A Mafia Story: Its Representation in Literature, Cinema and Television

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

Course Description

  • Course Name

    A Mafia Story: Its Representation in Literature, Cinema and Television

  • Host University

    Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore

  • Location

    Milan, Italy

  • Area of Study

    European Studies, Literature

  • Language Level

    Taught In English

  • Course Level Recommendations

    Upper

    ISA offers course level recommendations in an effort to facilitate the determination of course levels by credential evaluators.We advice each institution to have their own credentials evaluator make the final decision regrading course levels.

    Hours & Credits

  • ECTS Credits

    6
  • Recommended U.S. Semester Credits
    3
  • Recommended U.S. Quarter Units
    4
  • Overview

    COURSE DESCRIPTION
    From its local origins in Sicily, the Mafia has become a global phenomenon and a widespread model of organized crime that threatens and corrupts the international economy, political systems and social environments. Yet film, television and literature have shown a continued fascination of the Mafia which has often been portrayed with romantic and even heroic connotations.
    In this course we will explore the representations of the Mafia in Italy through literature, film, and television; in the 20th and 21st centuries. Combining the analyses of historians, sociologists, and intellectuals, along with the testimonies of victims, we will challenge the stereotypes through which cultural productions envision the Mafia, and more importantly, we will explore how the Mafia envisions the world, in particular what is its ethics, its relationships with law, politics, business and finance, its ideas of femininity and masculinity, its portrayals of children. Examining both the visions on and by the Mafia through cultural, socio-political, and historical perspectives, this course aims to deconstruct the mythological eye and instead form an analytical eye with which to investigate and better understand the Mafioso universe and power, and the cultural Italian identity as well.
     
    COURSE CONTENTS
    In the course we will investigate the following topics:
    1. The origins/the myth (The Leopard film and book, Salvatore Giuliano film, The Godfather film)
    2. Mafia and politics (The Day of the Owl, book and film, The Terra-cotta Dog)
    3. Women in, against and around the Mafia (testimonies, Roberta Torre?s films)
    4. Mafia and the children (I?m Not Scared, film and book)
    5. Mafia and business (Gomorra, film and book)
    6. Mafia in tv series (The Sopranos, La piovra, Il commissario Montalbano)

Course Disclaimer

Courses and course hours of instruction are subject to change.

Eligibility for courses may be subject to a placement exam and/or pre-requisites.

Some courses may require additional fees.

ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) credits are converted to semester credits/quarter units differently among U.S. universities. Students should confirm the conversion scale used at their home university when determining credit transfer.

Availability of courses is based on enrollment numbers. All students should seek pre-approval for alternate courses in the event of last minute class cancellations

Please note that some courses with locals have recommended prerequisite courses. It is the student's responsibility to consult any recommended prerequisites prior to enrolling in their course.

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