Anglophone Cultural Studies I
A.Y. 2024/2025
Learning objectives
The main goal of Anglophone Cultural Studies I is to provide the basic methodological tools of cultural studies and apply them to understand and analyse cultures present in English-speaking countries.
To this end, the course aims to enable students to:
- understand a set of cultural practices and productions by adopting the methodological approach of cultural studies and post-colonial studies applied to the Anglophone contexts;
- use this approach to understand the key cultural concepts of the countries or areas being studied;
- read, analyse and interpret texts and cultural practices and productions related to the Anglophone contexts;
- understand the historical, political, social and cultural background related to the cultural practices studied;
- understand the colonial and decolonial history of the British Empire.
To this end, the course aims to enable students to:
- understand a set of cultural practices and productions by adopting the methodological approach of cultural studies and post-colonial studies applied to the Anglophone contexts;
- use this approach to understand the key cultural concepts of the countries or areas being studied;
- read, analyse and interpret texts and cultural practices and productions related to the Anglophone contexts;
- understand the historical, political, social and cultural background related to the cultural practices studied;
- understand the colonial and decolonial history of the British Empire.
Expected learning outcomes
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- use the language and skills of cultural studies and post-colonial studies applied to the Anglophone contexts, in line with the professional profile to be trained during the three-year programme;
- apply this subject-specific language to mediation practices, in line with the professional profile to be trained during the three-year programme;
- use cultural skills to develop an aptitude for inclusion practices;
- read, summarise and compare cultural practices and productions in the Anglophone contexts studied;
- make intercultural and interdisciplinary connections, in line with the professional profile to be trained during the three-year programme.
- use the language and skills of cultural studies and post-colonial studies applied to the Anglophone contexts, in line with the professional profile to be trained during the three-year programme;
- apply this subject-specific language to mediation practices, in line with the professional profile to be trained during the three-year programme;
- use cultural skills to develop an aptitude for inclusion practices;
- read, summarise and compare cultural practices and productions in the Anglophone contexts studied;
- make intercultural and interdisciplinary connections, in line with the professional profile to be trained during the three-year programme.
Lesson period: Second 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
Second semester
Course syllabus
The course is particularly interesting for students who wish to know more about postcolonial studies in combination with cultural studies. This will help them understand how the cultural, political and linguistic legacy of the British empire in its ex-colonies activated processes of resistance, hybridisation and imagination of new life practices.
Modulo 1 - 3 crediti - Cultural and subcultural studies
In Module 1, Cultural Studies as a project of cultural, political and social activism will be critically presented. The theories and the context in which the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies was founded in the Sixties at the University of Birmingham will be introduced. Its development will be examined following Stuart Hall's direction in the Eighties, focusing on his reflections about race and new ethnicities. Subcultural studies - exemplified through the major British and global subcultures - will be presented, with their cultural practices, styles and class affiliations. Examples of spectacular subcultures (i.e. teddy boys and skinheads) will also be provided in order to show their complexity in the English-speaking national and international panoramas.
Modulo 2 - 3 crediti - Postcolonial studies
In modulo 2 a historical context for the birth of the postcolonial studies will be presented. The history of the British empire will be traced, from the time of European geographical discoveries to colonial occupation, to decolonisation and to the emergence of postcolonial voices after independence. How British colonization produced different colonial political systems will be addressed, focusing on how the master narrative of the empire fabricated the stereotype of otherness, and on how the postcolonial counter-discourse in English appropriated the language of the empire to give voice to the colonized.
Modulo 3 - 3 crediti - Postcolonial voices and today's postcolony
In modulo 3 case studies will be selected from the artistic, literary and critical cultural productions in the British ex-colonies. Among them, Canada, Australia, South Africa and Nigeria will provide most of the references. In conclusion, the postcolonial legacy will be observed in today's global postcolony, showing how dynamics of power, resistance and imagination of new life practices occur, especially when looking at the global movement of people.
Modulo 1 - 3 crediti - Cultural and subcultural studies
In Module 1, Cultural Studies as a project of cultural, political and social activism will be critically presented. The theories and the context in which the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies was founded in the Sixties at the University of Birmingham will be introduced. Its development will be examined following Stuart Hall's direction in the Eighties, focusing on his reflections about race and new ethnicities. Subcultural studies - exemplified through the major British and global subcultures - will be presented, with their cultural practices, styles and class affiliations. Examples of spectacular subcultures (i.e. teddy boys and skinheads) will also be provided in order to show their complexity in the English-speaking national and international panoramas.
Modulo 2 - 3 crediti - Postcolonial studies
In modulo 2 a historical context for the birth of the postcolonial studies will be presented. The history of the British empire will be traced, from the time of European geographical discoveries to colonial occupation, to decolonisation and to the emergence of postcolonial voices after independence. How British colonization produced different colonial political systems will be addressed, focusing on how the master narrative of the empire fabricated the stereotype of otherness, and on how the postcolonial counter-discourse in English appropriated the language of the empire to give voice to the colonized.
Modulo 3 - 3 crediti - Postcolonial voices and today's postcolony
In modulo 3 case studies will be selected from the artistic, literary and critical cultural productions in the British ex-colonies. Among them, Canada, Australia, South Africa and Nigeria will provide most of the references. In conclusion, the postcolonial legacy will be observed in today's global postcolony, showing how dynamics of power, resistance and imagination of new life practices occur, especially when looking at the global movement of people.
Prerequisites for admission
Students should have a good level of Italian language competence. Basic English is also requested.
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 in Italian. Materials will be both in Italian and in English.
Teaching Resources
Compulsary study materials
Methodology:
Roberto Pedretti, Dalla Lambretta allo skateboard 2.0. Sottoculture e nuovi movimenti dagli anni '50 alla globalizzazione, Milano, Unicopli, 2020.
Literature:
· Achebe, Chinua, Things Fall Apart, any edition; in Italian, Il crollo, any edition.
Critical Essays (available in the ARIEL website of the course or in UNIMI digital library or open access):
· Loomba, Ania, Introduction, in Colonialism/Postcolonialism, London, Routledge, 2nd edition
2005, pp. 1-6.
· Loomba, Ania, Conclusion, in Colonialism/Postcolonialism, London, Routledge, 2nd edition
2005, pp. 213-228.
· Reinhard, Wolfgang, "Colonisation and Colonialism, History of", in International
Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Elsevier, 2015, pp. 223-227.
· Mbembe, Achille, "The universal right to breathe", Critical Inquiry, 47, 52, Winter 2021,
pp. 58-62.
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.1086/711437
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/711437
· Gualtieri, Claudia e Maurizio Veglio (a cura di), "Storytelling e ambiente ostile. Nuove
geografie di lotta e di speranza", From the European South, 9, 2021, pp. 155-158.
https://www.fesjournal.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/FES9_12.Gualtieri_Veglio.pdf
https://www.fesjournal.eu/numeri/general-issue-3/
Study material and readings are the same for attending and non-attending students.
Methodology:
Roberto Pedretti, Dalla Lambretta allo skateboard 2.0. Sottoculture e nuovi movimenti dagli anni '50 alla globalizzazione, Milano, Unicopli, 2020.
Literature:
· Achebe, Chinua, Things Fall Apart, any edition; in Italian, Il crollo, any edition.
Critical Essays (available in the ARIEL website of the course or in UNIMI digital library or open access):
· Loomba, Ania, Introduction, in Colonialism/Postcolonialism, London, Routledge, 2nd edition
2005, pp. 1-6.
· Loomba, Ania, Conclusion, in Colonialism/Postcolonialism, London, Routledge, 2nd edition
2005, pp. 213-228.
· Reinhard, Wolfgang, "Colonisation and Colonialism, History of", in International
Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, Elsevier, 2015, pp. 223-227.
· Mbembe, Achille, "The universal right to breathe", Critical Inquiry, 47, 52, Winter 2021,
pp. 58-62.
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.1086/711437
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/711437
· Gualtieri, Claudia e Maurizio Veglio (a cura di), "Storytelling e ambiente ostile. Nuove
geografie di lotta e di speranza", From the European South, 9, 2021, pp. 155-158.
https://www.fesjournal.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/FES9_12.Gualtieri_Veglio.pdf
https://www.fesjournal.eu/numeri/general-issue-3/
Study material and readings 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. 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. 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
Professor(s)