Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "CMS/ITS 241-2"
COURSE NAME: "Italian Cinema"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2024

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Federica Capoferri
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: TTH 6:00 PM 8:00 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, Cavani, Bertolucci, Bellocchio, Nicchiarelli, 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.

Numerical scale for grades:

A Excellent 94-100

A- 90-93

B+ 87-89

B Good 84-86

B- 80-83

C+ 77-79

C Satisfactory 74-76

C- 70-73 D+ 67-69

D Poor but Passing

64-68

D- 60-63

F Failing Below 60 INC Incomplete P Passing (C or higher) NP Not Passing (C- or lower) W Withdrawal

TEXTBOOK:

NONE

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number
Italian FIlm in the Light of Neorealism	Millicent Marcus	Princeton UP	9780691102085
A History of Italian Cinema	Peter Bondanella, Federico Pacchioni	Bloomsbury USA Academic; 2° edizione	9781501307638
Stupendous Miserable City: Pasolini's Rome	John D. Rodhes	Minnesota UP	978-0-8166-5439-0

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
FINAL EXAM	In-class exam with questions on: readings, screening, and class discussions plus a short critical essay	20%
MIDTERM EXAM	In-Class Exam. Questions on readings, screenings, and a 3-4 pages essay on a given topic	20%
Class Participation and Attendance	Students are expected to actively and critically participate to class discussions. Students are allowed 3 absences, after which the grade for this section of the course will be 0 (Please do not send me medical certificates, they will not affect my grade policy).	15%
GROUP ORAL PRESENTATIONS	Group oral presentation on a topic previously discussed with the professor. 10 minutes for each student.	10%

Response Paper	Students will be required to write a 2500 words Response Paper to discuss the movies (including home-screening) and the materials studied in teh fiirs part of the semester- NO LATE ASSIGMENTS WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR ANY REASONS.	20%
NUMERICAL SCALE FOR GRADES	Numerical scale for grades: A Excellent 94-100 A- 90-93 B+ 87-89 B Good 84-86 B- 80-83 C+ 77-79 C Satisfactory 74-76 C- 70-73 D+ 67-69 D Poor but Passing 64-68 D- 60-63 F Failing Below 60 INC Incomplete P Passing (C or higher) NP Not Passing (C- or lower) W Withdrawal
Final Research Paper	6 pages (1.0 space) on a topic previously discussed with the Instructor. Due the last day of class.	15%

-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:

Students are allowed 3 absences. Any additional absence will result in 2 pts (for each absence) taken away from your FINAL GRADE.

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 THE INSTRUCTOR CAN MAKE CHANGES TO THE SYLLABUS

WEEK 1

Introduction: Cinema, History, National Culture.

Screening: Roma città aperta (Rome Open City, Roberto Rossellini, 1945)

READINGS:

Millicent Marcus, Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism, UP Princeton, 1986, Chapter: Rossellini's Open City: The Founding

Peter Bondanella, A History of Italian Cinema. Chapter: Neorealism: a Revolutionary and Problematic New Film Aesthetic

WEEK 2

Neo-Realism I: A Historical Approach. Lecture and class discussion

Class Discussion Rome Open City

Screening: Ladri di Biciclette (Bicycle Thief, Vittorio De Sica, 1948).

READINGS:

Millicent Marcus, Italian Film in .... Chapter: De Sica's Bicycle Thief: Casting shadows on the visionary city

Lorenzo Borgotallo, The Italian Neorealist Experience: The Orphan Child and New Ways of Lookint at the World, in Frank Burke, A Companion to Italian Cinema

SEPT 15 Make-up class:

Lecture and Class Discussion on Ladri di biciclette

WEEK 3

Screening: I soliti ignoti (Big Deal on Madonna Street, 1958, Mario Monicelli)

READINGS:

Louis Bayman, The Popularity of Italian Film Comedy, in Frank Burke, A Companion to Italian Cinema

Class Discussion: From Neorealism to Commedia all'italiana

WEEK 4

Screening: Le notti di Cabiria (Federico Fellini, 1957)

READINGS:

Peter Bondanella, A History... Chapter: The Italian Art Film: Auteurism in Visconti, Antonioni, Fellini, and De Sica.

Lecture and Class discussion on Fellini

Home screening: La dolce vita (Federico Fellini, 1960)

WEEK 5

Response Paper Due OCT. 3 no late assignments will be accepted

Screening: Mamma Roma (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1962).

READINGS:

David J. Rhodes, Stupendous, Miserable City. Pasolini's Rome, Minnesota University Press, 2007: Chapter 5: Mamma Roma and Pasolini's Oedipal (Housing) Complex

Lecture and Class Discussion on Mamma Roma

WEEK 6

Screening: L'eclisse (The Eclips, Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962)

READINGS:

Veronica Pravadelli, Italian 1960s Auteur Cinema (and beyond): Classic, Modern, Postmodern, in Frank Burke, A Companion to Italian Cinema

Lecture and Class Discussion: Abstraction and Landscape in Antonioni's Cinema

Review for Midterm

WEEK 7

Midterm Exam Tuesday Oct 17

Screening: Indagine di un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto (Investigation on a Citizen Above Suspicion, Elio Petri, 1970)

part 2

READINGS:

Millicent Marcus, Italian Film... Chapter on Investigation…

Peter Bondanella, A History... Chapter: Mistery, Gore. and Mayhem: The Italian Giallo

WEEK 8

Lecture and Class Discussion: Politics, Society, and Cinema in the Seventies.

Screening: Il conformista (The Conformist, Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970)

READINGS:

Millicent Marcus, Italian film... Chapter on Il conformista .

P. A. Cavaliere, Contemporary Italian Cinema and Fascism. Memory, History, and Politics in the Films of Bernardo Bertolucci, Post-scriptum, https://post-scriptum.org/04-02-contemporary-italian-cinema-and-fascism/

Home Screening: C'eravamo tanto amati (We All Love Each Other, Ettore Scola, 1974)

WEEK 9

Class Discussion on Il Conformista and Italian Cinema in the Seventies

Screening: Caro Diario (Dear Diary, Nanni Moretti, 1994)

READINGS:

M. Marcus, After Fellini, John Hopkins University, 2002, pp. 285-299. Chapter: Caro Diario and the Cinematic Body of Nanni Moretti.

Tiziana Ferrero-Regis, From Cinecittà to the Small Screen: Italian Cinema After the Mid 1970's Crisis, in Frank Burke, A Companion to Italian Cinema

WEEK 10

Lecture and Class Discussion on Caro Diario

Screening: Cosmonauta (Susanna Nicchiarelli, 2009)

READINGS:

Nicoletta Marini-Maio, Nicchiarelli’s Cosmonauta: The Space Race, or When Communist Girls Dreamed of the Moon.

Bernadette Luciano and Susanna Scarparo, Women in Italian Cinema: From the Age of Silent Cinema to the Third MIllennium, in Frank. Burke, A Companion to Italian Cinema

WEEK 11

Nov. 21-Screening: Palazzina Laf (Michele Riondino, 2024). Q&A with director and actor RIondino

READINGS:

Forum: The Present State and Likely Prospects of Italian Cinema and Cinema Studies, In F. Burke, A Companion to Italian Cinema.

WEEK 12

Nov. 23:

ORAL PRESENTATIONS

WEEK 13

Class Discussion on Italian Women Directors

Screening: C'è ancora domani (There is Still Tomorrow, Paola Cortellesi, 2024)

WEEK 14

Class Discussion on Contemporary Italian Cinema

Review for Final

BOOKS and DVD are available in the Library. Additional Readings will be provided week by week