Program Overview

Transformation, Transgression and Tradition: German and Italian Culture across the Centuries

Overview

This short course provides a broad overview of German and Italian literature and culture from a cross-cultural perspective, foregrounding moments of key transformation in the literary and film landscape of each culture. The course covers the most important literary movements, including the Enlightenment, Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism, Expressionism, twentieth-century German and Italian literature, and post-1945 writing. Significant and enjoyable writers from Dante and Goethe to the present day are also studied.

Course Content

The course plan includes:

• Introduction/Dante Alighieri, Divine Comedy , 1321
• J.W. Goethe, Faust: Part 1 , 1808
• Italo Calvino, Italian Folktales , 1956
• Theodor Fontane, Effi Briest , 1894
• R.M. Rilke, The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge , 1910
• Expressionist war poetry (e.g. Heym, Lichtenstein, Stramm, Trakl)
• Nathalie Ginzburg, The Dry Heart , 1947
• Wim Wenders, Alice in the Cities , 1974
• Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose , 1980

Assessment

Assessment is via a 2500-word essay (50%) and a three-hour in-class test (50%).

Credits and Level

This course is worth 30 credits at level 5 and can be taken as a standalone short course or as part of the Culture and Language (French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish) Certificate of Higher Education.

Entry Requirements

Most short courses have no formal entry requirements and are open to all students. This short course has no prerequisites. As part of the enrolment process, a copy of a suitable form of ID may be required. International students who wish to come to the UK to study a short course can apply for a Visitor visa.

Fees

The tuition fee for this course is £1575. Students are charged a tuition fee for each module at enrolment, and module fees for students continuing on their programme in following years may be subject to annual inflationary increases.

Learning Environment

As a student on this course, you will study alongside Birkbeck students enrolled on one of our undergraduate or postgraduate courses, giving you the opportunity to network with a range of Birkbeck current students whilst you learn.