67310 - Northern Literatures (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the classes the student will have theoretical and methodological instruments in order to know Nordic literatures. Nordic literatures it means literary expressions in Danish, Feroese, Icelandic, Norwegian and Swedish languages, from the very beginnings to the contemporary age. Due to the strong linguistic and cultural similitude, the classes will follow a comparatistic approach to Nordic literatures taking into account also other arts (painting, movie, music, etc.). The student will be able to know the most important social aspects of the Nordic culture which will be useful in a larger humanistic learning.

Course contents

1st Semester:  30 hours (6 CFU)

Women writing about women

What is the literary voice of women in Nordic production? Those who approach the literature of those countries (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Faeroes and Iceland) are more likely to come across the names of male writers such as, for example, Ibsen, Strindberg, Hamsun, Andersen. The female voice, on the other hand, is more neglected, but certainly deserves to be explored. Women are also often at the centre of men's works, one text for all being Ibsen's A Doll's House, but how do women writers tell the female universe? This course aims precisely to investigate women's writing in which women are the main characters of the narratives, starting with an autobiographical Danish masterpiece, a tale of a very long imprisonment, then crossing over to the work, in many ways also autobiographical, of the Swedish Benedictsson, to arrive at two of perhaps the best-known female writers in this proposal: Selma Lagerlöf and Karen Blixen, here presented with two tales of emancipation and self-assertion. The course will then close with three contemporary women writers, one Norwegian (Rishøi), the other two Icelandic (Guðrún Eva Minervudóttir and Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir) who will get us into very topical issues, with beautiful portraits of women belonging to different generations.

Readings/Bibliography

Works:

Ulfeldt, Leonora Christina, Memorie dalla Torre Blu, Milano, Adelphi, 1971 (o edizioni successive): pagine segnalate dal docente.

Benedictsson, Victoria, Money, London, Norvik Press, 2011: pagine segnalate dal docente.

Lagerlöf, Selma, Piumino, in Ead., La fanciulla della grande palude, Milano, Mimesis, 1995, pp. 69-93.

Blixen, Karen, Il pranzo di Babette, in Ead., Capricci del destino, Milano, Feltrinelli, 1978 (o edizioni successive).

Rishøi, Ingvild, La porta delle stelle, Milano, Iperborea, 2024.

Andersen, Hans Christian, La piccola fiammiferaia, in Id., Fiabe e storie, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2012 (o ristampa successiva), pp. 287-289.

Guðrún Eva Minervudóttir, La casa dei morenti, in Ead., Reykjavík, amore, Milano, Iperborea, 2025, pp. 199-252.

Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, Eden, Torino, Einaudi, 2024.

Critical studies:

Neil Kent, The Soul of the North, London, Reaktion books, 2001, pp. 78-116.

Meregalli, Andrea, La letteratura danese del Seicento, in Storia delle letterature scandinave. Dalle origini ad oggi, a cura di Massimo Ciaravolo, Milano, Iperborea, 2019, pp. 156-159.

Åsbrink, Elisabeth, Il mio grande, bellissimo odio, Milano, Iperborea, 2025 (pagine segnalate dal docente).

Edström, Vivi, Selma Lagerlöf, Boston, Twayne, 1984, pp. 1-14, 118-134.

Massimo Ciaravolo, «Gioia di vivere» e senso della crisi: le tendenze in Svezia a cavallo tra XIX e XX secolo, in Storia delle letterature scandinave. Dalle origini ad oggi, a cura di Massimo Ciaravolo, Milano, Iperborea, 2019, pp. 341 – 347.

Zironi, Alessandro, Le voci del dire: Karen Blixen, in Autotraduzione e riscrittura, a cura di Andrea Ceccherelli, Gabriella Elina Imposti, Monica Perotto, Bologna, BUP, 2013, pp. 395-408.

Stambaugh, Sara, Witch and the Goddess in the Stories of Isak Dinesen. A Feminist Reading, Ann Arbor – London, UMI Research Press, 1988.

Halldór Laxness, Guerra alla nazione, in The Passenger. Islanda, Milano, Iperborea, 2018, pp. 81-85, 88-89, 92.

Andri Snær Magnason, Proteggere le mele, in The Passenger. Islanda, Iperborea, 2018, pp. 95-101, 104-107, 110-113.

Teaching methods

Front lessons. No recording of the lessons will be provided.

Assessment methods

The exam consists inan oral interview. During the interview the methodological and critical skills acquired by the student willbe evaluated. The student will be invited to discuss the texts covered during the course andtomove within the sources and bibliographical material in order to be able to identify in them the useful information that will enableto illustrate the similarities and cultural areas of the discipline. The achievementof an organic vision of the issues addressed during the classes and theircritical use, which demonstrateownership of a mastery of expression and specific language, will be assessed with marks of excellence. Mechanical and / or mnemonic knowledge of matter, synthesis and analysis of non-articulating and / or correct language but not always appropriatewill lead to discrete assessments; training gaps and / or inappropriate language - although in a context of minimal knowledgeof the material - will lead to votes that will not exceed the sufficiency. Training gaps, inappropriate language, lack of guidance within the reference materials offered during the course will lead to failed assessments.

Teaching tools

During the course, some audiovisual material will be used. Teaching material will be posted on the web platform of the course.

 

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is suggested that they get in touch as soon as possible with the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) and with the lecturer in order to seek together the most effective strategies for following the lessons and/or preparing for the examination.

Office hours

See the website of Alessandro Zironi