Fabio Girelli-Carasi
ITALIAN 1510
THE ITALIAN CULTURAL HERITAGE
Course Description This course is taught in English.
The materials, also in English, consist of feature films and
documentaries; and an anthology of relevant writings by some of the most
significant authors of the respective era.
In the
following centuries, the systematic program of colonization of America,
Africa and Asia by the major European powers, forces the Italian ruling
and intellectual classes to confront the issue of the crisis of Italian identity,
manifested in the lack of territorial unity; of a common language and a
backward economy. Concepts such as the nation-state and, eventually, imperialism and nationalism,
i.e. the political doctrines that were triumphing in the rest of Europe
(1600-1800 CE) were alien to the consciousness of Italians until the
19th century. A newly found Italian identity led to the political
unification of the country, and eventually to the catastrophes of
Fascism and WWII (1800-1900 CE.) We will analyze the most important values and traditions that have been manifested in the life of Italians, including the relevance of religion, family, honor and solidarity in adversity. We will also encounter the semi-pacifist concept of life of Italians, and the symbolic everyday meaning of family togetherness. |
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Basic Rules
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Academic
Integrity "The faculty and administration of Brooklyn College support an environment free from cheating and plagiarism. Each student is responsible for being aware of what constitutes cheating and plagiarism and for avoiding both. The complete text of the CUNY Academic Integrity Policy and the Brooklyn College procedure for policy implementation can be found at www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/policies. If a faculty member suspects a violation of academic integrity and, upon investigation, confirms that violation, or if the student admits the violation, the faculty member must report the violation." |
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EMAIL PROTOCOL
KEEP IT FORMAL AND
PROFESSIONAL Here are the basic rules of email.
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I will only accept assignments in
the following
formats: .doc .docx .rtf I will not accept Macintosh .pages or .pdf Do not 'share' documents from google docs or any other archival/sharing system. I will not open them. All your assignments must be emailed as attachments. |
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REPEATED FROM
ABOVE: I will only accept assignments in the following formats: .doc .docx .rtf I will not accept Macintosh .pages or .pdf Do not 'share' documents from google docs or any other archival/sharing system. I will not open them. All your assignments must be emailed as attachments. |
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Office Hours I am available on WED from 12.30 to 2.15 or by appointment. I
will also be available via Skype by appointment. |
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IN-CLASS
CONDUCT
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COURSE ASSESSMENT (aka HOW TO GET AN "A")
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FINAL GRADE |
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Active in-class participation |
20% |
Quizzes and Assignments (each items has the same weight.) Each video is counted separately from writing assignments. |
50% |
Final Exam |
30% |
TOTAL |
100% |
Lectures and Assignments
will be posted regularly on the course homepage. It is your responsibility to check the homepage regularly to meet deadlines. Quizzes: If, in my judgment, the class is making satisfactory progress and homework assignments are consistently of high quality, I may decide that quizzes are not necessary. If and when quizzes are scheduled, they will be announced in advance (with an allowance for unforeseeable events.) |
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DOWNLOAD THIS
FORM to keep a record of your grades. At the end of the session, you will complete it and send it with all the information requested. |
PART 1:
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The legends of Romolus and Remus; Horatio Coclites; Mutius Scevola. Ancient Rome 1 https://youtu.be/F_hxwWmqyQ0 Ancient Rome 2 https://youtu.be/LTjH9rozzg4 |
The Roman Empire |
Individual research on the growth of Christianity in Rome |
The Middle Ages
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Readings from Boccaccio's Decameron (short stories.) |
Assignments |
THESE ARE SAMPLES OF ASSIGNMENTS I GAVE IN THE PAST. DO NOT WORK ON THEM. WAIT FOR MY INSTRUCTIONS JULIUS CAESAR QUESTION 1: Synthesize the major issues discussed in the dialogue between BRUTUS and CASSIUS. Do they have different agendas? What do they reveal about them? Write well and be clear. QUESTION 2: Pick a character OTHER THAN BRUTUS and CASSIUS, and write about your EMOTIONAL response to him/her. Did you like h/h? Did you hate h/h? What did you like/hate about h/h? (Same half page, well written.)\ QUO VADIS QUESTION 1: Isn't Nero a fascinating character? (Repulsive maybe, but some traits of his megalomaniacal malignant narcissism can be found even today...) Can you get over your disgust and find in yourself the fascination and curiosity for pathological, psychopathic personalities? QUESTION 2: Christianity back in those days was an explicit form of communism (not of the Marxist kind.) In Western societies in general, are those ideals being pursued (not only by Christians, of course) or are they just vague dreams nobody really believes in anymore? THE NAME OF THE ROSE For example: in 1610 Galileo published the treatise Sidereus Nuncius, providing scientific proof that the Earth is NOT at the center of the Universe. Moreover, the sun is at the center of the SOLAR SYSTEM and the Earth rotates around it. Galileo was arrested by the Catholic inquisition and forced to swear he was wrong (abjure/recant.) He spent the last 10 years of his life under house arrest. Too far in the past? What about climate-change deniers? Or, on the other side of the equation: what about people who, in the name of morality, object to genetic engineering that has the potential of defeating deadly diseases, but could also create custom-made children? Is there an unlimited "right" to research, or are there boundaries? And what are those boundaries? And whose right is it to decide what those boundaries are? HINT: take the position you feel most comfortable with and think about all the arguments you could use to defend it, until you come up with a question or a doubt that forces you to rethink at least some aspect of your original position. |
PART 2: |
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FILMS: |
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READING: |
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THE RENAISSANCE: HISTORY OF IDEAS - The Renaissance https://youtu.be/fI1OeMmwYjU THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY (1965) youtube $2.99 https://youtu.be/50IeiWP2x-g LEONARDO (documentary)
THE
COUNTER-REFORMATION: |
PART
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ONLINE VIDEO LECTURES:
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FILMS: |
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PART
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ONLINE VIDEO LECTURES:
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FILMS: |
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READING: |
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THE 1800s: THE RISORGIMENTO: IL GATTOPARDO (1963) youtube $2.99 https://youtu.be/pz7fMcJSEh4 VIVA L'ITALIA THE 1900s: 1900 (1976) youtube $2.99 https://youtu.be/0PPJwy-B-1Y (in two parts, total 5 hrs, but worth it.)
LA GRANDE GUERRA parte 1
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