Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module, students should be able to: read and comprehend selected poetic and prose passages in their cultural context; demonstrate a critical and factual understanding of the development of the Italian language and of key periods of Italian history through offering an analysis of selected texts and/or events in essay form; present ideas orally and engage in critical discussion.

Indicative Module Content:

Block of lectures and seminars offering a brief introduction to, and grounding in, the history and development of the Italian language; block of lectures and seminars on key moments in Italian history (Unification, Fascism) and an introduction to the work of Natalia Ginzburg, one of the most well-known Italian writers of the twentieth century, through her short story 'La madre', as well as an overview of some of the most important modern literary movements; block of lectures on key issues for modern Italy (the economic miracle, terrorism and the mafia), as represented in selected Italian films.

Student Effort Type	Hours
Lectures	11
Seminar (or Webinar)	11
Specified Learning Activities	52
Autonomous Student Learning	36
Total	110

Learning Recommendations:

This module would be an ideal complement to the second semester module in Italian language, ITAL 10030.

Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy  

Description	Timing		Component Scale		% of Final Grade
Examination: 2-hour end of semester essay-type examination questions	2 hour End of Trimester Exam	No	Graded	No	65
Essay: 1,000 word essay	Week 5	n/a	Graded	No	35

 

Resit In	Terminal Exam
Autumn	Yes - 2 Hour

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

Students will receive individualised comments on the short essay they have written for assessment, and submitted in week 5, within 20 working days of the assessment submission.

Reading List:
Making Italy (ITAL 10080)
Reading List:
Making Italy (ITAL 10080)

For lectures 1-4:
Core readings - indicated selections from the following texts:
ITAL10080 Lecturettes.Very short texts accompanying the lectures (as opposed to replacing them). Available on Blackboard.
Dalby, A. 2004. ‘Italian;. In Dalby, A. 2004. Dictionary of languages. London: Bloomsbury. Available on Brightspace.
Lepschy, A.L. and Lepschy, G. 1988. The Italian Language Today, London. Pp. 11-40. [3 copies, 450 LEP] - it’s recommended to buy this book, which is available in the campus bookshop.
Maiden, M. 1995. A Linguistic History of Italian, London: Longman, pp. 3-7. Available on Brightspace. [450.9 MAI, SLC 450.9 MAI]
Parry, M. ‘Italian (Romance vernaculars)’. In G. Price, Encyclopedia of the languages of Europe. Oxford: Blackwell. Available on Brightspace.
Richardson, B. ‘Questions of Language’, in West, R and Barański, Z. (eds). 1995. The Cambridge Companion to Modern Italian Culture. esp. pp.63-79 [306.0945 BAR, 2 copies SLC 306.0945 BAR]

Historical background: at least one of the following:
Duggan, C. 1994. A Concise History of Italy. Cambridge University Press.
Hearder, H. Italy: A Short History. Cambridge, 1990. [2 copies, SLC 945 HEA]
Hearder, H. and Waley, D. P. A Short History of Italy. Cambridge, 1963 [3 copies, SLC 945 HEA]
Procacci, G. 1970. History of the Italian People. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. [945/PRO]
Schumann, R. Italy in the last Fifteen Hundred years. University Press of America, 1986. [3 copies SLC 945 SCH]

General literary and linguistic histories (for reference, useful for selected topics)
‘Italian Literature’, in Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th ed., 1974 [2005]. (accessible online via Brightspace)
‘Italian History’, in Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th ed., 1974 [2005]. (accessible online via Brightspace)
Migliorini, B. and Griffith, G. 1966. The Italian Language. London. [2 copies, 450.9 MIG]

For lectures 5-8:
19th-20th centuries booklet (on Unification, Fascism, Ginzburg short story, Literary Movements) will be posted on Brightspace – this will be needed for tutorials/seminars in weeks 5-8
Z.G. Barański & R.J. West (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to Modern Italian Culture (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2001)
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Fascist Modernities: Italy, 1922-1945 (University of California Press, 2001), available as long loan, SLC and as e-book from library
R.J.B. Bosworth, Mussolini's Italy: Life Under the Fascist Dictatorship (Penguin, 2007) - long loan, week loan & SLC
P. Ginsborg, Italy and its discontents: family, civil society, state, 1980-2001 (London, Penguin, 2003), long loan
Axel Korner, The Politics of Culture in Liberal Italy: From Unification to Fascism (Routledge Studies in Modern European History, 2008) - available as long loan, week loan & e-book through the library
L. Riall, Garibaldi: Invention of a Hero (New Haven, Yale University Press, 2007), e-book through library
A. Stiles, The Unification of Italy: 1815-70 (London, Hodder & Stoughton, 2001) library long loan, also in Campus Bookshop
J. Whittam, Fascist Italy (Manchester, Manchester University Press, 1995) library long loan, also in Campus Bookshop
The Oxford Companion to Italian Literature (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2002), e-book through library
The Cambridge History of Italian Literature (Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1996) e-book through library


For lectures 9-12:
Historical background:
Ginsborg, P., A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics 1943-1988 (London, Penguin, 1990). 

Mammone, A., Parini E.G., Veltri, G.A. (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Italy: History, Politics, Society (London, Routledge, 2015).

Cinema history:
Bondanella, P., and Pacchioni, F., A History of Italian Cinema (London, Bloomsbury, 2017).

On comedy and modernization:
Lanzoni, R.F., Comedy Italian Style (London, Continuum, 2008). In particular, the chapter on The Easy Life.

On Mafia and terrorism:
Renga, D. ‘Modern Mob Movies: Twenty Years of Gangsters on the Italian Screen’ in P. Bondanella, The Italian Cinema Book (London, BFI, 2014), pp. 238-245.
Lombardi, G., ‘Screening Terrorism: Cinematic Portrayals of the Italian Armed Struggle’, in P. Bondanella, The Italian Cinema Book (London, BFI, 2014), pp. 246-253.

Name	Role
Assoc Professor Paolo Acquaviva	Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Marco Bellardi	Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Bianca Cataldi	Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Professor Ursula Fanning	Lecturer / Co-Lecturer
Dr Valeria Taddei	Lecturer / Co-Lecturer