SELCS

Italy the first 150 years: an introduction


Course code: ITAL1115.
Course unit value: 0.5.

This course will provide an introduction to contemporary Italy for First Year students. It will focus on some of the major cultural, historical and political factors contributing to the consolidation of Italian national identity since unification as well as on those forces that are impediments to such a consolidation. Lectures will explore broad themes (e.g. imagined geographies, language and literacy, the church, sport, media…) spanning the 150 year period since Italian unification and will provide a solid foundation for other courses in history, cultural studies, cinema and literature taught in the department and across UCL.

Assessment: two 2000-2500 word essays (50% each)

Tutor: Dr Eleanor Chiari

Preparatory reading and set texts:

  • John Foot, Modern Italy, Palgrave, 2003.
  • Paul Ginsborg, A History of Contemporary Italy. Society and Politics, 1943-1988, London, 1989.
  • Paul Ginsborg, Italy and its Discontents. Family, Civil Society, State, 1980-2001, London, 2002.
  • The Italian Constitution (text). Italian and English translation.
  • Texts of Italian laws.
  • Italian voting papers.
  • Italian political programmes and party websites.
  • Paul Ginsborg, Silvio Berlusconi. Television, Power and Patrimony, London, Verso, 2005.
  • David Forgacs and Robert Lumley, Italian Cultural Studies, Oxford, 1996.
  • John Foot, Italy's Divided Memory, Palgrave, 2010.
  • Michael Shin and John Agnew, Berlusconi's Italy, Mapping Contemporary Italian Politics, Temple University, 2008.
  • John Agnew, Place and Politics in Modern Italy, Chicago, 2002.