| Description: | The main goal of the course is for students to gain a general understanding of the way Italian history and culture has developed in the last 50 years, especially in the arena of public policies and social interactions. The course will be loosely divided in three main segments. The first one, relying mainly on historical data and information, aims to provide a general background about Italian politics and culture. In the second part, we will focus on the current changes that have occurred in Italy during the past 20 years, focusing especially on the breakdown of the traditional political system and on the decreased relevance of the Church in State and public matters. Finally, we will examine how the last 10 years - during which there has been a great transformation in the way media affects the distribution and spread of information - have brought an apparent, but possibly not real, upheaval in the way politics, culture and information are received and debated among Italians. |