US queries on Italian university malpractices

A letter from Jonathan Collins, USA

Dear JUST Response and Domenico Pacitti,

Re: Pacitti's articles on Italian universities

For the past few months I have been reading Domenico Pacitti's articles and letters relating to the situation in Italian universities. I am a US citizen who has been living and working in Italy for the past couple of years and have had the opportunity of observing my Italian friends through their trials and tribulations at university. I originally came to Italy as a high school exchange student and returned two years ago to work abroad for a few years after finishing my Bachelor's degree in a Canadian university. 
 
My circle of friends widely recognizes the presence of corruption within Italian university ranks and I know at least one person who has benefited from the system of "raccomandazioni" in obtaining a teaching position. To what extent do you think there has been a conscious desire on the part of students to actually join in on the clan mentality as it is the "only way to get in", thereby perpetuating the system and actually affirming its most negative characteristics? 
 
Personally, I have been led to believe that there is really very little interest on the part of many Italian students to change things, simply because they stand to benefit from the system if they get in. Indeed, much of the time it actually seems like something students want to work towards. I have a friend who stands a good chance of receiving a Fulbright Scholarship to study for a Master's degree in the US. He was initially interested in pursuing a PhD there but will most likely opt for an Italian doctorate, which he himself has acknowledged will be open to him only on the basis of connections. Conversations with this young scholar very clearly focus on long-term economic benefits, and since there is a good chance of his getting into both programs, he will be opting for the cushier position in the Italian university system.  
 
From a strictly financial standpoint and in terms of the level of work this is understandable enough, but from an academic standpoint this decision does not point to a desire on his part to further his studies for the betterment of his field. According to your articles, most of the best students do not have the luxury of choosing between the two options I mentioned above because they do not have the necessary "raccomandazioni", and therefore must look elsewhere or completely give up on an academic career. Nonetheless, is the type of reasoning I described above in the case of my friend common among the most capable students who make it into the system? Doesn't this contribute to the "clan" culture? 
 
Everybody seems so conscious of this clan mentality that plenty of students jump to conclusions as to how an academic got his or her position. In most cases, these conclusions are probably right on target, but in no way do they point to a desire for any sort of change. A typical response to the uninitiated individual's consternation is simply "lo so che fa schifo ma funziona così."  Is this system of "raccomandazioni" also symptomatic of a certain amount of arbitrariness within the university examination system itself? 
 
I am specifically referring to oral exams I have witnessed where one student responds to a series of questions and passes the exam, and the next day, another student responds in far more detail to a similar question but fails. I realize of course that historically Italy is very much an oral culture, which explains to an extent the prevalence of oral exams and the lack of them in other areas of the world, but is there not a certain amount of arbitrariness in the entire process? Do you feel that much of this points to a concentration of power in an elite that can basically dictate "merit" as it sees fit, and can favour certain students above others both knowingly and unknowingly? 
 
On a more general note, how do you not become "corrupt" to a greater or lesser degree in a system where there are so many rules that make normal day to day life so difficult (i.e. the petty regulations and 200,000 laws Montanelli spoke of)? You find yourself in a sink or swim environment (as you mention in your article A handbook for visiting academics in Italy) similar to driving a car in Naples, where you must start driving like everybody else to get anywhere. The general feeling is that it's just the way things are done. The next thing you know, you're trying to figure out how you got involved in a conversation with someone who is trying to figure out the best way to make up an intricate and false story to receive insurance damages. Much of the time I feel completely lost in the typical bar or dinner table conversation that takes a completely cynical, and, sad-to-say, probably realistic view on acquaintances' relationships. The typical conclusion is that these relationships are completely based on economic/career related gains. The prevalence of these types of conversations begs me to ask the following question: is there really more corruption in Italy, or is there simply more openness in talking about it? 
 
A concrete example of favouritism in an area other than the university is that of work permits for non-European immigrants.  The only reason a number of people I know received their "permessi di soggiorno" in less than six months is because they had someone 'vouch' for them to get their application fast-tracked. Although the law states all applicants should get a response in twenty days, most 'extracomunitari' are stuck waiting ages for their 'permesso' because of the infamously slow bureaucratic machine. Those who know somebody who knows someone in a position of power are more lucky. 
 
As a note of comparison, a scandal recently broke out in the UK in relation to Home Secretary David Blunkett's apparent fast-tracking of a single visa application. Do you see general public acceptance as the primary obstacle to real change in Italy when it comes to the culture of 'raccomandazioni?' Unlike the UK, there does not seem to be any public outcry in relation to this and many other areas of society where 'raccomandazioni' are a day to day reality. Is this acceptance perhaps due to the fact that people at one time or another probably benefit from the system? If so, is there anything one person can actually do when confronted with this sink or swim environment? 
 
Getting back to universities, what is your opinion on the way the elite upper class defends the Italian university system without questioning it? I have personally never taken courses at an Italian university, so I would not be the best judge; however, I do get the sense that there is a definite sense of superiority within the Italian upper class and university culture that university instruction elsewhere is really not up to par, which is a complete contradiction to what you have stated in a number of your articles. I would admit that a simple B.A. in linguistics and economics does not qualify me as an academic in any way, shape, or form.  
 
To become any sort of expert in these fields I would need to continue my studies for a number of years, but my studies so far have been extremely challenging and I have received excellent marks. Yet a number of people I have come into contact with and who have close relationships (either family or longtime friends) within the Italian academic community have absolutely no problem calling my alma mater McGill University in Montreal "l'università del tubazzo." How would you respond to individuals in the Italian upper class whose own family members are professors at universities and are trying to get other family members positions within the system, yet tend to view your knowledge and education as practically worthless? 
 
I fully recognize that my Bachelor's degree does not qualify me as an expert in the fields I mentioned above, and yet I graduated at 22 years of age speaking two languages in addition to my own and with a firm grasp of basic economic theory. I look at my Italian friends who are 26 or 27 and are still struggling to finish exams in similar fields with little success and am perplexed. Friends call me up to tell me how at least twice a week their professors don't even show up for lectures.  
 
An acquaintance of mine at McGill University, and one of the best students in my faculty participated in an exchange program for a year at the University of Trieste in the faculty of translation and interpretation and had the opportunity of experiencing what my Italian friends tell me almost every day. She talked of students constantly repeating exams. These same students were completely flabbergasted that she was able to churn out the five exams a semester she was required to pass to get credit back home in Canada. She mentioned that she was surprised professors were so unavailable and was shocked at the level of copying among students, to say nothing of her awe at witnessing a professor plagiarize a student's thesis. 
 
This along with the fact that her professors were unable to accept her Montreal French accent and basically reduced her grades because according to them she did not speak real French. The same comments I have encountered about my degree were made at the time about her studies even though she fared far better than her Italian counterparts. What is your take on the Italian elite's view of its educational background as superior while at the same time it perpetuates a system that is seemingly not based on merit? 
 
Finally, your own background is in the humanities, and therefore I was wondering if you could expand on the situation in scientific faculties. I recall very well the reaction of utter amazement on the face of my girlfriend (a medical student here in Italy) at visiting the medical school of an American friend of mine in Philadelphia. She was awestruck at the quality of the library and other resources available to students. Obviously, we are talking about different techniques in funding; however, I have visited medical schools in Canada where universities are publicly funded and have spoken with medical students from Britain and Scandinavia where the resources are also excellent. What is your opinion as concerns instruction in the sciences and particularly medical school where students don't even cut into a cadaver until far into there medical school career? Is practical application of theory barely even touched on, or is this an exaggeration on my part?
 
Thank you again for taking the time to read my extremely lengthy message, and for your insightful articles.

Best regards,

Jonathan Collins,
Washington DC,
USA

Note: See Ten questions on Italian universities answered for Pacitti's reply. This letter was published by JUST Response on December 24 2004.

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