
- UCAS course code
- R300
- UCAS institution code
- M20
Course unit details:
Reading Italy: Medieval to Modern
Unit code | ITAL10500 |
---|---|
Credit rating | 20 |
Unit level | Level 1 |
Teaching period(s) | Full year |
Offered by | Italian Studies |
Available as a free choice unit? | No |
Overview
This course unit seeks to furnish students studying Italian language and culture with the intellectual and analytical tools needed to understand the processes of cultural production, circulation and reception as a necessary prequel to ‘making sense’ of the history of Italian cultural production. In Semester 1 we will explore what we understand by ‘the Arts’ and the ‘humanities’ and their roots in the classical tradition of the Academy before moving on to consider how symbols work within urban and spatial contexts to generate identities and subjectivities through cultural translation and multiple forms of media, including film. In semester 2, the focus shifts to the analysis of specific forms of cultural production including the analysis of prose, poetic, and still and moving visual forms. Seminars focus on Italian language-specific and area-specific material that relate to the themes covered in lectures, allowing students to develop further linguistic and cultural competence in their language of study.
Pre/co-requisites
Unit title | Unit code | Requirement type | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Italian Cultural Studies | ITAL10300 | Co-Requisite | Compulsory |
Please note that if you take ITAL10500 at Level 1, you cannot take ITAL20500 at Level 2.
Available on which programme(s)? | Single Honours Italian Studies and all joint honours programmes with Italian Studies |
Aims
The principal aims of the course unit are as follows:
- To develop knowledge and understanding of specific aspects of Italian culture and society from the medieval period to the present day
- To develop critical thinking and higher-order conceptual reasoning and analytical skills
- To equip students with working definitions for key concepts in the Italian context such as periodization, identity, ‘nation’, ‘ideology’, ‘multiculturalism’, etc.
- To enable students to analyse and interrogate a variety of forms of written and visual cultural production in their contexts.
- Students on this course will hone their skills of analysis, academic writing and independent research.
Learning outcomes
.
Syllabus
Knowledge and understanding
By the end of this course students will be able to:
- Demonstrate their ability to analyse the formal qualities of a range of different kinds of Italian cultural production, which may include visual artworks, political propaganda, poetry, films, novels and/or children’s literature.
- Apply their analytical skills to render Italian texts, films, and other forms of cultural representation meaningful in their historic contexts
- Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of some of the major aspects of national and cultural identity in Italy in the modern period.
Intellectual skills
By the end of this course students will be able to:
- Engage in independent reflection and enquiry.
- Engage in the discussion and critical evaluation of Italian cultural production
- Use empirical evidence to support synthetic conclusions and interpretations
- Analyse a body of data and provide a synthesis of the most relevant findings.
Practical skills
On successful completion of this course unit, students will be able to:
- Use library, electronic, and on-line research resources
- Follow correct citation procedure for the professional presentation of academic writing
- Build argumentative frameworks for the analysis of cultural artefacts
- Carry out individual research and select material judiciously
Transferable skills and personal qualities
On successful completion of the course unit, students will be able to:
- present information, ideas and arguments, orally and in writing, with due regard to the target audience;
- participate constructively in group activities (e.g. class discussions);
- assess the relevance and importance of the ideas of others;
- demonstrate powers of analysis.
Employability skills
- Other
- The course will have particular benefits for any student interested in pursuing a career in teaching and learning, diversity and identity management. The course enhances skills of analysis, synthesis, oral presentation, and written reporting. The course content also encourages students to reflect upon the world outside the University, thereby providing confidence in the use of academic research in a variety of non-academic environments.
Assessment methods
Assessment task | Formative or Summative | Length | Weighting within unit (if summative) |
Semester 1 summative spatial practice presentation OR film sequence analysis. To be submitted Thursday Week 12 (semester 1) | Summative | Powerpoint presentation of of 12 slides and a total of 750 words discussion text (approximately 60 words per image) OR 1250 word sequence analysiss | 40% |
Portfolio of three 150-word summaries in Italian of selected secondary critical literature from readings in Semester 1. In English for Foreign Exchange students not taking language. To be submitted Thursday Week 5 (semester 1) | Formative | 450 words | 0% |
Semester 2 summative essay on the themes covered in Semesters 1 and 2. To be submitted Thursday Week 12 (semester 2) | Summative | 1750 words | 60% |
Resit Assessment
Assessment task | Length |
Summative essay on the themes covered in Semester 1 and Semester 2. | 2500 words |
Feedback methods
Feedback method | Formative or Summative |
Comments made during class discussion regarding the relevance and coherence of student responses/participation in discussion. | Formative |
Individual written comments on all submitted work within 15 working days of submission, plus additional face-to-face discussion available during consultation hours or by appointment. | Formative and Summative |
Global feedback on all submitted work (delivered orally in classes and via Blackboard). | Formative and Summative |
Recommended reading
Weekly readings and visual texts will be supplied in seminars and on Blackboard. Secondary readings will be provided via Blackboard.
Study hours
Scheduled activity hours | |
---|---|
Lectures | 22 |
Seminars | 11 |
Independent study hours | |
---|---|
Independent study | 167 |
Teaching staff
Staff member | Role |
---|---|
Laura Rossi | Unit coordinator |
Stephen Milner | Unit coordinator |
Guyda Armstrong | Unit coordinator |
Additional notes