Sicily against the Mafia

This weekend fieldtrip course presents students with a different view of Sicily and of the mafia in Sicily, providing them with an understanding of the emergence of a new Sicilian culture and society based on the fight against the mafia, on pacifistic expression and on the creation of a culture of legality. The course will allow students the opportunity to visit sites of historical, social and cultural interest that document resistance to the local Mafia and encounter local civic associations, community service and solidarity networks that are active in the Sicilian context. Students will meet and exchange ideas with young Sicilians and thereby learn from direct experience an example of social activism in the Italian context. An understanding of the mafia in Sicily will be supported by readings from Sicilian writers such as Luigi Pirandello, Leonardo Sciascia and Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and through the viewing of Italian films such as I cento passi and Il gattopardo.