• Soft Skills

This soft-skills course aims to introduce foreign students to the fundamentals of Italian culture within the broader context of European history and culture. The course is divided in two units. In Unit 1 (3 credits) students will learn about salient events in the history of Europe and Italy and about their socio-cultural implications, with special attention paid to contemporary issues. Students will also learn about key artistic and literary movements within this broad historical context. In Unit 2 (2 credits), the focus will be on the geography and history of the prominent Italian cities.
The goal of the course is to provide students with a deeper understanding of the social and cultural context in which they are studying and living and in which they may work in the future. Given the variety of topics and subjects, which will range from art to literature to cinema, lectures will make considerable use of multimodal resources.

At the end of the course students will have developed an understanding of Europe's and Italy's cultural past and present, and will be able to use these competences to interpret current socio-cultural issues. A special focus on Italian history of the 19th-20th centuries will enable students to understand Italy’s cultural landscape and the basic structure of Italian society. They will also be able to understand and appreciate cultural artefacts in a culturally competent manner.

In Unit 2, an overview of the main cities of Italy will also be provided with a view to making students familiar with the crucial geographical, political, economic and cultural nodes of the country. The insights gained in this part of the course will provide students with the competences needed to visit these cities with an in-depth awareness of their social, economic, cultural and historical significance.

During the course, team-work will be frequently used to improve students' communication skills, especially in relation to topics they are not familiar with, from both a disciplinary and cultural viewpoint. Most lectures include an analysis of a specific cultural object: students will learn to apply analytical techniques to a variety of artefacts, and will eventually be able to use them autonomously. At the end of the course, students will be able to discuss in detail a single cultural object, discussing and assessing its main historical and formal features.

The course includes a project laboratory in which students will be guided in analysing autonomously a single topic related to the syllabus. The topic will be presented and discussed during the final interview.

Unit 1 (3 credits)

A first series of lectures will focus on European history, from prehistoric civilisations up to the 19^th century; by learning about the foundations of European civilisation, focusing especially on its early times, international students will gain a better understanding of the contemporary western world. This historical background is a prerequisite for approaching the study of culture: the course will deal with the fundamentals of western literature, religion, art and cultural imaginaries. Moreover, the historical part will provide an overview of contemporary Europe both as an institution and a cultural entity.
The second part of this Unit is mainly dedicated to Modern Italy. Lectures will mainly deal with the history of the Italian State, from its Unification (1861) to present day. Students will have an opportunity to discuss crucial cultural problems, ranging from geography to politics to literature, and to food, cinema and local customs. Special attention will be paid to social imaginaries and narratives, which will be used as an entry point for a critical approach to the investigation of identities and cultural trends.

Unit 2 (2 credits)

Unit 2 is dedicated to the main Italian cities, and it is based on a multi-disciplinary approach which combines geography, history and culture. Italian cities like Florence, Milan, Rome or Naples are crossroads of European civilization: many influential trends and features of western history were born or developed in these cities. Economic models, worldviews, artistic techniques, religious or philosophical doctrines are among the landmark features of the western world that will be discussed. For this reason, cities will be discussed and analysed in detail, starting from their current “physical” aspect (buildings, plans, geographical location) and moving to their deeper cultural features.

Being a non-Italian student.

The examination is oral and it is composed of two parts: the discussion of a personal project and an interview about the contents of the syllabus. The personal project will concern a topic selected by the student amongst those explored during the course. The topic must be approved by the professor in advance. The exam will start with the discussion of the selected topic (10 minutes), and will be followed by an interview in which students will have to answer questions on the whole syllabus (20 minutes).

Attendant students will study the content of the lectures based on the power point presentations and other materials uploaded on Beep, as well as on the compulsory references books (see references section).

Non-attendant students will study the compulsory references books, the power point presentations and other materials uploaded on Beep. Additionally, they are required to read the book Modern Italy. A Very Short Introduction by Anna Cento Bull (see references section). All non-attendant students must e-mail the professor in advance in order to discuss special needs and possible ad-hoc changes in the syllabus.

Second Edition