BOSTON UNIVERSITY STUDY ABROAD PADUA COURSE COURSE LANGUAGE INSTRUCTOR INSTRUCTOR EMAIL CAS HI 263 MODERN ITALIAN HISTORY English Mario Varricchio, PhD varricchio.mario@libero.it OFFICE HOURS Tuesday 10.50-11.50 SCHEDULE Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 9.10 to 10.50am COURSE VALUE 4 LEARNING OUTCOMES OF THE PROGRAM COURSE DESCRIPTION 1. Demonstrate increased proficiency in Italian language from elementary to low-intermediate level, and from intermediate to advanced. 2. Demonstrate knowledge of Italian culture with respect to three of the following areas: history, politics, economics, religion, literature, film and the arts. 3. Develop an awareness of cultural difference and an understanding of culture s role in shaping beliefs and practices. 4. Develop new perspectives on one s own culture and an ability to think critically about one s own values and beliefs. The history of Italy in modern times is that of a young country transformed in a short range of time from an agricultural economy to an industrial and post-industrial nation. Focusing on political, social, and economic developments, the course will cover 150 years of Italian history, from the Wars of independence leading to Italy s Unification (1861) to the beginning of the new millennium. Starting with an overview of the Italian Risorgimento, we will proceed to discuss the country s Liberal period (1870-1915), World War I (1915-1918) and the eventual collapse of Liberal Italy (1915 22). Class sessions will then be devoted to the Fascist era (from Mussolini s becoming prime minister in 1922 to his dismissal in 1943), World War II and Liberation (1940-1945). The course will then explore the post-war Republican period up to the new millennium, highlighting the dramatic social, economic and political transformations which took place in Italian society after 1945 (the subjects discussed will range from the economic miracle in the late 1950s-early 1960s to social unrest and terrorism in the 1960s and 1970s to the passage from the First to the Second Republic in the 1990s). Other key aspects of modern Italy history covered in the course are emigration, colonialism, the transformation of the Italian family and the role played by women in Italian society over time. In addition to attaining an in-depth knowledge of the most important aspects of the political, social and economic history of Italy and to gaining an understanding of the basic trends in Italian history over the last 150 years, the students attending this course will improve their ability to think critically and express their thoughts clearly. LEARNING STATEMENT The course will be run on a Tue/Thu schedule of two 50-minutes classes on each day. The main material in the course consists of chapters/parts of
TEACHING METHODOLOGY chapters from books, essays in academic journals as well as the instructor s power point presentations. Assessments include 2 quizzes, a presentation and a paper. Writing the paper and preparing for class discussions, the quizzes and the class presentation will certainly require at least 8 hours per week of student effort. The course will be taught in English. The instructor s presentations will complement readings as well as present new material. Videodocumentaries and extracts from films illustrating key moments and issues of Italian history will be screened and analysed. Songs expressive of the political, social and cultural context of key phases of Italian history will also be played during class sessions. Students are expected to arrive in class on time having completed the assigned readings, and to actively participate in class discussions. COURSE MATERIALS Students are required to purchase: Course Text books Ginsborg, Paul, A History of Contemporary Italy. Society and Politics 1943-1988. New York, St. Martin s Griffin, 2003. A copy pack including other material required for the course. Copies of the instructor s power point presentations and additional material will be handed out in class. BIBLIOGRAPHY Readings included in the copy pack: Carter, Nick, Modern Italy in Historical Perspective. London-New York, Bloomsbury Academic, 2010; Clark, Martin, Modern Italy, 1871 to the Present, New York, Longman, 2008; Corner, Paul, State and Society, 1901-1922, in Liberal and Fascist Italy 1900-1945, edited by Adrian Lyttelton, Oxford-New York, Oxford University Press, 2002, pp. 17-43; Davis, John A., Economy, Society, and the State, in Italy in the Nineteenth Century 1796-1900, edited by John A. Davis, Oxford-New York, Oxford University Press, 2000, pp. 235-263; Di Scala, Spencer M., Italy From Revolution to Republic, 1700 to the Present. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2009; Duggan, Christopher, A Concise History of Italy. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2014, Duggan, Christopher, Politics in the Era of Depretis and Crispi, 1870-96, in Italy in the Nineteenth Century 1796-1900, edited by John A. Davis, Oxford-New York, Oxford University Press, 2000, pp. 54-180; Gabaccia, Donna R., Italy s Many Diasporas. Seattle, University of Washington Press, 2000; Ginsborg, Paul, Italy and Its Discontents. Family, Civil Society, State. New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. Knox, MacGregor, Fascism: Ideology, Foreign Policy, and War, in Liberal and Fascist Italy 1900-1945, edited by Adrian Lyttelton, Oxford-New York, Oxford University Press, 2002, pp. 105-138; Nelli, Humbert, From Immigrants to Ethnics: The Italian Americans. Oxford-New York, Oxford University Press, 1983; Row, Thomas, Italy in the International System, 1900-1922, in Liberal and Fascist Italy 1900-1945, edited by Adrian Lyttelton, Oxford-New York, Oxford University Press, 2002, pp. 83-104; Saraceno, Chiara, The Italian Family from the 1960s to the Present, Modern Italy 9, 1 (2004): 47-57; Tintori, Guido Colucci, Michele, From Manpower to Brain Drain? Emigration and the Italian State Between Past and Present, in The Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Italy. History, Politics, Society, edited by Andrea Mammone, Ercole Giap Parini and Giuseppe A. Veltri, London-New York, Routledge, 2015, pp. 37-48.
Movies (excerpts): Sacco e Vanzetti (G. Montaldo, 1971) Documentaries (excerpts): the subjects covered include the Fascist regime, the Italian colonial empire, World War II, the late 1950s-early 1960s economic miracle, Italian emigration after World War II, terrorism and the governments of national solidarity in the 1970s, the fall of the old party system in the 1990s. AIMS OF THE COURSE GRADING CRITERIA Songs: Fascist songs: Giovinezza (1925), Faccetta nera (1935); Resistance songs: Bella ciao, Fischia il vento; Revolutionary songs: Contessa (1966), Borghesia (1972). a) Develop a knowledge of Italian history and culture from the Risorgimento and the country s unification to the present day. b) Develop the ability to critically compare the history and culture of one s own country of birth with that of a different country. c) Develop the ability to historically contextualize political and social events as well as values and beliefs. Attendance and class participation: 15 % 1st Quiz: 15% 2nd Quiz: 15% Paper/Class presentation: 25 % Final exam: 30 % Course work must be submitted on time, in class, on the date specified on the syllabus. Late submission will affect grade. Failure to submit or late submission of any required course component will affect the grade on that specific assignment and, consequently, the student s final grade. General grading criteria for written assignments: originality, clarity, organization and content, thoroughness of the research, prose style, correct citation of all sources. In addition to being original, clear, wellorganized and based on sound research, class presentations should be supplemented by appropriate visual materials. BU POLICIES Attendance and participation: see BU policy Quizzes (2): 20 multiple choice questions plus 10 short answers to openended questions. Paper/Class presentation: students are expected to write a paper (3000-3500 words long) and prepare a class presentation of about 25-30 minutes based on the subject of the paper. Topics will be selected in consultation with the instructor at the beginning of the course. Papers/class presentations will need to be an original synthesis of source materials and demonstrate the student s ability to evaluate sources critically. Students will acknowledge and correctly cite all sources used in their papers (endnotes and final bibliography should follow the Chicago Manual of Style). Students will mainly draw on standard historical sources (such as books, essays, journal and newspaper articles, interviews etc.), yet careful use of websites and other Internet resources is also possible. Final exam: 5 open-ended questions on the subjects covered in the whole course. Attendance Boston University Venice students are expected to attend each and every class session, tutorial, field trips, and internship required for the class. Students should note that attendance will be taken into account
by faculty when determining final grades. Students absent from class or from workplace for medical reasons need to provide a local doctor s note. Plagiarism Simply stated, plagiarism is taking another s work and presenting it as you own. Definitions of plagiarism frequently include terms such as theft or steal. Plagiarism is, in fact, intellectual theft. It is one of the most serious forms of academic misconduct. Plagiarism committed by a student will certainly result in course failure and may result in suspension or dismissal. For more details please see Boston University s Code of Student Responsibilities: http://www.bu.edu/lifebook/universitypolicies/policies-code.html Religious Holidays Boston University s Office of the University Registrar states: The University, in scheduling classes on religious holidays and observances, intends that students observing those traditions be given ample opportunity to make up work. Faculty members who wish to observe religious holidays will arrange for another faculty member to meet their classes or for cancelled classes to be rescheduled. See Chapter 151C of the General Laws, Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Disability accommodations If you are a student with a disability or believe you might have a disability that requires accommodations, please contact the Office for Disability Services (ODS) at 617-353- 3658 to coordinate any reasonable accommodation requests. For more information, please visit: http://www.bu.edu/disability
CALENDAR FEBRUARY 2 Thursday DATE TITLE AND CONTENT OF THE LESSON Introduction to the course Italy s Unification (power point 1) ASSIGNMENTS The Italian Risorgimento (see printed copy of ppt presentation in course reader) 7 Tuesday Liberal Italy: politics and society in the era of Depretis and Crispi (1870-1896) - Duggan, pp. 154-180 - Davis, pp. 255-263 How to make a presentation Paper/ Class presentations topics 9 Thursday The Liberal State and the social question The Giolittian age (1900-1914) 14 Tuesday World War I (1915-1918) The advent of Fascism (1918-1922) (power point 2) - Duggan (A Concise History ), pp. 147-166 - Corner, pp. 17-29 - Corner, pp. 30-36 - Row, pp. 90-104 16 Thursday The Fascist era Fascist regime - Di Scala, pp. 237-263 - Carter, pp. 114-119; 134-142; 158-165 21 Tuesday Italian colonialism (power point 3) Italian empire 23 Thursday Italian women under Fascism Willson, pp. 61-78 GUEST SPEAKER: Federico Mazzini on WWI: Cose de laltro mondo: the Great War in soldiers letters, diaries, memoirs and autobiographies (1h) Assignment of paper/class presentations topics 28 Tuesday NO CLASS MARCH 2 Thursday Leaving Italy in the Great Migration Age (1870-1914) - Gabaccia, pp. 58-99 100% Americanism, Red Scare and immigration laws in 1920s America (power point 4) 7 Tuesday QUIZ 1: FROM ITALY S UNIFICATION TO FASCISM (first part of the class, 1h) Fascist songs (second part of the
class): Giovinezza (1925), Faccetta nera (1935) 9 Thursday Italian emigration to the U.S. in the Great Migration Age - Nelli, pp. 39-72 The Sacco and Vanzetti case Screening of scenes from the film Sacco and Vanzetti (G. Montaldo, 1971) on the execution of two Italian-born anarchists in the U.S. 14 Tuesday World War II (up to 1943) Screening of documentary on World War II - Clark, pp. 335-359 - Ginsborg, pp. 8-17 16 Thursday World War II: Resistance and Liberation Women in World War II - Ginsborg, pp. 39-71 - Willson, pp. 96-111 Resistance songs: Bella ciao, Fischia il vento 21 Tuesday Post-war settlement - Ginsborg, pp. 72-120 The Italian family up to World War II (power point 5) 23 Thursday The economic miracle - Ginsborg, pp. 210-253 Social change in Italy in the 1950s and 1960s economic miracle and the transformation of Italian society in the late 1950s and 1960s 28 Tuesday Social unrest: the revolt of the students; workers struggles and revolutionary groups - Ginsborg, pp. 298-337 Revolutionary songs: Contessa (1966); Borghesia (1972) 30 Thursday Italy in the 1970s: economic crisis; terrorism; the historic compromise; the divorce referendum; feminism - Ginsborg, pp. 348-363; 366-387 Screening of documentary on terrorism and the governments of national solidarity APRIL 4 Tuesday NO CLASS
6 Thursday QUIZ 2 : FROM WORLD WAR II TO THE 1970s (first part of the class, 1h) - Saraceno, pp.47-57 - Willson, pp. 168-185 The Italian family from the 1960s to the present; Italian women at the end of the 20th century (second part of the class) 11 Tuesday Italian emigration after 1945 Screening of documentary on Italian emigration after 1945 - Gabaccia, pp. 153-173 - Tintori - Colucci, pp. 37-48 13 Thursday Italy in the 1980s From the First to the Second Republic: the fall of the old party system in the early 1990s - Ginsborg, pp. 406-425 - Clark, pp. 494-513 fall of the old party system and the Clean Hands inquiry 18 Tuesday NO CLASS 20 Thursday CLASS PRESENTATIONS (1h) From Berlusconi to Berlusconi (1994-2001) - Ginsborg (Italy and Its Discontents), pp. 289-322 27 Thursday General review before final exam à HAND IN PAPERS + COPY OF PPT PRESENTATIONS BY THIS DATE MAY 9 Tuesday FINAL WRITTEN EXAM (2 hours)