Not Just Neorealism: Italian Cinema, its History and Politics
RL&L 245
Fall 2020
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
WLIT 248, FILM 302 |
This introductory course on Italian cinema, taught in English, investigates major silent and sound films and contextualizes them, their production, and the subjects they treat within a historical, cultural and political framework. We will trace the intersection among politics, ideology, and Italian cinema, from its Golden Age of silents through fascism and neorealism (as well as its contested legacy), from a consideration of the "exquisite" examples of the auteur directors like Fellini and Sorrentino to the ways these and other directors enter into dialogue with genre cinema (the giallo, spaghetti westerns, melodrama, etc.), and beyond. Featured filmmakers will be drawn from this list: Pastrone, Rossellini, De Sica, Fellini, Bertolucci, Antonioni, Wertmuller, Cavani, Pasolini, the Taviani Brothers, Leone, Sorrentino, Rohrwacher, Nicchiarelli, Crialese, and others. Additional material includes readings in film theory and criticism, Italian history, literary sources, screenplays, and interviews. For interested students with advanced competency in Italian, there will be a .50 credit (CLAC) discussion section, ITAL245/CGST245, at a time to be determined. Please see additional comments below. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RLAN |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Student Option |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (ITST) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 90% or above |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
COURSE READER
Films will be drawn from this list, some of which will be the basis for student presentations:
Antonioni, BLOW-UP
Argento, DEEP RED
Bertolucci, THE CONFORMIST
Crialese, RESPIRO, THE GOLDEN DOOR
De Sica, BICYCLE THIEVES, UMBERTO D
Fellini, AMARCORD; LA DOLCE VITA; 8 ¿
Leone, ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
Moretti, CARO DIARIO
Nicchiarelli, COSMONAUTA; NICO, 1988
Ophuls, LA SIGNORA DI TUTTI
Pasolini, THEOREM
Pastrone, CABIRIA
Rohrwacher, HEAVENLY BODY, HAPPY AS LAZARUS
Rossellini, PAISA'; ROME, OPEN CITY
Sorrentino, THE GREAT BEAUTY, YOUTH
Taviani Brothers, NIGHT OF THE SHOOTING STARS
Visconti, ROCCO AND HIS BROTHERS
Wertmuller, SWEPT AWAY; SEVEN BEAUTIES
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Examinations and Assignments:
Midterm and Final Examinations (given during the exam period and scheduled by the Registrar); possible weekly quizzes or short writing assignments on films and readings; preparation of daily discussion questions.
In small groups, students will make presentations during class time on topics from a prepared list. Should an Italian film be part of the Film Series, students will be required to attend. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Students are required to see the films before the week's first class meeting. For those interested, there will be one weekly screening (Sunday afternoons). The films will also be available on our password protected Moodle. Students are invited to use any legal vehicle they have access to in order to screen the films, so long as they do so before the first class meeting of the week.
Advanced students of Italian are invited to consider enrolling in the attached CLAC (.50), to be conducted through the medium of Italian and scheduled at a time that will be convenient to the students interested in enrolling. You must enroll in the parent class (ITAL 245) to enroll in the CLAC section.
There are no prerequisites for this course. Formal film analysis is something we will work on throughout the semester. At the beginning of the semester, some students may have more familiarity with formal analysis than others. At the same time, other students may have greater familiarity with Italian cinema, history, and society. By the conclusion of the course, all students will have greater understanding of film analysis in the context of Italian society and the Italian film industry.
The class format alternates between instructor presentations, small group discussion, discussion in a wider format.
This course is appropriate for first-year students.
For this hybrid course, students should expect to watch/study the online mini-lectures before the indicated class, at a time that is convenient to them. These asynchronous lectures will reduce the class meeting time, something we will work on as we go along. We may, for example, find alternate meeting times for several class meetings throughout the semester, designated well in advance and according to student availability. Discussions will happen both in person and online. Students needing to take the course remotely and unavailable for any in-person component should contact the instructor. |
| Instructor(s): Nerenberg,Ellen Times: ..T.R.. 02:50PM-04:10PM; Location: LBRNTH; |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 20 | | SR major: 4 | JR major: 3 | | |
| Seats Available: -3 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 3 | JR non-major: 2 | SO: 4 | FR: 4 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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