; Haeseryn W., K. Romijn, G. Geerts, J. de Rooij e M.G.van den Toorn, Algemene Nederlandse Spraakkunst (2 voll.), Groningen/Deurne, Martinus Nijhoff/Wolters Plantijn, 1997; Van Dale handwoordenboek Italiaans-Nederlands / Nederlands-Italiaans, Zanichelli, 2001; D. Ross, La struttura verbale in neerlandese e italiano: analisi constrastiva e strategie traduttive, Trieste, SSLM, 1987, cap. 5; M. Mertens, Voorzetselconstituenten, Università degli studi di Padova, Centro Linguistico di Ateneo, Padova, 2002; N. van der Sijs, Taal als mensenwerk: het ontstaan van het ABN, Den Haag, SDU, 2004; P. Sterkenburg van, Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands, Antwerpen, Utrecht, Van Dale Lexicografie, 2002; J. de Vries, Het verhaal van een taal. Negen eeuwen Nederlands, Amsterdam, Prometheus, 1994; M. van der Wal, Geschiedenis van het Nederlands, Utrecht, Spectrum, 1992.

Recommended reading:

Riccardo Rizza, La lingua e la letteratura nederlandese in Italia. Saggi introduttivi e bibliografia dei contributi italiani dal 1897 ad oggi (Bologna: Cappelli, 1987)

Dutch and Flemish Language and Linguistics 3
Short bibliography:

Haeseryn W., K. Romijn, G. Geerts, J. de Rooij e M.G.van den Toorn, Algemene Nederlandse Spraakkunst (2 voll.), Groningen/Deurne, Martinus Nijhoff/Wolters Plantijn, 1997; P. Sterkenburg van, Groot woordenboek hedendaags Nederlands, Antwerpen, Utrecht, Van Dale Lexicografie, 2002; Marijke van der Wal, Geschiedenis van het Nederlands (Utrecht: Spectrum, 1992); N. van der Sijs, Taal als mensenwerk: het ontstaan van het ABN (Den Haag: SDU, 2004); G. Janssens e A Marynissen, Het Nederlands vroeger en nu, Leuven/Leusden, Acco, 2003; M. Mertens, Nederland en het water, Centro Linguistico di Ateneo, Padova, 2003; D. Ross & E. Koenraads, Grammatica neerlandese di base, Hoepli, 2007.

Study material supplied during the lessons.
Further bibliographical indications will be given at the beginning of the course.

Recommended reading:
R. Rizza, Deze onbekende taal (and other essays);
a selection of articles and literary texts will be supplied by the teacher.
Further bibliographical indications will be given at the beginning of the course.

DUTCH AND FLEMISH LITERATURE (I-II-III YEAR)
Short bibliography:

Anne Frank, Diario (Einaudi 2005 o altra edizione); A.J. Herzberg, Tweestromenland. Dagboek uit Bergen-Belsen (Van Loghum Slaterus 1950); J. Presser, La notte dei Girondini (Adelphi 1976); E. Hillesum, Diario 1941-1943 (Adelphi 1985); Etty: de nagelaten geschriften van Etty Hillesum, a cura di K.A.D. Smelik (Balans 1986); E. Hillesum, Lettere 1942-1943 (Adelphi 1990); J. Oberski, Anni d'infanzia (La Giuntina 1989); M. Minco, De Andere Kant (Bert Bakker 1990); G. Durlacher, Strisce nel cielo (Iperborea 1995); M. Minco, Erbe amare. Una piccola cronaca (La Giuntina 2000); Ph. Mechanicus, In Depôt. Dagboek uit Westerbork (Verbum 2008); Ph. Mechanicus, “Ik woon, zoals je weet, drie hoog”. Brieven uit Westerbork (Balans 1987); J. Durlacher, La figlia (Bompiani 2002).

Critics: J. Presser, Ondergang. De vervolging en verdelging van het Nederlandse Jodendom 1940-1945 (Staatsuitgeverij 1965, 2 voll.); R. Hilberg, La distruzione degli Ebrei d'Europa (Einaudi, 1997², 2 voll.); T. Montone (a cura di), Shoah: la memoria e le forme della rimemorazione. Giornate della Memoria 2008-2009 (Bononia University Press 2009); R. P. Meijer, Literature of The Low Countries (M. Nijhoff 1978); T. Anbeek, Geschiedenis van de Nederlandse literatuur 1885-1985 (De Arbeiderspers 1990); S. Dresden, Vervolging Vernietiging Literatuur (Meulenhoff 1991); M.A. Schenkeveld-van der Dussen, Nederlandse Literatuur, een geschiedenis (M. Nijhoff 1993); A. Voolstra & E. Blankevoort (a cura di), Oorlogsdagboeken over de jodenvervolging (Contact 2001); I. Vuijsje, Tegen beter weten in: zelfbedrog en ontkenning in de Nederlandse geschiedschrijving van de jodenvervolging (Augustus 2006); H. Brems, Altijd weer vogels die nesten beginnen. Geschiedenis van de Nederlandse literatuur 1945-2005 (Bert Bakker 2006); T. Montone, “«De trein schuifelt weg als een fantoom». Il ‘Diario da Westerbork' di Philip Mechanicus”, in Shoah: la memoria e le forme della rimemorazione. Giornate della Memoria 2008-2009, a cura di T. Montone (Bononia University Press 2009); T. Montone, “«Qualcosa su Westerbork». L'inferno concentrazionario di Etty Hillesum”, su “Intersezioni. Rivista di Storia delle Idee”, 2, XXI (agosto 2010), Bologna, Il Mulino, pp. 205-228.

NB: for texts in translation, other editions may be used. Further bibliographical indications, above all regarding the critics, will be supplied at the beginning of the course. 

Teaching methods

Lessons, individual study, film in original language with subtitles.
Selected reading and critical discussion.

Assessment methods

Dutch and Flemish Language and Linguistics 1

Exam: written (exercises) and oral exam on knowledge obtained from the lessons.

Dutch and Flemish Language and Linguistics 2
Exam: written (exercises) and oral exam on knowledge obtained from the lessons. During the oral exam the students of II and III year will be asked to analyze a short text previously discussed in class.

Dutch and Flemish Language and Linguistics 3
Exam: written (exercises) and oral exam on knowledge obtained from the lessons. During the oral exam the students of II and III year will be asked to analyze a short text previously discussed in class.

Dutch and Flemish Literature 1 (includes II and III year)
Exam: short essay on literature (preferably in Dutch for the II and III year) and oral exam on knowledge obtained from the lessons.

Teaching tools

Study material will be supplied during the lessons.

Office hours

See the website of Tina Montone