Good knowledge of 18th and 19th century of European and American history is highly recommended.
The aim is to provide students with extensive knowledge of Italian emigration history in the 18th and 19th centuries, both from a historical perspetive and from migrants' experiences presented in emigrants personal correspondence, diaries and memories.
The history of Italian emigration in the 18th and 19th centuries will be the course's main topic. The course will provide a general panorama on the topic; most analyses will rely on the different kinds of sources produced by emigrants and conserved in specilized achives, as personal correspondence, diaries and memories.
The course will be based on lectures, but attention will be given to debate: students will be encouraged to suggest topics for further analysis. Audiovisual materials will be used to stimulate conversation.
The exam will be an oral discussion. Questions on text books and topics adressed during the classes will be asked. The vote is expressed in thirtieth and will take into account both the knowledge acquired and the exhibition capacity.
Office hours on Monday, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 309, Piazza Rosate 2.
If the course is (totally or partly) online the syllabus may be adjusted accordingly.
The reference texts for the examination, the knowledge of which is fundamental for passing it, are:
- Andreina De Clementi, "L'assalto al cielo. Donne e uomini nell'emigrazione italiana", Donzelli, Rome, 2014.
- Amoreno Martellini, "Abasso di un firmamento sconosciamento. Un secolo di emigrazione italiana nelle fonti autonarrative", Il Mulino, Bologna, 2018.
- Paolo Barcella, "La mia vita" di Irma Testori. Memorie di una valligiana a New York (1919-1928), in "Italia contemporanea", 291, 2019, pp. 238-263.