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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "TH/CMS 241-1"
COURSE NAME: "Italian Cinema (Visiting students: During registration this course is listed as CMS/TH 241)"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Fall Semester 2012
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Tasini Erika
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
MW 13:30-15:30
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:
by appointment
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
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This course will present a survey of films, directors and film styles in Italy from the 1940’s to the present. The films will be investigated as aesthetic objects in their own right and in their relation to the wider social and cultural environment of post-war Italy. Cinema’s role as a tool of historiographic inquiry will also be investigated
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
Realist, modernist and post-modernist aesthetics will be discussed in relation to Italian cinema, in particular, and Italian society in general. Directors to be treated include (but are not limited to) De Sica, Rossellini, Fellini, Pasolini, Visconti, Risi, Monicelli, Petri, Bertolucci, the Taviani brothers, Moretti, and Sorrentino. The relation of art cinema to popular cinema will be considered, with a particular emphasis on comedy. Film screenings will be supplemented by lectures, class discussions and readings.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Students will gain:
· ability to analyze film texts using specific theoretical approaches
· ability to write analytical essays that employ specific critical frameworks
· ability to discuss key social, political, and economic events, and movements in contemporary Italian history.
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TEXTBOOK:
| Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments | Format | Local Bookstore | Online Purchase |
| ITALIAN FILM IN THE LIGHT OF NEOREALISM | MILLICENT MARCUS | | 0-691-10208-2 | | | | | |
| course reader | n/a | | n/a | | | | | |
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
| Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
| midterm exam | | 25% |
| Final exam | | 25% |
| class presentation | | 20% |
| screening notes, attendance and participation | | 30% |
| midterm exam | | 25% |
| Final exam | | 25% |
| class presentation | | 20% |
| screening notes, attendance and participation | | 30% |
-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
Assessment Guidelines for assigning main letter grades: A, B, C,D, and F.
A: Work of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensiveknowledge 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.
B: This 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.
C: This is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
D: This 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.
F: This 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 obviously supposed to watch all the movies.
Arriving more than 15 minutes late means an absence.
Movies have to be seen from the beginning to the end- leaving early for no reason means an absence too.
More than 3 unexcused absences will result in an F (Fail) grade for Attendance & Participation.
More than 5 unexcused absences will result in failing the course
NB: The use of laptop computers and other electronic devices during class is NOT permitted. that means No laptop, cell phone, ipod, iphone are allowed in class. Absolutely no texting!
Professor will not redistribute handouts and other materials to absent students.
Please, if absent, contact your classmates and come to the next class prepared.
Handouts distributed in class won't be given out in the following classes or sent by email by the Professor.
Please refer to the university catalog for the attendance and absence policy.
Screening Notes, which will combine to attendance and participation to define 30 % of your grade.
Screening notes are devised to assist you in remembering films and to make sure that you will have concrete examples with which to support your analyzes and discussions.
The notes will be emailed to the professor by the end of the day following a screening, with the title of the film as a subject.
Remember, developing this skill will improve your papers and exams as well as enliven class discussion.
Late assignments will not be accepted. No exceptions.
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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.
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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.
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SCHEDULE
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WEEK 1
NEOREALISM 1: CINEMA, NATION, HISTORY
Screening:
Rome, Open City/Rome città aperta (Roberto Rossellini, 1945)
Martin Scorsese’s Journey into Italian Cinema (CLIPS)
Reading:
M. Marcus – “Introduction” to Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism (Princeton University Press, 1987), 3-29.
M. Marcus – “Rossellini’s Open City: The Founding” in Italian Film, 33-53.
P. Brunette “Open City” pp. 41-60 (reader)
WEEK 2
NEOREALISM 2: POLITICS AND AESTHETICS
Screening:
The Bicycle Thief/Ladri di biciclette (Vittorio De Sica, 1948)
Reading:
M. Marcus – “De Sica’s Bicycle Thief:Casting Shadows on the Visionary City,” in Italian Film, 54-75.
A. Bazin, De Sica Metteur en Scène, pp 61-68 (reader)
WEEK 3
NEOREALISM 3: EXPLORING THE BOUNDARIES
Screening:
Bitter Rice/Riso amaro (Giuseppe De Santis, 1948)
Reading:
M. Marcus – “De Santis’s Bitter Rice: A NeorealistHybrid,” in Italian Film, 76-95.
A. Bazin – “An Aesthetic of Reality: Neorealism,” in What is Cinema?, 16-40. (READER)
A. Bazin – “Umberto D,” in What is Cinema? 79-82. (READER)
WEEK 4
THE ECONOMIC MIRACLE: MODERNIZATION AND MIGRATION
Screening:
Big Deal on Madonna Street/I soliti ignoti (Mario Monicelli, 1958)
Reading:
Paul Ginsborg – “The ‘Economic Miracle’: Rural Exodus and SocialTransformation, 1958-1963,” in History of Contemporary Italy, 210-253 (READER).
WEEK 5
ITALY IN THE 60S: The definition of comedy Italian style
Screening:
Il Sorpasso (Dino Risi, 1962)
Reading:
Pierre Sorlin – “Fourth Generation: The Sweet Life” in ItaliaN NationalCinema, 115-143. (READER)
WEEK 6
THE ECONOMIC MIRACLE take 2: a real social and cultural change? (documenting the 60s)
Screening: COMIZI D’AMORE (PIER PAOLO PASOLINI, 1964)
READING:
TBD
WEEK 7:
BEYOND NEOREALISM: ITALIAN MODERNIST AUTEURS take 1: FELLINI
Screening
8 1/2 (Federico Fellini, 1963)
Reading:
Peter Bondanella – “8 1/2 The celebration of artistic creativity” in The
Films of Federico Fellini (Cambridge University Press, 2002), 65-92 (READER).
Lecture and review for MIDTERM
WEEK 8
TUESDAY: MIDTERM EXAM
THURSDAY: BEYOND NEOREALISM: ITALIAN MODERNIST AUTEURS take 2: ANTONIONI
SCREENING:
BLOW UP (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1966)
READING:
S. Chatman – “‘Il provino’ and BlowUp” in Antonioni: Or, The Surface ofthe World (University of California Press, 1985), 136-158. (READER)
WEEK 9
RETHINKING THE PAST, QUESTIONING THE PRESENT:
Screening:
The Conformist/Il conformista (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970)
Reading:
M. Marcus – “Bernardo Bertolucci’s TheConformist: A Morals Charge,” in Italian Film, p. 285-312.
WEEK 10
questioning the present: comparing Bertolucci’s and Scola’s representation of the past.
Screening:
We all loved each other so much (ETTORE SCOLA, 1977)
Reading:
M. Marcus - "We all loved each other so much: an epilogue" 391-421 in Italian Film in the light of neorealism (Princeton University Press, 2001), 253-274.
PRESENTATION PROPOSAL DUE THIS WEEK!
WEEK 11
GENDER and CLASS CONFLICT in 1970s ITALY
Screening:
SWEPT AWAY (LinaWertmüller, 1975)
Reading:
M. MARCUS “ WERTMULLER’s LOVE AND ANARCHY: THE HIGH PRICE OF COMMITMENT” p. 313-338 in Italian Film in the light of neorealism (Princeton University Press, 2001).
WEEK 12
GENRE ITALIAN STYLE:
SCREENING:
“DEEP RED” (DARIO ARGENTO, 1975)
READING :
M.K. KOVEN “WHAT IS GIALLO?” (reader)
F. Jameson, Postmodernism and Consumer Society, pp. 1-20, 121 (reader)
WEEK 13
THE 1980s AND 1990s: “NEW ITALIAN CINEMA”
Screening:
Caro Diario/Dear Diary (Nanni Moretti, 1993)
Reading:
M. Marcus – “Caro diario and the Cinematic Body of Nanni Moretti,” in After Fellini (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002), p. 285-299.
M. Gieri. “The New Italian Cinema: Restoration or Subversion?” in Contemporary Italian Filmmaking. p. 198-232, 261-268 (READER).
WEEK 14
CLASS PRESENTATIONS AND REVIEW
WEEK 15
FINAL EXAM
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