ITAL1061: UNDERSTANDING ITALY FROM THE 1960s TO TODAY

• Grade A or above at A level in a foreign European language, or equivalent qualification.

• None.

• None.

• To introduce first-year students to a corpus of literature, film and other media representing Italian culture from the 1960s to today.
• To study some of the cultural monuments of Italy's recent past as well as achieve a sense of some of the historical events that contribute most to contemporary Italian society.
• The module should improve the existing programme by providing a cultural/artistic backdrop against which to teach Italian language in first year.
• It also intends to provide a foundation for literature/culture courses offered in Year 2 and an introduction to the critical skills needed throughout the degree programme.

• An in-house booklet will be prepared in the department.
• The first half of the booklet (Term 1) will be divided into thematic units.
• It will have excerpts from and about contemporary literature, cinema, music and society (phenomena such as linguistic and cultural diversity and immigration/emigration).
• The second half (Term 2) will contain items relating to the main historical, artistic and cultural events occurring in Italy from 1960 onwards.
• It will include literature and journalistic documentation as well as notes on films from that period.

Subject-specific Knowledge:

• Students should gain an outline knowledge of the historical, artistic and cultural events which have dominated Italian society since the 1960s.

Subject-specific Skills:

• Students should gain an ability to formulate critical observations on Italian texts and other media.

Key Skills:

• Students will develop skills in critical reading and the expression of ideas both orally and in written form.

• In the first term, lectures will focus on current Italian literature, cinema, music and society.
• Lectures in the second term will focus on recent Italian history (although the approach will not be purely historical).
• Seminars will be used to read, examine and analyse texts chosen for their relevance to the historical/cultural/artistic topic of the week.
• Seminars will also prepare students for presentations in general and for their end of year presentation in particular.
• Short tutorials will be organised throughout the year to discuss essays.
• Independent learning will be encouraged by preparation for seminars and by research for the summative essay.

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