Roads to Rome: Italian Cinema from Neorealism to Today
ITAL 229
Spring 2025
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01
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Do all roads lead to Rome? In ancient times, people across the Mediterranean referred to Rome as Caput Mundi, "the capital of the [Western] world." In 1906, while living there, James Joyce wrote to his brother Stanislaus: "Rome reminds me of a man who lives by exhibiting to travellers his grandmother's corpse." Four decades later, in 1948, film critic Jean-Georges Auriol remarked: "At present, there is no doubt that Rome is the capital of cinema in Europe, if not the world."
This course offers a virtual journey to the Eternal City by means of a critical survey of Italian cinema from neorealism to the present. By analyzing fundamental films that take Rome as their setting and subject, we will discuss major trends in postwar Italian cinema as we explore the history of Italy from fascism to today. Through the works of Federico Fellini, Cecilia Mangini, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Paolo Sorrentino, Lina Wertmüller, and others, including several Academy Awards winners and nominees, we will address topics such as the legacy of World War II and the transition to democracy, traditional and queer notions of love, the relationship between Italy and the United States, Catholic religion and the Vatican, politics and organized crime, and the transnational representation and aestheticization of Italy.
This course is conducted in Italian. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RLAN |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: ITAL112 |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (ITST)(RMST) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 75% - 89% |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
All readings will be provided by the instructor. Francesca Archibugi, Vittorio De Sica, Federico Fellini, Cecilia Mangini, Mario Monicelli, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Roberto Rossellini, Ettore Scola, Stefano Sollima, Paolo Sorrentino, Lina Wertmüller
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Examinations and Assignments:
Weekly posts on the class forum, oral presentation, written assignments of varied length, final essay/creative project. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
This course is intended primarily for the following students: those who have a) taken a course at the 200 level; b) who have studied in Italy (for one or two semesters); c) whose experience with Italian is very recent (e.g., studied in Italy during the Fall). This course may be suitable for students who have not completed a course at the 200 level but whose placement exam suggested they should take courses numbered above 112. In the event that a student with advanced reading, writing, and speaking abilities in Italian has not yet completed a course at the 200 level, they will be asked to conduct a brief oral interview with the professor during registration or drop/add. In the event that the student does not meet the prerequisites AND the professor has any doubts as to placement, he will ask the student to engage in a brief oral interview. |
| Instructor(s): Miglianti,Giovanni Times: .M.W... 01:20PM-02:40PM; Location: FISK404; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 12 | | SR major: 2 | JR major: 2 | | |
| Seats Available: 3 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 2 | JR non-major: 2 | SO: 2 | FR: 2 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 1 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 1 | Unranked: 0 |
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