Anglophone Cultures
A.Y. 2023/2024
Learning objectives
The course "Culture anglofone" pursues the general and specific objectives presented in the "Manifesto degli studi 2018-2019" of Language Mediation and Intercultural Communication (L-12). Here follows the modulation of the objectives as developed within the framework of the course.
- Knowledge and understanding
Students will gain knowledge and understanding of
· the approaches of Cultural Studies on contemporary issues and contexts mainly in English-speaking countries
· the basics of Postcolonial Theory
· the historical process of colonisation and decolonisation mainly in the British empire
· the notions of empire, post-empire, postcolonialism, and the language(s) of the empire
· the notions of power, ideology, hegemony and the ways they are reflected in cultures
· the issues of indigeneity, identity, alterity, difference, hybridity
· the conditions of cultural production
· the discourses and practices of dissent and resistance
· a range of cultural practices, productions (visual art, films, writing, music and performances), and literary texts, primarily in English
Applying knowledge and understanding
Students will apply their acquired knowledge and understanding to
· close read and analyse cultural productions and literary texts
· select and synthesise relevant information
· debate and discuss relevant texts and issues in the class and in groups
· produce brief oral or written work consistent with the topics of the course
Making judgements
Students will acquire the following skills relevant to making judgements:
· adopt intercultural and plural perspectives of analysis
· develop analytical and critical attitudes towards cultural productions and literary texts
· draw comparisons and establish connections between the various contexts under scrutiny and the personal situated experience
Communication skills
The course will enable students to
· present their own work to an audience of peers
· organise and structure group work among peers
· use IT technology to support both academic work and networking
Learning skills
Through active participation and independent work, students will be able to
· undertake further study with a higher degree of intellectual curiosity, autonomy, and ability to discriminate
· transfer the acquired skills to related fields of analysis
· apply a methodological approach to future research.
- Knowledge and understanding
Students will gain knowledge and understanding of
· the approaches of Cultural Studies on contemporary issues and contexts mainly in English-speaking countries
· the basics of Postcolonial Theory
· the historical process of colonisation and decolonisation mainly in the British empire
· the notions of empire, post-empire, postcolonialism, and the language(s) of the empire
· the notions of power, ideology, hegemony and the ways they are reflected in cultures
· the issues of indigeneity, identity, alterity, difference, hybridity
· the conditions of cultural production
· the discourses and practices of dissent and resistance
· a range of cultural practices, productions (visual art, films, writing, music and performances), and literary texts, primarily in English
Applying knowledge and understanding
Students will apply their acquired knowledge and understanding to
· close read and analyse cultural productions and literary texts
· select and synthesise relevant information
· debate and discuss relevant texts and issues in the class and in groups
· produce brief oral or written work consistent with the topics of the course
Making judgements
Students will acquire the following skills relevant to making judgements:
· adopt intercultural and plural perspectives of analysis
· develop analytical and critical attitudes towards cultural productions and literary texts
· draw comparisons and establish connections between the various contexts under scrutiny and the personal situated experience
Communication skills
The course will enable students to
· present their own work to an audience of peers
· organise and structure group work among peers
· use IT technology to support both academic work and networking
Learning skills
Through active participation and independent work, students will be able to
· undertake further study with a higher degree of intellectual curiosity, autonomy, and ability to discriminate
· transfer the acquired skills to related fields of analysis
· apply a methodological approach to future research.
Expected learning outcomes
Acquired knowledge and skills will match the objectives of the course by allowing students to select, contextualise, critically analyse, and discuss the cultural practices and productions of English-speaking countries. This will be done from a variety of perspectives and using the methodological approach of Cultural Studies.
Lesson period: First semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Single course
This course can be attended as a single course.
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
The course is particularly interesting for students who wish to know more of the cultures of English-speaking countries. The programme will offer an overview of the history of the British Empire and its colonies in the nineteenth century and will discuss the struggles for liberation, the dynamics of resistance, the formation of national and cultural identities, and the articulation of postcolonial practices and cultures. The theoretical and methodological approach of Cultural Studies will be used in combination with Postcolonial Studies with special reference to up-to-date current debates. The course will present some important postcolonial notions that have become particularly relevant from the Sixties onwards, i.e. cultural practices, difference, alterity, resistance, subalternity, history, stories, power, translation, borders and movement. Drawing on the approaches of Cultural Studies and Postcolonial Studies, a literary text will be taken as case study. Special focus will be on the notions of "race" and "apartheid" in the context of the history of South Africa from the beginning of the segregationist regime to postapartheid. Through the narrative of simple people's lives, the text also describes the history of the nation. Contemporary artistic practices will be also examined in the South African context. The material of the course is useful in order to interpret our historical moment of global migration and the relocation of identities from a political perspective.
Module 1 - 3 credits - Colonial history and postcolonial stories: The British empire and the postcolony in the global world. Some selected keywords
Module 2 - 3 credits - Postcolonial Studies and Cultural Studies for today and tomorrow: cultural, critical and pedagogical perspectives for social activism
Module 3 - 3 credits - Key notions for "difference" from a postcolonial perspective: "race" and "apartheid" with reference to South Africa and to our present conjuncture
Module 1 - 3 credits - Colonial history and postcolonial stories: The British empire and the postcolony in the global world. Some selected keywords
Module 2 - 3 credits - Postcolonial Studies and Cultural Studies for today and tomorrow: cultural, critical and pedagogical perspectives for social activism
Module 3 - 3 credits - Key notions for "difference" from a postcolonial perspective: "race" and "apartheid" with reference to South Africa and to our present conjuncture
Prerequisites for admission
Students must have passed the exam "Cultura inglese I" (not for exchange students). They should have a good level of English language competence. Basic Italian is advisable for international students.
Teaching methods
Lectures will be delivered in presence according to the official timetable. Class discussion and debates are welcome. The course programme and materials will be available on the ARIEL website of the course. Students will be informed of any changes during classes. Attendance is highly recommended, however not compulsory. Classes will be entirely in English, with very few exceptions in Italian.
Teaching Resources
Methodology:
Materials are available on the ARIEL website of the course and on the University digital library.
· Reinhard, Wolfgang, "Colonisation and Colonialism, History of", in International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Elsevier, 2015, pp. 223-227.
· Hall, Stuart, "New Ethnicities", in Morley, D. et al. (eds.), Critical Dialogues in Cultural Studies, London, Routledge, 1996, pp. 441-449.
· Hall, Stuart, (1992) "Race, Culture, and Communications: Looking Backward and Forward at Cultural Studies", Rethinking Marxism: A Journal of Economics, Culture & Society, 5, 1, 1992, pp. 10-18.
· Roman, Leslie G., "'Keywords': Stuart Hall, an extraordinary educator, cultural politics and public pedagogies", Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 36, 2, 2015, pp. 161-170.
· Groosberg, Lawrence, "Learning from Stuart Hall, following the path with heart", Cultural Studies, 29, 1, 2015, pp. 3-11.
· Mbembe, Achille, "Necropolitics", Public Culture, 15, 1, 2003, pp. 11-40.
· Mbembe, Achille, "The Universal Right to Breath", Critical Inquiry, Blog, 13 April 2020.
· Casas-Cortes, Maribel, Sebastian Cobarrubias, Nicholas De Genova, Glenda Garelli, Giorgio Grappi, Charles Heller, Sabine Hess, Bernd Kasparek, Sandro Mezzadra, Brett Neilson, Irene Peano, Lorenzo Pezzani, John Pickles, Federico Rahola, Lisa Riedner, Stephan Scheel & Martina Tazzioli, "New Keywords: Migration and Borders", Cultural Studies, 29, 1, 2015, pp. 55-87.
· Mezzadra, Sandro, "Challenging Borders: The legacy of postcolonial critique in the present conjuncture", Soft Power, 7, 2, 2020, pp. 20-44.
· Sajed, Alina & Timothy Seidel, "Anticolonial connectivity and the politics of solidarity: Between home and the world", Postcolonial Studies, 26, 1, 2023, pp. 1-12.
· Ponzanesi, Sandra, (2021) "Postcolonial intellectuals: New paradigms", Postcolonial Studies, 24, 4, 2021, pp. 433-447.
· Gualtieri, Claudia, "Vivere con la razza nei racconti di Elleke Boehmer", Le Simplegadi, XVII, 19, 2019, pp. 153-166. Available open access online.
Literature:
For students who can read Italian:
· Boehmer, Elleke, La ragazza che parlava zulu e altri racconti, Roma, Historica, 2019. Introduzione di Claudia Gualtieri, "Né qui / né là: scrivere (e leggere) di tanti mondi", pp. 5-35.
For students unable to read Italian:
Elleke Boehmer, Sharmilla, and Other Stories, Johannesburg, Jacana, 2010, pp. 1-111. Available on Google Scholar at the following link: https://books.google.com/books?hl=it&lr=&id=3DrKzVaUmYcC&oi=fnd&pg=PA3&dq=elleke+boehmer+sharmilla&ots=_I4d_YK5YW&sig=Mhxn3hoebJ1ihmkg9oaTUvvYfTw#v=onepage&q=elleke%20boehmer%20sharmilla&f=false.
All the materials in the ARIEL website are compulsory parts of the programme. Study materials, readings and exam procedures are the same for attending and non-attending students.
Materials are available on the ARIEL website of the course and on the University digital library.
· Reinhard, Wolfgang, "Colonisation and Colonialism, History of", in International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Elsevier, 2015, pp. 223-227.
· Hall, Stuart, "New Ethnicities", in Morley, D. et al. (eds.), Critical Dialogues in Cultural Studies, London, Routledge, 1996, pp. 441-449.
· Hall, Stuart, (1992) "Race, Culture, and Communications: Looking Backward and Forward at Cultural Studies", Rethinking Marxism: A Journal of Economics, Culture & Society, 5, 1, 1992, pp. 10-18.
· Roman, Leslie G., "'Keywords': Stuart Hall, an extraordinary educator, cultural politics and public pedagogies", Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 36, 2, 2015, pp. 161-170.
· Groosberg, Lawrence, "Learning from Stuart Hall, following the path with heart", Cultural Studies, 29, 1, 2015, pp. 3-11.
· Mbembe, Achille, "Necropolitics", Public Culture, 15, 1, 2003, pp. 11-40.
· Mbembe, Achille, "The Universal Right to Breath", Critical Inquiry, Blog, 13 April 2020.
· Casas-Cortes, Maribel, Sebastian Cobarrubias, Nicholas De Genova, Glenda Garelli, Giorgio Grappi, Charles Heller, Sabine Hess, Bernd Kasparek, Sandro Mezzadra, Brett Neilson, Irene Peano, Lorenzo Pezzani, John Pickles, Federico Rahola, Lisa Riedner, Stephan Scheel & Martina Tazzioli, "New Keywords: Migration and Borders", Cultural Studies, 29, 1, 2015, pp. 55-87.
· Mezzadra, Sandro, "Challenging Borders: The legacy of postcolonial critique in the present conjuncture", Soft Power, 7, 2, 2020, pp. 20-44.
· Sajed, Alina & Timothy Seidel, "Anticolonial connectivity and the politics of solidarity: Between home and the world", Postcolonial Studies, 26, 1, 2023, pp. 1-12.
· Ponzanesi, Sandra, (2021) "Postcolonial intellectuals: New paradigms", Postcolonial Studies, 24, 4, 2021, pp. 433-447.
· Gualtieri, Claudia, "Vivere con la razza nei racconti di Elleke Boehmer", Le Simplegadi, XVII, 19, 2019, pp. 153-166. Available open access online.
Literature:
For students who can read Italian:
· Boehmer, Elleke, La ragazza che parlava zulu e altri racconti, Roma, Historica, 2019. Introduzione di Claudia Gualtieri, "Né qui / né là: scrivere (e leggere) di tanti mondi", pp. 5-35.
For students unable to read Italian:
Elleke Boehmer, Sharmilla, and Other Stories, Johannesburg, Jacana, 2010, pp. 1-111. Available on Google Scholar at the following link: https://books.google.com/books?hl=it&lr=&id=3DrKzVaUmYcC&oi=fnd&pg=PA3&dq=elleke+boehmer+sharmilla&ots=_I4d_YK5YW&sig=Mhxn3hoebJ1ihmkg9oaTUvvYfTw#v=onepage&q=elleke%20boehmer%20sharmilla&f=false.
All the materials in the ARIEL website are compulsory parts of the programme. Study materials, readings and exam procedures are the same for attending and non-attending students.
Assessment methods and Criteria
Oral test. It will take place in presence and will include the whole content of the course programme. The course programme is available online, on the ARIEL website of the course. No intermediate tests will be given. Marks will be 30/30. At the beginning of the course students will receive information on assessment procedures and criteria and on the whole course programme. The test may be taken in English or Italian depending on the student's choice. Students will be tested through analytical and critical discussions of the materials in the programme. Marks and excellence will be awarded for coherent organisation of comments, proficient and accurate language use, critical depth in reading the materials, original thinking in the presentation, capacity of establishing accurate and creative connections between theory and practice, correct historical and cultural contextualisation of the examined texts, events, and practices. For students attending the course, individual contributions to the lessons will be appreciated.
L-LIN/10 - ENGLISH LITERATURE - University credits: 9
Lessons: 60 hours
Professor:
Gualtieri Claudia
Educational website(s)
Professor(s)