Italian Film and Culture (in English)

This course examines Italian cinema from its origins to the present, offering a trajectory through some of the most important moments of Italy’s modern history, including its national unification (Risorgimento), Fascism and Resistance, postwar Reconstruction, the Economic Boom, social movements of the 60s and 70s, the terrorism of the 80s the Berlusconi era of the 90s and the evolving political character of the new millennium. We will also use these films to examine critical debates about politics, religion, gender and sexuality as we learn more about film as an art form and about Italy’s important contribution to global cinema.

No prerequisite; taught in English; open to all students
Fulfills Visual and Performing Arts (VP) & North Atlantic World (NA) Gen Ed requirements
Counts as elective for Italian Major and Minor
Counts as “world area” elective for Global Studies Major
Counts as elective for European Studies Major
Counts as elective for Film Studies Major & Global Cinema Minor

Gen Ed: VP, NA.[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle title=”Fall 2014: One-hundred and fifty years of Italian Unification: 1860-2014″]The course will focus on essential moments of Italy’s history and life since its unification through Italian cinema. Requirements: Class attendance and participation; three brief papers; brief summary and analyses of film screened during the previous Wednesday, due every Thursday (home assignment; one page for each film); final exam.  This course will be conducted in English.[/vc_toggle][vc_toggle title=”Spring 2014: Italian Cinema from WWII to Present”]The course will examine Italian cinema from World War II to the present. This course may be of interest to you for several reasons: Because it is a survey course, studying films produced in Italy since the mid-1900s to the present will give you a trajectory of some of the most important aspects of Italy’s modern history. You may also use these films as an approach to studying Italy’s cultures, as you get a view of critical debates about politics, religion, and sexuality taken up in these films. Finally, you can use this course to learn more about cinema as an art form, which uses various techniques of mise-en-scène, editing, sound, and narrative in order to tell its story. Italian film plays a very important role in the history of global cinema, and you will view a few of its canonical and influential masterpieces. You will learn about individual directors as well as about the evolution of genre film in Italy. No previous courses in film or Italian history are required for this course, just an interest in art films and in learning more about Italian culture.[/vc_toggle][/vc_column][/vc_row]