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Sicily between Page & Screen - ENG00111M

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  • Department: English and Related Literature
  • Module co-ordinator: Dr. Nicoletta Asciuto
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: M
  • Academic year of delivery: 2022-23

Module summary

In today’s popular discourse, Lombardy is synonym for fashion and industry, Tuscany is the cradle of artistic and literary Renaissance, while Sicily is mainly associated with mafia, food, and summer holidays. This flattened, stereotypical vision of the largest Italian island and its inhabitants has been particularly fostered by the U.S. films and TV series, who conflate the image of Sicily and Sicilians with that of rogue Italian Americans, like in F. Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972), Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990), and the TV series The Sopranos (1999-2007). Yet Italian cinema keeps revisiting Sicily in a much more varied and complex manner.

In this module, we will challenge prevailing stereotypes by exploring Sicily’s ambiguous liminality in its geographical, socio-historical, and cultural contexts. By focussing on representations of Sicily in twentieth- and twenty-first-century film and literature, we will not only question contemporary preconceptions, but also attempt to articulate the dynamic relationship between the region’s history and its artistic representations. We will be looking closely at a range of films, from post-war masterpieces such as La terra trema (The Earth Shudders, 1948) and Luchino Visconti’s Il Gattopardo (The Leopard, 1963) to more recent productions such as Giuseppe Tornatore’s Nuovo Cinema Paradiso (Cinema Paradiso, 1988), the Inspector Montalbano phenomenon (1999-ongoing) and Pif’s semi-parody of mafia, La mafia uccide solo d’estate (The Mafia Only Kills in the Summer, 2013). Alongside these films, we will be reading texts by Sicilian, Italian, and foreign writers that take Sicily and its culture as their focal point.

All films will be screened with English subtitles and all Italian-language texts will be available in English translation.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Autumn Term 2022-23

Module aims

The aims of the module are to provide a grounding in twentieth-century Italian history, cinema, and literature, to examine different representations of Sicily, and to introduce the theoretical debates that surround Italian film and literature, including liminality and regionality.

Module learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module, you should be able to:

  1. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of and engagement with a range of Italian films and literary texts on Sicily.
  2. Demonstrate an advanced understanding of and engagement with film theory and cultural studies.
  3. Evaluate key debates within the critical fields of Italian cinema and literature.
  4. Produce independent arguments and ideas which demonstrate an advanced proficiency in critical thinking, research, and writing skills

Indicative assessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
4500 word essay		 N/A 100

Special assessment rules

None

Additional assessment information

You will hand in an essay of approximately 2,000 words in Week 6 of the Autumn term. The main purpose of the essay is to ensure that the department can identify those students who may require additional assistance with academic writing skills.  Material from the procedural essay may be re-visited in either one of the January essays or the dissertation. It is therefore an early chance to work through material that might be used in assessed work. The title topic of the essay, like the title topic of all assessed work for the degree, is left open to the individual student.

Indicative reassessment

Task Length % of module mark
Essay/coursework
4500 word essay		 N/A 100

Module feedback

You will receive feedback on all assessed work within the University deadline, and will often receive it more quickly. The purpose of feedback is to inform your future work; it is designed to help you to improve your work, and the Department also offers you help in learning from your feedback. If you do not understand your feedback or want to talk about your ideas further you can discuss it with your MA convener, module tutor or your supervisor, during their Open Office Hours

Indicative reading

Texts studied on this module are likely to include:

Fiction

  • Giovanni Verga, Cavalleria Rusticana and Other Stories
  • Vitaliano Brancati, Beautiful Antonio
  • Andrea Camilleri, The Track of Sand
  • Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, The Leopard

Non-fiction

  • Peter Robb, Midnight in Sicily

Films

  • La terra trema (The Earth Shudders, 1948, dir. Luchino Visconti)
  • Divorzio all’italiana (Divorce Italian-Style, 1961, dir. Pietro Germi)
  • Il Gattopardo (The Leopard, 1963, dir. Luchino Visconti)
  • Nuovo cinema Paradiso (Cinema Paradiso, 1988, dir. Giuseppe Tornatore)
  • Malena (2000, dir. Giuseppe Tornatore)
  • Commissario Montalbano: La pista di sabbia (Inspector Montalbano: The Track of Sand, 2008, dir. Alberto Sironi)
  • La mafia uccide solo d’estate (The Mafia Only Kills in the Summer, 2013, dir. Pif)


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.