HUM 350Italian Culture and Civilization

Instructor: Prof. Vincenzo Sellerie-mail: vselleri@york.cuny.edu

Prof. Vincenzo Selleri teaches Italian, Italian Cinema and Italian culture and Civilization in CUNY, SUNY and St John’s University.His main fields of interest include Modern Italian Jewish History, Italian Literature and Italian Cinema.

Course Description:What is Italy? Does an original Italian culture exist? How is the National Italian identity perceived abroad and by Italian Citizens? The course will try to answer these and other questions through the study of the unification of Italy, exploring and comparing regional identities, tracking the evolution of the standard Italian language, learning about the great literary and cinematic works that have influenced the Art of western civilizations. Topics will include fine arts, music, cinema, regional folklore and traditions, fashion, and gastronomy.

Required Textbooks: • None. All the reading material is available on

Blackboard under copyright law.

Recommended Textbooks: • Charles Killinger. Culture And Customs Of Italy,

Greenwood, 2005.• Charles L. Killinger, The history of Italy. Greenwood

2002.• Mario B. Mignone. Italy Today. Peter Lang. 2008

Course Objectives:

By the end of the semester, each student shall:• Shape and define a sincere but not

stereotypical picture of modern Italy• Provide a unified image of Italy but also

define its regional differences and varieties • Compare and contrast the representation of

Italy through its own history• Write short and long papers on the topics• Develop oral presentation skills • Use the Internet as resources for research on

all aspects of the course;• Use and cite bibliographies and other

research tools appropriate to the discipline;• To have knowledge of the most important

terminology and realia of the history and culture of Italy.

• To understand the current Italian society.• To be able to develop a vision on the new

developments in the Italian society.• To independently become acquainted with

some specific Italian cultural concepts.• To be able to control and collect information

through appropriate sources.• To realize the importance of a historical

framework.• To be able to structure and integrate gained

knowledge.• To be able to refer to history during the first

introduction to literature.

Attendance:

Punctual attendance and participation in all class meetings are essential and required. No written work can replace missed class time, since many class meetings will be organized around interactive use of the internet and other media. More than ONE undocumented (unexcused) absence will result in the lowering of the final grade for the course.

Assignments:

The students are responsible for preparing material assigned each week before coming to class. Assignments will be in a variety of modalities: Readings will be reviewed in quizzes and analyzed in discussions, written assignments and “e-logs” (that is, brief reflections that you will e-mail to me and I will in turn respond by e-mail). Three quizzes will be given during the semester, during the first 20 minutes of class. During the semester the students will be expected to attend a cultural event * and prepare an oral presentation on it. The final exam will be cumulative.

CULTURAL EVENT:

During the semester the students will have the choice of one cultural event to attend and they must prepare an oral presentation on the basis of a written report of the event. They may choose concerts, operas, museums, plays or other types of events in consultation with the instructor. The event must relate to the content of the course. The students will be given more specific guidelines for the report in the first few class meetings.

Grading

The final grade will be calculated as follows: • Quizzes (3) ___________________15%• Essay __________________15%• Cultural Report/Oral presentation (1) _____________ 10%• E-logs (10) ________________20%• Midterm __________________10%• Final exam ___________________20%• Attendance/participation ___________________10%

COURSE OUTLINE

• Week 1 • Introduction:• Italian Culture and Stereotypes

• Week 2 • The Unification of Italy• Different Italians. The South and the North of Italy.

• Week 3 • The Italian national anthem.• The Italian flag. The emblem of the Italian Republic. • National Italian identity and the issue of language

• Week 4 • Regions and Cities: National and regional traditions : Calabria• QUIZ #1

• Week 5 • Regions and Cities: National and regional traditions : Puglia

• Week 6 • Commedia dell’arte and the masks• Essay #1

• Week 7 • Calvino and the Italian fairytales

• Week 8• Primo Levi and Italian Shoa pt1• QUIZ #2

• Week 9• Primo Levi and Italian Shoa pt2 • Week 10 • The great scientists: Galieo Galilei • Week 11 • The Italian Organized Crime• Essay #2

• Week 12 • Migration, Immigration and Emigration• Cultural Report

• Week 13• Manufacturing, engineering and advanced technologies• QUIZ #3

• Week 14• Review• Final Exam