The history of Italy is a history of regionalism. Linguistic, cultural, political and socio-economic differences lie at the roots of a modern nation which is richly diverse and difficult to grasp. Since long before the unification of the peninsula Italians have been conscious of one particularly dramatic regional divide—that between Northern and Southern Italy. For generations of politicians and intellectuals, artists and directors, the meridione has been synonymous with everything from authenticity and religious purity to backwardness and crisis. In this course we will examine the origins of the "Southern Question" and its representation in literature and film. We will look at representations of the south by writers (Verga, Pirandello, Sciascia, Brancati) and directors (Rosi, Torre, Crialese) who hale from the region; we will also examine how northern directors (Visconti, Germi) interpret and stage a south of their own devising. The themes treated in this course will include: the construction of national identity; superstitions and popular culture; magic and religion; the origins and consequences of organized crime; the construction of gender and sexuality in a patriarchal society; immigrant assimilation and immigrant resistance; the construction of an Italian-American identity.