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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "SOSC/ITS 226-1"
COURSE NAME: "Rome: Modern City (On-site)"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2023
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Ferruccio Trabalzi
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: M9:15 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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COURSE OBJECTIVES

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

            Describe the social and cultural changes occurring in the contemporary city.

 Use social theory and methodology to examine change in an urban context.

Navigate in different social environments in sensitively and culturally appropriate ways.

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ASSESSMENT TOOLS

Two Quiz Exams                  30 %

One Urban Analysis.             30 %

Four Discussion/Threads     40 %

Quiz Exams. Between 10 and 20 questions including multiple choice, true\false and open-ended questions. The quizzes are not cumulative and are due the day and time specified on MOODLE.

Visual Analysis of Two Streets in Rome’s Historical Center

This exercise, to be conducted individually, is designed to provide non-specialized students with an intuitive method to understand, describe and record the evolving character of the historical center in the last 70 years. The exercise includes a visual part with maps and pictures and a written part (See guidelines on Moodle).

Discussion/Threads

Threads are collective discussions. Following a prompt by the instructor each student will post 1) a personal statement of no less than 300 words and 2) two 50 words replies to two different classmates' post. Note that the replies have to be meaningful and helpful. Because the objective of the threads is to discuss and confront ideas, impressions and opinions, threads that are posted after the deadline will not be accepted. The thread has to include all its parts (main post of minimum 300 words, 2 replies of minimum 50 words each). Incomplete threads will count zero on the Gradebook. An example of an incomplete thread is a main post of fewer than 300 words, one of the replies shorter than 50 words, a missing reply or post etc.

NOTE:

IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STUDENT TO KNOW THE SCHEDULE OF THE EXAMS. THE SCHEDULE INCLUDING THE SYLLABUS IS POSTED ON MOODLE. JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY HAS A DEDICATED MOODLE TEAM THAT CAN HELP YOU LEARNING HOW TO USE THE PLATFORM. UNLESS EXCEPTIONAL AND UNFORESEEABLE CIRCUMSTANCES, EXAMS CANNOT BE TAKEN AT ANOTHER DATE OR TIME.

FOR GRADE AND ASSESSMENT CRITERIA CONSULT THE UNIVERSITY CATALOGUE.

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SCHEDULE OF CLASSES

 9\4. IN-CLASS. 9:00AM. COURSE PRESENTATION. ROME BEYOND THE STEREOTYPES

The presentation includes a general explanation and objectives of the course, the different onsite visits, technicalities such as meeting times and places, nature of the assessments and other information relative to the nature of an onsite course.

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9\11. IN-CLASS. 9:00AM.  EXPLANATION OF THE URBAN ANALYSIS EXERCISE WITH EXAMPLES

This meeting is dedicated to the street exercise. The examples are from former students and will serve as a templates. The exercise will test the ability of the student to organize a research in all its parts including theory and methodology.

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9\18. ON SITE. THE COMMODIFICATION OF LOCAL CULTURE: A WALK IN TRASTEVERE.

Appointment at 9:00AM in class.

In this class we discuss how traditional Rome really is and what processes affect the history, character and lifestyle of a neighborhood. At the end of the class students will be able to look and think at Rome from the perspective that challenges the conventional images of the city: eternal, traditional, intimate, local.

Readings:

Montanari and B. Staniscia. Rome: A Difficult Path Between Tourist Pressure and Sustainable Development.

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

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)

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9\25. ON-SITE. THE HISTORICAL CENTER BETWEEN LOCAL AND GLOBAL  FROM CAMPO DI FIORI TO TREVI FOUNTAIN.

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

In this class we discuss the question of the effects of mass tourism on the identity and lifestyle of a historical neighborhood. At the end of the class students will be able think at Rome as a city that lives its contemporaneity like any other city in the world: by changing and adapting.

No new readings. We are are still developing the argument made in the previous week but in a different section of the historical center.

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SUNDAY  OCT 1. THREAD 1 DUE AT 10PM  

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10\2. IN-CLASS. 9:00AM.  HOW OLD IS ROME?

In this class we discuss the role of ideology in shaping our perception and understanding of Rome’s past. At the end of the class students will be able to discuss the archaeological landscape of central Rome as the product of modern political objectives and ideologies rather than the result of ages of history untouched.

Readings:

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

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).

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

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10\9.  ON-SITE: THE ROMAN FORUM AS A CASE OF OLD ROME REINVENTED

Appointment:  9:00AM   Piazza del Campidoglio.

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10\16. ON-SITE.  OLD IDENTITIES NOT CONSIDERED. THE OLD JEWISH GHETTO AND THE PARADOX OF PROTECTING CULTURAL HERITAGE.

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

In this class we discuss how the city decides which parts of its cultural heritage are worth preserving and which are not and how such decisions shape the narrative of the city's history. At the end of the class students will be able to discuss the paradoxes of cultural heritage in modern Rome.

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

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SUNDAY OCT 22.  THREAD 2 DUE at 10pm.

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10\23. MIDTERM  QUIZ.  IN-CLASS 10AM. STREET EXERCISE DUE AT 10PM.

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10\30. IN-CLASS. 9:00AM.  SOCIAL MARGINALITY IN CONTEMPORARY ROME: CONVENTIONAL AND RADICAL.

In this class we discuss the meaning of social, cultural, and spatial marginality. At the end of this module students will be able to discuss the definition and difference between alternative theories of social, cultural, and spatial marginality and to describe how such differences are manifested in two main areas of the city: Testaccio and Park of the Aqueducts.

Readings: 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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11\6. ON-SITE. THE AQUEDUCTS: A CONVENTIONAL HISTORY OF SOCIAL MARGINALITY.

Appointment: 9:45.AM at Metro A station Giulio Agricola. Expected return time to campus around 12:15.

In this class we explore the social history of the Aqueducts in the last 80 years, why such a history can be told as a case of social marginality and what type of marginality such a history is evidence of. At the end of the class students will be able to discuss social marginality as a condition of life both constructed and perceived.

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

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11\13. ON-SITE. TESTACCIO: A NEIGHBORHOOD RADICALLY OPEN

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

In this class we explore the meaning of marginality as a space of radical openness, and why the ex-slaughterhouse of Testaccio be considered a case of margin of radical openness. At the end of the class students will be able to discuss the sociological concept of marginality as place of radically openness,  the meaning of counter-hegemony as manifested in space as well as alternative approaches to the preservation of the multi-layered history of Rome.

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

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SUNDAY  11\19. THREAD 3 DUE AT 10PM

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11\20. ONSITE. ROME AND MULTICULTURALISM: A DIFFICULT PARTNERSHIP IN THE ESQUILINO NEIGHBORHOOD

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

In this class we explore the history of multiculturalism today in Rome and the form it takes in the Esquilino neighborhood, arguable the most diverse in Rome.

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

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11\27. ONSITE. GREEN ROME. THE HISTORY OF ROME'S PUBLIC PARKS. THE CASE OF VILLA PAMPHILI

Appointment at 9:00AM on Campus Garden.

In the next two classes we explore the history of public parks in Rome. In particular we will study their origins and their differences with public parks in the US and in other capitals of Europe. At the end of the classes students will be able to compare the history of public parks in Italy and in the US, the concept of "public" behind the origins of public parks, the economic and cultural underpinning that stimulated their creation, and the differences between public parks in the US, France and England in terms of landscape theories.

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

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12\4. ONSITE. GREEN ROME. THE HISTORY OF ROME'S PUBLIC PARKS. THE CASE OF VILLA BORGHESE

 Appointment at 9:15 by the obelisk in Piazza del Popolo

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 SUNDAY DEC 10 FINAL THREAD 4 DUE AT 10PM.

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12\11. FINAL QUIZ. INCLASS 10AM.