Modern Italy (343-0-20)
Instructors
Edward Wallace Muir Jr
847/491-3653
Harris Hall - Room 244
Meeting Info
Harris Hall L28: Tues, Thurs 9:30AM - 10:50AM
Overview of class
An examination of the history of Italy from the Unification to the present. Principal topics will include the movement for national unification, the tenacious economic backwardness of the South, the history of the Sicilian Mafia and similar criminal organizations in Naples and Calabria, the dictatorship of Mussolini and Fascism, Italian participation in World War II and the Allied invasion of the peninsula, the role of the Roman Catholic Church in society, the economic miracles of the 1960s and 1980s, the Red Brigades and terrorism, the struggle for women's rights, and the "bloodless" political revolution of 1992-93. The course concentrates on political and social history but includes several novels in the readings.
Learning Objectives
Learn the history of Italy and how to make convincing arguments based on primary source readings
Evaluation Method
Weekly journal entries examining questions about the readings and lectures. Attendance to discussions is mandatory and contributions will be evaluated.
Class Materials (Required)
The Leopard, Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, ISBN 978-0-375-71479-5, Pantheon
Christ Stopped at Eboli, Carlo Levi, ISBN 978-0-374-53009-9, Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Bread and Wine, Ignazio Silone, ISBN 978-0-451-52978-7, Signet
War in Val D'Orcia: An Italian War Diary, 1943-1944, Iris Origo, ISBN 978-1-68137-266-2, New York Review of Books
Benevolence and Betrayal: Five Italian Jewish Families under Fascism, Alexander Stille, ISBN 978-0140177152, Penguin
Gamorrah: A Personal Journey into the Violent International Empires of Naples' Organized Crime System, Roberto Saviano, ISBN 978-1250145031, Picador
Class Notes
History Area(s) of Concentration: European
Class Attributes
Historical Studies Foundational Discipline
Historical Studies Distro Area