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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "SOSC/ITS 226-2"
COURSE NAME: "Rome: Modern City (On-site)"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2022
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Ferruccio Trabalzi
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: TH 9:15 AM 12:00 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This on-site course, which will be conducted in English, aims to introduce students to a sociological analysis of contemporary Rome. It focuses on the changes which are occurring in the city’s populations, its neighborhoods and patterns of daily life and commerce, and challenges conventional images of what it is to be a Roman today. On-site classes will be held in a variety of neighborhoods in the city in order to analyze the area’s role as a social entity and its relationship with the wider urban context. We will examine the issues and problems facing Rome today, such as housing, degradation and renewal, environmental questions, transportation, multiculturalism, wealth and poverty, social conflict and political identities. These issues will be contextualized within theories of urban sociology and also within an explanation of Rome’s urban development over the centuries and, in particular, since it became the national capital in 1870. Through readings, film clips, interviews and guest speakers, students will also analyze the way the city is narrated by some of its residents.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

 

The course is divided into 15 weeks with multi-media content with lectures, discussions and written and visual projects.  When not otherwise specified, the class meets onsite not on campus. Appointment times and meeting places are written on the syllabus. The course uses a thematic order.  Particular attention will be given to the 20th and 21th century but specific exercises throughout the semester will provide the opportunity to excavate the geo-historical and cultural roots of specific social trends in the city. Students will be expected to participate verbally and with written comments. Participation will be graded. Assessment of students’ progress will be conducted throughout the semester. Forms of assessment will include discussions/threads, in-class exams as well as instructor critiques and peer feedbacks.


LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate knowledge of the city’s urban development from the late1800 to the

present time.

2. Demonstrate familiarity with the effects of globalization on the economic, cultural

    and social life in the city.

 3. Describe individual neighborhoods and identify their their roles in relation to

    the broader urban context.

4 Strengthen the student’s ability to observe and interact in different social

   environments in sensitively and culturally appropriate ways.

5. Apply modern social theories to an urban context.


TEXTBOOK:
NONE
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
MIDTERM EXAMFormat of the midterm exam: between 5 to 10 questions including multiple choice, short and longer answers for a total of 100 points. All questions are based on readings, lectures and on-site visits. All questions are relative to the topics covered in class up to the week before midterm.30%
FINAL EXAMFormat of the final exam: between 5 to 10 questions including multiple choice, short and longer answers for a total of 100 points. All questions are based on readings, lectures and on-site visits after the midterm (i.e. the final exam is not cumulative and does not include topics dealt with in the first part of the semester.25%
URBAN RESEARCHWritten and Visual research of two streets in the historical center. The objective is to study the effects of globalization on the social, cultural and ocmmercial characteristics of the historical center. 25%
THREADSCollective discussion on specific themes addressed in the course15%
SUMMARY OF READINGS 5%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until 9AM -11AM.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This on-site course, which will be conducted in English, aims to introduce students to a sociological and spatial analysis of contemporary Rome. It focuses on the changes which are occurring in the city’s populations, its neighborhoods and daily patterns of life and commerce. On-site classes will be held in a variety of neighborhoods in the city in order to analyze the area’s role as a social entity and its relationship with the wider urban context.

TEXTBOOK

There is no textbook for the class. Readings are posted on the course website and handouts, when necessary, will be distributed at the beginning of each on-site visit.

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At the end of the course, students will be able to:

1.           Competently discuss the city of Rome in its sociological and spatial dimensions.

2.         Learn about the social and cultural changes occurring in the contemporary city.

3.         Refine the ability to connect classroom learning with real experience outside the classroom.

4.         To use theoretical and practical tools with which to examine a city critically.

5.         Strengthen the student’s ability to observe and interact in different social environments in sensitively and culturally appropriate ways.

COURSE LEARNING ACTIVITIES

           Four multiple choice exams.

           Four discussion/threads with replies (min 300 words for the main post, min 50 words each for each reply).

           10 fieldtrips to different part of the city.

            1 written Urban Analysis of two streets in the historical center

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ASSESSMENT TOOLS

Quiz Exams                30 %

Urban Analysis.          30 %

Discussion/Threads    40 %

NOTE: NO EXTRA WORK ON TOP OF THE AFOREMENTIONED ASSIGNMENTS IS CONTEMPLATED.

Exams. Four on-line (MOODLE), multiple choice exams of about 10 questions each. 

Visual Analysis of Two Streets in Rome’s Historical Center

This exercise, to be conducted alone or in pairs, falls in the category of urban analysis and is designed to provide non-specialized students with an intuitive method to understand, record and describe the evolution of the historical center (i.e. the identity of the historical center).  The objective of the exercise is to acknowledge the complex and multi-layered identity of Rome.  The exercise includes a visual part with maps and pictures and a written part (1000 words) to be turned in the day of the final.

Discussion/Threads 4 total

Threads are collective discussions. Each student will post 1) a personal statement following the professor’s question of about 300 words and 2) two replies to two different classmates on their own posts.  Please reply to students who have not had replies yet. Note that the replies have to be meaningful and helpful (e.g. I like you post because…….. (Replies like I like you post will not be accepted as part of the requirements).

NOTE: See at the bottom of this syllabus for Grades, Grading, and Assessment Criteria.

TH 9\8          IN-CLASS. 9:00 AM. COURSE PRESENTATION. ROME BEYOND THE STEREOTYPES

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TH 9\15      IN-CLASS.  EXPLANATION OF STREET EXERCISE WITH EXAMPLES

FRIDAY 9\16. MAKE UP DAY FOR TH NOV 24 THANKSGIVING

 ON-SITE. FIRST STEREOTYPE: TRADITIONAL.  THE COMMODIFICATION OF LOCAL CULTURE: A WALK IN TRASTEVERE.

 

Appointment at 9:00AM in class

 

In this module we discuss the following question:

1.     How does globalization and mass tourism affect the tradition, identity and life style of the neighborhood?

At the end of this module students will be able to:

1.     To think at Rome not as a city frozen in time but ever changing like any other city in the world.

2.     To understand, discuss and describe in writing and visually the effects of globalization on the urban environment and in the social and economic life of the neighborhood.

Readings:

1.     Clough Marinaro, I. and B. Thomassen, 2014:” Into the City: The Changing Faces of Rome,” in Clough Marinaro, I. and B. Thomassen, eds. Global Rome (Indianapolis: Indiana University Press)

2.     Thomassen, B., and P. Vereni, 2014: “Diversely Global Rome.” In Clough Marinaro, I. and B. Thomassen, eds. Global Rome (Indianapolis: Indiana University Press)

3.     F. Trabalzi: The commodification of culture and the changing identity of a Roman neighborhood (working paper) 

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TH 9\22     ON-SITE. SECOND STEREOTYPE: ETERNAL. HISTORICAL CENTER BETWEEN LOCAL AND GLOBAL  FROM CAMPO DI FIORI TO TREVI FOUNTAIN

               

 Appointment: 9:00 AM at Campo di Fiori by the statue of Giordano Bruno.

In this module we discuss the following question:

1.     How does globalization and mass tourism affect the tradition, identity and life style of the neighborhood?

At the end of this module students will be able to:

1.     To think at Rome not as a city frozen in time but ever changing like any other city in the world.

2.     To understand, discuss and describe in writing and visually the effects of globalization on the urban environment and in the social and economic life of the neighborhood.

No Readings

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TH 9\29    IN-CLASS.  THIRD STEREOTYPE: OLD.  THE MODERN REINVENTION OF ANCIENT ROME

In this module we discuss the following question:

1. How does ideology shape our understanding of Rome’s past?

 At the end of this module students will be able to:

1.     To discuss the archaeological landscape of central Rome as the product of modern political objectives and  ideologies rather than as the result of ages of history untouched.

2.     To understand, discuss and describe, in writing and visually, the effects of ideology and political priorities on  the urban landscape and on the life of residents of the historical center from the early 1900s to today.

Readings:

1.      F.Trabalzi. The Roman Forum Reinvented (Working paper

2.     D. Watkin, “Archaeologists under the kings of United Italy,” pp. 196-200 and “From Mussolini To Hitler to Holes on the Ground,” pp. 201-222, In The Roman Forum (London: Profile  Books, 2011).

3.     F. Trabalzi, “Primavalle: Urban Reservation in Rome". In Journal of Architectural Education, 42\3 September 1989: 38-46.

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TH 10\6   ON-SITE: THE ROMAN FORUM AS A CASE OF OLD ROME REINVENTED

Appointment:  9:00AM Piazza del Campidoglio        

Assessment:    Quiz-Exam 1. Due at 8pm. Opens at 5pm.  TURN IN THREAD 1. Due at 10pm 

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TH 10\13    ON-SITE.  OLD IDENTITIES NOT CONSIDERED.  THE EX-JEWISH GHETTO: THE PARADOX OF PROTECTING CULTURAL HERITAGE

 Appointment: 9:00AM by the statue on the Tiber Island.

In this module we discuss the following questions:

1.     How do ideology and political shapes the form of the city and our understanding of it?

2.     How do we, as a society, decide which elements of the urban landscape to preserve and which to eliminate?

3.     What are the effects of these decisions on our perception of urban history?

At the end of this module students will be able to discuss the paradoxes of cultural identity and urban history.

Readings: F. Trabalzi. The paradox of protecting cultural heritage in Rome (working paper).  

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TH 10\20   IN-CLASS.  ROME IS NOT ONLY ART, PIZZA AND GELATO.  SOCIAL MARGINALITY IN CONTEMPORARY ROME

 

In this module we discuss the following questions:

1.     What is the meaning of social, cultural and spatial marginality in theory and how do you understand it in a city like Rome

At the end of this module students will be able to:

1.     Discuss and describe the main aspects of the sociological theories of social and spatial marginality;

2.     To discuss the above-mentioned points in two main areas of the city: Testaccio and Park of the Aqueducts.

Readings:

1.     bell hooks: “Choosing the Margin as a site of Radical   Openness,” in Yearning: Race, Gender and Cultural Politics”, Boston: South End Press,1990.

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TH 10\27  ON-SITE. THE AQUEDUCTS: A HISTORY OF SOCIAL MARGINALITY OF THE FIRST TYPE.

Appointment: 9:00AM at Metro A station Giulio Agricola. Expected return time to campus around 12:15.

In this module we discuss the following questions:

1.     What is the social history of the Aqueducts in the last 100 years?

2.     Why such a history can be told as a case of social marginality?

3.     What type of marginality such a history is evidence of?

At the end of this module students will be able to:

1.     Connect the theory learned in class with a concrete case-study in the city;

2.     Discuss and describe the social history of the Aqueduct as a case of marginality.

Readings:

1.      F. Trabalzi. The Park of the Aqueducts: A history of social marginality (Working paper).

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 TH 11\3  ON-SITE.  SOCIAL MARGINALITY RECONSIDERED. TESTACCIO A NEIGHBORHOOD RADICALLY OPEN

 Appointment: 9:00AM bus stop Marmorata-Galvani near PIRAMIDE.

In this module we address the following questions:

1.      What is the meaning of marginality as a space of radical openness?

2.     Why can Testaccio be considered a case of a neighborhood radically open;

3.     What is the Diffuse Museum of Testaccio and how does it differ from the conventional approach to cultural heritage in Rome.

At the end of the module students will be able to discuss and critically analyze:

1.      The sociological concepts of marginality as place of radically openness,

2.     The meaning of cultural hegemony and of counter-hegemony as manifested in space;                    

3.      Different approaches to multicultural history and identity.

Readings:

1.     F. Trabalzi. Testaccio: A neighborhood radically open (Working paper).

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TH  11\10    ONSITE. ROME AND MULTICULTURALISM A DIFFICULT PARTNERSHIP: ESQUILINO NEIGHBORHOOD

Appointment 9:00AM at Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore in front of the Basilica.

In this module we address the following questions:

1.     What is the meaning of multiculturalism today in Rome?

2.     What kind of forms multiculturalism has in Rome?

 At the end of this module students will be able to discuss and describe with examples cases of multiculturalism in Rome and  how it affects the life and identity of all its residents.

Readings: F.Trabalzi. Difficult Multiculturalism in Esquilino, Rome.

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TH 11\17.  OPEN

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TH 11\24.  THANKSGIVING NO CLASS

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FRIDAY 12\1   ONSITE. ROME IS NOT ONLY BUILDINGS AND TRAFFIC. THE HISTORY OF ROME'S PUBLIC PARKS. THE CASE OF VILLA PAMPHILI

 

Appointment at 9:00AM Guarini Lemon Garden.

In this module we address the question of public park in the city of Rome from a historical, cultural and social perspectives:

 

What is a public park in Rome and how does it differ from a public park in the US?

What is the history of the most important public parks in Rome?

What are the challenges of public spaces such as urban parks in Rome today?

At the end of this module students will be able to compare the history of public parks in Italy and the US

 

Readings:  F. Trabalzi. The History of Rome Public Parks (working paper)

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TH 12\2   IN-CLASS REVIEW

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EXAM TBA