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 first part of the course concerns the linguistic redactions of Church Slavonic. It aims to provide the students with a brief survey of the local variations of the old literary language in the “Slavia Orthodoxa” and in Croatia. The second part of the course focuses on the textual tradition of the Church Slavonic Gospels, particularly in comparison with the original greek text and its widespread version, i.e. the so-called ‘Byzantine Text’. We should never forget that, during the Middle Ages, the Byzantine Empire actually represented “the Big Other” for many slavic populations: the complex reality of the “Slavia Orthodoxa” – a concept which still plays a major role in the definition of the european cultural space – arose and developed right through political conflict against Byzantium, on the one hand, and ideological assimilation of its culture, on the other. During the course, basic notions of comparative grammar will also be supplied, so that students may learn to recognize the various modern slavic languages and the peculiarities of their structure, from the phonological, morphological and syntactical point of view. The course will also supply the basis for approaching the complex cultural history of the slavic populations.

1. Introduction: local redactions of Church Slavonic;

2. East-slavic redaction: the Ostromir gospel;

3. Middle-bulgarian redaction: the Ioan Alexander gospel;

4. Bosnian redaction: the Hval new testament;

5. Croatian Glagolitic tradition;

6. Historical grammar: from Proto-Indo-European to modern languages.

Readings/Bibliography

 

1. M. Garzaniti, Gli slavi. Storia, culture e lingue dalle origini ai nostri giorni, Carocci, Roma 2013, capitoli 9-20, 25-26 (pp. 109-263, 311-344).

2. A. Alberti, Il lessico dei vangeli slavi e il ‘testo di Preslav’. Alcune considerazioni sulla classificazione dei codici, in: M. Garzaniti, A. Alberti, M. Perotto, B. Sulpasso (a cura di), Contributi italiani al XV Congresso Internazionale degli Slavisti (Minsk 20-27 agosto 2013), FUP, Firenze 2013, pp. 23-48 (scaricabile gratuitamente all’indirizzo < http://www.fupress.com/catalogo/contributi-italiani-al-xv-congresso-internazionale-degli-slavisti/2669>).

3. A.A. Alekseev, Tekstologija slavjanskoj Biblii, Sankt-Peterburg 1999, §§ 1.1-1.8, 2.1-2.7, 4.1, 4.8-4.10, 4.13, 5.1-5.15 (versione on-line: <http://ksana-k.narod.ru/Book/alekseev/02/> cf. anche <http://krotov.info/library/01_a/le/kseev.htm>)

4. R. Picchio, Lo slavo ecclesiastico, in: Id., Letteratura della Slavia ortodossa, Dedalo, Bari 1991, pp. 103-143.

(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 tesxtual tradition of the slavic Gospels (Alekseev 1999, Alberti 2013) and to the interaction between the culture of Byzantium and that of the Rus' during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Age (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