2024/25 Undergraduate Module Catalogue

ITAL1025 Exploring Italy: Introduction to Italian Culture and Society

20 creditsClass Size: 50

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

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

Year running 2024/25

This module is approved as a discovery module

Module summary

By attending this module, students will enter a journey of discovery of Italian culture and society from the Middle Ages to the contemporary multicultural present day. They will learn to analyse masterpieces of Italian art and literature, as well as popular works. Thanks to a selective overview of key moments and texts, this module will give students a broad understanding of the nation’s socio-historical and cultural dynamics, on the basis of which they will be able to build their independent studies in future years.

Objectives

This module aims to:

- Introduce students to key approaches, themes and developments in Italian Studies

- Develop students’ awareness of Italian history, culture and society throughout the centuries (from the Middle Ages to our times, but with a focus on key periods)

- Present students with different objects of analysis and their respective methodologies (e.g. literature, arts, cinema, language, history);

- Encourage students to engage actively with scholarship in the field of Italian Studies and to develop an understanding of the key principles of academic research

- Develop students’ ability to create an argument and to present it professionally in oral and written form.

Learning outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes relevant to the subject:

1. Knowledge of key developments in Italian history, culture and society from the Middle Ages to the 21st century.

2. Understanding of key approaches, concepts and themes in Italian Studies.

3. In-depth knowledge of a number of Italian cultural texts.

Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:

4. Communicate effectively through clearly written solutions

5. Identify, analyse and evaluate arguments in scholarly sources and develop their own position in response.

6. Contextualize extracts of texts (film, literature, and media) and provide an in-depth analysis of both the content and the expressive form.

7. Analyse diverse forms of discourse and make connections across different perspectives in order to explore ideas and identify problems.

Syllabus

Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module

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 will receive verbal formative feedback on their ideas in fortnightly seminars. They will receive written feedback on both assessments. Before each assignment there will be a dedicated session in which students will discuss with peers and tutors the specific task and their work in progress. Individual feedback on essay/commentary plans and practical support in developing ideas will be available from tutors.

Methods of assessment

Coursework

Assessment type	Notes	% of formal assessment
Essay	1500 words	50.00
Assignment	Commentary: 1500 words	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: 26/09/2024

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