84884 - Albanian Language and Culture

Learning outcomes

Knowledge and skills to be acquired
At the end of the course, the student will have knowledge of the historical, geographical, and social aspects and contexts of the Albanian language and culture. They will be able to present socio-cultural issues related to the position of the Albanian language and culture in the Balkans, as well as its role as a European linguistic and cultural bridge between the East and the West. The student will acquire a good understanding of its written and oral tradition, customs, and practices. They will explore current prominent Albanian writers, including those with international recognition, and their works. The student will become familiar with the diachrony of Albanian alphabets and the various linguistic norms up to the current standard. They will be able to navigate the range of linguistic varieties found between standard literary Albanian and the high colloquial variety.

Course contents

The Albanian Language and Culture course consists of 60 hours of lectures (although the word "lecture" should be avoided as it has an associative connection with 'conflict,' and this course is meant to be a 'meeting'), plus another 60 hours to be distributed among tutoring, exercises, and cultural activities. The lessons will adhere to the established schedule, which is Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, from 12:00 to 13:30. For the additional 60 hours, we will organize them during office hours or other times to be arranged together. But let's get to the point: one cannot be under the illusion of mastering a language in 60 hours of lessons, supported perhaps by another 60 auxiliary hours. No one has time to waste, and especially, failing while studying a foreign language is frustrating and leaves a bad taste. Therefore, we decided to focus on an approach that ensures learning, and we express our belief: words are not a mute list of names chained together by grammatical rules. Words have a story to tell, the story of the community that chose them, carved them, and uses them to mark the world in its own way. This course aims to narrate 'Albanian-ness' through the words of its language, whether they are loanwords or native terms.

The teaching will therefore attempt to weave together cognitive linguistics and cultural anthropology, drawing on both literary and popular works.

If by the end of this course those who have followed it can not only hold a conversation in Albanian but also outline a historical-cultural framework of Albania and its connections, and most importantly, develop a strong interest in those speakers, called Albanophones, who are only 70 kilometers across the sea from Italophones, the instructor will be happy to have made good use of both her time and that of her students.

Readings/Bibliography

- Çabej E., L’Albanese tra Occidente e Oriente, Bari 1999.

- Shqipja për të huajt (L’Albanese per stranieri), parte prima - testo didattico, redatto e pubblicato dal Dipartimento di Linguistica Albanese, Facoltà di Filologia e Storia, Università di Tirana

- Altimari F., Grammatica dell’Albanese, Palermo 2002

- Brani scelti di letteratura artistica e pubblicistica (Kadare, Kongoli, Klosi, Vehbiu)

- Proverbi, saluti e modi di dire (scelti e selezionati da diverse raccolte pubblicate dal Centro Nazionale di Ricerche Albanologiche)

= Lessons notes

Teaching methods

Lectures, exercises, discussions with figures from the Albanian cultural world, both those living in Italy and elsewhere, activities in collaboration with the Biblioteca Sala Borsa in Bologna.

Assessment methods

Methods of assessment and evaluation of learning
The evaluation will be conducted through a final oral exam.

Office hours
Check the website of Enkelejda Shkreli.

Office hours

See the website of Enkelejda Shkreli