2019/20 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

ITAL2300 Italy: Regions, Identities and Nation

20 creditsClass Size: 15

Module manager: Olivia Santovetti
Email: o.santovetti@leeds.ac.uk

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

Year running 2019/20

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

This module aims to:
- Give students a detailed knowledge of the novels selected, including reference to their historical and cultural contexts
- Help students to achieve and display an informed understanding of the relationship between literature and formations of national identity in the pre- and post-Risorgimento periods.
- Develop students’ awareness of the relationship between forms of cultural production and geographical location in Italy throughout the twentieth century, and ability in interrogating these forms of cultural production in terms of how they construct or respond to particular contemporary political and theoretical debates.
- Develop students’ skills in analysing written texts and applying a range of critical approaches to the material covered.
Familiarise students with issues such as the North-South divide, urban and rural culture, 'borderline' identities, as well as utopian or imagined spaces

Learning outcomes
On completion of this module, students should demonstrate an ability to:
1 . Present information and arguments on a designated topic
2. Understand and use, in written contexts, a range of critical terms appropriate to the topic at hand

3. 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.

Skills outcomes
- Present information and arguments on a designated topic
- Understand and use, in written 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. We 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. The second semester will focus 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. Leopardi, 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, F

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

Opportunities for Formative Feedback

Students’ progress will be monitored via class discussion, especially during seminars and after each piece of assessment (1 X 2000 word essay in Semester 1 and 2 X 1000 words commentaries in Semester 2)

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	1 x 2,000 word essay	50.00
Essay	2 x 1,000 word commentary	50.00
Total percentage (Assessment Coursework)		100.00

Normally resits will be assessed by the same methodology as the first attempt, unless otherwise stated

Reading list

The reading list is available from the Library website

Last updated: 30/04/2019

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