Course Information

Return to Philosophy of Italian Culture

Course Description

Philosophy of Italian Culture

This team-taught interdisciplinary course provides an in-depth study of Italian culture in the context of a philosophical inquiry into the nature of culture. The philosophical inquiry is developed using resources from physical anthropology, biogeography, philosophical critiques of European and Italian culture (especially from Nietzsche, Weber, and Marx, but also from Italians such as Antonio Gramsci and contemporary Italian philosophers such as Vattimo, Ferraris, and Viroli), and the cultural anthropology of Italian and Mediterranean culture. The study of Italian culture throughout the course emphasizes the role of the intellectual and social change, with particular focus on the problems of national unification, violence (state violence, as well as the violence of criminal syndicates and revolutionaries), and the distortion of democratic process by media ownership and power, particularly in the person and politics of Silvio Berlusconi. The course concludes with a look at how processes of globalization are affecting the cultural problems studied in the course. Through readings, film, papers, and discussion we will try to develop a view of culture and cultural change which provides insights into modern and contemporary Italian culture.

Learner Outcomes / Goals of the Course

1. To acquire an in-depth understanding of Italy as it has developed socially, politically and culturally since its unification in 1860.
2. To be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of modern Italian society and to view these in the light of philosophical and anthropological approaches to culture.
3. To develop critical explanations for the struggles, anomalies, conflicts, but also the virtues that have distinguished Italy and the Italian national identity.

Assessment

Students will be assessed with quizes, papers, a midterm, a research paper, and a final exam.

Course Reading List

Baudrillard, Jean. "The Ideological Genesis of Needs." In The Consumer Society Reader, edited by Juliet Schor and Douglas Holt, 57-80. New York: The New Press, 2000.

Bellochio, Marco. "Good Morning, Night (Buongiorno, Notte)." 2003.

Boria, Monica. "Silenced Humour on Rai Tv: Daniel Luttazzi, Sabina Guzzanti & Co.". In Resisting the Tide : Cultures of Opposition under Berlusconi, edited by Daniele Albertazzi, Clodagh Brook, Charlotte Ross and Nina Rothenberg, 98-109. New York: Continuum Press, 2009.

Bowman, James. "Introduction." In Honor: A History, 1-11, 2006. Campus, Donatella. "Defeated and Dvided? The Left in Opposition." In Resisting the Tide : Cultures of Opposition under Berlusconi, edited by Daniele Albertazzi, Clodagh Brook, Charlotte Ross and Nina Rothenberg, 71-82. New York: Continuum Press, 2009.

Ceri, Paolo. "Challenging from the Grass Roots: The Girotondi and the No Global Movement." In Resisting the Tide : Cultures of Opposition under Berlusconi, edited by Daniele Albertazzi, Clodagh Brook, Charlotte Ross and Nina Rothenberg, 83-93. New York: Continuum Press, 2009.

d'Arcangeli, Luciana. "Dario Fo, Franca Rame and the Censors." In Culture, Censorhip and the State in Twentieth-Century Italy, edited by Guido Bonsaver and Robert S. C. Gordon, 158-67. London: Legenda, 2005.

Davis, John. "Family and State in the Mediterranean." In Honor and Shame and the Unity of the Mediterranean 22-34. Washington, D.C.: American Anthropological Association, 1987.

Diamond, Jared. Why Do Some Societies Make Disastrous Decisions? Culture: Leading Scientists Explore Societies, Art, Power, and Technology. edited by John Brockman New York: Harper, 2011.

Eco, Umberto. "'Holy Wars, Passion and Religion." in Turning back the Clock: Hot Wars and Media Populism. Orlando: Harcourt, 2007

---. "Pasta Cunegonda." Turning back the Clock: Hot Wars and Media Populism. Orlando: Harcourt, 2007

Erickson, Paul A. , and Liam Murphy. "Excerpts from Chapter 3: Symbolic, Political Economy, Postmodern." In A History of Anthropological Theory, edited by Paul A. Erickson and Liam Murphy, 130-49. Ontario: Broadview Press, 1998.

———. "Excerpts from Chapter One: Marxism." In A History of Anthropological Theory, edited by Paul A. Erickson and Liam Murphy, 39-45. Ontario: Broadview Press, 1998.

Fo, Dario. Accidental Death of an Anarchist. London: Methuen, 1970. play.

Fronteddu, Carla. "Wounded to Death. Femicide in Italy." http://timeforequality.org/news/wounded-to-death-femicide-in-italy/.

Gandini, Erik. "Videocracy." 2009.

Geertz, Clifford. "Chapter 1: Thick Description: Toward and Interpretive Theory of Culture." In The Interpretation of Cultures, edited by Clifford Geertz, 3-30. New York: Basic Books, 1973.

Gilmore, David. "Introduction: The Shame of Dishonor." In Honor and Shame and the Unity of the Mediterranean 3-21. Washington, D.C.: American Anthropological Association, 1987.

Giordana, Marco Tullio. "Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy (Romanza Di Una Strage)." 2012.

Gladwell, Malcolm. "The Coolhunt." The New Yorker, March 17, 1997 1997, 78-88.

Gleenslade, Roy. "'My Name Is Cleared at Last' - Film Shows Police Brutality at Genoa G8 Summit." Guardian, May 22, 2013 2013.

Gramsci, Antonio. The Antonio Gramsci Reader. New York: New York University Press, 1988.

Grandi, Roberto, and Cristian Vaccari. "Electoral Campainging and the New Media." In Resisting the Tide : Cultures of Opposition under Berlusconi, edited by Daniele Albertazzi, Clodagh Brook, Charlotte Ross and Nina Rothenberg, 46-55. New York: Continuum Press, 2009.

Marx, Karl. "The Fetishism of the Commodity and Its Secret." In The Consumer Society Reader, edited by Juliet Schor and Douglas Holt, 331-42. New York: The New Press, 2000.

Pagano, Maurizio. "Contemporary Italian Philosophy: The Confrontation between Religious and Secular Thought." 1-13.

Piras, Analisa. "Girlfriend in a Coma." 2013.

Roghi, Vanessa. "Television and Censorship: Preliminary Research Notes." In Culture, Censorhip and the State in Twentieth-Century Italy, edited by Guido Bonsaver and Robert S. C. Gordon, 150-57. London: Legenda, 2005.

Singer, Peter. "Chapter 1: A Changing World." In One World, edited by Peter Singer. Australia: Yale University Press, 2002.

Stille, Alexander. Excerpts from the Sack of Rome: Media & Money + Celebrity-Power = Silvio Berlusconi. New York: Penguin Books, 2006.

Van Cleave, Rachel. "Sex, Lies, and Honor in Italian Rape Law." Suffolk University Law Review 38 (2005): 427-54.

Vicari, Daniele. "Diaz." 2012.

Viroli, Maurizio. The Liberty of Servants: Berlusconi's Italy. Translated by Antony Shugaar. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2010.

Wilson, E. O. . Excerpts from the Social Conquest of Earth. New York: Norton, 2012.

Wood, Sharon , and Joseph Farrell. Other Voices: Contesting the Status Quo. The Cambridge Companion to Modern Italian Culture. edited by Zygmunt/ West Baranski, Rebecca Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2001.

Zanardo, Lorella, and Marco Malfi Chinderini. "Il Corpo Della Donne (Womens' Bodies)." 2009.

Contact Information

Dr. Torunn Haaland, Department of Modern Languages, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA 99258

Office Hours: College Hall 340 M W 10:50 - 11:50, Coughlin Hall T 5:00 - 7:00 and by appointment

Dr. Mark Alfino, Department of Philosophy, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA 99258

Office Hours: Alfino: M-TH 8-10 and by appointment.

Office: Alfino: 313-6753 Haaland: 313 3898

Email: alfino@gonzaga.edu; haaland@gonzaga.edu

Policies

1. You must complete all work in the course to receive a grade.
2. You must PRINT and complete all assigned readings and watch all films prior to coming to class. Failure to do so will lower your participation grade for that class.
3. While you are welcome to take notes on computers and ipads, we ask you to refrain from all messaging and cellular-use.
4. You must disclose any work that you are turning in for this course that you are submitting or have submitted for other courses.
5. You must comply with all university policies concerning academic honesty.