Ateneo - UPO

MIMESIS. LITERATURE AND REALITY IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY

Following plays or tales:
• G. Hauptmann, I tessitori. Will be made available on DIR.
• G. Hauptmann, Il casellante Thiel. Will be made available on DIR.
• T. Fontane, Stine. Will be made available on DIR.
• Gottfried Keller, Romeo e Giulietta nel villaggio, Marsilio ed. In the library.
• Theodor Storm, Il cavaliere dal cavallo bianco. Will be made available on DIR.
• Adalbert Stifter, Cristallo di rocca, Adelphi ed. Will be made available on DIR.
• Lyrics or the excerpts from works by other authors we will examine will be made available on DIR.

By means of face-to-face teaching (1,5CFU) and self-study (4,5CFU), the course aims to enable students to develop the ability to outline the relationship between reality and literature, and to contextualise Realism, Biedermeier, Vormärz and Naturalism, as well as the authors and their works. Students will also be equipped with the tools to analyse literary texts, starting with those covered in class. A more advanced objective is to provide students with the necessary skills to process the information received during the course and from their independent reading, formulating a critical discourse on the authors, the texts and their era, whilst offering critical reflections, including personal ones. The learning outcomes are consistent with the specific learning outcomes of the degree programme.

For second-year LSM students, LSM students who are not studying German as part of their curriculum, and students not enrolled on the LSM programme: none.
For third-year LSM students: a reasonable knowledge of German.
During the lessons, all texts read in German will be translated into Italian. Students who are not required to bring the German-language section will therefore be able to follow the explanations without missing anything. The same applies to non-attending second-year students.

Lectures, critical reading, text analysis and the use of multimedia resources will enable students to achieve the expected learning outcomes.

Further information will be provided at the start of the course and published in the course programme on DIR. The registration on DIR is required. Please check the teacher's page on Upobook regularly.
Non-attending students are requested to contact the teacher in order to get their detailed program by mail. The preparation of the non-attendance programme is necessary in order to obtain the 6CFU foreseen for the module, which also includes either the 30 hours of lectures or the reading of substitute materials to be carried out in an equal number of hours.
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.
Students with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities
Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

The assessment consists of an oral examination in Italian and, for students who are not in their second year of the LSM programme, also in German, with questions on the following points:
- assessment of knowledge of the theoretical foundations of the course, the historical and cultural context of literature from the second half of the 19th century – including in light of the biographical or artistic experiences of the authors on the syllabus – as well as the ability to identify the key features of the various literary movements.
Second-year LSM students, LSM students not studying German as a curricular language, and students not enrolled on the LSM programme: 40% of the exam mark.
Third-year LSM students: 40% of the exam mark. The sections covered in German during lectures will be examined in German: 10% of the exam mark for the German-language section.
- assessment of the ability to analyse and interpret texts, to express critical judgements — including original ones — to analyse the literary works on the syllabus, and to develop a specific critical discourse on individual authors or texts that relates to the central themes of the course.
Second-year LSM students, LSM students who do not study German as a curricular language, and students not enrolled in LSM: 60% of the exam mark
Third-year LSM students: 50% of the exam mark.

Since Antiquity (Plato, Aristotle) man has questioned the relationship between poetry and reality. Taking as its starting point the main theoretical positions (not only classical), the course aims to investigate mimesis in particular in the second half of the 19th century, in which the poetics of Realism, Biedermeier, Vormärz and Naturalism are based precisely on different conceptions of mimetic art. The analysis of some texts by the main authors of this period (Hauptmann, Fontane, Keller, Storm e Stifter) will highlight both the concept of mimesis and the characteristics of some movements of fundamental importance also for twentieth-century developments in German literature.

The expected learning outcomes are consistent with those specific to the degree programme. In order to achieve the minimum pass mark (60%), students are required to demonstrate: KNOWLEDGE: - Knowledge of the theoretical foundations of the concept of mimesis, as well as of German literature from the second half of the 19th century, with a focus on the movements, authors and texts covered in class. SKILLS: - The ability to analyse the concepts, topics and works covered in the course. - The ability to present key topics clearly, with reference to the theoretical, historical, literary and biographical context, and using appropriate critical vocabulary in Italian and, for third-year LSM students, also in German. The advanced level corresponds to 85 per cent and is achieved through more in-depth knowledge and skills, as well as a higher level of critical depth and clarity of presentation. The maximum mark (100 per cent) is awarded for an excellent level of knowledge and skills.