HISTORY OF SCANDINAVIAN CULTURES

Locating the subject within the study plan of the BA-programme

Scandinavian Literature 2 module 2 is offered to students of Swedish at the second year of their BA-programme in Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures, literary-cultural curriculum. Scandinavian Literature 2 (12 ects) is divided into two modules; module 1 is held by professor Culeddu, while module 2 is held by professor Ciaravolo, both in the autumn semester.
Scandinavian Literature 2 (12 ects) can be a freely chosen course for Swedish language students of the other curricula who wish to go deeper into Scandinavian Studies.

History of Scandinavian Culture (6 ects) is offered to students of Swedish at the second year of their BA-programme in Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures, international-political curriculum. History of Swedish Culture is also included in the literary-cultural curriculum at the third year, and as a freely chosen course it is also available to students of the linguistic-philological curriculum, being recommended to students who wish to go deeper into Scandinavian Studies.

While Scandinavian Literature 1 + Scandinavian Literature 2 module 1 offer, in two years, an introduction to the literary history, the main authors, works and tendencies (from the origins in the Middle ages to the great authors of the end of the 19th century; from early 20th century to our times), Literature 2 module 2 proposes a more in-depth study of a common theme in Scandinavian literature of the 20th and 21st century. At the same time, such themes as the experience of war, the welfare state, women’s condition, childhood, migration and globalisation, society according to the Scandinavian noir, the relation to nature and environment, and others, imply a focus on history, society and culture. For this reason, Scandinavian literature module 2 offers its syllabus to the course in History of Scandinavian Culture.

Expected results

Scandinavian Literature 2 module 2 / History of Scandinavian Culture presents, in the first part of the course, the social, political and cultural history of the North, focusing on the last two centuries, to outline the evolution towards modernity and democracy. The second part of the course focuses on the tradition of children’s culture and literature, especially as it has developed since the end of the 19th century and, in particular (with reference to the chosen works), since the end of World War II and until the present time.
The aim of the course is to enable students to connect their knowledge of the social, political and cultural history of Scandinavia with the analysis of the proposed literary works, in order to reflect upon Nordic modernity.

Prerequisites

The course is available to the students of the three curricula at Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures, who have already attended Scandinavian Literature 1. Skills in Swedish language will allow the more advanced students to work with the original texts. The study of the texts in the original language is possible but not mandatory; the proposed texts exist in Italian or English translation.

Contents

Children’s culture and literature in Scandinavia

The radical process of democratic emancipation Scandinavia experiences in the last decades of the 19th century, through the 20th century, and up to present time, implies that traditionally marginalized categories acquire new dignity, voice, visibility and subjectivity. Among these categories are children, teenagers and young adults. Reflecting upon their needs and rights relates to a new way of conceiving the family, the relationship between grown-ups and children, society as a whole: a way that goes beyond patriarchal and paternalistic models. This cultural dimension proves to be fecund also in the literary field. A particular turning point occurs at the end of World War Two, when great Swedish-speaking writers make their debut. They propose innovative contents and forms, which also allow considering the future with some hope, after the war catastrophe.
The course proposes an in-depth analysis of narrative texts written between the 1950s and the 1990s by the Swedish authors Astrid Lindgren and Ulf Stark, the Finno-Swedish author Tove Jansson, the Danish author Ole Lund Kirkegaard, and the Norwegian authors Tormod Haugen and Lars Saabye Christensen.

2) Literary works to be studied for the examination:

Tove Jansson 1954, Farlig midsommar, Förlaget M, Helsingfors 2019 (BALI) / Magia di mezza estate, Salani, Milano 2014 [2000] (BALI)

Astrid Lindgren 1954, Mio, min Mio, Rabén & Sjögren, Stockholm 2011 (BALI) / Mio piccolo Mio, Salani, Milano 2008 (bookshops and libraries)

Astrid Lindgren 1955, Lillebror och Karlsson på taket, Rabén & Sjögren, Stockholm 2003 (BALI) / Karlsson sul tetto, Vallecchi, Firenze 1976 (pdf su Moodle)

Ole Lund Kirkegaard 1967, Lille Virgil, in Id., Gummi-Tarzan og andre historier, Gyldendal, København 2018 [BALI] / Il piccolo Virgil, Iperborea, Milano 2018 (BALI)

Ole Lund Kirkegaard 1975, Gummi-Tarzan, in Id., Gummi-Tarzan og andre historier, Gyldendal, København 2018 (BALI) / Tarzan di gomma, Mursia, Milano 1992 (BALI)

Tormod Haugen 1975, Nattfuglene, Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, Oslo 2019 (BALI) / Gli uccelli notturni, Salani, Milano 2004 (BALI)

Ulf Stark 1984, Dårfinkar och dönickar, Bonnier Carlsen, Stockholm 2013 (BALI + pdf Moodle) / Il paradiso dei matti, Feltrinelli, Milano 2019 (libreria e biblioteche)

Lars Saabye Christensen 1988, Herman, Cappelen Damm, Oslo 2017 (BALI) / Herman, Piemme, Casale Monferrato 1993 (librerie? e biblioteche)

Ulf Stark 1992, Kan du vissla Johanna, Lilla Piratförlaget, Stockholm 2018 (BALI) / Sai fischiare, Johanna?, Iperborea, Milano 2017 (BALI)

Students not attending the course are asked to meet the professor at office hours in order to agree on the syllabus.

Assessment

The exam is oral, generally in Italian, and lasts approximately 40 minutes. Two questions deal with the cultural, social and political history of the North: one more general question is about one period from the origins to the Enlightenment, and one more specific question is about the last two centuries and the progress towards modernity and democracy. Two more questions will discuss some of the literary works presented at the course, connecting them to their historical, cultural and social contexts, and to the secondary sources included in the syllabus.

oral

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

Grading scales

28-30 cum laude: the student masters the topics presented in the course and in the assigned readings and is capable of ordering information and making use of a convenient terminology;
26-27: the student has a good knowledge of the topics presented in the course and - to a lesser extent - in the assigned readings; he/she generally succeeds in ordering information and is familiar with terminology;
24-25: the student does not fully master the topics presented in the course and in the assigned readings; his/her oral presentation is clear, although concepts are not always expressed through a convenient terminology;
22-23: the student has a rather superficial knowledge of the topics presented in the course and in the assigned readings; his/her oral presentation is not always clear and generally lacks terminology;
18-21: the student has a superficial knowledge of the topics presented in the course and in the assigned readings; his/her oral presentation is confused and does not resort to terminology.

The correspondence with the European grading scales (from A to F) is the following: less than 18 = F; 18-21 = E; 22-25 = D; 26-28 = C; 29-30 = B; 30 cum laude = A.

Didactic methods

The course offers mainly frontal lectures, but opens to participatory learning, as students may, on a voluntary basis, present in class one of the works included in the syllabus. When students present a work in class, they do not have to prepare it again for the examination. Italian is the language used in teaching, and the works will be basically presented and studied in Italian translation.
It must be pointed out that it will not be possible, during the presentation and analysis in class, to omit parts of the plot, not even the end of the literary works, in order not to “spoil” the reading. The suggestion is, therefore, to read the novels in advance.

More information

If you have questions or need further explanations about the course, please write to massimo.ciaravolo@unive.it. Booking time with an e-mail is recommended if you want to meet the professor.

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development