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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "CMS/ITS 241"
COURSE NAME: "Italian Cinema"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2026
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Federico Gianni
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: TTH 3:00 PM 5:00 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: This course carries 3 semester hours of credit.
OFFICE HOURS:
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:
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.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
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.
TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
The cinema of ItalyGiorgio BertelliniWallflowers Press9781903364987     
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Attendance and participationClass participation consists of true, regular and thoughtful contribution to class discussions and other activities. Students are required to come to class having completed the assigned readings which are integral to our class discussions.20%
Film PresentationYou will prepare a presentation on a specific film or a topic.25%
Final ExamThe final exam will assess your knowledge of the topics and films discussed in class.30%
Mid-term ExamThe mid-term exam will assess your knowledge of the topics and films discussed in class.25%

-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 course.
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:

More than three (3) Absences will result in the loss of a full letter grade if not adequately excused. Two (2) Late marks (more than 10 minutes late to class) is equal to one (1) Absence.
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

SCHEDULE:

* The contents of this outline are subject to change at the discretion of the instructor.

 

WEEK 1 

Lecture 1: Introduction to course material & Italian cinema & Neorealism

Jan 20

 

Screening: Bicycle Thieves (De Sica, 1948)
Jan 22
Readings: Millicent Marcus, “De Sica’s Bicycle Thief: Casting Shadows on the Visionary City.”
Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 1986, pp. 54-75 .

 

 

WEEK 2 

Lecture: The 1950s: After Neorealism. 

Jan 27

 

Screening: La Strada (Fellini, 1954)

Jan 29

Readings: Peter Bondanella (2007), “La Strada”, in: Giorgio Bertellini (ed.), The cinema of Italy. London: Wallflower Press, pp. 73-80. 

 

 

WEEK 3 

Lecture: The Booming 1960s. Popular Genres: Comedy Italian Style 

Feb 3

 

Screening: Big Deal on Madonna Street (Monicelli, 1958)
Feb 5
Readings: Di Carmine, Roberta. “Comedy 'Italian Style' and I soliti ignoti (Big Deal on Madonna Street, 1958).” In Horton, Andrew, and Rapf, Joanna E. A Companion To Film Comedy. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013: 454-473

 

 

WEEK 4 

Lecture: The Booming 1960s. The Economic Miracle

Feb 10

 

Screening: Il Posto (Olmi, 1961) 

Feb 12
Readings: Millicent Marcus, “Il posto: Discrediting the economic miracle” Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism. Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 1986, pp. 211-227

 

 

WEEK 5 

Lecture: The Booming 1960s. Arthouse Cinema. 

Feb 17

 

Screening: La Notte (Antonioni, 1964)

Feb 19

Readings: Torunn Haaland, “Flanerie, spatial practices and nomadic thought in Antonioni's La notte” (2013). 

 

 

WEEK 6 

Lecture: The Booming 1960s. Arthouse Cinema.

Feb 24

 

Screening: Accattone (Pasolini, 1960)

Feb 26

Readings: TBD

 

 

WEEK 7 

Lecture: The Booming 1960s. Popular Genres: “Spaghetti Westerns”

Mar 3

 

Screening: C’era una volta il west (Leone, 1964)

Mar 5 (VIEW AT HOME)

 

Readings: Christopher Frayling, “Once Upon a Time in the West” in Spaghetti Westerns: Cowboys and Europeans from Karl May to Sergio Leone (2006).

 

MIDTERM EXAM

 

WEEK 8 

Lecture: The 1970s: Political films in the Years of Lead.

Mar 17

 

Screening: The Conformist (Bertolucci, 1970)

Mar 19
Readings: T. Jefferson Kline (2007), “The Conformist”, in: Giorgio Bertellini (ed.), The cinema of Italy. London: Wallflower Press, pp. 173-181.

 

 

WEEK 9 

Lecture: The 1970s. Popular Genre: Polizziotesco.

Mar 24

 

Screening: Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (E. Petri, 1970)

Mar 26
Readings: TBD

 

 

WEEK 10 

Lecture: Nostalgia and ‘New Italian Cinema’ in the 1980s and the 1990s.

Mar 31

 

Screening: Lamerica (G. Amelio, 1994)

Apr 2

Readings: Áine O’Healy (2007), “Lamerica”, in: Giorgio Bertellini (ed.), The cinema of Italy. London: Wallflower Press, pp. 245-253.

 

WEEK 11 

Lecture: The 2000s and 2010s: Mafioso Films

Apr 7

 

Screening: Gomorra (Garrone, 2008) 

Apr 9
Readings: Dana Renga, “The Corleone at Home and Abroad”, in Mafia Movies: A Reader (2016). Pierpaolo Antonello, “Dispatches from Hell: Matteo Garrone’s Gomorrah”, in Mafia Movies: A Reader (2016).

 

 

WEEK 12 

Lecture: The 2000s and 2010s: Magical Realism

Apr 14

 

Screening: Le meraviglie (Rohrwacher, 2014) 

Apr 16

Readings: Silvia Angeli, “From the margins: Alice Rohrwacher’s liminal adolescents”, Jun 2020, p. 339 – 356. 

 

WEEK 13 

Lecture: The 2000s and 2010s: New Directions

Apr 21

 

Screening: Chiamami con il tuo nome (Guadagnino, 2017) 

Apr 23

Readings: Rosalind Galt & Karl Schoonover, “Untimely Desires, Historical Efflorescence, and Italy in Call Me by Your Name” (2019). 

 

WEEK 14 

FINAL EXAM