Teaching code

4S011577

Academic staff

Maria Adele Cipolla, Anna Cappellotto

Coordinator

Maria Adele Cipolla

Credits

6

Language

English

Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD)

L-FIL-LET/15 - GERMANIC PHILOLOGY

Period

CuCi 1 A, CuCi 1 B

Courses Single

Authorized

Lessons timetable Moodle Seminars 0

Learning objectives

The course covers methods and contents of historical linguistics, paleography and codicology, textual criticism and digital philology, cultural history (all referred to the Germanic languages and their traditions) and aims at transmitting advanced knowledges of the principal aspects of Germanic Philology. Expected results: - Advanced knowledge on methodologies and cultural contents which are necessary to analyse and interpret Germanic linguistic and literary traditions. - Delve into the main multidisciplinary aspects of Germanic Philology and reinforce the mastery of a correct and accurate specialistic terminology. - Delve into the main specialistic fields of Germanic Philology (historical linguistics, textual criticism and digital philology, paleography and codicology and cultural history), mainly focussing on historical linguistics, in compliance with the learning outcomes of the Master Degree in Linguistics.

Prerequisites and basic notions

Knowledge, even elementary, of a modern Germanic language (English, German or a Scandinavian language) is preferable.

Program

The course (30 hours, prof. Cipolla) will investigate the relevant elements of the comparison of the Germanic languages (from the Late Antiquity to the Low Middle Ages), through the manuscript traditions of the single emerging literary variants. The course will be divided into 2 parts:
The first part (14 hours - 7 lessons), after a recapitulation of the genesis of ancient Germanic cultures and their distinctive aspects, will re-evaluate the history and assumptions of Germanic linguistics in a comparative key, focusing on a contrastive analysis of the characteristics of historical languages (the language of ancient and recent Fuþark inscriptions; Biblical Gothic, Anglo-Saxon, Old Norse, Middle High German), in terms of phonology, morphology (and, to a lesser extent, syntax) and lexicon and is intended as a general introduction to the course.
The second part (16 hours - 8 lessons + 12 hours by Prof. Cappellotto), after dealing with the emergence of writing in the ancient and medieval Germanic communities (and the interdependent historical-cultural phenomena, as the relationship to Greek-Roman literacy, the conversion to Christianity), will focus on written documents (epigraphy, palaeography, codicology) and on their treatment for the purposes of critical editions (ecdotics, text criticism) and will therefore consider philological problems placed in some documents of the runic corpus and from manuscript books, in a collection of selected texts (which will be read and analysed): the texts will be drawn from the tradition of the biblical Gothic (a passage from the Gospel of Matthew in double tradition: The denial of Peter, Mt 26,1-27,1), Anglo-Saxon (from the Anglo-Saxon Orosius) and Norse (Snorri's Edda: Prologue and Gylfaginning).
Anna Cappellotto's module will present a further selection of texts (provided at the beginning of her module) which will be read, translated and commented in the classroom starting from the documents in which they are preserved.
Students will be trained to be able to read documents through digital facsimiles of manuscripts, and to interpret them through linguistic and stylistic analysis and text criticism methodologies.

Bibliography

Didactic methods

The course will take place in presence. Any changes will be communicated before the start of the course by means of a notice on the teacher's personal page and on the Moodle platform, to which everyone is required to register. The course materials for attending students consist of the bibliography indicated in Leganto, the lessons and other materials that will be made available on Moodle. The program for non-attending students must be agreed with the teacher. Non-attending students are kindly requested to contact the teacher by email (using an institutional address @studenti.univr.it). The bibliography indicated in Leganto will be further specified during the course.

Learning assessment procedures

The exam will take place in oral form, according to the official exam dates published by the University. For attending students there is a pre-appeal which will be communicated during the course. For non-attending students, the exam is oral and follows the same procedures.

Evaluation criteria

The exam will verify the skills acquired during the course and the ability to deal with the topics in the program and establish mutual connections. The correct exposition and the adequate use of the specialized terminology of Germanic Philology will also be evaluated.

Criteria for the composition of the final grade

The final result is expressed in thirtieths (min. 18/30) and is to be understood as an overall assessment of the results achieved.

Exam language

English