Module Identifier IT20710  
Module Title FASCISM AND RESISTANCE  
Academic Year 2001/2002  
Co-ordinator Mr Adriano Vincentelli  
Semester Intended for use in future years  
Next year offered N/A  
Next semester offered N/A  
Other staff Ms Janet Jones  
Pre-Requisite (Normally) Eligibility for entry to Level 2 Italian.  
Course delivery Lecture   5 Hours Total of 15 Lectures, Seminars/Tutorials and Practicals.  
  Seminars / Tutorials   5 Hours Total of 15 Lectures, Seminars/Tutorials and Practicals.  
  Practical   5 Hours Total of 15 Lectures, Seminars/Tutorials and Practicals.  
Assessment Continuous assessment   Essay of c.2000 words or equivalent   30%  
  Exam   2 Hours Written Exam.   70%  

Brief description


A brief introduction to history of Italy will provide a background for the study of the years of Fascism, World War II and the heroic period of the Renaissance.


The phenomenon of Italian Fascism will be studied in order to explore its rise, principal characteristics and its failure - relevant issues as manifested in A. Moravia's novel II Conformista will be considered.


The texts chosen to study the Italian Resistance and related issues are L'Agnese va a morire by R Vigano, and La ragazza di Bube by C Cassola.


The subject will be further illustrated by film/documentary material and excerpts from R Rossellini's film Paisa and Bertolucci's film based on A. Moravia's novel.

Learning outcomes


By the end of this module students should have
- gained an understanding of the circumstances and events which led to the abolition of the Italian Monarchy and the founding of the Republic of Italy after the end of World War II,
- become aware of some of the disillusionment felt by many Italians as their expectations for change failed to materialise.
- become acquainted with some of the political and moral dilemmas faced by ordinary Italians during the period, as portrayed by gifted writers through the medium of a literary genre.
- furthered their knowledge of the Italian Language via the reading of texts in a variety of subject areas.
- learnt to seek information from factual/critical sources and to relate that information to experiences described/related in literary texts.