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: (from 1st October) 30 hours (6 CFU)

Family relationships in Nordic literature

This monographic course analyzes one of the most popular literary themes of Nordic literature: family relationships, in their complexity between bonds, disagreements, dysfunctions and rejoining. The great playwriter Ibsen stages a conjugal relationship that goes into crisis, finally breaking that facade of external perfection that the nineteenth-century bourgeois family has to show. The tragedy of Strindberg, played on the mother-child relationship, is equally disruptive, while the work of the Swedish writer Lagerlöf develops on the bond between father and daughter. The Icelandic Laxness writes an intense story of two sisters, divided between Respectability and Sincerity. Bergman, a theater and film director, represents a dysfunctional relationship between mother and daughter. The course will end with Festen (The Party) by Vinterberg, the first film that adhered the Dogma 95’s manifesto, which proposed the representation of reality without filters in all its authenticity. Between light and shadow, lies and revelations, from these works, this course intends to offer a cross-section of the Nordic world, beyond the easy stereotypes (freedom, emancipation, gender equality, etc.) in order to grasp how much the family and the relationships woven in it are still a constant thought of the Nordic society.

Readings/Bibliography

Works:

Henirk Ibsen, Casa di bambola, introduzione di R. Alonge, Milano, Mondadori, 2014

August Strindberg, Il pellicano, in Id. Teatro da camera, a cura di L. Codignola, Milano, Adelphi, 2012, pp. 151-193 e 273-279.

Selma Lagerlöf, L'imperatore di Portugallia, Milano, Iperborea, 1991

Halldór Laxness, L'onore della casa, Milano, Iperborea, 1996

Ingmar Bergman, Autumn sonata, New York, Pantheon, 1978

David Eldridge, Festen, London, A&C Black, 2013

Essays:

Neil Kent, The Soul of the North, London, Reaktion Books, 2000, pp. 68-116.

Brigitta Steene, Liberalism, Realism, and the Modern Breakthrough: 1830-1890, in A history of Swedish Literature, ed. by L. G. Warme, Lincoln - London, Nebraska UP, 1996, pp. 233-238 e 245-272.

Vivi Edström, Selma Lagerlöf, Boston, Twaine, 1984, pp. 1-15; 92-97; 118-134.

Jón Yngvi Jóhansson, Realism and Revolt: Between the World Wars, in A History of Icelandic Literature, ed. by D. Neijmann, Lincoln - London, Nebraska UP, 2006, pp. 371-374; 380-387.

Ástraður Eysteinsson, Icelandic Prose Literature 1940-2000, in A History of Icelandic Literature, ed. by D. Neijmann, Lincoln - London, Nebraska UP, 2006, pp. 404-411; 417-422.

Gado, Frank. The Passion of Ingmar Bergman. Durham: Duke University Press, 1986, pp. 481-486

Wood, Robin. Ingmar Bergman. Detroit: Wayne State UP, 2013, pp. 1-23

Non-attending students:

To previous bibliography will add:

- Davidson, Peter, L'idea di Nord, Roma, Donzelli, 2005 (lettura integrale);

- Perrelli, Franco, Introduzione a Ibsen, Bari, Laterza, 1988;

- Perrelli, Franco, Introduzione a Strindberg, Bari, Laterza, 1990;

- Trasatti, Sergio, Ingmar Bergman, Milano, Il castoro, 2000.

Teaching methods

The course is structured as a seminar. Students are invited to participate actively to the lessons.

Assessment methods

The exam consists in an oral interview. During the interview the methodological and critical skills acquired by the student will be evaluated . The student will be invited to discuss the texts covered during the course and to move within the sources and bibliographical material in order to be able to identify in them the useful information that will enable to illustrate the similarities and cultural areas of the discipline. The achievement of an organic vision of the issues addressed during the classes and their critical use, which demonstrate ownership 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 appropriate will lead to discrete assessments; training gaps and / or inappropriate language - although in a context of minimal knowledge of 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.

Office hours

See the website of Alessandro Zironi