Modern Languages 186- Spring 2012
Italian Civilization 2 – From the Renaissance to the Present
Tu/Th 1:10 – 2:40
Professor Costanza Gislon Dopfel, Ph.D.
Office hours: Tu/Th 12:20-1:10; Tu 4:30-5:00 and by appointment
Office: Dante 318
cdopfel@stmarys-ca.edu
Course description:
ML 186 – Italian Civilization – is an interdisciplinary culture course that focuses on the history, art,
literature, music and society of Italy. It is taught sequentially in two parts/courses that can be taken
independently. This syllabus refers to the second part/course. The first course covers the time
period from proto-history to the Renaissance, while the second course starts with a review of the
Middle Ages and Renaissance and ends with present-day Italy.
The material covered in the second part includes history, art, literature, architecture and music.
The class and the readings are in English, and the course has no pre-requisites. This course is highly
recommended to students who plan to spend a semester in Italy and to students pursuing a Minor
or Major in Art History or Italian Studies.
The course looks at Italian history and civilization through its artistic and literary expressions. Each
historical period is examined through the lens of multiple works of art positioned against historical
source documents. Accordingly, students are expected to become familiar with the history of the
country, hundreds of works of art, several literary and philosophical works as well as a selection of
musical pieces. Particular attention is given to the issue of justice within the context of dominance
and imperialism, since Italy has been (and still is) either the subject or the object of conquest and
colonization, both external and internal. In light of this history of oppression, the question of the
ideal society and the common good is analyzed through historical documents and major works of
art, from the frescoes depicting an ideal society in medieval Siena, to Beccaria’s criticism of
criminal justice, Mazzini’s understanding of individual responsibility in a just society, Pellizza da
Volpedo’s painting of the Fourth Estate, to Fascist propaganda. The chasm between the
industrialized North and the agricultural South, the material and cultural American colonization of
the post-WWII years and the new issue of illegal immigration are the focus of the final section of
the course, which questions the limitation of Italian cultural understanding of the meaning of
Common Good.
Course Goals:
To interpret and critique works of Italian literature, music and art within their specific historical and
social context; to coherently articulate such analysis both verbally and in writing using appropriate
vocabulary; to understand the historical development of Italian civilization with particular attention to the
elaboration of evolving notions of justice and their representation; to understand the connection between
such notions, the political situations within which they arise and the corresponding artistic creation; to
understand the development of art and literature as living and ever-changing expressions of the history of
a society, its ideals and its realities; to connect the material expressions of historical periods while
recognizing, identifying and analyzing the source of their differences; to learn different analytical
approaches and methodologies.
Course outcomes:
Students will learn how to examine works of art in an accurate and observant way, connecting
them to historical periods and social conditions, and to present their analysis both verbally and in
writing using appropriate vocabulary; they will learn how to establish a dialogue between specific
artwork and notions of justice as well as use non-textual objects as a source of reflection on ideas
and representation of just social order; they will be able to understand and identify different periods
and styles, while connecting them to key historical, social and political events and issues in the
wider context of civilization, culture and the Common Good.
Textbooks:
Christopher Duggan, A Concise History of Italy, Cambridge UP
Cesare Beccaria, On Crimes and Punishments, selection
Alessandro Manzoni, The Betrothed
Giuseppe Mazzini, On the Duties of Man, selection
Amara Lakhous, Clash of Civilizations over an elevator in Piazza Vittorio
Thomas R. Bates, Gramsci and the Theory of Hegemony, Journal of the history of Ideas, Vol. 36,
No. 2 (photocopy)
Additional readings on ERES
Classroom Policy and Procedure
Attendance and participation are necessary in this course. Come prepared to listen, respond and be
involved in class activities. After three absences, each absence will result in one point
being deducted from the total percentage points at the end of the semester. There is
no distinction between excused and unexcused absences. Repeated tardiness is not
acceptable. No eating in class unless it is social eating.
Honor Code: This course follows all rules and practices of Saint Mary’s College Honor Code.
Students will be required to submit their papers through Turnitin.
Students with disabilities:
Reasonable and appropriate accommodations, that take into account the context of the course and its essential
elements, for individuals with qualifying disabilities, are extended through the office of Student Disability
Services. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the Student Disability Services Coordinator at
(925) 631-4164 to set up a confidential appointment to discuss accommodation guidelines and available
services. Additional information regarding the services available may be found at the following address on the
Saint May’s website: http://www.stmarys-ca.edu/academics/academic-advising-andachievement/student-disability-services.html
Week 1 – Introduction: The Renaissance - Italy’s golden years? The concept of just government,
divine justice and human dignity
The Trecento
The Quattrocento
Reading: Duggan, Chapter 1 and 2
Featured art: Good and Bad government frescoes in Siena;
Reading:
Pico della Mirandola, Oration on the Dignity of Man
Week 2 –
Featured art:
The end of the Renaissance: Machiavelli’s vision of the Common Good
The literature of the Cinquecento: Castiglione, Machiavelli and Ariosto
The Art of the Cinquecento: Michelangelo, Raffaello and Mannerism
Raffaello’s School of Athens
Reading:
Machiavelli, The Prince
Week 3 –
The Cinquecento: foreign invasions, tyrants and the search for a ‘just’ church
The Popes of the Cinquecento; Saint Peter’s Basilica;
Martin Luther and the Counter Reformation
Saint Peter’s Basilica
Martin Luther, On the Bondage of the Will
Featured art:
Reading:
Week 4 –
Reading:
Featured art:
Featured art:
The Seicento and Spanish domination – class summary: the Renaissance
Artists Caravaggio and Bernini
Galileo Galilei
Duggan, Ch 3;
Caravaggio’s Bacchus
Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne
Week 5 –
The Settecento– New concepts of human rights and the Enlightment
The Age of Enlightment and Beccaria’s analysis of justice and punishment
Classicism and pre-Romanticism: Foscolo’s search for Italy
Reading:
Duggan, Chapter 4
On Eres:
Ugo Foscolo, Jacopo Ortis and selected poems
Featured art: Canova’s Graces
Reading: Cesare Beccaria, on Crimes and punishment.
Week 6 –
Reading:
Featured art:
Week 7 –
Reading:
Featured art:
Week 8 –
Reading:
On Moodle:
Film:
Featured art:
Reading:
The Ottocento: Romanticism and revolution – Carbonari in search of social justice
Manzoni and the dream of national independence
Midterm
I Promessi Sposi/The Betrothed
Francesco Hayez The Kiss
Romanticism – class summary: Art and Literature
Manzoni and the Italian Language
Towards a Unified Italy
I Promessi Sposi/The Betrothed
Bellini’s Norma
Unified Italy – Mazzini’s understanding of justice
Mazzini, Cavour and Garibaldi
Poets of Unified Italy: Carducci and Leopardi
Duggan Ch 5 and 6
Poems by Carducci and Leopardi
The Leopard
Verdi’s La Traviata
Mazzini, On the Duties of Man
Week 9 – Easter
Week 10 –
Readings:
The failure of unification, the birth of socialist organizations and WWI
Pre-war decadentism: Gabriele D’Annunzio
The Hermeneutic Poets: Ungaretti, Montale and Quasimodo
On ERes: Gabriele D’Annunzio’s Il Piacere; Duggan ch. 7
Featured art:
Music:
Pellizza Da Volpedo, the Fourth Estate
Turati and the Workers’ Hymn
Week 11 –
Featured art:
Readings:
ERes:
Film:
The Rise of Fascism – Students’ Presentations
Fascist art, poetry and architecture: Futurism
society and propaganda: Gramsci’s critique
Umberto Boccioni’s Unique Forms
Thomas R. Bates, Gramsci and the Theory of Hegemony; Duggan ch. 8
Luigi Pirandello
Amarcord
Week 12 –
Film:
Film:
Reading:
The Second World War and anti-fascist writers - Students’ Presentations
Rome Open City
Carlo Levi, Christ Stopped at Eboli
Primo Levi, If this is a Man
Week 13 –
Post-war Italy- Reconstruction and the Mafia - Students’ Presentations
Neorealism and the portrayal of an unjust society
Bicycle Thieves, Umberto D.
Gomorra
Duggan Ch.9
Film:
Film:
Reading:
Week 14 Reading:
Italy: The last 40 years. Who is included in the ‘common’ good?
New immigrants, new Italians
Review
Amara Lakhous: Clash of Civilizations over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio
Week 15 – FINAL PAPER DUE
– Final –2:00 p.m. in GV 150
Presentation guidelines:
choose a work of art (literature, art or music) that represents historical notions of justice and
discuss how such notions inform the creative process.
1. choose an artistic or literary work that represents an idea of justice (ex. Pellizza da
Volpedo’s Fourth Estate)
2. discuss how justice and just government are represented (the farm workers creating a
critical mass and marching forward, taking their place in society)
3. reflect on the connection between the historical period and the way the artwork frames
the notion of justice ( The birth of the socialist party, the fight for social justice, social
unrest)
Paper guidelines:
comment in written form on the relationship between a concrete social problem in a specific
historical period, its representation through art or literature and the way the artwork describes
specific issues.
1. Choose a relevant social issue (ex. The depression and poverty in post WWII Italy)
2. Select an artwork that represents such problem (Umberto D)
3. Identify what social or political issues are projected in the artwork (the collapse of the
national organization for social support, the isolation of the elderly, the hopelessness and
exclusion of individuals without a family structure)
Grading:
Midterm 15%; Final 20%; Paper 40%
Attendance, Presentations and Participation 25%
Attendance is mandatory: more than three absences will result in point deduction from your final
grade.
Honor Code: This course follows all rules and practices of Saint Mary’s College Honor Code.
Students will be required to submit their papers through Turnitin.