Narratives of Conflict After 1968

ITAL31001 Narratives of Conflict After 1968 20 Semester 1 Undergraduate Level 3 Andrea Brondino Unit coordinator 1 FHEQ level (Framework for Higher Education Qualifications) ' First part HE study/Bachelors ' European Credit Transfer & Accumulation System Rating : 10.0 This course unit offers an in-depth exploration of pivotal episodes in Italian history from 1968 to the present day, emphasizing how the conflicts of the 1970s, the alleged ‘hedonism’ of the 1980s, and the emergence of populism in the 1990s have been narrated, and how they reshaped the social, political, and cultural landscape of contemporary Italy.By examining a series of selected themes and transformative events, the course unit aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of how each has contributed to the evolution of Italian society. Topics that will be discussed include, but are not limited to: political terrorism; the impact of the Years of Lead on contemporary culture; feminism in the 1970s; the mafia wars; the rise of Silvio Berlusconi in 1994.Through a combination of historical analysis and close reading of a wide range of texts (e.g. essays, plays, documentaries, movies, novels), this course unit will discuss how these crises fostered opportunities to contest and redefine narratives of identity, citizenship, and nationhood in Italy. This course unit focuses on how Italian narratives reach global audiences, and influence global images (and imagined forms) of Italian culture since the 1960s. The specific aim of this course unit is to provide a transcultural and transmedial understanding of contemporary Italian culture within a global market and historical context.In this course unit we will analyse both the local and global factors that influence the production and reception of Italian culture across media, genres, and borders. Historical and political issues that will be discussed in this course unit include the role of Italy within the Cold War, the role of gender in cultural production and reception, Italian terrorism within a wider context of uprising and political violence, the global scope of the Italian mafia.Parallel to these and other issues, we will examine in detail five cultural artifacts of global cultural resonance, discussing their meaning, as well as how they were produced and received. Particular emphasis will be put on how influential cultural objects shape transnational cultural imaginaries, and how audiences can avoid oversimplified interpretations of ‘Italianness’ by challenging established visions of Italian culture.  The lectures will focus on the relevant political, historical, and social aspects that can inform the analysis of the cultural objects under discussion. The lectures will also introduce both the cultural objects under discussion, as well as the relevant theoretical tools necessary to analyse them. The seminars will be entirely devoted to the analysis and discussion of the primary sources (cf. Recommended Reading section below). Particular emphasis will be put on how the Italian recent past is narrated, contested, and re-told in a wide range of cultural outputs, and students will be encouraged to reflect on how these varied representations of the past affect present perception of Italian recent history, present, and future.   On successful completion of this course unit, students will be able to demonstrate skills such as:<ul><li>Presentation skills</li><li>Critical-thinking skills</li><li>Communication skills</li><li>Time-management skills</li><li>Research skills</li><li>Transcultural skills</li><li>Writing skills </li></ul> Demonstrate knowledge of the history and culture of Italy after 1968, and contextualise it within a broader historical and cultural framework;Apply relevant notions of cultural theory and literary criticism to an independent analysis of the chosen primary sources;Demonstrate knowledge of how interpretations of history are affected by narrative genres such as fiction, and viceversa.  Carry out independent research; recognise the importance and intertwinement of social and historical issues in the study of culture;Engage with different types of texts; •develop an argument independently, and present it coherently to an audience;Know how to engage with pre-existing knowledge in order to develop a consistent argument.  Communicate ideas effectively to an audienceIntegrate complex general notions within an independently-developed argument;Present complex ideas in clear form, both in written and oral form.  Work towards deadlines and manage tasks effectively;  Communicate and discuss ideas in public, both in written and oral form;Critically assess conceptual problems, and build an argument about them.  Students’ research will be supported through lectures and seminars, which aim to provide a background of essential knowledge on Italian recent history, culture, politics, art, and cinema; enable students to develop a critical attitude and analytical skills; make the class acquire the relevant methodology to interrogate written texts, visual art, and moving images.  It is vital that students engage with the primary texts under analysis (CF. THE ‘RECOMMENDED READING’ SECTION BELOW) effectively and in due time; it is of primary importance, therefore, that the students watch the movies and read the required novels (or the agreed part thereof) in order to be able to contribute effectively in class in the seminar in which the texts/movies are discussed.An active participation in class is also of vital importance for the teaching and learning outcomes of this course unit.  2 Written assignment (inc essay) 75% 7 Oral assessment/presentation 25% <figure class="table"><table><tbody><tr><td style="background-color:hsl(0, 0%, 90%);border-color:hsl(0, 0%, 60%);border-style:solid;">Assessment</td><td style="background-color:hsl(0, 0%, 90%);border-color:hsl(0, 0%, 60%);border-style:solid;">Formative/Summative</td><td style="background-color:hsl(0, 0%, 90%);border-color:hsl(0, 0%, 60%);border-style:solid;">Weighting</td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:hsl(0, 0%, 60%);border-style:solid;">Commentary</td><td style="border-color:hsl(0, 0%, 60%);border-style:solid;">Formative</td><td style="border-color:hsl(0, 0%, 60%);border-style:solid;">0%</td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:hsl(0, 0%, 60%);border-style:solid;">Essa OR Video essay</td><td style="border-color:hsl(0, 0%, 60%);border-style:solid;">Summative</td><td style="border-color:hsl(0, 0%, 60%);border-style:solid;">75%</td></tr><tr><td style="border-color:hsl(0, 0%, 60%);border-style:solid;">Presentation (individual OR in groups</td><td style="border-color:hsl(0, 0%, 60%);border-style:solid;">Summative</td><td style="border-color:hsl(0, 0%, 60%);border-style:solid;">25%</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <figure class="table"><table style="background-color:hsl(0, 0%, 90%);"><tbody><tr><td style="border-style:solid;border-width:0.1px;">Commentary</td><td style="border-style:solid;border-width:0.1px;">Written feedback on commentary</td></tr><tr><td style="border-style:solid;border-width:0.1px;">Essay OR Video essay</td><td style="border-style:solid;border-width:0.1px;">Written feedback on essay</td></tr><tr><td style="border-style:solid;border-width:0.1px;">Presentation (individual OR in groups)</td><td style="border-style:solid;border-width:0.1px;">Written feedback on in-class presentation</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> Y Primary Texts <ul><li>Movie: Marco Tullio Giordana, La meglio gioventù (2003)  </li><li>Play: Dario Fo, Accidental Death of an Anarchist (1970)</li><li>Documentary: Loredana Bianconi, Do you remember revolution? (1997)</li><li>Essays: Leonardo Sciascia, The Moro Affair (1978) and ‘I professionisti dell’antimafia’ (1987)  </li><li>Documentary: Alan Friedman, My Way: Berlusconi in His Own Words (2015)  </li></ul>Basic Bibliography <ul><li>Pierpaolo Antonello, Alan O’Leary (eds.), Imaging Terrorism. The Rhetoric and Representation of Political Violence in Italy 1969-2009. Legenda, 2009.</li><li>Christopher Duggan, A Concise History of Italy. Cambridge University Press, 1994.</li><li>Mark Fisher, ‘What Is Hauntology?’, Film Quarterly, 66, 1 (2012), pp. 16-24.</li><li>John Foot, Italy’s Divided Memory. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.</li><li>Paul Ginsborg, A History of Contemporary Italy: Society and Politics: 1943-1980. Penguin History, 1990.</li><li>Salvatore Lupo, History of the Mafia. Columbia University Press, 2009.</li><li>Alan O’Leary, ‘The Phenomenology of the Cinepanettone’, Italian Studies, 66, 3 (2011), pp. 431-43.</li><li>Passerini, Luisa, Autobiography of a Generation: Italy, 1968. Wesleyan University Press, 1996.</li><li>David Ward, Contemporary Italian Narrative and 1970s Terrorism. Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.</li></ul> Lectures 11 Seminars 22 0 167