Italian mafia: history, narratives, debates

Overview

Italian organised crime has long attracted scholarly and public attention, yet interpretative frameworks portraying the mafia as the inevitable outcome of Southern Italian ‘backwardness’ and regional underdevelopment remain influential. This module engages with contemporary historiography that challenges such assumptions, situating the emergence and evolution of Italian mafia organisations within broader processes of modernisation, state formation, and socio-political transformation from the mid-nineteenth century to the present.

Structured chronologically and thematically, this module examines the emergence of mafia groups in mid-nineteenth-century Sicily, their development within local power structures, patronage networks, and the administrative and political transformations following Italian unification. It considers their transnational reach in the United States and its impact on contemporary anti-immigration debates, before analysing their evolution during the Fascist period and post-war decades, with particular attention to shifting relations with political actors and the Catholic Church in the 1990s. Central themes include the evolving roles of women within criminal networks and wider processes of women’s emancipation, as well as the influence of public and political discourse on the construction and perception of the mafia phenomenon.

Throughout the course, students engage closely with a broad range of primary sources, including judicial and parliamentary records, trial documentation, press coverage and personal testimonies. By integrating a historical, political and social perspective, the module equips students to evaluate both the historical reality of mafia networks and their interpretative frameworks.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this module, students should be able to:



Demonstrate a significant understanding of the historical development of Italian organised crime and its socio-political context from the mid-nineteenth century to present day.

Critically evaluate main historiographical debates on the mafia and the ‘Italian South’ from a national and a transnational perspective.

Assess patterns of continuity and change in modern Italy, with attention to regional, migratory, and transnational dynamics.

Examine the constitutive role of public, political, and cultural discourse in constructing the mafia as a social phenomenon.

Apply analytical frameworks effectively - including gender, discourse, social arenas - to interpret historical developments.

Skills

This module equips students with core skills, including critical analysis, research and communication, supported by digital and collaborative competencies:



Critically evaluate historiographical debates, recognising interpretive differences.

Analyse and contextualise primary sources assessing their relevance for historical research.

Communicate historical knowledge effectively in written, oral and digital formats.

Design and deliver presentations using multimodal digital platforms.

Conduct independent research and integrate findings into structured, evidence-based arguments.

Plan, manage, and deliver extended research projects using appropriate methodologies.

Engage constructively in collaborative discussions, developing teamwork, feedback and debate skills.

Assessment