Module manager: Olivia Santovetti
Email: o.santovetti@leeds.ac.uk
Taught: Semesters 1 & 2 (Sep to Jun) View Timetable
Year running 2025/26
Knowledge of Italian at A2/B1 level in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)
This module is approved as a discovery module
This module explores how modern Italian identities have changed and have been represented across media and cultures, from the country’s unification to the present. The approach is historical, intranational, and transnational. Students examine how social identities have changed over Italy’s modern history and have travelled across national boundaries, highlighting the relevance of migrations and cultural exchanges. By looking at modern Italian identities in context, the module also emphasises their intersectional dimension, by focusing on the interplay of factors such as nationality, gender, ethnicity/race, class, and religion. Please note this is an optional module and runs subject to enrolments. If a low number of students choose this module, then the module may not run and you may be asked to choose another module.
This module has three main objectives.
First, students develop a theoretically grounded and historically informed understanding of the ways in which modern Italian identities intersect and are represented, by analysing issue related to nationality and/or gender, ethnicity/race, class, and religion
Second, by focusing on modern Italian identities as a case study, students are also able to break the mould of national stereotypes and explore how social identities and their representations change over time and transcend national boundaries.
Finally, by working independently and/or in groups, students learn how to design and produce a podcast.
On successful completion of this module, students will have demonstrated the following learning outcomes specific to the subject:
1. Demonstrate critical engagement with theories of social identity in the Italian context;
2. Examine how modern Italian identities intersect, change over time, and cross over national boundaries;
3. Analyse the representation of modern Italian identities across the arts and media.
Skills Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will have demonstrated the following skills learning outcomes:
4. Select and organise a range of sources to develop an argument of some complexity;
5. Use appropriate critical categories and concepts;
6. Use digital tools effectively to communicate with non-academic audiences.
Details of the syllabus will be provided on the Minerva organisation (or equivalent) for the module
| Delivery type | Number | Length hours | Student hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lecture | 20 | 1 | 20 |
| Seminar | 10 | 1 | 10 |
| Private study hours | 170 | ||
| Total Contact hours | 30 | ||
| Total hours (100hr per 10 credits) | 200 | ||
In seminars and tutorial, students’ progress is monitored, and they receive feedback through class discussion. In particular, they are able to test ideas and formats in seminar sessions devoted to assessment preparation. Tutors offer possibilities for individual discussion, feedback and essay preparation during their office hours.
| Assessment type | Notes | % of formal assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Coursework | Portfolio | 50 |
| Coursework | Group Podcast | 50 |
| Total percentage (Assessment Coursework) | 100 | |
Resits follow the same format. For the podcast resit, students work individually.
Check the module area in Minerva for your reading list
Last updated: 16/05/2025
Errors, omissions, failed links etc should be notified to the Catalogue Team