ITAL 426 |Italian American Culture | Fall 2015 | SDSU
COURSE INFORMATION
Professor: Dr. Clarissa Clò
Office: SH 226C
Email: cclo@mail.sdsu.edu
Phone: 619-594-1131
Classroom: SH 216
Class Time: T 4-6:40pm
Office Hours: T-TH, 12:30-1:30 pm and by appointment
COURSE OVERVIEW
Description and Methods:
In this course we will study selected Italian American cultural texts and representations – novels,
short stories, films, music, songs, art and criticism – roughly spanning the historical arc of the 20th
century. Texts will include canonical works like Christ in Concrete by Pietro Di Donato and Ask the
Dust by John Fante, along with Lorenzo Madalena’s Confetti for Gino, Suzanne Antonetta’s Body Toxic,
Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather, Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, John Travolta’s Saturday Night
Fever and music from Sinatra to Madonna to Lady Gaga. Each primary source we will be accompanied
by critical companion pieces (secondary sources) available on your Blackboard. We will examine the
role of these literary and popular images of Italian Americans in the construction of both Italian
American identities as well as the general public perception of these identities. Some of the topics
discussed will include the contributions of Italian Americans to American culture; their contradictory
desire to assimilate to the dominant “white” culture despite discrimination; the role of women and the
family; the forms of conflict and alliance they developed with other groups. Such themes will be
analyzed within a theoretical frame attentive to race, ethnicity, and national formations, gender
relations, and sexual identities. All along we will be asking how definitions of America and Americans
change when we place Italian American culture and experience, not on the margins, but at the center
of US national identity formation. Similarly, we will be considering how notions of ethnicity,
authenticity, and nationality are reshaped by the proximity, interaction and confrontation among
different racial and ethnic groups. Questions of race, class, gender, sex, citizenship and masculinity
will remain at the center of our discussions throughout the course.
Goals and Outcomes
In this course you will learn:
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To analyze the contribution of Italian American culture to American society.
To explore the complexity and diversity of Italian American identities represented in society
and in cultural productions.
To recognize, interpret and critique the strategies used by Italian American authors and their
impact and implication for their community and society at large.
To compare and contrast images and ideas produced by Italian American authors about
themselves and their community and those produced about them by mainstream Italian and
American societies.
To identify and interpret the tensions and conflict within the Italian American community itself
over values, meaning, ideals, gender, sexuality, education, regional diversity.
To identify and interpret collaborations or conflicts of the Italian American community with
other ethnic or racial communities.
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ENROLLMENT INFORMATION
Prerequisites
Ital 426 is an upper-division course open to all students who have fulfilled their lower division
requirements and their GE in Foundation of Learning II. C, Humanities. The course fulfills GE and cultural
diversity requirements.
Add/Drop: September 4 is the last day to add, drop, or change grading basis (11:59 p.m. deadline).
COURSE MATERIAL
Required texts
John Fante, Ask the Dust, first published 1939.
Lorenzo Madalena. Confetti for Gino. Guernica Editions, 2011.
Materials posted on Bb
Websites
http://www.iitaly.org
http://italoamericano.com
COURSE REQUIREMENTS, ASSESSMENT, AND GRADING
Preparation and
participation
(10%)
You should attend class regularly, come to class fully prepared, and
participate actively in classroom activities. Please let me know if you are
going to be absent.
4 Blogs
(20%)
You will alternate writing blogs for the class. Each week half the class will
write blogs and the other half will respond to them. Blogs and comments
will help you assimilate the content of the course. Blogs should briefly
synthesize the topic and material (or one reading, if more are assigned),
raise questions and provide a critical interpretation to the subject matter.
4 Responses to Blogs
(20%)
Responses to the blogs should engage with your classmates’ ideas,
challenging or expanding on them. As in the blogs, you will use and
address the readings in making your argument or counterargument. You
do not have necessarily to agree or disagree with what your classmates
write in their blog. Rather, you shall take their work seriously and expose
your interpretation and intellectual thoughts on the same topic.
Each time you will respond to a different blogger.
2 Exams (30%)
A midterm and a final test will be given. Exams will assess understanding
of materials, authors, texts, issues, historical context, and sophistication
of analysis.
1 Essay/Final Project
(15%)
You will choose between writing a 6-8 page research paper or a cultural
project. A list of topics will be provided.
Essay and projects due during the Final Exam: Tuesday, Dec. 15,
2015
Field Trip (5%)
You will attend a Field Trip to Little Italy or similar cultural activity, and
write a 1 page report.
NO LATE WORK will be accepted unless you have previously notified me. There will be NO MAKE UP
TESTS. Please plan in advance. PLEASE bring a BLUE BOOK to class for each test.
Grades are defined at SDSU as:
A: Outstanding achievement; available for the highest accomplishment.
B: Praiseworthy performance; definitely above average.
C: Average; awarded for satisfactory performance; the most common undergraduate grade.
D: Minimally passing; less than the typical undergraduate achievement.
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F: Failing.
C/NC: Some students may, subject to their major requirements and the conditions set out in the General
Catalog, choose to take the course credit/no credit. Work equivalent to C or above will result in a grade
of Credit; work equivalent to C- or below will result in No Credit.
WU: Indicates that an enrolled student did not withdraw from the course but did not fulfill the course
requirements. For purposes of grade point average computation, this grade is equivalent to an F.
Students who are failing when they stop attending class will receive an F, not a U.
A = 4.0 (93-100)
B = 3.0 (83-86)
C = 2.0 (73-76)
D = 1.0 (63-66)
CR = (73-100)
A- = 3.7 (90-92)
B- = 2.7 (80-82)
C- = 1.7 (70-72)
D- = 0.7 (60-62)
NC = (0-72)
B+ = 3.3 (87-89)
C+ = 2.3 (77-79)
D+ = 1.3 (67-69)
F = 0 (0-59)
WU = n/a
ACCOMODATIONS
The learning environment should be accessible to all. SDSU provides reasonable accommodations in the
following situations:
 Disability: If you are a student with a disability and believe you will need accommodations for
this class, it is your responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. To
avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you should contact Student Disability
Services as soon as possible. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive, and that
accommodations based upon disability cannot be provided until you have presented your
instructor with an accommodation letter from Student Disability Services. Your cooperation is
appreciated.
 Religion: By the end of the second week of classes, students should notify the instructors of
affected courses of planned absences for religious observances.
 Official university activities (e.g., Athletics): Within the first two weeks of classes, a student who
expects to be part of an official university event or activity shall notify the instructors of affected
courses. At that time, the student shall request accommodation for any missed examinations or
other assignments. If scheduling changes occur, the student shall immediately notify the
instructors.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
Cheating and Plagiarism
The University adheres to a strict policy regarding cheating and plagiarism. These activities will not be
tolerated in this class. Become familiar with the policy (http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr/conduct1.html).
Any cheating or plagiarism will result in failing this class and a disciplinary review by Student Affairs.
Examples of Plagiarism include but are not limited to:
 Using sources verbatim or paraphrasing without giving proper attribution (this can include
phrases, sentences, paragraphs and/or pages of work)
 Copying and pasting work from an online or offline source directly and calling it your own
 Using information you find from an online or offline source without giving the author credit
 Replacing words or phrases from another source and inserting your own words or phrases
 Submitting a piece of work you did for one class to another class
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If you have questions on what is plagiarism, please consult the policy
(http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr/conduct1.html) and this helpful guide from the Library:
(http://infodome.sdsu.edu/infolit/exploratorium/Standard_5/plagiarism.pdf)
Cheating and plagiarism are serious offenses. You are plagiarizing or cheating if you:
 for written work, copy down or cut anything from a book, article or website and add or paste it
into your paper without using quotation marks and providing the full reference for the
quotation, including page number
 for written work, summarize / paraphrase in your own words ideas you got from a book, article,
or the web without providing the full reference for the source, including page number
 for an oral presentation, copy down or cut anything from a book, article, or website and present
it orally as if it were your own words. You must summarize and paraphrase in your own words,
and bring a list of references in case the professor asks to see it
 use visuals or graphs you got from a book, article, or website without providing the full
reference for the picture or table
 recycle a paper you wrote for another class
 turn in the same (or a very similar paper) for two classes
 purchase or otherwise obtain a paper and turn it in as your own work
 copy off of a classmate
 use technology or smuggle in documents to obtain or check information in an exam situation
In a research paper, it is always better to include too many references than not enough. When in doubt,
always err on the side of caution. If you have too many references it might make your professor smile; if
you don’t have enough you might be suspected of plagiarism.
TAKE THE TUTORIAL:
Test your knowledge of what constitutes plagiarism through a tutorial offered by the SDSU Library. To
access the tutorial go to: http://library.sdsu.edu/guides/tutorial.php?id=28
Consequences of cheating and plagiarism
SDSU instructors are mandated to report all instances of cheating and plagiarism to the Center for
Student Rights and Responsibility. Consequences are at the instructor’s and the Center for Student
Rights and Responsibility’s discretion. They may include any of the following:
 failing the assignment
 failing the class
 warning
 probation
 suspension
 expulsion
For more detailed information, read the chapter on plagiarism in the MLA Handbook for Writers of
Research Papers (6th edition, 2003), visit the following website:
http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml and talk to your professors before turning in
your paper or doing your oral presentation.
The University of Indiana also has very helpful writing hints for students, including some on how to cite
sources. Please visit http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets.shtml for more information.
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COURSE SCHEDULE | FALL 2015 | Please note that the schedule is subject to change
Week 1
Introduction: What is Italian American…?
Aug. 25
Stereotypes, assumptions, expectations
Web: http://www.pbs.org/the-italian-americans/home/
Film: Pane amaro (dir. Gianfranco Norelli and Suma Kurien, 2009)
Film: Italianamerican (dir. M. Scorsese, 1974)
Week 2
Christ in Concrete
Sept. 1
Reading on Bb: Christ in Concrete by Pietro Di Donato (1939) – abridged version
Bb: Thomas Ferraro, “Job,” Feeling Italian 51-71
Bb: Fred Gardaphè, “Introduction” to Christ in Concrete
BLOG # 1 due 9/2: Christ in Concrete; RESPONSE to BLOG #1 due 9/3
Week 3
Mafia – The Godfather and the Sopranos
Sept. 8
Guest speaker: William Nericcio, Professor of English and Director of MALAS,
“An Italian American Narcheology: Violence, Subjectivity, and Ethnicity in Francis Ford
Coppola's The Godfather”
Readings on Bb: Crime
Film: The Godfather I and II by Francis Ford Coppola (please see entire films on
your own)
The Sopranos (Ep. 1 and Columbus episode)
BLOG # 2 due 9/9: Mafia; RESPONSE to BLOG #2 due 9/10
Week 4
Ask the Dust
Sept. 15
Reading: Ask the Dust by John Fante (1939), pp. 5-90
Film: Ask the Dust
Week 5
Ask the Dust
Sept. 22
Reading: Ask the Dust by John Fante (1939), pp. 90-165
Bb: Kenneth Scambray, “Success in the West: Italian American Representation in John
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Fante’s Ask the Dust,” pp. 130-141.
Films: Ask the Dust; Finding the Motherlode (dir. Gianfranco Norelli and Suma Kurien,
2013)
BLOG # 3 due 9/23: Ask the Dust; RESPONSE to BLOG # 3 due 9/25:
Week 6
Confetti for Gino: San Diego’s Italian Colony
Sept. 29
Reading: Confetti for Gino, Lorenzo Madalena, Part I-II, pp. 7-192
Pasquale Verdicchio, “Searching for Little Italy”
Kenneth Scambray, “America’s Americas: The Melting Pot Begins to Cool in Lorenzo
Madalena’s Confetti for Gino”
Week 7
Confetti for Gino: Searching for Little Italy
Oct. 6
Guest speaker: Prof. Thomas Herman, Department of Geography
“Documenting the History and Geography of San Diego's Little Italy”
Reading: Confetti for Gino, Part III-IV, pp. 193-402
Pasquale Verdicchio, “Fishing for Complements in Lorenzo Madalena’s Confetti for
Gino”, pp. 403-419
BLOG # 4 due 10/7: Confetti for Gino; RESPONSE to BLOG # 4 due 10/8
Sat.
Oct. 10
Field Trip to Little Italy with Prof. Herman (9:00-11:30). Meet at 9:00 by the County
Administration Building on the bay front
Week 8
MIDTERM
Oct. 13
MIDTERM in CLASS
Week 9
TRIBAL RITES: Saturday Night Fever
Oct. 20
Readings on Bb: “Italians Against Racism” by Joseph Sciorra in Are Italians White?
“Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night” in New York June 7, 1976
“On being white, female and being born in Bensonhurst” Torgovnick
Film: Saturday Night Fever
BLOG #5 due 10/21: Saturday Night Fever; RESPONSE TO BLOG #5 due 10/22:
Week 10
RACE: Do the Right Thing
Oct. 27
Reading: Skin, Feeling Italian 162-180
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“Buried alive by language” – Helen Barolini from Chiaroscuro
Film: Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing
BLOG #6 due 10/28: Do the Right Thing; RESPONSE TO BLOG #6 due 10/29:
Week 11
GAYS AND GUIDOS
Nov. 3
Readings on Bb
New Frontiers, Representations of Italian American Gays in Film: Kiss me Guido,
Mambo Italiano, Nunzio’s Second Cousin
Film: The Celluloid Closet – Vito Russo
Week 12
BODY TOXIC, DAGO DYKES
Nov. 10
Reading: Body Toxic by Susan Antonetta
Hothead Paisan by Diane di Massa
Rose Romano, Lea DeLario
Bb: C. Clò, “How is Sicily like Jamaica?”: Gendered Multiethnic identities and Crosscultural encounters”
BLOG #7 due 11/11: Guidos and Gays OR Body Toxic OR Dago Dykes;
RESPONSE TO BLOG #7 due 11/12
Week 13
FAMILY: TRUE LOVE and HOUSEHOLD SAINTS
Nov. 17
Nancy Savoca’s films True Love and Household saints
Readings on Bb
Week 14
ROMANCE - THANKSGIVING WEEK
Nov. 24
ABSTRACT OF FINAL PAPER/PROJECT DUE
Romance, Feeling Italian 128-142
Film: Moonstruck
BLOG #8 due 11/27: Moonstruck, True Love/Household Saints;
RESPONSE to BLOG #8 due 11/28
Week 15
MUSIC
Dec. 1
Reading: “Italian American Musical Culture and Contribution to American Music” –
Song, Feeling Italian 90-106
Diva, Feeling Italian 143-161
“Madonna: Plantation Mistress or Soul Sister?” by bell hooks
“Music Crossover” by John Gennari
Music: Frank Sinatra, Louis Prima, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen
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Week 16
BIG NIGHT
Dec. 8
Reading: Table: Cine Cucina, Feeling Italian 181-197
Film: Big Night
BLOG # 9 due 12/9: Big Night or Music
RESPONSE to BLOG # 9 due 12/10
FINALS WK
FINAL EXAM: Tuesday, Dec. 15, 4-6pm
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