F1301 Italian Contemporary History, Luca Pes

The course is an introduction to modern Italian politics, society and culture in a historical and comparative perspective. Lectures will revolve around six major Italian movies, which will be object of collective discussion: Il Gattopardo by Luchino Visconti, Amarcord by Federico Fellini, La Notte di San Lorenzo by Giuseppe and Paolo Taviani, Don Camillo by Julien Divivier, Mimì metallurgico ferito nell’onore by Lina Wertmueller and Il Caimano by Nanni Moretti. The idea is that films can be useful as a starting point for historical discourses, as documents of the time in which they were made, as historiographical texts on the period in which they are set and as historical agents, as they can be constantly reinterpreted and can influence culture in different successive moments. They can also be useful because they talk about individuals, daily life, family and personal relations; they involve a “mise-en-scene” which make history much closer to life, and oblige to discuss events and phenomena also at a micro level, bringing in themes related to gender, family, collective psychology.

The period covered by the course spans from 1796 to 2013, i.e. from the process of Nation-Building to the Present. Similarly to Germany and unlike Spain, Italy is a new nation-state. The beginning of the process of unification can be traced back to the Napoleonic Age, which saw the diffusion of ideals of Liberalism, Democracy and Nationalism. The foundation of the new Kingdom (1861) was followed by attempts to forge a common identity in the context of a liberal but conservative State, which set the basis of the first industrialization. After the Great War, the peninsula saw the rise of the first Fascist Regime in Europe, as a result of an alliance between Mussolini, the Monarchy and the Catholic Church. The military defeat and the 1943-45 Civil War, paved the way for a Republic, characterized by a blocked political system with the Catholic Party in power and the largest Communist Party in the West on the opposition. In 1992-94 judges’ investigation and arrests of corrupt politicians contributed to a revolution in the party system, which founded the present political landscape. The course shall also deal with issues like: Church-State relations and the influence of Catholicism, origins and development of the Mafia, North-South divide, social transformations, emigration and immigration, 1968 movements, economic miracle and development of the Made in Italy, controversies over Berlusconi. The general focus will be on the relationship between politics and society.

A set of readings downloadable from the courseblog provide further insight, including articles by the best scholars published in English, such as John Davis, Adrian Lyttelton, Paul Corner, Gianfranco Pasquino, Percy Allum and Perry Anderson.

Students are expected to contribute to class, discussing the movies, doing one oral presentations and writing one research paper, developing themes of personal interest, in agreement with the Professor. Topics can range from Literature to Economics, from Law to Cinema. Past themes have included: Pinocchio and the Unification of Italy, A comparison between National-Socialism and Fascism, Milan as the capital of fashion, The American and the Italian Southern Question, Neorealist Cinema and Post-War Culture, Japanese and Italian Feminism Compared.

Oral presentations should be done possibly in groups of two participants, each one speaking for approx. 15 minutes, mixing nationality. Research papers must include bibliographical references and footnotes.