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PL20959: Italy since 1945: politics, culture and society

Follow this link for further information on academic years Academic Year: 2018/9
Further information on owning departmentsOwning Department/School: Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies
Further information on credits Credits: 12      [equivalent to 24 CATS credits]
Further information on notional study hours Notional Study Hours: 240
Further information on unit levels Level: Intermediate (FHEQ level 5)
Further information on teaching periods Period:
Academic Year
Further information on unit assessment Assessment Summary: CW 10%, ES 45%, EX 45%
Further information on unit assessment Assessment Detail:
  • Presentation (CW 10%)
  • Essay (ES 45%)
  • Exam (EX 45%)
Further information on supplementary assessment Supplementary Assessment:
Like-for-like reassessment (where allowed by programme regulations)
Further information on requisites Requisites:
Further information on descriptions Description: Aims:
This unit builds on the historical and cultural knowledge acquired in Year 1, to:
* Develop an understanding of the main political, social, and cultural events and debates of post- World War II and contemporary Italy.
* Provide an appreciation of political, economic, social and cultural transformations essential to an understanding of contemporary Italy, its political system and institutions.
* Study a range of Italian cultural activities and outputs of the period, linking them to pre-war productions.
* Develop students' skills in analysing and interpreting dramatic, literary, and cinematic texts.
* Develop relevant political and literary-cinematic terminology.
* Equip students with the appropriate analytical skills to permit a critical evaluation of the period as a whole.

Learning Outcomes:
After successfully completing this unit students will be able to:
* Demonstrate familiarity with the main historical, political, social and cultural events and transformations of post-war and contemporary Italy and the intellectual debates surrounding them.
* Be able to critically engage with interpretations of these events.
* Critically assess the impact of international factors on Italy's post-war history.
* Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the major cultural trends with reference to the political and socioeconomic context as well as the pre-war literary and cinematic movements.
* Demonstrate familiarity with relevant political and literary-cinematic terminology and concepts in Italian.
* Be equipped with the theoretical, analytical and critical tools to engage with cultural artefacts and political issues in both written and oral communication.

Skills:
Skills in critical analysis, conceptual thinking, precision in the use of written and spoken language, exercise of independent judgement, reasoned argument, effective communication in the target language, cultural awareness, transferable skills and the planning/conduct/reporting of non-quantitative research are developed and assessed in this unit. Language skills are also developed in this unit.

Content:
The unit is taught in English. Content includes:
Post-war reconstruction; the effects of the Cold War on Italy; collective movements of the l960s and l970s; political stagnation and dissent in the 1980s; the end of the First Republic in the 1990s and the never-ending transition; immigration; the transformation of the party system; study of a selection of key literary and cinematic texts representative of different trends and decades, such as: decadentismo, neorealism, 1960s experimentalism, 1970s women's writing, literature and film in the 1990s and beyond.
Further information on programme availabilityProgramme availability:

PL20959 is Compulsory on the following programmes:

Department of Politics, Languages and International Studies
  • UHPL-AYB16 : BA(Hons) Italian ab initio and Politics with Year Abroad (Year 2)
  • UHPL-AYB08 : BA(Hons) Modern Languages and European Studies (French and ab initio Italian) with Year Abroad (Year 2)
  • UHPL-AYB06 : BA(Hons) Modern Languages and European Studies (German and ab initio Italian) with Year Abroad (Year 2)
  • UHPL-AYB20 : BA(Hons) Modern Languages and European Studies (Spanish and ab initio Italian) with Year Abroad (Year 2)

Notes: