Italian Studies 200 - ITALIAN DESIGN & WORLD CULTURE

Italian culture is internationally renowned for its attention to quality and craftsmanship. The course covers different time periods in modern and contemporary Italian history (Unification, Fascism, post-war economic reconstruction, counter-cultural movements, up to the present day) and students learn how Italian traditional artistic and craft excellence was negotiated with technological modernization and the creation of a mass-consumer society. The course also introduces students to the concept of “family business,” the traditional form of companies in Italy, and how it is gradually being replaced by today’s multinational and corporate companies. By looking at Italy’s achievements in sectors such as fashion, interior design, automobiles, architecture and advertising, students learn how, in the course of a century, designers, stylists and industrialists played a critical role in manufacturing an iconic Italian image made of luxury and glamour appealing to domestic and international con