The aim of this sociological course is to speed up the students’ process along an intercultural journey towards a different perception of reality, passing from a mere ethnocentric stage into a more distinct process of ethno-relativism. The course is designed to equip students with the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to navigate intercultural workplace situations. It will also help students contextualize their internship experience and give them a broader understanding of various issues related to the Italian work environment.
The class provides an in-depth overview of modern Italian society as well as the instrumental support necessary for students during their internship experiences. All sections place major emphasis on analysis of Italian/European culture, service agencies, and the service-learning experience.
It is also intended to be an interdisciplinary and "work in progress" course. The course may be modified class after class, and will improvise stimulating discussions with students, comparing practical activities to theoretical topics. It will teach about culture shock and the impact of experience, and will put a great emphasis on local and national history, compared to major European events. Students will acquire analytical, practical, and research skills. “More than one world view” essentially means that a different perception of reality is possible.
Prerequisites:
None
Attendance policy:
Successful progress of the program depends on the full cooperation of both students and faculty members: regular attendance and active participation in class are essential parts of the learning process. Attendance at and participation in all class meetings and field-studies are required. More than TWO unjustified absences (that are not medically excused with a written certificate of the doctor or caused by serious sudden family and/or personal occurences, as for example death of a family member) will result in a lowering of your grade.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course, students are able to:
Identify the Italian historical and sociological context, in particular the Sienese reality;
Analyze the cultural differences between ethnocentrism and ethno-relativism;
Discuss about intercultural topics;
Develop skills to critically evaluate local and global contexts;
Interact with the local context and social entities, and with the various working and studying environments, in accordance also to the specific internship placements of students. This may varies depending on students individual cases;
Acquire understanding and an assortment of abilities (anthropological, technical, methodological, participatory and personal) that will aid his/her professional placement in a chosen field and in various social and cultural contexts.
Method of presentation:
Each week this seminar includes one two-hour in-class lecture with class analysis. Lectures will include also Power Point projections, videos, seminar discussions and student presentations. On-the-job work, independent study and research, facilitated class and small group discussions/presentations of work in Italy (and Siena specifically), readings and guest lectures. During the seminar the course will:
Explore through discussion the students’ work experience;
Help students understand, contextualize, and resolve concerns related to their on-site placement.
Required work and form of assessment:
Active participation and class discussions (10%), midterm oral presentation (30%), final project/research paper (60%). A total of 18 hours for the internship seminar and 90 hours for the internship placement/host structure.
1. Regular attendance at internship placement/host structure (typically 10hrs/wk)
2. Attendance at weekly seminar (2hrs/w)
3. Completion of assigned readings
4. Maintaining field-study journal of work experience (and their experience in Italy overall) and observations (reviewed weekly)
5. Synopses of guest lectures/ presentations
6. Final project/paper/mid-term presentation
content:
Week 1: From the Greek “scholé” to the modern school
Following logistics information and a discussion of seminar expectations, the course will continue with a discussion of “motivation” and “goals” for Service-Learning with each partecipant outlining the goals he/she wishes to achieve through the internship.
- “Otium” and “negotium”: The historical origins of our school
- Cultural memory and universal education
- Education and leadership: mass culture or critical mass?
Week 2. Italian School system: School class or social “class”?
The class will read together some pages of the popular Italian fable entitled “Pinocchio” by Collodi, published in 1881, soon after the Italian unification and in coincidence with the national education reform: students will explore through the plot how Pinocchio influenced a new mentality. For instance compulsory education had a crucial effect in order to create a new national identity and a brand new citizen through the primary school.
- The origin of Italian schools and the religious manipulation
- The importance of being “secular”
- Italian school after the political unification
- The Montessori method
- History of Italian Education from The Gentile to the end of fascism
Journal Entry # 2 Due
Week 3. Italian School after the second world war
Integrating experience abroad with education/work in U.S.
- Welfare State and universal education: the dream of an equal society
- History of Italian education: from 1948 to the Gelmini Reform
- The economic failure of the public system
- Italian University and labor market: problem and prospects
- Private advantages and public failure: Italian model versus American system
Journal Entry # 3 Due
Week 4. Beyond multiculturalism
The course lecture will discuss how globalization is effecting the new migration phenomena and the sociological definition of “liquid borders”
- Nomadic society and stantial society
- Primitive, modern and post-modern migrations
- How globalization effects the new migration phenomena
- Italy: land of emigration or land of immigration?
- Melting pot, integration and assimilation
- The failure of a sociological model and immigration policy
Journal Entry # 4 Due
Week 5. Inter-culturalism and identity
The course lecture will discuss fundamental differences in social structure and behavior affecting the Italian course environment:
- Populism, xenophobia and mass media: the Italian political party Lega nord and le “Ronde”
- Bossi-Fini law and Decreto Maroni
- Welcome to CPT (Centro di Permanenza Temporanea) and aliens and Illegal in Lampedusa
- Ellis Island versus Lampedusa: history of two migrations
Journal Entry # 5 Due
Week 6. Service-Learning: teaching intercultural skills and developing global soul
Education and critical thinking. Question that will be discussed will be: How does this experience enrich me for my education and work back in the U.S.?
- Who is John Dewe?
- What is the globalization of Compassion?
- Knowing and doing: aspects of teaching class
- The making of a cross-cultural transition
- How develop a critical thinking in a reflection/refraction pedagogy context
- Culture shock and visual impact
Journal Entry # 6 Due
Week 7: Origins and history of “Spedale” (Ospedale / Hospital)
The course lecture will describe the historical origin of the “Spedale” (Hospital) and the roots of the Italian national healthcare system
- Pilgrims, Francigena way and the new concept of “hospitality”
- Misericordia: a medieval no-profit organization
- Pie Opere and Società di Mutua Assistenza
Journal Entry # 7 Due
Week 8 : Healthcare: who cares?
The course lecture will compare European and American models, particularly regarding Welfare State Universal Healthcare, discussing also the fundamental differences between Italy and Usa.
- Italian healthcare system
- Religious and social roots of the Welfare State
- “5 giants evils in society”: William Beveridge
- Private and public: America and Europe two different historical background .
Journal Entry # 8 Due
Week 9. Thoughts, Actions, Facts, Events…
Film with an engaging topic - strictly related to the course - students can choose among these three options:
1) The Visitor, by Thomas McCarthy (2007)
(Regarding the topic: culture shock and otherness)
2) Lamerica, by Gianni Amelio (1998)
(Regarding the most recent Italian migration phenomena: the albanian exodus towards a “promised land” called Italy )
3) Tutta la vita davanti by Paolo Virzì (2008)
(Regarding the relationship between University and Italian labour market: precariousness, gender discrimination, irregular work and underground economy)
Journal Entry # 9 Due
Week 10. Final analysis
Each student will give a presentation to the class on a subject/ topic previously assigned. The topic will be representative of the course content, and will focus on an aspect of the Italian /European workplace.
- Students Presentations
- Class discussion
Required readings:
Course-pack, with a selection of the following:
- Mistakes in the Classroom and at a dinner table: A Comparison between Socialization Practices in Italy and the United States, by Laura Sterponi, University of California Los Angeles - Rossella Santagata, University of California Los Angeles (Crossroad of Language, Interaction, and Culture 2000, Regent University of California)
- Italian Multiple identities by Andrea Pitasi, Michela Marchionni, Maria Francesca Massoni, The Changing face of European identities edited by Richard Robyn (Cambridge, 2007)
- The Montessori method, scientific pedagogy applied to child education in the ‘children houses’, by Maria Montessori, translated from the Italian by Anne E. George – 2006, Harvard University
- The Bordello state, Italy descent under Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi by James Walston (Foreign Policy – September 14, 2010)
- Teaching intercultural skills and developing the global soul (Becomining intercultural), by Margaret D. Putch, Knowing and doing, in honor of Howard A. Berry, edited by Linda A. Chisolm. (Partnership for Service-Learning and Leadership – New York, 2003)
- Beyond the comfort zone, by Diego Quiroga, Service-Learning Across Culture (Partenership for Service-Learning and Leadership – New York, 2003)
- Form of Togetherness, by Zygmunt Bauman, Life in Fragments (Blackwell, Cambridge 1995)
- Immigration, Why Europe’s all at Sea, by Nicole Itano (Time, March 1, 2010)
- Sustainable communities: what makes them work? by Diana Schumacher, Ethical choices in Economics, Society and the Environment (Luiss University Press, Rome – 2008)
- The Italian Health Care System: W.H.O. Ranking Versus Public Perception, by Vittorio Maio, and Lamberto Manzoli (Vol. no. 6 June 2002 – P&T)
Recommended readings:
- Axtell, Roger E.; Do’s abd Taboos Arounh the world. John Wiles & Sonas, NY 1990
- Diaz- Aguado, M.J.: Cooperative Learning and Intercultural Education. Piramide, Madrid 2003
- Hall, Edward and Mildred Reed; Understanding Cultural Differences. Intercultural Press, Yarmouth. MN. 1990
- Haycraft, John; Italian Labyrinth. Penguin, London 1995
- Rodrigo Alsina, M; Intercultural Communication. Anthropos, Barcelona 1999.
- Fisher, Glen: International Negotiation: A Cross- Cultural Perspective. Intercultural Press, Yarmouth MN. 1980
Brief Biography of Instructor:
Alfonso Diego Casella
Università degli Studi di Siena: Degree in Law with specialization on the History of the Italian Legal System, Master in European Studies in Strasbourg (France). He lived three years in London, working for Istituto Italiano di Cultura. In addition to teaching, he works as a freelance for local and national newspapers. Alfonso collaborated with the University of Siena, Italian Siena Studies and has worked for the European Parliament in France. He published in 2008 the fiction “Cicoria” with an afterwards written by Antonio Tabucchi. His most recent book is entitled: “Zero al 100%”.
Internship Seminar
The aim of this sociological course is to speed up the students’ process along an intercultural journey towards a different perception of reality, passing from a mere ethnocentric stage into a more distinct process of ethno-relativism. The course is designed to equip students with the theoretical and practical knowledge needed to navigate intercultural workplace situations. It will also help students contextualize their internship experience and give them a broader understanding of various issues related to the Italian work environment.
The class provides an in-depth overview of modern Italian society as well as the instrumental support necessary for students during their internship experiences. All sections place major emphasis on analysis of Italian/European culture, service agencies, and the service-learning experience.
It is also intended to be an interdisciplinary and "work in progress" course. The course may be modified class after class, and will improvise stimulating discussions with students, comparing practical activities to theoretical topics. It will teach about culture shock and the impact of experience, and will put a great emphasis on local and national history, compared to major European events. Students will acquire analytical, practical, and research skills. “More than one world view” essentially means that a different perception of reality is possible.
None
Successful progress of the program depends on the full cooperation of both students and faculty members: regular attendance and active participation in class are essential parts of the learning process. Attendance at and participation in all class meetings and field-studies are required. More than TWO unjustified absences (that are not medically excused with a written certificate of the doctor or caused by serious sudden family and/or personal occurences, as for example death of a family member) will result in a lowering of your grade.
By the end of the course, students are able to:
Each week this seminar includes one two-hour in-class lecture with class analysis. Lectures will include also Power Point projections, videos, seminar discussions and student presentations. On-the-job work, independent study and research, facilitated class and small group discussions/presentations of work in Italy (and Siena specifically), readings and guest lectures. During the seminar the course will:
Active participation and class discussions (10%), midterm oral presentation (30%), final project/research paper (60%). A total of 18 hours for the internship seminar and 90 hours for the internship placement/host structure.
1. Regular attendance at internship placement/host structure (typically 10hrs/wk)
2. Attendance at weekly seminar (2hrs/w)
3. Completion of assigned readings
4. Maintaining field-study journal of work experience (and their experience in Italy overall) and observations (reviewed weekly)
5. Synopses of guest lectures/ presentations
6. Final project/paper/mid-term presentation
Week 1: From the Greek “scholé” to the modern school
Following logistics information and a discussion of seminar expectations, the course will continue with a discussion of “motivation” and “goals” for Service-Learning with each partecipant outlining the goals he/she wishes to achieve through the internship.
- “Otium” and “negotium”: The historical origins of our school
- Cultural memory and universal education
- Education and leadership: mass culture or critical mass?
Week 2. Italian School system: School class or social “class”?
The class will read together some pages of the popular Italian fable entitled “Pinocchio” by Collodi, published in 1881, soon after the Italian unification and in coincidence with the national education reform: students will explore through the plot how Pinocchio influenced a new mentality. For instance compulsory education had a crucial effect in order to create a new national identity and a brand new citizen through the primary school.
- The origin of Italian schools and the religious manipulation
- The importance of being “secular”
- Italian school after the political unification
- The Montessori method
- History of Italian Education from The Gentile to the end of fascism
Journal Entry # 2 Due
Week 3. Italian School after the second world war
Integrating experience abroad with education/work in U.S.
- Welfare State and universal education: the dream of an equal society
- History of Italian education: from 1948 to the Gelmini Reform
- The economic failure of the public system
- Italian University and labor market: problem and prospects
- Private advantages and public failure: Italian model versus American system
Journal Entry # 3 Due
Week 4. Beyond multiculturalism
The course lecture will discuss how globalization is effecting the new migration phenomena and the sociological definition of “liquid borders”
- Nomadic society and stantial society
- Primitive, modern and post-modern migrations
- How globalization effects the new migration phenomena
- Italy: land of emigration or land of immigration?
- Melting pot, integration and assimilation
- The failure of a sociological model and immigration policy
Journal Entry # 4 Due
Week 5. Inter-culturalism and identity
The course lecture will discuss fundamental differences in social structure and behavior affecting the Italian course environment:
- Populism, xenophobia and mass media: the Italian political party Lega nord and le “Ronde”
- Bossi-Fini law and Decreto Maroni
- Welcome to CPT (Centro di Permanenza Temporanea) and aliens and Illegal in Lampedusa
- Ellis Island versus Lampedusa: history of two migrations
Journal Entry # 5 Due
Week 6. Service-Learning: teaching intercultural skills and developing global soul
Education and critical thinking. Question that will be discussed will be: How does this experience enrich me for my education and work back in the U.S.?
- Who is John Dewe?
- What is the globalization of Compassion?
- Knowing and doing: aspects of teaching class
- The making of a cross-cultural transition
- How develop a critical thinking in a reflection/refraction pedagogy context
- Culture shock and visual impact
Journal Entry # 6 Due
Week 7: Origins and history of “Spedale” (Ospedale / Hospital)
The course lecture will describe the historical origin of the “Spedale” (Hospital) and the roots of the Italian national healthcare system
- Pilgrims, Francigena way and the new concept of “hospitality”
- Misericordia: a medieval no-profit organization
- Pie Opere and Società di Mutua Assistenza
Journal Entry # 7 Due
Week 8 : Healthcare: who cares?
The course lecture will compare European and American models, particularly regarding Welfare State Universal Healthcare, discussing also the fundamental differences between Italy and Usa.
- Italian healthcare system
- Religious and social roots of the Welfare State
- “5 giants evils in society”: William Beveridge
- Private and public: America and Europe two different historical background .
Journal Entry # 8 Due
Week 9. Thoughts, Actions, Facts, Events…
Film with an engaging topic - strictly related to the course - students can choose among these three options:
1) The Visitor, by Thomas McCarthy (2007)
(Regarding the topic: culture shock and otherness)
2) Lamerica, by Gianni Amelio (1998)
(Regarding the most recent Italian migration phenomena: the albanian exodus towards a “promised land” called Italy )
3) Tutta la vita davanti by Paolo Virzì (2008)
(Regarding the relationship between University and Italian labour market: precariousness, gender discrimination, irregular work and underground economy)
Journal Entry # 9 Due
Week 10. Final analysis
Each student will give a presentation to the class on a subject/ topic previously assigned. The topic will be representative of the course content, and will focus on an aspect of the Italian /European workplace.
- Students Presentations
- Class discussion
Course-pack, with a selection of the following:
- Mistakes in the Classroom and at a dinner table: A Comparison between Socialization Practices in Italy and the United States, by Laura Sterponi, University of California Los Angeles - Rossella Santagata, University of California Los Angeles (Crossroad of Language, Interaction, and Culture 2000, Regent University of California)
- Italian Multiple identities by Andrea Pitasi, Michela Marchionni, Maria Francesca Massoni, The Changing face of European identities edited by Richard Robyn (Cambridge, 2007)
- The Montessori method, scientific pedagogy applied to child education in the ‘children houses’, by Maria Montessori, translated from the Italian by Anne E. George – 2006, Harvard University
- The Bordello state, Italy descent under Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi by James Walston (Foreign Policy – September 14, 2010)
- Teaching intercultural skills and developing the global soul (Becomining intercultural), by Margaret D. Putch, Knowing and doing, in honor of Howard A. Berry, edited by Linda A. Chisolm. (Partnership for Service-Learning and Leadership – New York, 2003)
- Beyond the comfort zone, by Diego Quiroga, Service-Learning Across Culture (Partenership for Service-Learning and Leadership – New York, 2003)
- Form of Togetherness, by Zygmunt Bauman, Life in Fragments (Blackwell, Cambridge 1995)
- Immigration, Why Europe’s all at Sea, by Nicole Itano (Time, March 1, 2010)
- Sustainable communities: what makes them work? by Diana Schumacher, Ethical choices in Economics, Society and the Environment (Luiss University Press, Rome – 2008)
- The Italian Health Care System: W.H.O. Ranking Versus Public Perception, by Vittorio Maio, and Lamberto Manzoli (Vol. no. 6 June 2002 – P&T)
- Axtell, Roger E.; Do’s abd Taboos Arounh the world. John Wiles & Sonas, NY 1990
- Diaz- Aguado, M.J.: Cooperative Learning and Intercultural Education. Piramide, Madrid 2003
- Hall, Edward and Mildred Reed; Understanding Cultural Differences. Intercultural Press, Yarmouth. MN. 1990
- Haycraft, John; Italian Labyrinth. Penguin, London 1995
- Rodrigo Alsina, M; Intercultural Communication. Anthropos, Barcelona 1999.
- Fisher, Glen: International Negotiation: A Cross- Cultural Perspective. Intercultural Press, Yarmouth MN. 1980
Alfonso Diego Casella
Università degli Studi di Siena: Degree in Law with specialization on the History of the Italian Legal System, Master in European Studies in Strasbourg (France). He lived three years in London, working for Istituto Italiano di Cultura. In addition to teaching, he works as a freelance for local and national newspapers. Alfonso collaborated with the University of Siena, Italian Siena Studies and has worked for the European Parliament in France. He published in 2008 the fiction “Cicoria” with an afterwards written by Antonio Tabucchi. His most recent book is entitled: “Zero al 100%”.