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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "CMS/ITS 241"
COURSE NAME: "Italian Cinema"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2019
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Federica Capoferri
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: TTH 1:30-3:30 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: This course carries 3 semester hours of credit.
OFFICE HOURS: by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course surveys films, directors, and film movements and styles in Italy from 1945 to the present. The films are examined as complex aesthetic and signifying systems with wider social and cultural relationships to post-war Italy. The role of Italian cinema as participating in the reconstitution and maintenance of post-War Italian culture and as a tool of historiographic inquiry is also investigated. Realism, modernism and post-modernism are discussed in relation to Italian cinema in particular and Italian society in general. Films are shown in the original Italian version with English subtitles.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
Realist, modernist and post-modernist aesthetics will be discussed in relation to Italian cinema, in particular, and Italian society, more in general. Directors to be treated include (but are not limited to) De Sica, Rossellini, Fellini, Pasolini, Monicelli, Petri, Bertolucci, Bellocchio, and Sorrentino. Films are shown in the original Italian version with English subtitles. 
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
-Students will learn how to analyze film texts using specific historical, cultural, and theoretical approaches.
- Students will learn how to write analytical essays that employ specific critical frameworks.
- Students will learn and be able to discuss key social, political, and economic events, and movements in contemporary Italian history.
TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
History of Italian CinemaPeter BondanellaContinuum 978-1441160690     
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberComments
Stupendous Miserable CityD.J RHODESMINNESOTA UP978-0816649303  
Italian National CinemaP.SorlinRoutledge9780415116985   
Italian Cinema in the Light of NeorealismM. MarcusPrinceton UP978-0691102085  
After FelliniM. MarcusJohn Hopkins UP9780801868474   

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
FINAL EXAMiN-CLASS EXAM BASED ON 1) Informational part (short answers on movies' credits 2) Brief answered on specific critical keys. 3) essay.25%
MIDTERM EXAMIn class exam. Questions on readings, screenings, and a 3-4 pages essay on a given topic25%
CLASS PARTICIPATION/ATTENDANCEStudents are expected to actively and critically participate to class discussions. Students are NOT supposed to leave the room during screenings and lectures (please avoid to leave the room in the first hour of the class,. More than 5 minutes outside the class will result in an absence. Students are supposed to arrive on time for the class. Please DO NOT ENTER the class if the door is closed. The use of cell phones and laptops during class is strictly prohibited. Cell phones should be turned OFF (NOT kept on silent or vibrate mode). Text messaging/instant messaging/internet surfing is also PROHIBITED! If caught using a cell phone or misusing your laptop during class, you will receive a warning. Further violations of this policy will result in an F for this portion of your grade. During the semester there will be one extra-screening on febr. 6 (IL PRINCIPE DI OSTIA BY RAFFAELE PASSERINI) followed by a discussion with the director and/or actors. Students are required to attend this event.15%
home screenings and critical reviews critical reviews (2-3 pages each) on the movies required as home screenings. Please check the syllabus for the deadlines. NO LATE SUBMISSION;25%
Group Oral Presentation20 minutes group oral presentation on a topic previously discussed with the professor.10%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the cours
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Please refer to the university catalog for the attendance and absence policy.
ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.
STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
SCHEDULE

PLEASE NOTE THAT CHANGES IN THE SCHEDULE COULD BE MADE BY THE INSTRUCTOR
make up day: FEBRUARY 22 

WEEK 1
Introduction: Cinema, History, Nation. 
Screening:  Roma città aperta (Rome Open City, Rossellini, 1945)
READINGS: Millicent. Marcus Roma Città Aperta, "Introduction" to Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism, UP Princeton, 1986 pp. 3-29; Rossellini's Open City: The founding, pp. 33-53 .
P. Bondanella, History of Italian Cinema: "The Neorealist Era:Exploring the Boundaries of Neorealism"


WEEK 2
Neo-Realism I: A Historical Approach. Lecture and class discussion 
Screening: Ladri di Biciclette (Bicycle Thief, De Sica, 1948).
READINGS: Millicent Marcus. "De Sica's Bycicle Thief: Casting shadows on the visionary city" in Italian film.
Home screening: Paisà (R.Rossellini, 1946)

WEEK 3
Neo-Realism II: An Aesthetic Approach. Lecture and class discussion
Screening: Riso Amaro (Bitter Rice, De Santis, 1949).
Reading: Millicent Marcus, "De Santis's Bitter Rice. A neorealist hybrid"
FEBRUARY 6: evening screening Il principe di Ostia Bronx (R. Passerini; 2017). MANDATORY

WEEK 4
Class discussion
Screening: I soliti ignoti (Big Deal on Madonna Street, 1958, Mario Monicelli)
Readings: P. Bondanella, History of Italian Cinema "The Golden Age of Italian Cinema:Commedia all'italiana-Comedy and Social Criticism"

 P. Ginsborg, "The Economic Miracle: Rural Exodus and Social Transformation. 1958-1963" in History of Contemporary Italy. Penguin Books, 1990, pp. 210-253; 499-508.
Home screening: La dolce vita (F.Fellini, 1960)
P. Bondanella, "La dolce vita, The Art Film Spectacular".in The Films of Federico Fellini, Cambridge UP, 2002.

WEEK 5
TEST 1-  Critical reviews DUE (Paisà and La dolce vita DUE)
Lecture and class discussion.
Screening: Mamma Roma (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1962).
Readings: D. J. Rhodes, Stupendous, Miserable City. Pasolini's Rome, Minnesota University Press, 2007.  Chapter 5
Friday: Screening TBA

WEEK 6
Class Discussion on Pier Paolo Pasolini's cinema
Screening: L'eclisse (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962)
P. Bondanella History of Italian Cinema "The Neorealist Era:The Break With Neorealism, the Cinema of the Reconstruction in Rossellini and Antonioni, Fellini's Trilogy of Character and Grace; and the Return of Melodrama with Visconti and De Sica"

WEEK 7
Class Discussion-Review for Midterm

MIDTERM MARCH 7

SPRING BREAK MARCH 11-15

WEEK 8
Screening: Il conformista (B. Bertolucci, 1970)
Readings: M. Marcus, Chapter on Il conformista in Italian Film.
P. Bondanella, History... "The Golden Age of Italian Cinema:Neorealism's Legacy to a New Generation and the Political Film" 

WEEK 9:
Screening: Indagine di un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto (E. Petri, 1970)
Class Discussion
Readings: M. Marcus, Chapter on Investigation
Mikel J Koven, What is giallo?in La dolce morte. Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film, Scarecrow Press, 2006,  pp. 1-18
P. Bondanella, History... "Italian Crime Films from the 1970s to the Present".
Home screening Roma violenta (Violent City, F. Martinelli,1975)

WEEK 10
Screening: C’eravamo tanto amati (Ettore Scola, 1974)
TEST 2-  Class Discussion
Reading: Marcus, Chapter on C'eravamo tanto amati in Italian film...

WEEK 11
Screening: Caro Diario (Nanni Moretti, 1994)
Class Discussion
Reading: M. Marcus, "Caro Diario and the Cinematic Body of Nanni Moretti" in After Fellini, John Hopkins University, 2002, pp. 285-299.
P. Bondanella
Home screening: Maria per Roma (K. Da Porto, 2016)

WEEK 12:
Screening: Buongiorno notte (M. Bellocchio, 2004)
Readings: Carlo Testa, "Film, Literature, and Terrorism: Mapping Italy's Political Landscape by Cinematic Means", Italica, Vol 84, n. 4, Winter 2007, pp. 781-798 

WEEK 13:
Critical reviews on home screenings (Roma violenta and Maria per Roma DUE)
Class discussion
Screening: Il divo (P. Sorrentino, 2007)
P. Bondanella, History... "Italian Cinema Enters the Third Millennium"

Week 14:
Screening: Lo chiamavano Jeeg Robot (G. Mainetti, 2016)
Class Discussion/Review for Final Exam.