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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "CMS/TH 241"
COURSE NAME: "Italian Cinema"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Summer Session I 2013
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Capoferri Federica
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
MTWTH 16:00-18:00
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
This course carries 3 semester hours of credit.
OFFICE HOURS:
m-w 11-13
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
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, more in general. Directors to be treated include (but are not limited to) De Sica, Rossellini, Fellini, Pasolini, Visconti, Risi, Monicelli, Petri, Bertolucci, the Taviani’s, Moretti.Film screenings will be supplemented by lectures, class discussions and readings.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
.Students will learn how to analyze film texts using specific 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.
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TEXTBOOK:
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
| Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments |
| Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism | Millicent Marcus | Princeton UP | 0 691 10208 2 | | |
| History of Contemporary Italy. | Ginsborg, Paul | London: Penguin Books, 1990 | 0140124969 | | “The ‘Economic Miracle’: Rural Exodus and Social Transformation, 1958-1963.” |
| Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film. | Koven, Mikel | Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2006 | 9780810858701 | | . “What is Giallo?” |
| The Films of Federico Fellini. | Bondanella, Peter | Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. | 0521573254 | | La Dolce Vita: The Art Film Spectacular |
| Italian National Cinema | P. Sorlin | New York: Routledge, 1996. EBL | 041511697X | | Fourth Generation: The Sweet Life. |
| Stupendous miserable city: Pasolini's Rome | Rhodes, John | University of Minnesota Press, 2007. | 9780816649297 | | “Brief History of Roman Periphery” and
“Mamma Roma and the housing oedipal complex” i |
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
| Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
| attendance and ACTIVE partecipation to the class discussion | Please note that texting, checking your messages, using your smartphone, i-phone, etc will be considered as an ABSENCE. No i-pod, i-pad, and any kind of technological devices are allowed during the screenings and the class discussions. | 10% |
| screening notes | Questions on each movie will be distributed twice a week and collected the second and the four week.. NO LATE ASSIGNMENT | 10 % each (tot 40%) |
| weekly test (4) | in-class short (20 minutes) tests on readings. NO MAKE UP. | 20% |
| FINAL EXAM | iN-CLASS EXAM BASED ON 1) SHORT QUESTIONS (CREDITIS, GENERAL NOTIONS, ETCS). 2) Brief answered on specific critical keys. 3) essay. | 30% |
-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:
| Regular attendance is an essential component of this course. Students are allowed three (3) absences. Additional absences will lower the participation portion of the grade considerably. |
| Please refer to the university catalog for the attendance and absence policy. |
| Regular attendance is an essential component of this course. Students are allowed three (3) absences. Additional absences will lower the participation portion of the grade considerably. |
| Please refer to the university catalog for the attendance and absence policy. | Please refer to the university catalog for the attendance and absence policy.
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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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| Session |
Session Focus |
Reading Assignment |
Other Assignment |
Meeting Place/Exam Dates |
Week
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Session
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Session Focus
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Reading Assignment
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Other Assignment
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Week 1-
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---Introduction: Cinema, History, Nation. Thinking about Film, History and Narratives
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Screening: Roma Città Aperta (Rome Open City, Rossellini, 1945)
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W. Quiz 1
---Class Discussion
**********************************Screening: Ladri di biciclette (Bycicle Thief, De Sica, 1948)
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Marcus, Millicent.” Introduction”, Italian Cinema in the Light of Neorealism, Princeton UP
Brunette, Peter. “Open City.” Roberto Rossellini. 41-60. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996. http://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft709nb48d;query=;brand=ucpress
Marcus, Millicent. “Open City”, Chapter one of Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism. Princeton UP.
Marcus, Millicent, “Bicycle Thief”, Chapter 2, Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism.
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W. Quiz 1
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Week 2-
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Screening notes 1 due
Class Discussion: Neo-Realism II. An Aesthetic Approach.
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--Screening: Riso Amaro (Bitter Rice, De Santis, 1949)
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W Quiz 2
--Class Discussion: Emotional Realism and Melodrama.
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Screening: M- Monicelli's I soliti ignoti (Big Deal on Madonna Street, 1958)
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Marcus, Millicent. Chapter on Bitter Rice, Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism.
Sorlin, Pierre. “Fourth Generation: The Sweet Life.” Italian National Cinema. New York: Routledge, 1996. EBL.
Bondanella, Peter. “La Dolce Vita: The Art Film Spectacular” In The Films of Federico Fellini. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. ACLS Humanities Ebook.
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Screening notes 1 due
Home Screening: (by Monday), F. Fellini, La dolce vita (1959).
W Quiz 2
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week 3-
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Screening notes 2 due
--Class Discussion: Beyond Neo-Realism: Popular Cinema vs. Art Cinema .
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W Quiz 3
--Screening: P. P. Pasolini's Mamma Roma (1962).
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--Class Discussion: Economic Miracle: Fellini's Sweet Life VS Pasolini's Borgate.
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- Screening: B. Bertolucci's Il conformista (1970) ------
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Ginsborg, Paul. “The ‘Economic Miracle’: Rural Exodus and Social Transformation, 1958-1963.” History of Contemporary Italy. 210-253, 499-508. London: Penguin Books, 1990.
Rhodes, John. “Brief History of Roman Periphery” and “Mamma Roma and the housing oedipal complex” in Stupendous miserable city. Pasolini’s Rome, University of Minnesota Press, 2007. (available also as ebook).
Marcus, Millicent. Chapter on Il conformista.
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Screening notes 2 due
W Quiz 3
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Week 4--
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- Screening notes 3 due on Monday
Class Discussion- Cinema & Politics in the '70's
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--Screening-- E. Petri, "Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto" (1971)
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W Quiz 4
-- Class Discussion: Use of Cinematic Space.
----Screening P. Sorrentino's Il divo (2008).
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Marcus, Millicent, Chapter on Investigation
.Koven, Mikel J. “What is Giallo?” La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film. 1-18. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2006.
Marcus, Millicent, Chapter on We all loved each other so much.
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Screening notes 3 due on Monday
W Quiz 4
Home screening: E. Scola, C'eravamo tanto amati (1976)
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Week 5
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Screening notes 4 due on Monday
-- Class Discussion: Cinema, Politics and Society in the New Millennium.
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Screening N. Moretti, Habemus Papam(2012)
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Class discussion
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--Review for Final
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TBA
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Screening notes 4 due on Monday
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FINAL EXAM |
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