The Italian Family From the Renaissance to Today

3 units

The Italian family, which is the basic building block of the Italian society and state, has been extremely resilient yet continually evolving. This course focuses on the institution as well as the roles of women, men, children, and servants from the Renaissance (15th century) until today. We will discuss the historical roles of mothers vs. fathers, shared family time and resources, family-run workshops, and how couples planned, named and educated their offspring. We will examine how the family can be experienced in a variety of ways, including the form of the papal famiglia and all-male households headed by cardinals. Finally, we will see how divorce legislation (1970) destroyed the notion of eternal family solidarity. The family is still being shaped as Italians recently legalized same-sex civil unions (2016), forcing them to define what a family is and what rights its members should enjoy. We will consider Pope Francis' role in discussions of Italian and global family life in a nation that hosts thousands of migrant families, too.