The aim of this course is to present an overview of the culture of Italy from 
unification to the present while observing the changes that took place in the 
Italian nation during the last century and a half. The reading of select relevant 
literary texts of the period will be complemented by the explorative study of 
representative works from the areas of painting, music, and cinema. Facets of 
popular and utilitarian culture such as pop music, TV, fashion, and design will also 
be considered. By the end of the course the student should have arrived at some 
understanding of how Italians see themselves and the world. S/he should also have 
developed effective methods of analysis and an awareness of critical tools available 
for further study of Italian culture. Students will read extensively in the 
forementioned areas, participate in the classroom discussions that are based on the 
assigned readings, and write essays of varying length on topics related to those 
areas.

Required readings:
Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, The Leopard
Italo Calvino, The Path to the Spiders’ Nests
Christopher Duggan, A Concise History of Italy
Martha King, ed., New Italian Women: A Collection of Short Fiction
Assigned readings of selected texts on electronic reserve on the GIL website.
III. Other Requirements:
1. Preparation of all the assigned readings and movies.
2. Two 1200-word papers on a topic related to The Leopard and The Path to the 
Spiders’ Nests, respectively.
3. Daily class participation in all classroom discussions.
4.One 15-minute class presentation. (See list of topics on webct.)
Two quizzes and a final exam will test the student's ability to development an 
integrated approach to the understanding of culture, literature, and language.