Rome: Fact or Fiction

Subject ITAL20004 (2011)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2011.

Credit Points: 25
Level: 2 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2011:

November, Parkville - Taught on campus.
Pre-teaching Period Start not applicable
Teaching Period not applicable
Assessment Period End not applicable
Last date to Self-Enrol not applicable
Census Date not applicable
Last date to Withdraw without fail not applicable

Intensive

Timetable can be viewed here. For information about these dates, click here.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: When offered: A 22 day intensive fieldwork programme in Rome of 60 contact hours is proposed, comprising fifteen 2 hour site-based lectures/tutorials and ten 1-hour lectures in Melbourne.
Total Time Commitment: 102
Prerequisites: Usually completion of 37.5 points of Italian at Beginners, Intermediate, or Post VCE level.
Corequisites: none
Recommended Background Knowledge: none
Non Allowed Subjects: Students who have completed the subject Rome: Fact or Fiction at Level 3 are not allowed to enrol in this subject.
Subject
Core Participation Requirements: For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Contact

arizzi@unimelb.edu.au
Subject Overview:

This subject, to be taught mostly in Italian on site in Rome will use an interdisciplinary approach to explore through the media of literature, cinema and urbanism, the inexhaustible and all-pervasive myth of Rome which continues to inform the Western tradition of culture, politics and identity. The city's history and topography will be taken to be a repository of ideas, images, desires, fears, narratives and fantasies that inform both the past and the present. The city is studied, not as an autonomous organic growth, but as an artifact and a place of spectacle, a combination of myth and reality, fact and fiction. The course will consist of thematic modules which explore the historical phases of the creation of the image of Rome and their representation in literature and cinema with particular emphasis on Rome's difficult transition to the modern era. On-site visits to monuments, museums, and districts of Rome will develop an understanding of how "civilisation" is constructed through visual and literary representation, space and memory.
Objectives:
  • have developed a critical understanding of Rome and its place in Italian history and culture.
  • have developed skills in the analysis of visual and literary media.
  • to be able to understand and discuss competently textual and visual media through the medium of Italian.
Assessment:

Equivalent of 8000 words comprising one 30 minute oral presentation in Italian on location in Rome, and one 5000 word research essay in Italian ( due after return to Melbourne).

This subject has the following hurdle requirements:

  • Regular participation in tutorials is required with a minimum of 75% attendance.
  • All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.
Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per day and in-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked.

Prescribed Texts:

A subject reader will be available from the University Bookshop
Breadth Options:

This subject potentially can be taken as a breadth subject component for the following courses:

You should visit learn more about breadth subjects and read the breadth requirements for your degree, and should discuss your choice with your student adviser, before deciding on your subjects.

Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:
  • show critical thinking and analysis through required and recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion, and by assessing the strength of an argument.
  • show an understanding of social, political, historical and cultural contexts and international awareness through the contextualisation of judgements and knowledge.
  • develop a critical self awareness and acceptance of new ideas and new aspects of Italian culture by formulating arguments.
  • demonstrate research skills through competent use of the library and other information sources.
  • demonstrate an ability to formulate and express complex ideas in Italian.
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: Ancient, Medieval and Early Modern Studies Major
Italian Major

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