Study-unit GERMANIC PHILOLOGY I
| Course name | Foreign languages and cultures |
|---|---|
| Study-unit Code | A001062 |
| Curriculum | Comune a tutti i curricula |
| Lecturer | Carla Falluomini |
| Lecturers |
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| Hours |
|
| CFU | 9 |
| Course Regulation | Coorte 2022 |
| Supplied | 2024/25 |
| Supplied other course regulation | |
| Learning activities | Caratterizzante |
| Area | Discipline filologiche |
| Sector | L-FIL-LET/15 |
| Type of study-unit | Opzionale (Optional) |
| Type of learning activities | Attività formativa monodisciplinare |
| Language of instruction | Italian |
| Contents | The course is intended for students who know at least one modern Germanic language. Program: - Analysis of the main linguistic changes occurred in the history of ancient and medieval Germanic languages. - Analysis of the main texts written in Old Germanic languages and their text-critical aspects. - Examination of some aspects of ancient and medieval Germanic cultures (pre-Christian religion; hypotheses on the origin, spread, and use of runes; the introduction of Christianity and writing). - Analysis of the relationships between Germanic cultures and other cultures (particularly Greek and Latin). |
| Reference texts | For attending students: 1. Nicoletta Francovich Onesti. Filologia germanica. Lingue e culture dei germani antichi, Roma: Carocci, 2015. 2. Beowulf, a cura di Giuseppe Brunetti, Roma: Carocci, 2003 or Muspilli, a cura di E. Di Venosa, Pisa: Pisa University Press, 2023. 3. Maria Giovanna Arcamone, “L’elemento germanico antico medievale e moderno (con esclusione dell’inglese)”, in Storia della lingua italiana, a cura di L. Serianni e P.Trifone, III. Le altre lingue, Torino: Einaudi, 1994, pp. 751-790. 4. Anna Maria Guerrieri, “Lettura del Heliand: dottrina in poesia, il nuovo nell'antico”, in Lettura di Heliand, a cura di V. Dolcetti Corazza e R. Gendre, Alessandria: Edizioni dell’Orso, 2011, pp. 49-94. Additional bibliographic material will be provided during the course and uploaded to the corresponding page on For non-attending students, and working students, in addition: Le civiltà letterarie del Medioevo germanico, a cura di M. Battaglia, Roma: Carocci, 2017. |
| Educational objectives | The course aims to provide the following knowledge and skills: Knowledge: - Knowledge of the origin of the Germanic languages and their relationships with other languages spoken in Europe and Asia. - In-depth knowledge of the main phonetic, morphological, and syntactic changes affecting the Germanic languages in their transition from the ancient to the modern phase, with particular attention to the English language. - Knowledge of the lexical influences that have characterized the Germanic languages in their historical evolution. - Knowledge of ancient and medieval Germanic literatures, as well as their interrelationships. - Knowledge of cultural aspects relevant to the history of the Germanic languages: literacy, the spread of Christianity, migrations, and contacts between Germanic peoples and other groups. Skills: - Ability to recognize and describe the changes related to the evolution of the Germanic languages. - Ability to identify the origin of certain phonetic, morphological, and syntactic features present in the Germanic languages. - Ability to recognize external lexical influences in the formation of the Germanic languages' lexicon. - Ability to reflect on cultural aspects concerning people who were non-literate for a long time. |
| Prerequisites | Prerequisites are not necessary. A basic knowledge of linguistics, history and geography is desirable. |
| Teaching methods | Teaching hours in classroom, with help of power points. Students with disabilities and/or DSA may request, in consultation with the lecturer, any teaching materials in accessible formats (presentations, handouts, workbooks), provided if necessary in advance of the lectures, as well as the use of other technological tools to facilitate study. For general information, please consult the University Services at https://lettere.unipg.it/home/disabilita-e-dsa and contact the Departmental Contact Person (Prof. A. Di Pilla). For the 2023/2024 academic year, the University of Perugia has admitted 11 categories of students to distance learning. Students who may be interested are invited to check the possibility of attending lectures in DAD on the website Procedura DAD - Università degli Studi di Perugia (unipg.it). |
| Other information | Attendance at the course is highly recommended. |
| Learning verification modality | The final exam will be oral (at least three questions on the program). The student should be able to answer the questions confidently and knowledgeably. |
| Extended program | During the course, the characteristics of ancient and medieval Germanic languages and cultures will be described. Programm - Description of the changes that distinguish Germanic languages from other Indo-European languages. - Description of the main phonetic, morphological, and syntactic features of modern Germanic languages (especially English, but also referring to other modern Germanic languages with well-known examples). - Description of aspects concerning the ancient and medieval Germanic cultures through the analysis of excerpts from the most significant works produced within these cultures. These include, in particular, the Gothic Bible, the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf, the Saxon Heliand, the Old High German Hildebrandslied, and Norse sagas. Notions of textual criticism related to the analyzed works will be offered. - The relationships between the ancient and medieval Germanic world and the Greco-Latin world will be addressed from both a cultural perspective (such as the transition from traditional Germanic religion to Christianity and from oral culture to writing) and a linguistic perspective (including the lexical contributions resulting from these relationships). |
| Obiettivi Agenda 2030 per lo sviluppo sostenibile | 4, 8 |