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Instructors: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Andreas Gipper
Event type:
Seminar
Displayed in timetable as:
06.084.0082
Hours per week:
2
Credits:
6,0
Language of instruction:
German
Min. | Max. participants:
- | -
Contents:
The aphorism as a literary form, which seeks its sharpest expression through reduction and pointed brevity, has a long tradition in Italy, dating back to the Renaissance with important representatives such as Guicciardini, Alberti, and Leonardo da Vinci. The genre experienced a particular bloom in the early 19th century with Giacomo Leopardi, who developed the tendency of aphorism towards psychological unmasking of human weaknesses, vices, and virtues into a radical pessimism and philosophical nihilism. With his radical critique of any ideology of progress, he particularly strikes a chord in today's world in the face of an increasing awareness of the cost of scientific-technological progress and any ideology of human happiness.
The 20th century also produced significant representatives of this literature with Ennio Flaiano, Gesualdo Bufalino, and Alda Merini, who connect the pointed and sometimes even humorous form with a pessimistic worldview.
In the seminar, we will first turn to selected examples of aphoristic literature from the classics, and then focus on the analysis of selected parts of the 20th century. Considerations on the nature of aphorism as a genre (e.g. by Umberto Eco) should have their place, as well as a discussion of the specific problems of its translation. It is clear that the strategy of skillful brevity and the punchline make the aphorism an art form that can be called a kind of "philosophical poetry" in terms of its linguistic means, and therefore places special demands on the translator.
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