18102 - German Literature

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the students should know the history of German literature. Morevoer, they should be able to understand and contextualize a text in German language.

Course contents

Linguistic Agency – The Politics of Literature and Language

We do more with words than neutrally describe the world. Starting from this premise, the course explores the relationship between language, literature, and power, that is, the power of language and literature to shape thought, social relations, and politics. Linguistic agency, as we define it in this course, is our capacity to act through words and to create or be refrained in our room for manoeuvre through language.

Module 1: Introduction to the Topic and Contemporary Case Studies

The first module introduces the theoretical framework and focuses (with one exception) on contemporary examples from German-language literature and culture (all texts are available in English or Italian translation). We begin with an introduction to the topic at the intersection of literature, philosophy, and political theory. We then examine the 1930s debate between Bertolt Brecht and Georg Lukács on how literature should respond to Nazism and fascism. This is followed by the poetics of Jonas Lüscher, whose striking counterfactual novella on a stock market crash—seen through the eyes of a wedding party at a luxury resort—intertwines ethics and aesthetics. We will also watch Fatih Akin's film In the Fade, which sought to intervene in public debate surrounding the real-life trials concerning far-right terrorist attacks in Germany in the early 2000s. The module concludes with the work of the Serbian-Austrian writer Barbi Marković, who reimagines the genres of horror fiction and role-playing games to reflect on the production of literature and its impact on our lives.

Provisional Schedule:

Week 1: General introduction to the topic

Week 2: Case study: The Brecht–Lukács debate on realism

Week 3: Case study: Jonas Lüscher and the intersection of ethics and aesthetics

Week 4: Case study: Fatih Akin and the field of Law and Literature

Week 5: Case study: Barbi Marković – "Stealing, Swearing, Playing"

Module 2: Historical and Theoretical Trajectories

The second module explores the historical and theoretical trajectories of linguistic agency. It begins with Early German Romanticism, which more than any previous intellectual movement investigated the relationship between literature, philosophy, and agency. We then turn to post-structuralist philosophy and speech act theory within the analytic tradition, focusing on their contributions to questions of emancipation, epistemic justice, and discursive justice. The module concludes with a case study from post-war Austrian literature: Ilse Aichinger's exploration of linguistic guilt and responsibility.

Provisional Schedule:

Week 1: Early German Romanticism I

Week 2: Early German Romanticism II

Week 3: Philosophy of Language and Emancipation I

Week 4: Philosophy of Language and Emancipation II

Week 5: Case study: Ilse Aichinger and Austrian literature after the Second World War

Readings/Bibliography

The course is based on the following texts. For the examination, students are required to prepare one of the texts listed under A, plus two additional groups of texts: one group chosen from B, C, D, or E, and one group chosen from F, G, or H.

A: Required reading for everyone, choose one among the following:

• Said, Edward W. 2013. Orientalismo: L’immagine europea dell’Oriente, tradotto da S. Galli, 10° edizione, Milano, Feltrinelli.
• Rorty, Richard. 2001 La filosofia dopo la filosofia, trad. it. di G. Boringhieri [https://www.amazon.it/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_2?ie=UTF8&field-author=G.+Boringhieri&search-alias=stripbooks], Roma, Laterza.

In addition, choose one group from B, C, D, or E, and one group from F, G, or H.

 

Modulo 1: Contemprary case studies

B: The Brecht–Lukács debate on realism

Required readings:

• Lukács, Gyorgy. 1967. Il Marxismo e La Critica Letteraria. Torino, Einaudi. Da studiare è il saggio “Narrare o descrivere?” (pp. 269-323).
• Brecht, Bertolt. 2019. Scritti sulla letteratura e sull’arte, trad. it. B. Zagari. Milano, Meltemi. Da studiare sono il saggio: „Il processo dell’Opera da tre soldi” (pp. 75-153), e alcuni dei saggi sotto la voce “Sul realismo”, in particolare (pp. 234-269): “I saggi di Georg Lukács”, “Sul carattere formalistico della teoria del realismo”, “Osservazioni a proposito di un saggio”, “Postille a proposito di una teoria formalistica del realismo”, “Osservazioni sul formalismo”, “Sul realismo”, “Risultati del dibattito sul realismo in letteratura”, “Popolarità e realismo”, “Postille a: Popolarità e realismo”.

C: Jonas Lüscher and the intersection of ethics and aesthetics

Required readings:

• Lüscher, Jonas. 2015. Primavera dei barbari. Trad. it. Roberta Gado. Keller.
• Hall, Stuart. 2016. Il soggetto e la differenza. Per un’archeologia degli studi culturali e postcoloniali: 1. Ed. M. Mellino, trad. it. F. Del Lucchese and V. Bitti. Milano, Meltemi. Da studiare è la “parte prima” (pp. 1-119).

D: Fatih Akin and “law and literature”

Required readings:

• Akin Fatih, 2017, Oltre La Notte. Bim.

  + one of the following:

• Nussbaum, Martha C. 2011. La Fragilità Del Bene. Fortuna Ed Etica Nella Tragedia e Nella Filosofia Greca, trad. it. R. Scognamiglio, Bologna, Il Mulino (Estratti: le pagine verranno indicate su virtuale a inizio corso).
• Nussbaum, Martha C. 2012. Giustizia poetica: Immaginazione letteraria e vita civile. A cura di C. Greblo, trad. it. G. Bettini. Sesto San Giovanni, Mimesis (Estratti: le pagine esatte verranno indicate su virtuale a inizio corso).

E: Barbi Marković, "Stealing, Swearing, Playing"

Required readings:

• Marković, Barbi.2025. Minihorror. Trad. it. Paola Moretti. Mercurio Books.
• Barthes, Roland. 1988. Il brusio della lingua. Saggi critici Vol. 4, trad. it. B. Bellotto. Einaudi. Da studiare sono i capitoli: “Il discorso della storia” e “L’effetto del reale” (pp. 137-159).
• Eco, Umberto. 2018. Sei passeggiate nei boschi narrativi. La nave di Teseo. Da studiare è il capitolo 4 “I boschi possibili”.

Modulo 2: Historical and theoretical trajectories

F: Early German Romanticism

Required readings:

• Schlegel, Friedrich. 1997. Frammenti critici e poetici, trans. it. M. Cometa. Torino: Einaudi. Da studiare sono l’introduzione di M. Cometa + le sezioni I, II, III e IV (=pp. VII—XLII + pp. 5-110)

  + two of the following:

• Klingemann, E. A. F. 1984. I notturni di Bonaventura, trans. by F. Filippini, Rizzoli Editore.
• Novalis. 1997. Enrico di Ofterdingen. Trad. It. T. Landolfi. Adelphi.
• Tieck, Ludwig. 2007. Fiabe teatrali, Il gatto con gli stivali, Il mondo alla rovescia, a cura di E. Bernard, Costa e Nolan.

  Students who do not attend classes and choose this set of texts may find the following resources helpful:

• Schmitz-Emans, Monica. 2008. Introduzione alla letteratura del Romanticismo tedesco, trad. it. M. Versari. Bologna, Clueb.

G: Philosophy of language and emancipation

Required reading: choose one of the following:

• Derrida, Jacques. Della Grammatologia. Trad. it. Gianfranco Dalmasso, Fabrizio Frasnedi. Milano, Jaca Books. Da leggere è la parte 1 (capitoli 1-3 compresi).
• Derrida, Jacques. 1967. La struttura, il segno e il gioco nel discorso delle scienze umane. In: Jacques Derrida. La scrittura e la differenza. Trad. it. di Gianni Pozzi. Torino, Einaudi, pp. 359-376.
• Derrida, Jacques. 1997. “Différance.” In: Jacques Derrida. Margini della filosofia. trad. it. Manlio Iofrida. Torino, Einaudi, capitolo II.
• Butler, Judith. 1993. “Imitation and Gender Insubordination.” In The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader, a cura di Henry Abelove, Michèle Aina Barale, e David M. Halperin. New York, Routledge, pp. 307-320.

  + two of the following:

• Austin, J.L. 2019. Come fare cose con le parole, trad. it. di C. Villata, Marietti1820, Bologna (Estratti: le pagine verranno indicate su virtuale a inizio corso).
• Langton, Ray. 2020. L’autorità del linguaggio d’odio, in R. Langton, Linguaggio d’odio e autorità, lezioni milanesi per la Cattedra Rotelli, a cura di C. Bianchi e L. Caponetto, Mimesis, Milano 2020, pp. 23-62.
• Kukla, Quill, formerly Rebeca 2014: Performative Force, Convention, and Discursive Injustice. “Hypatia”, spring 2014, Vol. 29, No. 2, pp. 440-457.
• Berardi, Franco “Bifo.” 2012. The Uprising: On Poetry and Finance. Los Angeles, Semiotext.

  Students who do not attend classes and choose this set of texts may find the following resources helpful:

• Bianchi, Claudia e Caponetto, Laura. Filosofia sociale del linguaggio. Mimesis, Milano 2020, pp. 119-167 (= capitolo 6 e 7).

H: Only for German-language-readers! Austrian literature after the Second World War

Required reading:

• Aichinger Ilse, 1991, Der Gefesselte: Erzählungen 1, 11^a ed, Frankfurt am Main, Fischer Taschenbuch.

  + two of the following:

• Boncompagni, Anna. 2022. Wittgenstein on Forms of Life, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
• Huetter-Almerigi, Yvonne. 2025. La Fessel come spazio di possibilità poetologica – Aichinger, Wittgenstein e l’agency linguistica nel racconto Der Gefesselte, in «Studi Germanici», 28 (2025), pp. 117-138.
• Iacovella, Matteo.2020. The ‘Po-ethical Turn’ in Post-War Austrian Literature Through Ilse Aichinger’s Texts, in «Academic Journal of Modern Philology», 10 (2020), pp. 125-136.
• Pitkin, Hannah Fenichel. 1974. Wittgenstein and Justice. Oakland, University of California Press.

  Students who do not attend classes and choose this set of texts may find the following resources helpful:

• Buglioni [https://www.amazon.it/Chiara-Maria-Buglioni/e/B0GVY4TW11/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1], Chiara Maria et al. 2020. Letteratura tedesca. Dal primo dopoguerra al nuovo millennio (Vol. 2). Firenze,‎ Le Monnier Università.

Students who do not attend classes are required to study the reading materials assigned to attending students and, in addition, the following:

• Huetter-Almerigi, Yvonne. Linguistic agency, un’introduzione. Clueb, Bologna 2025.

Teaching methods

Lectures, supplemented where appropriate by guest presentations from invited experts.

Assessment methods

For attending students, the examination will cover all topics discussed during the course, plus one of the two texts listed under A, one group of texts chosen from B, C, D, or E, and one group of texts chosen from F, G, or H, as indicated under "Bibliography." Attending students are therefore expected to have a solid understanding of the course as a whole while studying two topics in greater depth (corresponding to the two groups of texts they have selected). Students who attend at least 75% of the classes are considered attending students.

Non-attending students must prepare the same texts listed in the bibliography for attending students and, in addition, study the text indicated in the bibliography specifically for non-attending students.

The examination consists of an oral exam designed to assess whether students have acquired the knowledge and skills that constitute the content of the course.

Grade assessment criteria

Grade range below 18 – Fail. Poor knowledge of core material, a significant inability to engage with the discipline. Very poor presentation.

Grade range 18-21 – Pass. Limited and superficial knowledge of the subject. Presentation with many inadequacies.

Grade range 21-23 – Adequate. The knowledge is superficial, but the thread of the discussion has been consistently grasped. Presentation with some inadequacies.

Grade range 24-26 – Acceptable. Elementary knowledge of the key principles and concepts. The presentation is occasionally weak.

Grade range 27-29 – Good. Comprehensive knowledge. Good presentation.

30 – Very Good. Detailed knowledge with hints of critical thinking. Very good presentation.

30 cum laude – Outstanding. Excellent knowledge and depth of understanding. Excellent presentation.

Exam sessions
During the 2026/2027 academic year, exam sessions are scheduled in the following months: January, March, May, June, September, November 2027.

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders have the right to special adjustments according to their condition, following an assessment by the Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD. Please do not contact the instructor but get in touch with the Service directly to schedule an appointment. It will be the responsibility of the Service to determine the appropriate adjustments.

For more information, visit the page: https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students

For the purposes of assessment, the use of AI is prohibited. Any use of AI constitutes a violation of academic integrity.

Teaching tools

slides power-point.

Office hours

See the website of Yvonne Huetter-Almerigi