Summer 2014 Philosophy of Italian Culture Discussion Questions
From Alfino
Class Dates
Contents
- 1 Monday May 19, 2014
- 2 Tuesday May 20, 2014
- 3 Wednesday May 21, 2014
- 4 Thursday May 22, 2014
- 5 Monday May 26, 2014
- 6 Tuesday May 27, 2014
- 7 Wednesday May 28, 2014
- 8 Thursday, May 29, 2014
- 9 Monday June 2, 2014
- 10 Tuesday June 3, 2014
- 11 Wednesday June 4, 2014
- 12 Thursday June 5, 2014
- 13 Monday June 9, 2014
- 14 Tuesday June 10, 2014
- 15 Wednesday June 11, 2014
- 16 Thursday June 12, 2014
- 17 Monday June 16, 2014
- 18 Tuesday June 17, 2014
- 19 Wendnesday June 18, 2014
- 20 Thursday June 19, 2014
- 21 Monday June 23, 2014
- 22 Tuesday June 24, 2014
- 23 Wednesday June 25, 2014
- 24 Thursday June 26, 2014
Monday May 19, 2014
Tuesday May 20, 2014
Wednesday May 21, 2014
- How would you characterize Italy in the first half of the 19th Century and what circumstances and events were particularly determining for its future?
- What were the major objectives of Italian patriots in this period? Why?
- What role did Garibaldi, Mazzini, Cavour and Vittorio Emanuele II play in the unification? Who would have been most and least satisfied with the outcome?
- What seem to have been some limits of the unification?
Thursday May 22, 2014
- Why does Mazzini argue for "duties before rights"? What is the historical context for this argument?
- How does Mazzini connect eschatology (God's plan) to politics?
- What is Liberty for Mazzini and what is the legitimate role of government in social life?
Monday May 26, 2014
- What was the societal structure in a fascist state?
- In the fascist state, what determines the value of a man and a woman? What historical context/events explain this?
- In what way did the fascist state act a parental figure?
- What was the main problem(s) for the Turin Communists?
Tuesday May 27, 2014
- 1. What reasons for and against cultural variation did Wilson give, and how does that help define the major conflicts seen.
- 2. How did popular novels seem to have an effect of the overall popular culture and the attitudes of Italian citizens.
- 3. Why do Italians prefer to read foreign writers rather than their own - what does this disconnect arise from? And why does the play "A Doll's House" resound so prominently with the Italian psyche?
- 4. How is the human race like an ant colony? What role do individualism and altruism play in each?
- 5. What is the blurring of identity and how does one make decisions in relation to others (especially moral decision making)?
Wednesday May 28, 2014
- 1. Have you experienced difficulties in the culture barrier while living here so far? How would ethnography help? (not specifically language)
- 2. If you were an ethnographer, what would you say so far about Italian culture? What drives Italian culture? How would a sense of honor help to form culture?
- 3. How does honor differ for males and females in society in general?
- 4. How does Pia Di Bella characterize honor through the relationship between blood and name?
- 5. What is the role of grace in an honor society? Particularly in Italian and other Mediterranean cultures which have strong religious backgrounds and faith histories.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
- What does this play tell us about the role of writers in Italian culture?
- What was strange about the bombing in Milan?
Monday June 2, 2014
Holiday
Tuesday June 3, 2014
Wednesday June 4, 2014
Thursday June 5, 2014
Monday June 9, 2014
Tuesday June 10, 2014
Wednesday June 11, 2014
Thursday June 12, 2014
Monday June 16, 2014
Tuesday June 17, 2014
Wendnesday June 18, 2014
Thursday June 19, 2014
Monday June 23, 2014
Tuesday June 24, 2014
Holiday