University of North Texas

Italian 3040

Topics in Italian Culture: The Italian mafia

Fall 2013

Class: MWF 2-2:50 (Lang 107)

Instructor: Silvio De Santis

email:

Office Hours: MW (3-4)

Office: 405A Lang.

Course description: This course analyzes the rise, structure and significance of mafia. The course focuses mainly on the Sicilian Mafia, but will explore also the other Italian crime organizations like Camorra and ‘Ndrangheta. The topic will be analyzed also within the global framework of transnational organized crime. Students will learn about its connection with traditional Sicilian society and its deep interaction with politics. This course will utilize reading, video and other material provided to the students through handouts or on our class Blackboard website.

Course objectives: The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the world-famous phenomenon and have them practicing main the grammatical structures learned in the earlier study of Italian. Emphasis will be placed on enhancing of listening, speaking, reading, and writing acquired during the first two years of Italian study. Daily discussion and presentations will expose students to day-to-day contexts likely to be encountered in Italy, thus reinforcing grammatical structures learned in class and increasing functional skills.

Required texts/videos:

  • Nicaso, Antonio, and Marco Pignotti. L'Italia Spiegata Ai Ragazzi. Milano: Mondadori, 2011.
  • Pietro Grasso, Dodici lezioni di mafia (videos available online at

or

  • A good Italian/English dictionary.

Further material:

  • “Il Dizionario della Mafia”, l’Unità (pdf files available on line at
  • La mappa della mafia in Sicilia (

Videos available on line (in Italian)

  • Cosa Nostra da Corleone all America (
  • Mafia Le Origini La Globalizzazione (
  • Blù Notte Dentro cosa nostra (
  • Blu Notte - La vera storia della Mafia (
  • Mafia, Borsellino parla dei pentiti Vitale e Buscetta e delle rivelazioni di Giuseppe Di Cristina (
  • La Storia Siamo Noi - La Stagione della Paura: le bombe del '93 (
  • Gli Ultimi Padrini - La Grande Storia (
  • Lottaallemafie (
  • Trattativa Stato-Mafia, Gaspare Mutolo: Borsellino la ostacolava e per questo venne ucciso: parte 1 ( parte 2 (
  • Pietro Grasso, Lezioni Di Mafia - Mafia e Religione (
  • Pietro Grasso, Lezioni Di Mafia - Stragi E Depistaggi (
  • Pietro Grasso, Lezioni Di Mafia - Strumenti di Indagine (
  • Come e' nata "Cosa Nostra" ? - Origini ed evoluzione del fenomeno... - Radio Radicale - 16.02.2012 (
  • Le mafie dopo la Mafia (

Videos available on line (in English)

  • Birth of the American Mafia (

Movies available at UNT libraries:

  • Gomorra (DVD 11016)
  • Il divo: la spettacolare vita di Giulio Andreotti (DVD 10942)
  • Il gattopardo (DVD 2740 Reg2 / DVD 3344)
  • Le mani sulla città = Hands over the city (DVD 6840)
  • Salvatore Giuliano (DVD 3315)
  • The Sicilian girl (DVD 12477)
  • Mafioso (DVD 8591)
  • The Godfather I (DVD 1028 v.1)
  • The Godfather II (DVD 1028 v.2)
  • Excellent cadavers (DVD 8443)
  • The Octopus, Series 1 (DVD 14651)
  • Johnny Stecchino (DVD 476)

Use of email: The Italian section at UNT requires students to use official UNT email (my.unt.edu) for all communication. This means that your instructor will only respond to emails sent by students from their official UNT address. Please do not rely on communication through any online platforms. Please note that email will only be answered between weekdays, 9am and 6pm.

Announcements: Please like THE UNT ITALIAN CLUB page and the WORLD LANGUAGES, LITERATURES, AND CULTURES pages on Facebook. This will keep you up to date on events, scholarships, Italian Club parties, Opera outings, conversation club, etc.

Attendance: Attendance and active class participation are mandatory. Each student will be allowed three unexcused absences for the course. After this, each additional unexcused absence will deduct 3% from your overall grade. If you arrive more than five minutes late you will be marked absent for the day. In addition, three late arrivals are equal to once absence.

For medical excuses a doctor’s note will be required and will only be accepted only on the student’s first day back in class. A note showing that you were seen at the health center will not excuse your absence. Only a note showing that a medical professional recommended that you not attend class will be accepted in order to excuse your absences. If you fail to bring a doctor’s note on your first day back in class your absences will not be excused.

Participation and preparedness: Your participation grade will be determined by your performance in class. In order to earn a high participation grade students must speak ONLY in Italian, pay attention in class, work well in pairs and groups, volunteer to read/speak/answer questions, etc. If a student repeatedly speaks in English or is disruptive, his participation grade will reflect those issues. Preparedness includes bringing your book, your notebook, a pencil/pen, and being prepared to actively engage in the day's activities.

Students Assessment: Students will be evaluated on active class participation, a journal, two quizzes, an oral presentation, and a final exam. No make ups will be given except under special circumstances such as a medical emergency. Pop quizzes may be given at any time by the instructor.

Homework: Homework will be assigned daily. No late homework assignments will be accepted. Should you miss class for any reason, be sure to contact another student in your section for the following day’s assignment.

Keep in mind that for each hour of in-class instruction, students are expected to complete 2-3 hours of studying outside of class. This means that in addition to the assigned homework, each student is responsible for studying the material on his own. Remember, 13 credit hours is considered a full time student because a student taking 13 hours will have a minimum of 26 hours of homework in addition to the 13 hours of class time each week - that equals a minimum of 39 hours of work each week!

Oral presentations: Each student will give an oral presentation pertinent to the material being covered in class. Students are encouraged to utilize visual aids, the internet, music, etc.Please do not read your presentation, rather make notes from which you can speak. You may opt to use Power Point, however you may not read from the slides. If you read from your slides or a pre-written script, your grade will be lowered by 15%. You will be asked to work in groups and will be allowed to pick your partners, but the topics will be assigned by the instructor.

Journal and written assignments:

1) After each class students have write a journal based on the topic analyzed in class. Each entry should be 100-150 words.Students have to post it on Blackboard at the end of each week. It is due every Sunday night by midnight. Late entries will receive no credit. Post your name in the subject line.

2) Students are required to watch at least two movies from the list above and write a 300/400 words review for each one. Movies are available at Chilton Media Library. First review is due for October 7th. Second one is due for Dec 2nd.

Grading: The following grading scale will be used to assess performance and arrive at the final grade for the semester.

25% - Participation/Preparedness

20% - Journal/Reviews

15% - Quizzes

15% - Oral Presentation

10% - Attendance

15% - Final Exam

*For P/NP, P=D or better (undergraduates) *For S/U, S=C or better (graduates)

Classroom policies: Cell phones and pagers must be switched off during class. In addition, the use of laptops is not allowed in this class. Students who fail to suspend and stow their electronic devices will need to surrender them to the instructor for the remainder of the class.Everyone is responsible for creating a positive educational environment. Participation in class is a vital element of learning a language and therefore a necessary component in this course. Disruptive behavior (talking in class, chronic tardiness, etc.) will not be tolerated. If you are caught sleeping or texting during class you will be dismissed for the day and you will receive a zero for your participation grade.

Student Behavior in the Classroom: Student behavior that interferes with an instructor’s ability to conduct a class or other students' opportunity to learn is unacceptable and disruptive and will not be tolerated in any instructional forum at UNT. Students engaging in unacceptable behavior will be directed to leave the classroom and the instructor may refer the student to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities to consider whether the student's conduct violated the Code of Student Conduct. The university's expectations for student conduct apply to all instructional forums, including university and electronic classroom, labs, discussion groups, field trips, etc. The Code of Student Conduct can be found at

Any problems should be discussed first with the instructor. If you are unable to resolve the problems directly with the instructor, you should then make an appointment with the Italian language coordinator, Jessica Greenfield, whose contact information can be found above. Please follow these steps as most issues can be resolved through communication and escalation can be avoided.

Policy concerning academic dishonesty: Students are encouraged to study in groups and to work together to learn trends, concepts, theories, etc. However, any form of cheating, whether on a homework assignment, composition, quiz, or exam will be dealt with severely and result in either an F on the assignment or, depending on the case, possibly an F in the course. In addition, the use of any online translation tools and/or direct copying from any source will result in an immediate F for the assignment. All of these instances will be reported to UNT’s Vice President for Academic Affairs and dealt with according to the University’s policy on academic dishonesty.

Policy concerning disability accommodation: The University of North Texas makes reasonable academic accommodation for students with disabilities. Students seeking accommodation must first register with the Office of Disability Accommodation (ODA) to verify their eligibility. If a disability is verified, the ODA will provide you with an accommodation letter to be delivered to faculty to begin a private discussion regarding your specific needs in a course. You may request accommodations at any time, however, ODA notices of accommodation should be provided as early as possible in the semester to avoid any delay in implementation. Note that students must obtain a new letter of accommodation for every semester and must meet with each faculty member prior to implementation in each class. For additional information see the Office of Disability Accommodation website at You may also contact them by phone at 940.565.4323.

Please present your written accommodation request to your instructor as soon as possible at the beginning of the semester to allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodation.

Succeed at UNT: UNT endeavors to offer you a high quality education and to provide a supportive environment to help you lean and grow. And, as a faculty member, I am committed to helping you be successful as a student. Here’s how to succeed at UNT: Show up. Find support. Take control. Be prepared. Get involved. Be persistent. To learn more about campus resources and information on how you can achieve success, go to succeed.unt.edu

Programma giornaliero – You are responsible for pre-reading the material to be covered in class. That means, you should already have read the material and watched the video at home before coming to class and utilizing it.

data / argomento / Compiti da fare prima di arrivare in classe!
28-Aug / Presentazione del corso
30-Aug / Che cos'è la mafia? / Nicaso: 11-14 (Come si può definire la mafia? Com'è organizzata la mafia?)
2-Sep / Festa del lavoro - No Class
4-Sep / Che cos'è la mafia? / Pietro Grasso, Lezioni Di Mafia - La Cupola (
6-Sep / Che cos'è la mafia? / Nicaso: 15-21 (Quando Nasce la mafia? Cosa significa la parola mafia? Che cos'è una cosca?)
9-Sep / Il Consenso / Pietro Grasso, Lezioni Di Mafia - Il Consenso (
11-Sep / Il Consenso / Nicaso: 22-26 (A che età un giovane può entrare nella mafia? Come si entra nella mafia?)
13-Sep / Il Consenso / Nicaso: 27-28 (Come deve essere un mafioso?)
16-Sep / Le donne e la mafia / Pietro Grasso, Lezioni Di Mafia - Donne e Mafia (
18-Sep / Le donne e la mafia / Nicaso: 29-31 (Che ruolo hanno le donne di mafia?)
20-Sep / Le guerre di mafia / Nicaso: 32-34 (Perchè scoppiano le guerre tra mafiosi?)
Come uccide la mafia?
23-Sep / Le attività economiche della mafia / Pietro Grasso, Lezioni Di Mafia - Mafia S.p.a. (
25-Sep / Le attività economiche della mafia / Nicaso: 47-50 (Quali sono le principali attitivà della mafia? Quanto guadagnano le mafie?)
27-Sep / Le attività economiche della mafia / Nicaso: 50-56 (Dove viene prodotta la droga?)
30-Sep / Le attività economiche della mafia / Nicaso: 34-38 (Che cos'è il pizzo? Che cos'è l'usura?)
2-Oct / Le attività economiche della mafia / Nicaso: 43-47 (Che cos'è l'ecomafia?)
4-Oct / Quiz 1
7-Oct / Mafia e Politica / Pietro Grasso, Lezioni Di Mafia - Mafia e Politica (
First movie review due today
9-Oct / Mafia e Politica / Nicaso: 39-43 (Che cosa vuol dire politico colluso?)
11-Oct / Mafia e Politica / Nicaso: 56-58 (Che cosa sono le infiltrazioni mafiose?)
14-Oct / La lotta alla mafia / Pietro Grasso, Lezioni Di Mafia - Lotta alla Mafia (
16-Oct / La lotta alla mafia / Nicaso: 58-59 (Come viene combattuta la mafia?)
18-Oct / La lotta alla mafia / Nicaso: 64-66 (Che cos'è una scorta? Chi ne ha bisogno?)
21-Oct / La lotta alla mafia / Pietro Grasso, Lezioni Di Mafia - I Pentiti (
23-Oct / La lotta alla mafia / Nicaso: 60-64 (Chi è un pentito? Che differenza c'è tra collaboratori e testimoni di giustizia?)
25-Oct / La lotta alla mafia / Pietro Grasso, Lezioni Di Mafia - Il Maxi Processo (
data / argomento / Compiti da fare prima di arrivare in classe!
28-Oct / Le altre mafie italiane / Pietro Grasso, Lezioni Di Mafia - Fratelli di Sangue (
30-Oct / Le altre mafie italiane / Nicaso: 67-71 (Le altre mafie italiane: la 'Ndrangheta)
1-Nov / Le altre mafie italiane / Nicaso: 72-75 (Le altre mafie italiane: la 'Ndrangheta)
4-Nov / Le altre mafie italiane / Nicaso: 76-82 (Le altre mafie italiane: la Camorra)
Visione di qualche spezzone di Gomorra
6-Nov / Le altre mafie italiane / Nicaso: 83-85 (Le altre mafie italiane: la Sacra Corona Unita e i Basilischi)
8-Nov / Quiz 2
11-Nov / Le organizzazioni mafiose nel mondo / Nicaso: 86-87 (Cosa Nostra Americana)
13-Nov / Le organizzazioni mafiose nel mondo / Nicaso: 89-94 (Cosa Nostra Americana)
15-Nov / Le organizzazioni mafiose nel mondo / Nicaso: 95-104 (Le triadi Cinesi, La Yakuza, I Vory v Zakone)
18-Nov / Le organizzazioni mafiose nel mondo / Nicaso: 105-112 (I Cartelli Colombiani, I cartelli messicani, La mafia nigeriana, La mafia albanese, Le bande dei motociclisti, la mafia turca)
20-Nov / Ritratti / Nicaso: 115-120 (Giovanni Falcone e Paolo Borsellino)
22-Nov / Ritratti / Nicaso: 121-127 (Carlo Alberto dalla Chiesa, Antonino Scopelliti, Rocco Gatto)
25-Nov / Ritratti / La lotta alla mafia: Peppino Impastato Giuseppe Letizia Graziella Campagna e Giuseppe Di Matteo, Don Dino Puglisi e Don Peppe Diana
27-Nov / Il futuro della mafia / Nicaso 137-143 (Il Futuro della Mafia)
29-Nov / Festa del Ringraziamento - No Classe
2-Dec / Presentazioni orali / Presentazione orale finale
Second movie review due today
4-Dec / Presentazioni orali / Presentazione orale finale

Final Exam: Monday, December 9th (1:30pm-3:30pm)

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