2016/17 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

ITAL2300 Italy: Regions, Identities and Nation

20 creditsClass Size: 15

Module manager: Gigliola Sulis
Email: G.Sulis@leeds.ac.uk

Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable

Year running 2016/17

Pre-requisite qualifications

Level one Italian or equivalent

This module is mutually exclusive with

ITAL2301

Italy: Regions, Identities and Nation

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

With this module, you will be introduced to the study of the relationship between Italian literature in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the particular and various components of Italian identity. We will begin in the first semester with an examination of historical process of Italian unification in the 19th century and the literary production anticipating and celebrating it; we will analyse the anxieties about 'making Italy' and the fragile sense of national identity produced. In the second semester we will study the enduring strength of regional identities and loyalties throughout the country, by focusing on issues of national identity in two regional literatures in the 20th century. Regional identities manifest themselves at a linguistic, political and cultural level. By the end of the module, you will be able to discuss issues such as the North-South divide, urban and rural culture, 'borderline' identities, as well as utopian or imagined spaces. The module is taught with weekly lectures and fortnightly seminars, in semester 1 and 2. It is suitable for students with previous knowledge of the Italian language and an interest in modern society and culture.

Objectives

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate detailed knowledge of the novels selected, including reference to their historical and cultural contexts
- Students will be able to display an informed understanding of the relationship between literature and formations of national identity in the pre- and post-Risorgimento periods.
- Students will acquire awareness of the relationship between forms of cultural production and geographical location in Italy throughout the twentieth century, and will also be able to interrogate these forms of cultural production in terms of how they construct or respond to particular contemporary political and theoretical debates.
- They will be able to analyse written texts and apply a range of critical approaches to the material covered.
- On completion of the module students will be able to demonstrate familiarity with issues such as the North-South divide, urban and rural culture, 'borderline' identities, as well as utopian or imagined spaces

Skills outcomes
On completion of this module, students should be able to:
- Present information and arguments on a designated topic to a group of listeners and respond to questions from the group.
- Understand and use, in written and oral contexts, a range of critical terms appropriate to the topic at hand

- Adopt a critical approach to the selection and organisation of a large body of material in order to produce, to a deadline, a written argument of some complexity.

Syllabus

The module aims to introduce students to the study of the relationship between Italian literary production in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the particular and various components of Italian identity. 
The module will begin with an examination of the literary production surrounding the Risorgimento (the process of Italian unification), the anxieties about 'making Italy' and the difficult sense of national identity produced. It will then study the enduring strength of regional identities and loyalties throughout the country. These identities manifest themselves at a linguistic, political and cultural level, and the second semester focuses on the cultural manifestations of various types of regional identities at various moments throughout the twentieth century, including island identities and the relationship between culture and the city.

Semester One
1. An introduction to the module and to the texts studied; introducing the Risorgimento
2-4. Leoparid, the Patriotic Canti and Risorgimento Spirit
5-6. Giuseppe Cesare Abba: the Myth of the Risorgimento (Da Quarto al Volturno)
7. READING WEEK
8. Abba CONT.
9-11. De Amicis, Cuore: 'Making Italians'

Semester Two
1. READING WEEK
2-7. Selection of texts from Sicilian literature: Verga, Sciascia, Tomasi di Lampedusa, Bufalino, Consolo
8-11 Introduction to Sardinian Literature. Selection from, among others, Deledda, Atzeni, Fois.

Teaching methods

Delivery type	Number	Length hours	Student hours
Lecture	20	1.00	20.00
Seminar	10	1.00	10.00
Private study hours			170.00
Total Contact hours			30.00
Total hours (100hr per 10 credits)			200.00

Private study

Private study, reading of texts, preparation for general class discussion: 120
Preparation and writing of two assessed essays and one commentary: 45 hours
Preparation for class presentation: 5 hours

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Progress will be monitored through feedback given on student presentations in seminars and on performance in the first and second assessed essay. Progress will also be monitored informally through general class participation.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	1 x 2,000 word essay (Semester 1)	42.00
Essay	1 x 2,000 word essay (Semester 2)	42.00
Presentation	1 x 10 minute presentation	10.00
In-course Assessment	Class Performance	6.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

In the case of failed essays, an alternative essay chosen from the original list may be resubmitted for a maximum of 40%. Reassessment is by essay only, each 2,000-word essay counting for 40% and the commentary counting for 20% of the total mark.

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 24/04/2015

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