WINTER 2017

ITAL 42B Social Media Platforms of Italy:

Pre-colonial era to the New Millennium and Beyond

Instructor: Dr. C. Lavagnino Class Time: M/W 12:30-1:45pm Royce 190

Office: Royce Hall 340D Discussion: Friday
Mailbox: Royce Hall 212 Office Hours: M/W 11:00am-12:00pm or by
Email: professoressa.lavagnino@gmail.com appointment

This course is an overview of the diverse media platforms that served as agents of change for
the social, political, economic landscape of Italy from the 18th century to the present day. In
this course, we will examine social media through the lens of music, cinema, design, fashion,
visual art, cuisine and collective movements. We will explore the origins, the application and
the persuasive influence that these diverse forms of social media had on the individual
psyche, civic ideals and cultural trends of Italy. Course content will include reading historical
documents, critical essays and literature; analyzing films, music and performances; and
reflecting upon the roles of influential figures, movements and events pertinent to the course
content. Readings, assignments and class discussions are in English.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
1. Identify and describe important periods and figures in Italian history.
2. Identify and describe Italian artistic and literary movements.
3. Recognize and describe musical and visual art works by important Italian composers and
artists through the centuries.
4. Demonstrate knowledge of contemporary aspects of Italian life acquired through individual
or group research projects.

EXPECTATIONS
Students in this course are expected to:
1. be in class on time
2. submit their assignments complete and on time
3. manage and organize their work

ASSIGNMENTS
Below are the course’s major assignments. Assignments are subject to change with prior
notification from the instructor.
1. Weekly readings. Generally, there is a reading assignment due every class. Readings are
brief, downloadable and average 10-15 pages.
2. Comprehension exercises. These exercises are structured in units of 10 and are scored
on a 100-point scale.
3. Midterm. The Midterm is taken during Week 4’s Discussion Session.
4. Final. The Final is taken during Week 10’s Discussion Session.

READINGS
Assigned texts will be accessible via the course’s CCLE site.

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GRADING
25% Participation Lecture and Discussion Session
25% Assignments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 Comprehension Exercises Online
25% Assignment 6 Midterm
25% Assignment 10 Final

UNIQUE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

Students with documented disabilities who wish to discuss appropriate academic
accommodations should contact me as soon as possible. If you believe you have a learning
disability but have never been tested for one, please contact the UCLA Center for Accessible
Education, A242 Murphy Hall, (310) 825-2651, Monday - Friday, 7am - 4pm.

A NOTE ON TECHNO-MINDFULNESS
Rapidly developing technologies have the potential to enrich our learning experience. I
welcome—and, in fact, even encourage—computers and cell phones in the classroom;
however, I ask that you remain mentally present in our discussions and use these
technologies to deepen your engagement with course content rather than distract you from it.
If you so choose, I encourage you to read our assigned readings on your computer, but
please note that you are expected to annotate the readings just as you would be if you print
them and bring a hard copy to class. Finally, even if you prefer to take your notes digitally,
please bring at least 1 piece of paper and a writing instrument to every class.

ACADEMIC HONESTY
Students of this course are expected to conform to UCLA’s Student Code of Conduct.
Academic honesty and integrity are core elements of the University’s (and this course’s)
expectations. University policy defines academic dishonesty as “including, but not limited to,
cheating, fabrication or falsification, plagiarism, multiple submissions or facilitating academic
misconduct which occurs in academic exercises or submissions” (UCLA Student Conduct
Code, Office of the Dean of Students). The assignments that you turn in and post for this
course are expected to be your own.

COURSE OUTLINE*
*Subject to change. Please consult CCLE for the most up-to-date information.
Week Date Course Topic Assignment due Study
next
lecture/discussion
1 Monday Introduction to the course Assignment 1 The location
9 January Overview Submit 10 hashtags of Italy’s 20
of people, places, regions
things or expressions
you associate with
Italy
Wednesday Unifying Thought in Pre- Assignment 2
11 January Unification Italy and Read Moe’s “Italy as
Perceptions of Italianness Europe’s South” and
Cesare Beccaria On Crimes submit
and Punishments (1764) comprehension
Nelson Moe The View From exercise
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Vesuvius (2006)
Discussion Introductions Read Massimo Riva Risorgimento
Friday and John A. Davis materials
13 January Cesare Beccaria On Crimes “Mediating the (timeline, key
and Punishments (1764) Risorgimento” (2013) figures and
Activity: 10 rights you deem Read map) posted
fundamental to all people Giovani Lasi “La on CCLE
presa di Roma and Il
Nelson Moe “Italy as Europe’s piccolo garibaldino:
South” (2002) The Risorgimento
Activity: Review 10 sentences and National Identity
in Early Italian
Graded activity: Identify 10 Cinema” (2013)
regions of Italy on a map
Week Date Course Topic Assignment due
next
lecture/discussion
2 Monday
16 January
NO CLASS
Wednesday The Fight for Nationhood: Assignment 3
18 January The Risorgimento Take an original
Timeframe: 1815-1870 panorama photo that
represents
unification and
submit
comprehension
exercise
Discussion The Garibaldi & the Assignment 4
Friday Risorgimento Archive Read Adriana
20 January Activity: Present Panorama Baranello “Giovanni
Project Pascoli’s ‘La grande
proletaria si è
mossa’: A
Translation and
Critical Introduction”
and submit
comprehension
exercise
Week Date Course Topic Assignment due
next
lecture/discussion
3 Monday Dignity, Discrimination, and Read F.T. Marinetti’s
23 January Domination “The Founding and
Colonial Timeframe: 1861-1911 Manifesto of
“Giovanni Pascoli’s ‘La grande Futurism”
proletaria si è mossa’: A

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WINTER 2017

Translation and Critical

Introduction”
Wednesday Looking to the Future: Assignment 5
25 January Futurism, Research a Futurist
Timeframe: 1909-1920 artist and submit
Artist’s Statement
Discussion Activity: Artists Meet and Greet Read “The Duce on
Friday the Screen: The
27 January Image of Mussolini in
the Newsreels of the
Istituto Luce”
Week Date Course Topic Assignment due
next
lecture/discussion
4 Monday Fascism and Spectacle Read Ruth Ben-
30 January Ghiat “Modernity Is
Just Over There”
Wednesday Fascism and the Media/Visual
1 February Art
Discussion Assignment 6 MIDTERM
Friday
3 February
Week Date Course Topic Assignment due
next
lecture/discussion
5 Monday Postwar Aftermath and
6 February Reconstruction: Neorealism
Timeframe: 1944-1960
Wednesday Film Screening: Vittorio De Sica
8 February Ladri di biciclette/The Bicycle
Thief
Discussion Film analysis Read Mihaela
Friday Gavrila and Mario
10 February Morcellini. “RAI
Narrates Italy:
Current Affairs,
Television
Information and
Changing Times”
Week Date Course Topic Assignment due
next
lecture/discussion
6 Monday The Economic Miracle Made Read “Targeting the
13 February in Italy Parents through the
Timeframe: 1950-1980 Children in the
Golden Age of Italian
Television

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WINTER 2017

Advertising: The
Case of Carosello”
Wednesday Film Screening: Maurizio Read Millicent
15 February Nichetti Ladri di saponette/The Marcus “From
Icicle Thief Conscience to
Hyperconsciousness
in Maurizio Nichetti’s
The Icicle
Thief”
Discussion Film analysis
Friday
17 February
Week Date Course Topic Assignment due
next
lecture/discussion
7 Monday
20 February
NO CLASS
Thursday Out of class film screening
23 February with filmmaker Fred Kuwornu
Thursday, February 23 3-5pm
Discussion Discuss film and reading Read Alessandra Di
Friday Maio “Black Italia:
24 February Contemporary
Migrant Writers from
Africa”
Week Date Course Topic Assignment due
next
lecture/discussion
8 Monday Mapping Identity and Home Read Scego short
27 February Migration Narratives story
Wednesday Igiaba Scego Assignment 7
1 March Read Scego short
story
Submit
comprehension
exercise
Discussion TBA Read Pasquale
Friday Verdicchio
3 March “Introduction: The
Denatured Wild:
Ecocritical
Approaches to Italian
Culture and
Literature” and
Ali Farah “Punt Rap”
Submit

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comprehension
exercise
Week Date Course Topic Assignment due
next
lecture/discussion
9 Monday Italian Ecocriticism Assignment 8
6 March Ubax Cristina Ali Farah “Punt Read Ali Farah “Un
Rap” sambuco attraversa
il mare/A Dhow Is
Crossing the Sea”
Submit
comprehension
exercise
Wednesday Ubax Cristina Ali Farah “Un
8 March sambuco attraversa il mare/A
Dhow Is Crossing the Sea”
Discussion TBA Assignment 9
Friday Read Made in Italy
10 March chapter
Made in Italy Web
Activity
Submit
comprehension
exercise
Week Date Course Topic Assignment due
next
lecture/discussion
10 Monday Made in Italy Revisited
13 March Ligabue’s 2016 Made in Italy
Album + Videos
Wednesday Looking into the Future: Final
15 March Reflections

Discussion Assignment 10 FINAL

Friday
17 March

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