Bella Ciao: Resistances in Contemporary Italian Culture

What does it mean to resist? This course explores the concept of resistance in its multiple cultural representations. Starting from the partisan Resistance against the Nazi-Fascist regime (1943-45), we will touch upon several historical uprisings: civil rights movements, feminist movements, the so-called Years of Lead, anti-mafia activism, anti-globalization movements, antiracist activism. From literature to film/tv series, from photography to visual art to poetry, artists have politically engaged, challenged and modified the idea of resistance embedded within the identity of contemporary Italians. We look at artistic expressions of resistance performed against different forms of power (nationalism, the colonial state, the patriarchal family, the Mafia, the Church, police violence). We interrogate how the idea of resistance comes to structure Italian culture today and how it reverberates in mainstream narratives of what it means to be Italian.