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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "ITS/SOSC 323"
COURSE NAME: "Blackness in Italy: Histories, Subjectivities, and Contemporary Challenges"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Spring 2026
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Marie Moise
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
MW 11:30 AM 12:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
Prerequisites: Sophomore standing or above
OFFICE HOURS:
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This
course offers a critical examination of the social conditions of Black
Italians today, at the intersection of gender, race and class
inequalities with a focus on their lived experience and calls for
structural change. Within the frame of decolonial and critical race
theory, the course explores the theoretical and cultural production of
the descendants of the Black diaspora in Italy. The course draws on a
broad array of analytical fields - including geography, sociology,
history, gender, and cultural studies. Practical exercises from various
research methodologies – such as urban ethnographies, interviews,
workshops - will enable students to engage directly with the lived
experience of Blackness in Italy, exploring its social, and cultural
significance.
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
The course begins with a historical overview of contemporary Italian society to contextualize the roots and developments of slavery, racial, and colonial issues that have shaped Blackness in the country's history. Each significant moment in the historical timeline serves as a key to understanding the present, highlighting how the past impacts the definition of contemporary social and cultural phenomena where Italian Blackness emerges as a crucial factor. Each week, the course will delve into a pivotal moment in the history of Blackness in Italy, identifying its impacts on different social and cultural domains, and focusing on first-hand accounts by those who have experienced it. Week by week, the course will offer a progressive articulation of the most relevant situated methodologies and epistemologies. At the intersection with the concepts of gender, nation and social change, Italian Blackness will be framed within the broader theoretical and critical debate on race and racism on an international scale.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
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Identify the connection between historical processes and contemporary social and cultural phenomena in Italy, with a specific focus on the intersection of gender and race.
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Understand the contemporary debate on race and structural inequalities in Italy within the frame of the broader international academic debate.
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Articulate critical analysis, reading of social reality and contextualization of social phenomena in diachronic and synchronic terms.
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Use the course’s methodological approaches to think theoretically and practically about social and cultural transformations in Italy.
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TEXTBOOK:
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
| Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
| Class Attendance and Participation | You should come to class prepared to discuss the readings and to make meaningful and sustained contributions to class discussions.
| 10% |
| Weekly Assignments | A short exercise will be assigned at the end of every class. It
will involve an active articulation of the key concepts explained during the lesson, such
as a comment on a documentary, or a newspaper article, or a short research
activity. The exercise will be shared and commented on during the next lesson.
| 15% |
| Mid-term Exam | Open-ended questions. The Mid-term exam will cover the material up to the week prior to the exam.
| 30% |
| Project Oral Presentation | Prepare a presentation about your research and critical analysis work on Blackness in Italy.
| 15% |
| Oral Exam | Identify an individual from the Italian political, artistic, or cultural scene who identifies as Black. Analyze their profile in light of the social, racial, and gender relations that define Blackness in Italy. Your analysis should consider how their life, thoughts, and cultural/theoretical production can be framed within a critical understanding of structural racism and antiracist challenges in Italy. | 30% |
-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 ____________
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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.
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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.
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SCHEDULE
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SCHEDULE
Week 1
Framing Blackness in Italy. Introduction to the course.
Birth of a (White) Nation. A historical overview.
Week 2
Black vs Italian. Defining Italianness by what it is not.
Week 3
To the roots of Italian Blackness. Entanglements of race and slavery in Italian art and public monuments.
Week 4
Decolonizing pizza and Tomato pasta. Colonial appropriation and Black modern enslavement behind the symbols of the “Made in Italy”
Week 5
From Christopher Columbus to the Black Jacobin of Piombino. Italy and the Black Atlantic.
Week 6
Cesare Lombroso, Mario Balotelli and a banana in the middle of a football field. Challenging scientific racism in Italy.
Week 7
Review and Mid term exam
Week 8
Black Italians challenging Italian colonialism, yesterday and today.
Week 9
Black Italian Literature.
Week 10
Black Italians fighting for racial justice.
Week 11
Gendered racism in Italy.
Week 12
Black Feminism in translation.
Week 13
Educating (to) anti-racism. Black Italian pedagogies - A participatory workshop.
Week 14
Catch up, conclusions, review for final exam.
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