CulturesandContexts:Italy
ProfessorScottPalmer
[email protected]
Spring2012Tu4:30‐7:15
OfficeHoursbyAppointment
CourseDescription&Objectives
AlthoughtheItalianpeninsulahasbeenthesiteofsomeoftheoldestandmostsignificant
civilizationsinWesternhistory,themodernItalianstateisrelativelyyoung,havingbeen
establishedonlyin1861.Italy’sgeographicalandculturalcomplexitieshaveensuredthat
regionalidentitiesthroughoutthecountryremainstrong,totheextentthatmanyItalians
stillidentifycloselywiththeirmoreimmediatesocial,cultural,andpoliticaltraditions.
Furthermore,ItalyispositionedasagatewayoftheMediterraneanworld,makingitboth
thecenter(ifoneviewsitfromtheshoresofNorthAfrica)andtheperiphery(ifoneviews
itfromthecountriesborderingtheNorthSea)ofEurope.Thiscoursewillfocusonthe
tensionsandambiguitiespresentinpost‐unificationItaliansociety,usingtherichcultural
andsocialheritageofFlorenceasastartingpointforthestudyofthedelicatemixtureof
regionalandnationalelementsthatmakeupcontemporaryItaly.
Theinfluenceofforeignvisitorstoacountrythatwelcomesnearlyasmanytouristseach
year(over43millionin2010)asitsentirepopulation(roughly60million)andwhich
regularlyranksasatopdestinationforimmigrantscomingtoEuropealsoexertsa
significantinfluenceonItaliansociety.InthetraditionoftheGrandTour,thiscoursewill
referencetheregion’srichClassical,Renaissance,andBaroquehistories,usingtheriseof
moderntourismtoframetheshapingoftheeconomics,politics,culture,andsocialmores
ofItaly.Throughthestudyofprimarytexts,wewillexaminehowItaliansregisteredtheir
ownsimilaritiesanddifferenceswithinanationalcontext,andhowtheyregardedthe
tourists,students,soldiers,andimmigrantswhocameinincreasingnumberstoItaly.At
thesametime,wewillalsoconsidertheaccountsofforeignvisitorstoItalyfromthe
eighteenth‐centuryuntiltoday,bothfromtheperspectiveofwesterntouristsseeking
“culture”andthroughtheeyesofimmigrantsfromEasternEurope,NorthAfrica,and
beyond.
TheItaliancity,andinparticularFlorence,willserveasourprimaryunitofmeasurement
forinvestigatingItalyduringthesemester.Bytreatingthecityasthemostimmediate
conceptualandphysicalcontextforthestudyofItalianculture,wewillbeabletolinkthe
textualandvisualmaterialstudiedintheclassroomwiththeworldbeyondtheboundaries
oftheLaPietracampus.Tothisend,wewillvisitanumberofsitesinFlorenceandin
Tuscanyinordertoconductfieldworkthatwillstructureandinformourscholarly
conversationsandwrittenworkthroughoutthesemester.
CourseMaterials
PrimaryTexts
LucyRiallRisorgimento:TheHistoryofItalyfromNapoleontoNationState
ItaloCalvinoInvisibleCities
AmaraLakhousClashofCivilizationsOveranElevatorinPiazzaVittorio
OnlineCoursePacket
ThetextsforthisclasscanbeboughtatthePaperbackExchange,anindependentbookstore
justafewstepsfromtheDuomoonViadelleOche4R.
SuggestedreadingsandfilmsareavailableintheVillaUlivilibrary.
AcademicPolicies
Allworksubmittedinthiscoursemustbeoriginalandwrittenexclusivelyforthiscourse.
Theuseofsources(ideas,quotations,etc.)incourseworkmustbeproperlydocumented.
Pleaseseemeforanyquestionsabouttheuseofsources,orrefertoNYU’sofficialpolicyon
academicintegrityformoreinformation.Studentswithdisabilities(physicalorlearning)
shouldvisittheofficeofacademicsupportandthenseemeearlyinthesemestersothatwe
candiscusswhateveraccommodationsmaybeavailable.
Attendanceandparticipationarecrucialtothesuccessfulcompletionofthiscourse.
Becauseoftheconcentratedformat,missingmorethanoneclassduringthesemesterwill
lowerthisgrade.Activeengagementinclassdiscussionsismandatory.Readingassignments
shouldbecompletedforthedayindicatedforthatparticularclasssession(i.e.ifareading
assignmentisscheduledfor5/10,readitbefore5/10).Assignedreadingsformthebasis
forclassdiscussion,soitisessentialthatyouhavereadeachweek’sassignedtextsand
cometoclasspreparedtodiscussthem.Likewise,filmslistedinthecourseschedule
shouldbeviewedbeforeclass.ParticipationandAttendanceareworth20%ofthe
finalcoursegrade.
WrittenRequirements
Iwillassignaseriesoffieldworkassignmentsoverthecourseofthesemester.Each
studentisresponsibleforcompletingfourofthese.Eachsubmissionwillconsistofnoless
thanthreetypewrittenpages(750words)andwillbepostedonlinenolaterthan9PMthe
eveningbeforetheclasssessiononwhichtheassignmentappears.Thesewrittenpieces
shouldengagedirectlywithcoursereadings,bringingthetextswereadforinclassintodirect
contactwiththeItaliancontextwithinwhichwearelivingandstudying.Allassignments
willbepostedtotheappropriateassignmentdiscussionthread.Seecourseschedulefor
furtherinformation.Studentsareencouragedtowritecreativelyandtouseotherformsof
media(images,video,music)intheiranalyses.Thefieldworkassignmentsareworth
20%ofthefinalcoursegrade.
TherewillbeoneexamforthiscoursedueonMarch27.Thisexamwillcovermaterial
fromroughlythefirsthalfofthesemester.Theexamisworth25%ofthefinalcourse
grade.
SemesterProject
Studentswilldesignanextendedfieldworkprojectthatengageswiththetexts,concepts,
and,conversationsstudiedoverthecourseofsemesterandapplythemtoaparticular
socialorculturalstructure,event,tradition,etc.inTuscany.Thisprojectwilltakethe
formofawrittenportfolioconsistingofaprojectfindingsreportofnolessthanfivepages
andafullsetoffieldworknotestakenoverthecourseoftheproject.Theresultsofthis
reportwillbediscussedorallyattheendofthesemesterinapresentationofroughly15‐20
minutes.Studentsareencouragedtousevariousformsofmedia,includingvideoandaudio
footageofsites,activities,andcontextsspecifictotheprojecttheme.Thefinalprojectis
worth35%ofthefinalcoursegrade.
GradingSummary
FinalProject35%,FieldWork20%,MidtermExam25%,ParticipationandAttendance
20%
RespectandDiversity
Thiscoursewillengagewithawiderangeofsocialandculturalissues.Pleasebeawareand
respectfulofdifferencesinage,class,race,ethnicity,religion,sexualorientationandgender
asweworktogether.Ifwearelucky,we’llhavemanyanimateddiscussionsthissemester
andkeepingtheseperspectivesinmindwillensureanenvironmentwhereallofuscanfeel
freetocontribute.
TentativeCourseSchedule
Week1(January31):DefiningItaly
Anintroductiontoanumberofkeyconceptsandtermsthatwe’lluseoverthecourseofthe
semester.
RequiredReading:Dickie“ImaginedItalies,”“TheNotionofItaly”(distributedinclass)
Mumford“WhatisaCity?”
DrawamapofyourownroutetoLaPietra(localand/orglobal)andwriteashort
explanation.
Week2(February7):ConductingFieldworkintheBelPaese
Whatisethnographicfieldwork?ViewingItalythroughthelensofethnography.
RequiredReading:Lawrence“Fireworks,”Percy“LossoftheCreature,”Geertz“Thick
Description”Clifford“TheFieldworkHabitus,”Cardiff“TheMissingVoice”
Fieldwork:MarketDay
Week3(February14):InvisibleCitiesI
UsingCalvino’snovelasastartingpoint,wewilldiscusshowmovementinthecitycanbe
representedinlanguageandinimages.
RequiredReading:InvisibleCities1‐84,Pratt“IntroductiontoImperialEyes,“Travelsof
MarcoPolo,”Coleridge“KublaKhan”
Week4(February21):InvisibleCitiesII
UsingCalvino’snovelasastartingpoint,wewilldiscusshowmovementinthecitycanbe
representedinlanguageandinimages.
RequiredReading:FinishInvisibleCities,Sassen“ANewGeography”
Website:GlobalCities:TateModern
http://www.tate.org.uk/modern/exhibitions/globalcities/
Website:InvincibleCities:CamiloJoseVergara
http://invinciblecities.camden.rutgers.edu/intro.html
Fieldwork:Florentineurbangeography:theItalianpiazza
Week5(February28):GrandTours
AshorthistoryoftourisminItaly
RequiredReading:Black“ItalyandtheGrandTour,”Chaney“QuoVadis?:Travelas
EducationandtheImpactofItalyintheSixteenthCentury,”Sweet“CitiesoftheGrand
Tour:ChangingPerceptionsofItalianCitiesinthelongEighteenthCentury”
Goethe“Naples”179‐216,SelectionofLetters
Fieldwork:TrackingTourisminFlorence
Week6(March6):Risorgimento‐ItalyasNation‐State
AlookatthepoliticalandsocialoriginsofthemodernItalianstate.
RequiredReading:Riallpp.1‐52,117‐145Anderson5‐7,37‐46
Viewing:NoiCredevamo(2010)
SpringBreak(March12‐18)
Week7(March20):FascistItaly:AestheticsandEmpire
FascismasanaestheticreconstructionofRomanandItalianhistory
RequiredReading:Lasansky“LoveAffairwithTuscany”pp.19‐55,Ginsbourg8‐38
Atkinson“ConstructingItalianAfrica:GeographyandGeopolitics,Burdett“Mussolini’s
JourneytoLibya(1937):Ritual,Power,andTransculturation,Ghirardo“BuildingNew
Communities”
Viewing:LionoftheDesert(1979)
Week8(March27):Midtermexam
Week9(April3):TheStendhalSyndrome
Lookingmorecloselyatartmuseumsasculturalarguments
RequiredReading:Stendhal“Florence”,Berger“WaysofSeeing”
Fyfe“DecodingtheVisitor’sGaze”
Fieldwork:MuseumStudies–VisittoaFlorentineStateMuseum
Week10(April10):SiteVisittoOrsigna
RequiredReading:Terzani“ADeaththatFailed,”“TheBodySnatchersofBangkok”
Zampini“L’Orsignaultimoamore”1‐15
SemesterProjectProposalsDue
Week11(April17):ImmigrantItaly:Realities
RequiredReading:Gatti“I,IllegalImmigrant”Nathan“Mimic‐Nation,Mimic‐Men:
ContextualizingItaly’sMigrationCulturethroughBhabha,”Maher“ImmigrationandSocial
Identities”
Fieldwork:ImmigrantTuscany
Week12(April24):ImmigrantItaly:Narratives
RequiredReading:LakhousClashofCivilizationsOveranElevatorinPiazzaVittorio
Week13(May4):SemesterProjectPresentations
Week14(May8):SemesterProjectPresentations