30619 - German Language (LM)

Learning outcomes

Students gain in-depth knowledge of linguistic and discursive aspects of the German language, from both a synchronic and diachronic perspective, including its applications in textual analysis and translation. Through practical exercises, their communication skills in all areas, both active and passive, progress towards level C2 of the Common European Framework of Reference, enabling them to effectively interpret the socio-linguistic and cultural codes of those involved in a communicative relationship.

Course contents

Between 1880 and 1918, a paradigm shift took place in the three major literary centres of German-speaking Europe: Berlin, Munich and Vienna. The late 19th and early 20th centuries – starting from realism and naturalism – oscillated between naturalism, symbolism, impressionism, art nouveau and decadence. Artistic self-reflection led to a crisis of language and identity, expressionism and the literary avant-garde of the 1920s.
The lecture looks at a small section of this dazzling and extremely productive phase of German-language literature with works from the period 1882 to 1926.

It begins in Berlin, the capital of the German Empire, with the realist Theodor Fontane (1819–1897): his best works include the social satire Frau Jenny Treibel (1892) and his literary testament and last novel Der Stechlin (1897). Rapid urbanisation, big-city experience, but also the dichotomy between city and countryside as a refuge for personal ethics are at the heart of his aesthetic of transfiguration.

Munich, residence of the Wittelsbach dynasty, capital of bohemian life and home of the magazine Die Jugend – which gave its name to Art Nouveau – stands for themes such as art vs. bourgeoisie, eroticism, decadence, and the artist's existence, exemplified here by Thomas Mann (Der kleine Herr Friedemann (1897)) and the far less well-known Eduard Graf von Keyserling (1855–1918) from Courland: Abendliche Häuser (1914) and Fürstinnen (1917).

Keyserling's texts do not represent big-city literature, but are created in it from the memories of a blind man of his native Courland, its sensory richness and nature, condensed in the synaesthesia of his prose.

The final section is dedicated to the city of Vienna, which until 1918 was the centre of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy and the birthplace of psychoanalysis. At the centre is one of Sigmund Freud's (1856-1930) most famous treatises: Abriss der Psychoanalyse (1938/49) and the Austrian writer of Viennese modernism Arthur Schnitzler (1862-1931) with Traumnovelle (1926) and Fräulein Else (1924).

During the course, selected passages are regularly translated and specific linguistic aspects are analysed.

Readings/Bibliography

Fontane, Theodor: Frau Jenny Treibel, Reclam XL - Text und Kontext, 2014

Fontane, Theodor: Der Stechlin, Reclam Universal‑Bibliothek, 1986

Mann, Thomas: Der kleine Herr Friedemann (Erzählung), Erzählung (Fischer Taschenbibliothek), 2021

Keyserling, Eduard Graf von: Abendliche Häuser. Steidl Verlag, Göttingen 1998

Keyserling, Eduard Graf von: Fürstinnen. dtv, München 2005

Schnitzler, Arthur: Fräulein Else. Textausgabe mit Kommentar und Materialien. Reclam XL – Text und Kontext, Hrsg. Sabine Wolf. 2021

Schnitzler, Arthur: Traumnovelle. Textausgabe mit Kommentar und Materialien. Reclam XL – Text und Kontext, Hrsg. Michael Scheffel. 2021

Freud, Sigmund: Abriss der Psychoanalyse. Reclams Universal‑Bibliothek, hrsg. Hans‑Martin Lohmann (Bibliographisch ergänzt von Lothar Bayer), 2010

Teaching methods

Face-to-face lectures and reading and discussion in seminar meetings

Assessment methods

Written examination

Teaching tools

Virtual portal

 

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 Eva Elisabeth Susanne Vitz Manetti