Università Ca' Foscari Venezia > Ateneo > Organizzazione > Scuole > Ca' Foscari Summer School > Attività - CFSS > International Schools - Summer School > Ca' Foscari - Harvard Summer School > Edizioni precedenti > Edizione 2011 > Corsi 2011 > Immigration and Multiculturalism in Venice
 

Immigration and Multiculturalism in Venice

Franca Coin - Harvard University (fracoin@unive.it)

 

Class time: tbc

Classroom: tbc

 

 


Course description:

Immigration in Italy is a relatively recent phenomenon. Traditionally an emigration country, between 1984 and 1989 the diversion of immigrants flows towards Southern Europe transformed Italy into a receiver of immigrants. Since the late 1980s, immigration policy became progressively more restrictive. Today, Italy is considered by most immigration experts as having some of the most stringent immigration laws in Europe. This class looks at the specificities of immigration in Italy by comparing its complex national history with a tradition of cultural hybridism at the local level. While at the national level the immigration discourse is centered on religious homogeneity and requests for stricter control practices, at the local level there emerge programs to promote multicultural expression and ethnic creativity. The Veneto region is at the forefront of these initiatives, being it both home of the conservative Northern League, and traditionally a cosmopolitan area. Class will include field-trips intended to look at the various facets of immigration in and around Venice, and to analyze dynamics of ethnic creativity and social integration.


Formal requirements:

none

Required readings:

  • Jean-Loup Amselle. 1998. Mestizo Logics: Anthropology of Identity in Africa and Elsewhere. Claudia Royal: Books.
  • Vincenzo Cesareo. 2007. Immigrants regularization processes in Italy. Analysis of an emblematic case. Polimetrica.
  • Amara Lakhous. 2006. Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio. Europa Editions.
  •  Pap Khouma. 2010. I Was an Elephant Salesman: Adventures between Dakar, Paris, and Milan. Indiana University Press. Tra edition
  • Abdelmalek Sayad. 2004. The Suffering of the Immigrant. Cambridge: Polity Press.
  • Sandra Ponzanesi. 2004. Paradoxes of postcolonial culture: contemporary women writers of the Indian and Afro-Italian Diaspora. SUNI.
  • Bruno Riccio. 1999. “Senegalese street-sellers, racism and the discourse on ‘irregular trade’ in Rimini”. Modern Italy. 4(2): 225-240. Special Issue: The Italian experience of Migration.


Recommended Readings:

  • Andall, J. (2000). “Organizing Domestic Workers in Italy: the Challenges of Gender, Class and Ethnicity”, pp. 124-41 of Anthias, F., Lazaridis, G. (eds.) Gender and Migration in Southern Europe. Oxford: Berg.
  • Andall, J. (2000). Gender, Migration and Domestic Service: the Politics of Black Women in Italy. Aldershot: Ashgate.
  • Hamood S., African Transit Migration trought Libya to Europe: the Human Costs, in ''Forced Migration and Refugee Studies'', 2006.
  • Però, D. Inclusionary rhetoric, exclusionary practices. Left wing politics and migrants in Italy. 2007.
  • Wendy Ann Pojmann, Immigrant women and feminism in Italy, Ashgate Publishing Company, 2006.
  • Reyneri, E. (2001a), Migrants’ Involvement in Irregular Employment in the Mediterranean Countries of the European Union, International Labour Organisation, Geneva, Migration Papers no-41
  • Sciortino, G. (1999). “Planning in the Dark: The Evolution of Italian Immigration Control”, in Brochmann, G., Hammar, T. (eds.) Mechanisms of Immigration Control. Oxford: Berg.
  • Ter Wal, Jessika, The Discourse of the Extreme Right and Its Ideological Implications: The Case of the Alleanza nazionale on Immigration, in «Patterns of Prejudice», 2000, 34, 4, Oct, 37-51
  • Bruce Watson (2007), Sacco and Vanzetti: The Men, the Murders, and the Judgment of Mankind. NY: Viking Press.
  • Sandro Mezzadra, Andrea Fumagalli. 2008. Crisis in the Global Econom. Financial Markets, Social Struggles, and New Political Scenarios. New York: Semiotext(e).

Field Trips:

We will organize three field trips, each intended to explore the ethnic enclaves of Venice. Our visits shall begin in Riva degli Schiavoni and in via Piave (Mestre), where we will conduct ethnographic research and meet public officers and social workers, and continue with the Jewish Getto, a historical symbol of ethnic segregation in the city.

 

Grading:

Your overall evaluation will be calculated on the basis of your performances in one in-class presentation, one mid-term exam, class participation, and one final paper. In computing your grades, your performances will be considered as follows:
In-class presentation(s), 20% of your grade.
Mid-Term Paper, 20% of your grade.
Final Paper, 40% of your grade.
Class Participation, 20% of your grade.

Participation  20% In this class we are all teachers and students, and we share responsibility for creating and stimulating a safe learning environment. You are expected to be in class, to be prepared, to read, think and talk about the assigned readings, to be on time, to leave on time, to actively participate to each class activity and to stimulate vivid class discussion. Please, let me know in advance if you expect to be missing class so that proper arrangements can be made. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to gather information about the materials covered.

Mid-Term Paper

 

 

 

 

 

 


In Class Presentation

  20%

 

 

 

 

 


 20%

 

Your mid-term exam should be an essay detailing the readings discussed in class. It should provide an overall view of the articles read and then focus on one particular aspect. Summarize the main points made by the author and cite any useful quotation. Take note as you read of any significant ways in which you agree or disagree with the articles. Then elaborate your notes: Is this an important book or article? What does it add to your understanding of the world? Do you agree or disagree with the Author? Your paper should have a title and it should be 6 to 8-page long and stapled on the top-left corner of the page.

 

 


The main goal of the assignment is to encourage you to think about the readings included in the “recommended” list and present them to the class. Choose an article from the list. Compare it and contrast it with mainstream sources (tv, cable, radio, press) that minimize, render invisible or reproduce racial, national or cultural stereotypes. What narrative about the world do they provide? What stereotypes do they hide or do they reproduce? Do the critical considerations that emerge from the readings confirm or challenge these notions? Do they promote or compromise diversity and multiculturalism? You can choose to present your results with any equipment: audiovisuals, Power Point or simply your voice. You can choose to sing a song, read or draw, act or paint. Whatever you choose, be creative! I will grade you in originality, creativity, critical thinking and sociological insight.
NOTE: As a general rule, there will be no make up opportunities for missed presentations. All exceptions need to be discussed with me in advance. Please let me know at least two weeks in advance if you plan on missing class so that appropriate arrangements can be made.

 

Final Paper
 40% 

 

Your final paper should be an essay detailing the readings discussed in class, the documentaries we watched and our ethnographic experiences in the field. It should include a short bibliography and draw on sources included both in the required readings and in the recommended materials.
As a general rule, your paper should have a strong central argument which should be clearly stated in your introduction. This argument can be phrased as a statement or as a question, and expanded in the body of your paper. The body of your paper should detail your argument, and support it with evidence such as examples or quotations. This part of your paper should have a logical and coherent progression and show your ability to draw theoretical connections. At the end of the paper, you should summarize how the evidence you have presented proves your argument. You can also use your conclusion to raise interesting questions for further study.
Your final paper should be 10 full pages and it must be typed, double space in font 12 Times New Roman, one inch margin, and stapled on the top-left corner of the page.

Policies and procedures:

Students must attend all lessons, any absence must be registered by the CFHSS office (email cafoscari-harvard@unive.it ).  All students are required to read in advance/Academic honesty/Tutorials.

Office location, contact information, tutorial time (tbc):
 

 

 

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Ultima modifica: 28/01/2011 da System Administrators