Learning objectives
At the end of the course, the student will be able to:
a) Recognize the phonetic evolution of Indo-European forms into Germanic and of Germanic forms into Old English and Old High German.
b) Situate certain ancient English and German texts within their production and reception contexts.
c) Identify the main stylistic and cultural characteristics of such texts.
d) Identify and discuss the main interpretative challenges posed by such texts.
Prerequisites
Knowledge of at least one Germanic language.
Course unit content
The course aims to provide fundamental knowledge on Germanic linguistics, the transmission of medieval texts in Germanic languages, and the culture of Germanic populations - particularly English and German - during the early medieval period.
Full programme
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Bibliography
Alessandro Zironi, Filologia germanica. Lingua, storia, cultura, testi, Firenze, Le Monnier, 2022.
Uploaded files on Elly (ppt and summaries).
Teaching methods
Lectures.
Assessment methods and criteria
The examination will be oral and will cover:
Linguistic phenomena characterizing the Germanic language and Germanic languages (specific cases previously addressed during the course);
The culture and history of Germanic peoples in late antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, with particular attention to the texts studied during the course.
An unsatisfactory evaluation is assigned to an oral examination that reveals: a severe lack of knowledge regarding the contents of the course in at least one of the two questions asked; the student's inability to express themselves adequately in the Italian language; a total inability to interpret the literary text in light of the secondary materials found. A satisfactory evaluation (18-23/30), instead, is given to an examination in which the student demonstrates having acquired the minimum and essential contents of the course; the ability to express themselves in Italian adequate to the topic; a sufficient ability to decode the literary text based on the secondary materials read. The student receives an average evaluation (24-27/30) if they demonstrate possessing a level that is more than sufficient (24-25/30) or good (26-27/30) in the aforementioned indicators. Excellent evaluations (from 28/30 to 30/30 with honors) are obtained if the student completely satisfies the requirements expressed by the indicators.
Other information
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