ITAL 340 - Italy and its Migrations: Stories of Italian Emigration and Immigration

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

This course follows the waves that shape and change Italian culture from the time of Unification, in 1861, up through today. We learn about the experiences, dreams, memories and politics of Italian emigration and immigration through a careful study of novels, poetry, cinema, and theater, as well as letters and media coverage. We consider the ways different narrative styles reflect the historical realities of the times, and take a critical analysis approach to the question of how public attitudes towards immigrants have shaped Italian national and diasporic sentiment. Beginning with the first major waves of emigration in the 1880s, this course provides a unique look at a moment of significant transition in Italian history that is of particular interest to students who have followed departmental courses in Early Modern and Twentieth century studies.

This course is particularly relevant for those students recently returning from their study-aboard experience in Italy, as they have a chance to reflect on their experiences as migrants with a broader historical and cultural frame. This course builds on the linguistic skills developed in the first two years of Vassar’s Italian language program, pushing students to think and form arguments within the target language.

Students develop their critical and analytic thinking skills and learn about key moments in Italian and Italian diasporic history (with a special emphasis on the Italian-American context), and they significantly expand their Italian written and oral comprehension and communication skills though readings, oral presentations, and written compositions (short in-class pieces and longer research essays crafted in a series of drafts and rewrites to ensure students gain a solid familiarity with the logic of grammar and style).

Individually designed for Italian majors and other students with some knowledge of Italian. Students in this course attend the same lectures and discussions as those in ITAL 240 , but are required to do part of the work in Italian. Sole Anatrone. Sole Anatrone.

Two 75-minute periods.

Course Format: CLS