45871 - Slavonic Studies (1) (Second Level Course)

Learning outcomes

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; in this connection, some gospel texts from the 11th-15th centuries will be read. The second part of the course focuses on the history of the Second Bulgarian Empire; particular attention will be paid to the figure of tsar Ivan Aleksandăr (14th Century). Studying the complex phenomenon called ‘Euthymian Reform', the students will recognize the cultural and linguistic basis of the ‘Second South-Slavic Influence', which determines the subsequent evolution of East Slavic and of Russian in particular. 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.

Course contents

1. Introduction: local redactions of Church Slavonic;

2. The Byzantine Empire and the Slavs in the medieval Balkans

3. The Euthymian reform of Church Slavonic and the Second South-Slavic Influence in Rus'

4. Sources for the history of the 14-th Century in Bulgaria

5. Textual criticism of the slavic gospels

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

7. Similarities and differences among modern slavic languages

Readings/Bibliography

 

Teaching methods

frontal lessons; reading and analysis of texts; seminars

Assessment methods

Oral exam on course subjects

Office hours

See the website of Alberto Alberti