MODERN GERMAN LITERATURE

Module 1 (3 CFU)

The module aims to address some of the fundamental topics and theoretical issues of the early twentieth century. Fundamental issues concerning the canon and periodization of German-language literature will be examined, and then a broader look will be taken at the contexts in which movements and ideas found development, with particular regard to the value assumed by the urban dimension.

 

Module 2 (3 CFU)

The second module will be entirely devoted to the development of thought that characterised the late 20th and early 20th century, especially around the two great revolutions of thought introduced by Marx and Freud. Some fundamental concepts of Marx's thought and Freud's theories on dreams will examined during the course. The in-depth study will be developed from the reading of some texts by the two authors.

 

Module 3 (3 CFU)

The third module involves an in-depth study of some fundamental themes in the artistic production of the period, starting from the so-called "crisis of language" summarised in Hofmannsthal's "Letter from Lord Chandos". This will be followed by an incursion into the alternative proposals of the period with particular attention to the creative dimension and sound, the women's question, and the problem of artistic production placed in the context of industrialisation and reproducibility.

Prose (please purchase these exact editions) :

Sigmund Freud, Über den Traum (1900). Sul sogno, a cura di Alberto Luchetti (BUR Rizzoli, 202), pp. 31-110.

Lou Andreas-Salomé, Der Mensch als Weib (1899). L’umano come donna. VandA edizioni, 2022, pp.23-78.

Hugo von Hoffmannsthal, Brief des Lord Chandos (1902). Edizione bilingue: Lettera di Lord Chandos e altri scritti. Marsilio, 2017, pp.66-167.

Arthur Schnitzler, Tenente Gustl, trad it. di S. Mori Carmignani, Passigli, 2023, pp. 80.

Thomas Mann, Tonio Kröger (1912). Testo tedesco a fronte. Einaudi, 2021. pp. 179.

Franz Kafka, Die Verwandlung (1915). Stuttgart: Reclam, 2001, pp.5-63.

Gustav Meyrink, Der Golem (1915). Il Golem, trad. di Carlo Mainoldi. Bompiani, 2019. pp.297.

Hermann Hesse, Siddharta (1922). Adelphi, 2012. pp.180.

Irmgard Keun, Gilgi, eine von uns (1931). Gilgi, una di noi, trad. di Annalisa Pelizzola. L’orma, 2016. pp.7-234.

 

Poetry (handout during class):

-          Georg Trakl, „Verfall“ (1909-13), „Abendland“ (1915) und „Grodek“ (1914)

-          Jakob van Hoddis: „Weltende“ (1910) und „Kinematograph“ (1911)

-          Alfred Lichtenstein: „Prophezeiung“ (1913)

-          Else Lasker-Schüler, „Ein alter Tibetteppich“ (1910)

-          Rainer Maria Rilke, Poesie, selezione fornita dalla docente

 

 

Essays (PDF on Teams) :

-          Christine Meyer, “Theorizing the Canon/The German Canon at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century,” in Questioning the Canon (Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter, 2021), pp. 27-34.

-          Georg Simmel, Die Großstädte und das Geistesleben (1903), pp. 35-57.

-          Lukács, Introduction to Breve storia della letteratura tedesca, pp.15-20.

-          Karl Marx, “Thesen über Feuerbach“ (1845), pp.10.

-          Karl Marx, “Die entfremdete Arbeit” (1844), pp.510-522.

-          Eric Santner, “On Creaturely Life,” in On Creaturely Life: Rilke, Benjamin, Sebald (Chicago, 2006), pp.1-41.

-          Katia Gellen, „Dreaming in Sound: Listening to Kafka Cinematically,” in Kafka and Noise (Northwestern, 2019), pp.3-38.

 

Please remember that in compliance with art 171 L22.04.1941, n. 633 and its amendments, it is illegal to copy entire books or journals, only 15% of their content can be copied.

For further information on sanctions and regulations concerning photocopying please refer to the regulations on copyright (Linee Guida sulla Gestione dei Diritti d’Autore) provided by AIDRO - Associazione Italiana per i Diritti di Riproduzione delle opere dell’ingegno (the Italian Association on Copyright).

All the books listed in the programs can be consulted in the Library.