Course Syllabus Spring 2015 FLL 470: Multiculturism in Literature and Film

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1 Course Syllabus Spring 2015 FLL 470: Multiculturism in Literature and Film COURSE INFORMATION Professor: Dr. Casilde Isabelli Office hours: by appointment and Wednesdays 10-noon. Topic: The Italian Immigrant Experience in America Class meets: Tuesdays, 11:45am- 2:15pm; Viterbo, ITALY, University of Tuscia, Room 14 REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS & COURSE MATERIALS Jerre Mangione & Ben Morreale, (1992) La Storia: Five Centuries of the Italian American Experience. New York: Harper Perennial. Mario Puzo, (1965) The Fortunate Pilgrim. New York, Random House. DESCRIPTION The course will analyze the immigrant experience of Italian immigrants as they came into the American society at the turn of the 20th century. Students will be exposed to historical, sociological, anthropological, literary, cinematic, and cultural studies. The goal is to learn about the building of the New World by analyzing the various contributions of Italian migrants. Students will investigate the reasons Italians left their homeland, examine the conditions the immigrants experienced during the crossing, become knowledgeable about the treatment and the experiences of the immigrants, and become aware of the contributions that immigrants made to the American society. The course will end by looking at the current Italian immigration situation and comparing it to the earlier emigration patterns. The goal is to learn about why Italians left their homeland and how they contributed to the New World. The second goal is to determine how current Italian immigration compares to the classic period of emigration to the US. CORE OBJECTIVES This capstone course relates to CORE OBJECTIVE 10: Diversity and Equity. Students will demonstrate an understanding of diversity through courses that focus on race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, physical ability, language, and/or social class with an emphasis on the analysis of equity. Students will apply and evaluate approaches or modes of inquiry used to analyze diversity and equity and the social barriers to these goals. This capstone course also relates to CORE OBJECTIVE 13: Integration and Synthesis. Students will be able to integrate and synthesize Core knowledge, enabling them to analyze open- ended problems or complex issues. This interdisciplinary course focuses on the cultural heritage of a minority or ethnic group in national and international frameworks. Its chief goals are to explore the heritage of minority culture through a range of different approaches and genres and within 1

2 both local and global contexts. The course draws upon anthropology, history, literature and cultural studies; it utilizes film and forms of popular culture that provide contrasting images of the minority or ethnic group and their culture. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES SLOs as related to the Core objective 10 will be assessed through midterm and final essays, class discussions and specific written assignments that require students to successfully decipher, interpret and explain the way in which texts, films and discourses of various heritage or minority groups have been expressed and in turn redefined their roles in their diaspora culture. SLOS are related to the Core objective 13 will be assessed through written analyses of documentary and ethnographic film(s) and minority or ethnic memoirs, and specific weekly written assignments as well as through a term paper and two exams. Student leadership and participation in regular, structured discussion groups will help them integrate their knowledge of the minority or ethnic group and their culture as the semester progresses and will enable them to draw upon other learning experiences relating to other cultures, including their own. The term paper and final exam are designed to gauge the extent of student success in meeting this Core Objective. By the end of the course, students will be able to: 1) Students will be able to integrate and synthesize Core knowledge and thus be able to analyze complex moral, socio- political and cultural issues relating to heritage or minority groups in their homeland and the diaspora (CO13). 2) Students will be able to use advanced search strategies in library research databases and tools to find primary and secondary sources for the term paper (CO3). 3) Students will be able to Integrate and synthesize results from course- related reading/materials/lectures/discussions in the term paper, film analysis, mid- term and final- exam (CO3). 4) The student will be able to identify and analyze the various, changeable components of heritage or minority identity in the homeland and diaspora (CO 10). GRADES Midterm exam: 25% Final exam: 25% 4 Papers: 40% Class discussion/writing activities: 10% The grading scale is: A ; A ; B ; B 86-84; B ; C ; C 76-74; C ; D ; D 66-64; D ; F below 60. 2

3 PAPERS Paper #1: Pull and Push Factors. Pull factors are all the incentives to go to a certain country, such as job opportunities or political and personal freedoms. Push factors are reasons to leave a country, such as persecution, conflict, or poverty. Explain the pull and push factors that lead Italians to travel, explore, and then ultimately immigrate to the New World / U.S. before Format:.doc (NO.pdfs), 3-5 pages, 1 1/2 spaced, 1" margins, 12 pt. Times New Roman font. Please include name and title. Paper #2: Multiculturalism vs. Assimilation. The policy of any country towards new immigrants falls somewhere on the spectrum between multiculturalism and assimilation. A multicultural policy encourages immigrants to maintain their original culture and practices, while a policy of assimilation expects immigrants to adopt the customs and values of their new country. Using Puzo s The Fortunate Pilgrim as a source, discuss the social and psychological repercussions of different policies; the process of assimilation of first generation (those who came over), second generation (their children), and third generation (their grandchildren) immigrants. What methods are there of maintaining a culture in a new country. Format:.doc (NO.pdfs), 3-5 pages, 1 1/2 spaced, 1" margins, 12 pt. Times New Roman font. Please include name and title. Paper #3 you will write a Report that needs to include basic, essential information about the selected theme. Criticism or reports should be grounded on both personal assessments and specific, accurate academic sources. Possible Topics: The padrone system The Italian press in USA Swindles and tricks against the Emigrants (Sciascia) Mafia and crime (mano near) Italians in American wars The language (slang, jargon, terms) Little Italy, Italian colonies or districts The marionette theatre Italian American Theatre/stage The image and the stereotypes of Italians in American media/perception (LaGumina, Shark by Spielberg, cartoons, etc.) The crooners Sports Linguistic influences The artists (from marble cutters to Brumidi, Stella, Fasanella, De Niro Sr., etc.) Music (the sceneggiata, Vitagraph in NY, jazz, Nick La Rocca, Vincent Scotto, etc.) Or one of the following famous/significant people 3

4 Paper 4: You are required to write one term paper, which must be double- spaced, at least 8 pages in length PLUS your References Cited page. The paper requires demonstration of knowledge about Italian (popular) culture in the homeland and diaspora, and about the customs, social practices, and institutions of both rural and urban Italians in the homeland. You will also analyze cultural differences between northern and southern Italians and how these differences were represented/enforced in the diaspora by fellow Italian immigrants and by the American community. PARTICIPATION AND WRITING ASSIGNMENTS Class participation will be assessed on the quality and frequency of your contributions to discussions: A/A- performance for regular, perceptive contributions; B+ for frequent, perceptive contributions; B for frequent, sensible contributions; B- for frequent comments; C+ for occasional participation; C for irregular participation; C- for some effort demonstrated in discussions; D for little effort shown to engage in discussion; F for virtually no effort. If your attendance record is poor, your grade for class participation will reflect your absence. Writing assignments will be short essays written in class to measure knowledge of the reading material that was to be read for that day. MIDTERM & FINAL EXAMS The midterm and final exam will be 100 point exams. They will entail ability to identify and explain the historical or literary significance of any of the terms, personalities, sayings. They will also include short- answer essay questions. Study guides for both exams and in- class revision will be provided. DISABILITY POLICY Every effort will be made to accommodate students with disabilities or special learning needs. If you have a documented disability for which you have already requested accommodations through the USAC Central office, your instructor will have been notified so that arrangements can be made early in the term. CADEMIC HOY POLICY ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY Plagiarism, cheating, submitting work of another person or work previously used and other forms of academic dishonesty will lead to lowered course grades, failure of the course or more severe measures, depending on judgments of the gravity of the individual case. STATEMENT ON AUDIO AND VIDEO RECORDING Surreptitious or covert video- taping of class or unauthorized audio recording of class is prohibited by law and by Board of Regents policy. This class may be videotaped or audio recorded only with the written permission of the instructor. In order to accommodate students with disabilities, some students may have been given permission to record class lectures and discussions. Therefore, students should understand that their comments during class may be recorded. 4

5 SYLLABUS T = Jerre Mangione - Ben Morreale, La Storia: Five Centuries of the Italian American Experience, New York, Harper Perennial, 1992 WEEK Topic/Subject Homework due following class Jan 13 Introduction to the course and syllabus Read: T: pp , Chaps 3, 4, 5 Jan 20 Part One; Italians Among the colonizers, T: pp. 3-30, Chapters 1 & 2 Part Two: The Land They Left The Tree of Wooden Clogs (video) (Olmi, 1978) Read Part III, Chapters 6, 7, 8; T: pp Jan 27 Day excursion to Acquapendente Read Part III, Chapters 6, 7, 8; T: pp Feb 3 Feb 10 Part Three: Emigration Fever Documentary: Immigration through Ellis Island The immigrant (Chaplin 1917) Part Four: The Land They Came To Documentary: And They Came to Chicago Paper 1: Pull & Push Factors Read Part IV, Chapters 9, 10 11; T: pp Feb 17 Mario Puzo, The Fortunate Pilgrim Paper 2: Multiculturalism vs. Assimilation Read Part V, Chapters 12, 13, 14; T: pp Feb 24 Part Five: New Roots Across the Nation Read T: pp Mar 3 Part Six: Crime and prejudice Clip: Godfather II (Coppola 1974) Read T: pp

6 WEEK Topic/Subject Homework due following class Mar 10 Part Seven: Work, politics, and Read T: pp Divertimenti Mar 17 Mar 24 Midterm Exam No class Field Study Option Read T: pp Mar 31 Part Eight: Assimilation Part Nine: Old wine in new bottles, Paper 3 Read T: pp Apr 7 Apr 14 Apr 21 Apr 28 May 5 Big Night (1996) No class - SPRING BREAK Part Nine: Old wine in new bottles, Read TBA Coming home: the immigrants return; Read Italian in the U.S. Guest Lecturer Paper 4 Current emigration exodus of Italians. Language Diversity in the U.S. FINAL EXAM 6