ITALIAN AMERICAN CULTURE, FILM AND LITERATURE

Prof. Fabio Girelli-Carasi
LEGENDA      YELLOW HIGHLIGHT: REQUIRED

                      BLUE HIGHLIGHT: STRONGLY RECOMMENDED BUT NOT REQUIRED

DUE THU  MARCH 10

BLOG  REQUIRED

QUIZ MARCH 10 
  • The Italian; Son of Italy  (example of questions  CLICK HERE)
     
  • The Great Migration of African Americans
    • When did the Great Migration of African American from the South take place?

    • What were the main reasons of the Great Migration?

    • Why can we compare it to other mass migrations from foreign countries?

    • How does the experience of hardship of immigrants, compare to the history of African Americans? Why was (and is)  the road to integration so full of obstacles for African Americans?

  • Lumière Brothers shorts and The Birth of a Nation
    • Question: the issue of VOTING, which was central to the Civil Rights movement of the 50s and 60s, appears both in THE ITALIAN and THE BIRTH OF A NATION. What are your considerations about the respective representation?

    • Question: in class I talked about the issue of language and personal identity (reference to SON OF ITALY).
      The issue of voting is central to the notion of
      COLLECTIVE IDENTITY.
      By not being allowed to vote, minorities are told "You are not one of us." YOU DO NOT BELONG TO OUR HISTORY. YOU WILL NOT BE WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF AMERICAN HISTORY.
      The first is a method to erase cultural/tribal belonging. The second is a method of exclusion and segregation into a state of NON-CITIZENSHIP.
      (I suggest a quick search on DREAD SCOTT, Supreme Court case, 1857. Also, in what year did Native Americans became American citizens?)

    • Question:  in class I mentioned the representation of Italians as cowards, with no "militaristic values," unwilling to fight "like real men," "lacking courage."
      We can find the same kind of representation for African Americans in THE BIRTH. The implicit assumption is that 'those people' are "not like us," unworthy of the ethos of the country, deserving contempt.
       

  • Class participation

    • What do you plan to do to improve your own participation in class?

    •  Propose a method (practice, exercise) that would promote YOUR OWN participation in class.