32599 - Slavic Philology 1 (LM)

Learning outcomes

The course aims at providing students with basic notions of comparative grammar, which will allow them to recognize the main differences between east-slavic (Russian in particular), west-slavic (Polish) and south-slavic (Bulgarian) languages. The aim of the course is also to provide an accurate knowledge of slavic medieval history, within the broader context of european and mediterranean culture and civilization. Students will acquire the knowledge and skills to read and comprehend short slavonic texts.

Course contents

The course concerns the main aspects of historical, ethno-sociological and linguistic development of medieval Novgorod, an Hanseatic city devoted to trade and an actual northern counterpart of the coeval Mediterranean ‘maritime republics’. The Novgorod socio-cultural peculiarities result primarily in a larger diffusion of literacy, if compared to other East-Slavic areas, where political organization was purely feudal. For the same reason, already in early times (12thcentury) we have written evidence of the use of vernacular language, and this is a unique case in the entire Slavic Middle Ages. During the 20thcentury, archeologists unearthed about a thousand short texts, written on birchbark (the so-called berestjanye gramoty). Reading and analyzing some of these texts, students will fully understand the complex connection between spoken language (‘Old Russian’? ‘Old Russians’?) and literary language (‘Church Slavonic’) throughout the history of Medieval Rus’.

1. Historical background: Russian Principalities. Rise and development of the ‘Novgorod Republic’

2. Linguistic background: definition of ‘Old Russian’ and ‘Church Slavonic’

3. Kiev, Novgorod and Moscow: three Rus’ (not two!) in East-Slavic Middle Ages.

4. Birchbark letters: historical and linguistic relevance

5. Birchbark letters: orthographic, phonological and morphological features.

6. The ‘Old Novgorod Dialect’ and the works of A.A. Zaliznjak’s.

Readings/Bibliography

1. M. Garzaniti, Gli slavi. Storia, culture e lingue dalle origini ai nostri giorni, Carocci, Roma 2013, capitoli 9-21, 25-26 (pp. 109-279, 311-344).

2. H. Birnbaum, Lord Novgorod the Great. Essays in the History and Culture of a Medieval City-State, I. The Historical Background, Slavica, Columbus (OH) 1981.

3. A.A. Zaliznjak, Drevnenovgorodskij dialekt, Škola «Jazyki russkoj kul´tury», Moskva 2004 (II ed., I ed. 1995) (scaricabile gratuitamente presso: <http://gramoty.ru/?id=dnd>).

4. A.G. Bobrov, «Monastyrskie knižnye centry Novgorodksoj respubliki», in: S.A. Semjačko (a cura di), Knižnye centry Drevnej Rusi. Severnorusskie monastyri, Dmitrij Bulanin, Sankt-Peterburg 2001, pp. 3-123 (scaricabile gratuitamente presso: <http://odrl.pushkinskijdom.ru/Default.aspx?tabid=1987>).

(further readings will be provided during the course: non-attending students, as well as students of the old – four-year – course, or students who wish to attend the advanced class, must consult with the lecturer in order to arrange a program)

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons; reading and analysis of texts; seminars

Assessment methods

The evaluation of the students' competencies is articulated in two separate and consecutive phases:

1. During the second half of the course, some subjects will be chosen for an in-depth analysis, on the basis of the students' interests. The analysis will be done in a workshop manner, that is dividing the literature between students and allowing them to give a brief but accurate (oral) report on the subject. The lecturer will help students to select the appropriate literature and to find the best expository strategies. He will also coordinate the workshops and stimulate the discussion. The workshops are conceived in order to improve students' critical thinking and research skills, on the one hand, and their presentation and debating capabilities, on the other hand.

2. At the end of the course, students must pass an oral exam on course subjects. The student will be asked to recognize and discuss critically the crucial points in the linguistic and cultural development of the so-called Slavia Orthodoxa, with particular reference to the sociolinguistic status of Medieval Novgorod (Zaliznjak 2004, Birnbaum 1981) and its place in the broader context of Slavic Middle Ages (Garzaniti 2013). Particularly appreciated will be the student capability to incorporate the assimilated notions into a comprehensive vision of the european Middle Ages, independently filling potential gaps.

During all phases of the examination, the use of an appropriate terminology and the capability to express oneself in a fully autonomous way, without suggestions or corrections, represents the necessary prerequisite for an assessment of excellence.

Teaching tools

Audiovisual aids will be used

Office hours

See the website of Alberto Alberti