Course Catalogue

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The course will introduce students to the study of emotions, conceptualise honour and shame from a psychological and anthropological perspective, and discuss how these emotions are represented in Italian culture across a variety of genres (e.g. literature, theatre, film and TV).

22x1hr sessions over both semesters as scheduled in MyCampus.

This is one of the honours options in SMLC and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry into Italian, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours programmes who qualify under the University's 25% regulation.

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The standard assessments for this course are:

■ Presentation (7 minutes) - 20%

■ Reflective journal (800 words) - 20%

■ Essay (2500 words) - 60%

If required, for instance where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, the following alternatives are available:

■ A recorded presentation (video or audio) and slideshow with substantial presentation notes as alternative to the presentation.

■ There is no alternative to the journal and essay, but an extension to the deadline can be offered as reasonable adjustment (students should follow the usual process for extensions).

Further reasonable adjustments may be provided where necessary. Students are encouraged to consult with the course convenor.

This course aims to:

■ examine the concepts of honour and shame and their representations in Italian culture in a range of contexts;

■ encourage students to think critically about how issues of gender and ethnicity shape the experiences of honour and shame and their representations;

■ familiarise students with a range of primary sources ranging from fictional writing to theatrical works to films, and thus deepen their understanding of Italian culture across selected socio-historical contexts;

■ enhance students' ability to construct persuasive arguments grounded in critical interpretation and cultural/ historical context.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ formulate a critical response to concepts of honour and shame and analyse their representation within Italian cultural and historical contexts;

■ identify points of debate in scholarly writing on the topic studied and engage with these debates in the analysis of primary sources;

■ apply critical reading skills to cultural products in different genres;

■ produce well-supported and well-referenced written and oral arguments on course topics.