Hist 335 / IntS 335 / RoSt 335 - Italy in the 19th and 20th Centuries
Fall / Spring
Instructor: Prof. Anne Wingenter
Meeting Day: Wednesday
Meeting Times: 2:30 - 5:30 pm
Writing Intensive
Course Description
This course will introduce students to the major political, cultural and social trends in Italy since the defeat of Napoleon. Within this broad overview, three historical "problems" will be examined in depth. These are 1) the place of the Risorgimento in Italian unification, 2) the rise and fall of Italian Fascism, and 3) the "crisis" of the Italian republic. By analyzing these problems, students should gain a command not only of the "names and dates" of modern Italian history but also come to understand the dynamics involved: the interplay of regional influences, the basic trends of continuity and change, and the role of the individual and of social forces.
Required Texts
Spencer M. DiScala, Italy: From Revolution to Republic. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1998. Igazio Silone, The Abruzzo Trilogy (any edition)
Learning Outcomes: Skills
History as a discipline consists of analysis and expository writing. Consequently, the "writing intensive" aspect of this course is designed both to improve your general writing skills and to develop your ability to "do" history. Through engagement with controversial subjects and conflicting interpretations across primary sources and secondary texts, you will further develop your abilities to read and write critcally and to recognize and question the political implications of history writing.
Learning Outcomes: Knowledge
You will learn to define some perhaps familiar political terms (for example, Liberalism, Republicanism, Fascism, Socialism, Communism, Christian Democracy) in the context of Italian politics. By the end of the course you will have obtained a broad overview of modern Italian history and be able to place related ideas, institutions, and individuals in their proper context.
Academic Integrity
Work turned in in this class is to be your own. Plagiarism is, as is stated in Loyola's rules, grounds for failure of the assignment and possibly the class. If you have doubts about the proper use/citation of sources, there are several manuals of style available in the library. If doubts persist, consult me before turning in the assignment in question.
Note: You are strongly encouraged to take advantage of the vast "primary source" where you currently live. Although limited class time makes organized field trips difficult, this syllabus lists a number of sights in Rome that correspond to the periods covered in the course.
Course Requirements
- Class Participation and question formulation = 10%
You are responsible for each week's readings and should come to class with specific questions and comments in mind. Students will be asked at the beginning of the semester to volunteer to lead class discussion for each week, but our conversation will depend on the participation of all of the members of the class. No later than the day before our class meeting, you must compose and post to the discussion board a question or comment based on the primary readings for the week. I reserve the right to require written summaries of the readings should it become apparent students are not keeping up with them. Lectures in this class deal with specific events, institutions, and individuals and the historical debates surrounding them; the readings provide the context for these debates and the general narrative of Italian history. - Mid-Term Exam = 20%
The mid-term will include a map test and a choice of identification questions drawn from the first part of the course. - Writing Project = 50%
You are required to complete a research paper of approximately ten-to-twelve pages in length. This assignment is to be completed in stages, each of which will account for a portion of your grade. Guidelines for this assignment and a breakdown of grading are provided at the end of the syllabus. - Final Exam = 20%
The final will include a document analysis and some short identification questions. These will be drawn from the material covered since the mid-term.
Attendance policy in this class follows the official Rome Center rules. "In order for a student to be excused from class, he/she must present to the professor of each of his/her classes a written note of excuse. ... The only authorized notes are those from a doctor, the director, or an associate director." A doctor's or nurse's note is necessary for excused absences due to illness. Travel is NOT considered a valid excuse for missing classes or turning in late assignments.
Schedule of Classes
Part One: The Problem of the Risorgimento Reading: DiScala, pp. xix - 169 Fontamara by Week 7
Week 1: General overview and French Revolution
Reading: Excerpts from Lucy Riall, "The Risorgimento and Italian history," and Vittorio Alfieri, Il Misogallo
Week 2: Restoration and Failed Revolutions
Reading: Excerpts from Stendahl, Mazzini, Gioberti Question/Proposal for writing project due
Week 3: Unification
Reading: "The Plombieres Agreement." Excerpts from Garibaldi and Cavour.
Week 4: Liberal Italy
Reading: Vittorio Emanuele II. Denis Mack Smith, "Regionalism." Working annotated bibliography of writing project due.
Week 5: Unification?
Reading: George Sorel, "An Exaltation of Violence: the Myth of the General Strike"
Related sights in Rome: Museo Napoleonico, Museo del Risorgimento, Ponte Milvio, Gianicolo, Piazza Cavour and the Palazzo di Giustizia, Ministero delle Finanze, Ponte Garibaldi, Piazza del Parlamento, Il Quirinale Areas of Rome developed during the above period: Via Nazionale, Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Via del Tritone, Testaccio, San Lorenzo, San Giovanni (outside the walls), Santa Croce.
Part Two: Understanding Fascism Reading: DiScala, pp. 171 - 298 Bread and Wine by Week 9
Week 6: War and the Crisis of the Liberal State
Reading: Excerpts from Le Bon, Sorel, Marinetti, Corradini
Mid-Term Exam
Week 7: The Rise of Italian Fascism
Reading: Paul Corner article and documents on Fascism
Sentence outline with thesis of writing project due
Related sights in Rome: Il Vittoriano Areas of Rome developed during the above period: San Saba, Le Case Popolare di Testaccio, Piazza Re di Roma, Prati
Week 8: Consolidation of Power
Reading: Excerpts from Benito Mussolini, "The Labor Charter," and the Lateran Pacts
Week 9: Fascist Regime - Theory and Practice
Reading: Excerpts from "The Doctrine of Fascism" and Emil Ludwig, Talks with Mussolini
Rough Draft of writing project due
Week 10: WWII and the Fall of Fasicism
Reading: OSS declassified documents from the Italian campaign, and Sacmed documents on partisan activiity in Italy
Related sights in Rome: Palazzo Venezia, Piazza Augusto Imperatore, Il Foro Italico (Stadio Olimpico), Le Fosse Ardeatine. Areas of Rome developed during the above period: Monte Sacro, Garbatella, EUR, Piazza Mazzini
Part Three: The Crisis of the "First Republic" Reading: DiScala, pp.301 - 397.
Week 11: The Italian Republic
Reading: "Italy stands in front of the Iron Curtain"
Week 12: Tangentopoli and Mani Pulite Reading: "The Judges and Political Corruption in Italy" Final draft of writing project due
Week 13: The Berlusconi phenomenon
Related sights in Rome: Monument to Aldo Moro (in Via Caetani). Areas of Rome developed during the above period: Monte Mario, Monteverde (Vecchio e Nuovo), Vigna Clara
FINAL EXAMINATION
RESEARCH PAPER