Professor:Antonella Valoroso - Ph.D.
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This is most recent syllabus. Your final syllabus will be given during your first day of class
Note: This course is cross-listed with HIST 385 and PSCI 385.
Course Description
This course will provide students with an overview of specific historical and political issues and events, as well as and social phenomena and trends, which have shaped Italy and the lives of Italians over the past 150 years. Information and analysis will be provided on such topics as the Italian Risorgimento, the birth of the Italian Republic, the political system, localism/regionalism, plurilingualism, social and political mores, the intertwining of Church and State, gender issues, organized crime, mass media, and global trends.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students will have acquired:
- a sufficient appreciation of modern Italian history and culture; and
- an analytical framework suitable for addressing and understanding complex historical, political and cultural issues in Italy with a certain depth and sophistication.
Service Learning Project Description
You will have the opportunity to apply for La Famiglia Italiana Project where a selected few students are assigned to an Italian host family in Perugia. Each week, you will meet with the family for a culture and language exchange structured around course themes to gain a deeper understanding of Italian customs and practices. At the end of the semester, you will present your project to the Umbra community.
Course Materials
Readings
The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Italy, History, Politics, Society, Edited by Andrea Mammone, Ercole Giap Parini, and Giuseppe A. Veltri, London and New York: Routledge, 2018.
Course reader available online on the Umbra App. See “Umbra Institute Course Materials – Textbooks and Readers” handout provided in the orientation folder for more information.
Films
Cinema Paradiso (Italy, 1988), a movie by Giuseppe Tornatore.
In Another Country (Italy, 2005), a documentary by Marco Turco.
Further Readings
Course reserve books available in the Umbra Library.
Field Trips
You will take a trip to Siena and receive a rare, private tour of one of the historic contrade, or neighborhoods, which participate in the famous Palio horse race.