LAH 350 Sicily: Myth, Reality and the Mafia

Instructor: Daniela Bini Class time and place: TTH: 11:00-12:15; HRH 2.112 Office Hours: HRH 3.112C: Th 3:30-6:00 and by appointment e-mail: [email protected]; phone: 512-471-5995

At the cross of the Mediterranean, placed at the most strategic location, Sicily has been the coveted island of Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Spaniards. These diverse civilizations contributed to the creation of a Sicilian culture that is unique in its richness and complexity. The course will briefly survey the artistic traces left by those civilizations placing them in dialogue with the present Sicilian reality they contributed to create. From the Greek temples of Agrigento and Segesta through the Byzantine mosaics of Palermo and Cefalù, the baroque Spanish churches, to the lush colors of Guttuso’s paintings, the course will try to tie together the visual images of Sicily with its literary and filmic expressions. Major historical and social phenomena such as Mafia, Italian unification, sexual mores will be discussed through the texts of Verga, Pirandello, Sciascia, Tomasi di Lampedusa, and films by Petri, Visconti, Germi, Taviani brothers, Giordana, Crialese, Amenta.

TEXTS: Verga, Giovanni: selected short stories on Canvas Pirandello, Luigi: Selected short stories on Canvas (please, print them for class discussion, since laptops, iPhone, iPads should not be used in class) Tomasi di Lampedusa, Giuseppe: The Leopard Brancati, Vitaliano: Beautiful Antonio Sciascia, Leonardo. The Day of the Owl ______Parts of Sicily as Metaphor

FILMS Amenta, Marco: The Sicilian Girl Pietro Germi: Seduced and Abandoned Traviani Brothers: Kaos Crialese, Manuele: Respiro Marco Tullio Giordana: The One Hundred Steps

On Canvas: Power points of Greek temples in Agrigento, Segesta, Senilunte; of Sicilian Baroque Architecture; of paintings by Antonello da Messina and Renato Guttuso with relative texts.

Grades: First Exam 30%; Second Exam 40%; research paper 20%; Class Participation 10%

SYLLABUS

GENNAIO martedì 16 Introduction to the Course: A little History, Art, Nature giovedì 18 Giovanni Verga: “Nedda” “Cavalleria rusticana” martedì 23 Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana, “Verga’s Gramigna’s Lover,” giovedì 25 Verga’s “The Stuff,” “Rosso Malpelo” martedì 30 Luigi Pirandello’s “Limes of Sicily,” Cap and Bells Last day to drop a course for possible refund FEBBRAIO giovedì 1 “Horse in the Moon,” “The Trip” martedì 6 Pirandello’s “The Jar,” “Moon Sickness,” “The other Son,” “Requiem” giovedì 8 Taviani Borthers: film Kaos martedì 13 Tomasi di Lampedusa’s The Leopard Last day to drop a course without a possible academic penalty giovedì 15 The Leopard martedì 20 The Leopard giovedì 22 The Leopard

martedì 27 The Leopard MARZO giovedì 1 ESAME martedì 6 Luchino Viconti’s film The Leopard giovedì 8 film The Leopard SPRING BREAK martedì 20 Vitangelo Brancati’s Bell’Antonio giovedì 22 Bell’Antonio martedì 27 Bell’Antonio giovedì 29 Bell’Antonio

APRILE martedì 5 Bell’Antonio giovedì 7 Pietro Germi’s film Seduced and Abandoned martedì 12 Pietro Germi’s Divorce Italian Style giovedì 14 Leonardo Sciascia’s The Day of the Owl martedì 19 The Day of the Owl giovedì 21 Marco Tullio Giordana’s film The One Hundred Steps Outline of the research paper due martedì 26 Marco Amenta’s film The Sicilian Girl giovedì 28: Emanuele Crialese’s film Respiro

MAGGIO martedì 1 Sicily as Metaphor giovedì 3 ESAME

Tuesday 10: Research Paper due; between 2500-3000 words.

This course carries both the Global Cultures flag and Ethics and Leadership Flag. Global Cultures courses are designed to increase your familiarity with cultural groups outside the United States. The Ethics and Leadership requirement equips you with the tools necessary for making ethical decisions in your adult and professional life. Courses carrying this flag expose you to ethical issues and to the process of applying ethical reasoning in real-life situations. Class and University Policies

Religious holidays By UT Austin policy, you must notify me of your pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss a class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project in order to observe a religious holy day, I will give you an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence.

Academic Integrity University of Texas Honor Code The core values of The University of Texas at Austin are learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. Each member of the university is expected to uphold these values through integrity, honesty, trust, fairness, and respect toward peers and community. Each student in this course is expected to abide by the University of Texas Honor Code.

Policy on Scholastic Dishonesty Students who violate University rules on scholastic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary penalties, including the possibility of failure in the course and/or dismissal from the University. Since such dishonesty harms the individual, all students, and the integrity of the University, policies on scholastic dishonesty will be strictly enforced. For further information, visit the Student Judicial Services web site http://www.utexas.edu/depts/dos/sjs/. This site offers excellent resources on how to cite sources and paraphrase. Copying materials from other people or from sources on the Internet, for example, or having your work edited by somebody else, constitutes a fraudulent submission. Any work submitted by a student in this course for academic credit will be the student’s own work and will acknowledge others’ work as appropriate (e.g., citing sources).

Other University Notices and Policies Use of E-mail for Official Correspondence to Students It is the student’s responsibility to keep the University informed as to changes in his or her e-mail address. Students are expected to check e-mail on a frequent and regular basis in order to stay current with University-related communications, recognizing that certain communications may be time-critical. It is recommended that e-mail be checked daily, but at a minimum, twice per week. The complete text of this policy and instructions for updating your e-mail address are available at http://www.utexas.edu/its/policies/emailnotify.html.

Documented Disability Statement The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities. If you require special accommodations, you must obtain a letter that documents your disability from the Services for Students with Disabilities area of the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement (471-6259 voice or 471-4641 TTY for users who are deaf or hard of hearing). Present the letter to me at the beginning of the semester so we can discuss the accommodations you need. No later than five business days before an exam, you should remind me of any testing accommodations you will need. For more information, visit http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/. Behavior Concerns Advice Line (BCAL) If you are worried about someone who is acting differently, you may use the Behavior Concerns Advice Line to discuss by phone your concerns about another individual’s behavior. This service is provided through a partnership among the Office of the Dean of Students, the Counseling and Mental Health Center (CMHC), the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and The University of Texas Police Department (UTPD). Call 512-232-5050 or visit http://www.utexas.edu/safety/bcal.

Emergency Evacuation Policy Occupants of buildings on the UT Austin campus are required to evacuate and assemble outside when a fire alarm is activated or an announcement is made. Please be aware of the following policies regarding evacuation: Familiarize yourself with all exit doors of the classroom and the building. Remember that the nearest exit door may not be the one you used when you entered the building. If you require assistance to evacuate, inform me in writing during the first week of class. In the event of an evacuation, follow my instructions or those of class instructors. Do not re-enter a building unless you are given instructions by the Austin Fire Department, the UT-Austin Police Department, or the Fire Prevention Services office.