Ateneo - UPO

RESTLESS YOUTH IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY

The readings are indicative pending whether a German colleague will speak during the course. More specific information will be uploaded in January on DIR in the detailed course programme, in which the criticism to be studied will also be indicated.
- Frank Wedekind, Risveglio di Primavera. Will be available on DIR.
- H. von Hofmannsthal, Lettera di Lord Chandos. In the library.
- R. Musil, I turbamenti del giovane Törless. In the library.
- R. M. Rilke, I quaderni di Malte Laurids Brigge. In the library.
- H. Hesse, Demian. In the library.
- Lyrics or prose excerpts from the most significant authors that will be uploaded in DIR during the course.

Ability to outline the juvenile issues addressed in the texts, to know how to contextualise the authors, their works and the main themes of each, to elaborate the information received during the course into a critical discourse that is able to relate literary epochs, authors and texts. To be able to make critical considerations, including personal ones, on the works examined and to develop the ability to analyse the central themes of the course.

For students NOT in the second year: Fair knowledge of the German language.
During the lessons all texts read in German will be translated into Italian. Students who do not have to be examined in German will therefore be able not to miss anything.

Lectures, critical reading, translation and commentary on texts, use of multimedia materials.

Critical literature and further information will be provided at the beginning of the course.
The registration on DIR is required. Please check the teacher's page on Upobook regularly.
Non-attending students (i.e. those not attending more than half of the lectures) are requested to contact the teacher in order to get their detailed program by mail. Please read the texts before we will analyze them in the lessons, so you will be able to better understand the explanations and to participate in the discussion

Oral examination in Italian and, for students NOT in the second year, also in German with questions on the following topics:
- the cultural-historical context of the literature of the early 20th century in relation to the biographical or artistic experience of the authors, the ability to focus on the important features of the literary movements.
Second year students: 40% of the evaluation.
Students NOT in the second year: 35% of the evaluation. Questions will be asked in German concerning the parts of lectures taught in this language - 20% of the German skills evaluation.
- the ability to analyze and interpret texts, to express critical judgements, including original ones, to develop a specific critical discourse on single authors or texts linked to the central issues of the course - Second year students: 60% of the weight of the evaluation. Students NOT in the second year: 45%
of the evaluation.
Evaluation will base on the ability to outline the basic lines of the course, on the knowledge and comprehension of texts and writers, on the skill to relate the main issues and the analyzed literary works also referring to the critical bibliography, and on the ability to expose the topics clearly in Italian and for the students NOT in the second year in German as well.

The first two decades of the 20th century saw some of the greatest authors of German-language literature address the theme of individual malaise through the young protagonists of some major works. Wedekind, Musil, Rilke, Hofmannsthal and Hesse are effective examples. This malaise takes different forms (e.g. violence, bullying, loneliness, inability to fit into society, aphasia) and reflects an epochal malaise that the individual authors express through different textual typologies and with peculiar formal characteristics. The course intends, therefore, to investigate the underlying anxieties of the beginning of the last century, highlighting a path that proves to be in many respects still topical and that allows us to delve into some fundamental texts of German and Austrian literature.

Knowledge of the topics and of the analyzed texts.
Ability to expose in a clear and exact way in Italian (for students NOT in the second year, also in German) the central issues of the course, with references the historical, cultural and literary context.