Italian Language and Culture: Major Events and Changes from 1947 to the Present

The aim of this course is to study the major events that have contributed to changing the image and the role of Italy in Europe and in the world. The course will analyze some of these changes, mainly those in the cultural and linguistic spheres of Italian society, in order to challenge the false stereotypes that give Italy an image which does not coincide with reality. Besides studying the reasons and motivations behind the great interest and increase of the study of the Italian in the world, the course will also explore how Italy has coped with all of the problems related to industrialization and the organization of a complex society that developed late due to its political history and delayed democratization.

Required Texts: Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana (1947), con l’introduzione di T. De Mauro e una nota storica di, L. Villari, Torino, UTET-Fondazione Bellonci, 2006; T. De Mauro, La cultura degli italiani, (a cura di Francesco Erbani), Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2004