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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "CMS/ITS 241"
COURSE NAME: "Italian Cinema"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2016
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Federica Capoferri
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: MW 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: 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.
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:
NONE
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberComments
Italian Film in the light of NeorealismM. MarcusPrinceton UP978-0691102085  
After Fellini. National CInema....M. MarcusJ. Hopkins UP9780801868474  
The Cultural TurnF. JamesonVerso9781859848760  
Stupendous Miserable CityJ.D. RhodesMinnesota UP 978-0816649303  
Italian National Cinema P. SorlinRoutledge 9780415116985  
The Films of Federico FelliniP. BondanellaCambridge UP 978-0521575737   
History of Contemporary Italy P. GinsborgPenguin 9780140124965  
Roberto Rossellini P. Brunette Cambridge UP 9780520200531  

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
attendance More than 2 classes missed will result in a F in this portion of your grade. Any late arrival will count as 1/2 of an absence. 5%
Questionnairetake-home questionnaire composed of 6-8 questions. Questions will be posted weekly on My-JCU and students will be encouraged to not wait for the last days to work on their answers. NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS. Students should send their questionnaires by mail AND bring a printed copy to the instructor. All written assignments must be typed. Make sure you have time to print them out before class. Late papers will be penalized. Format for assignments written at home: Typewritten on standard (A4) paper Double-spaced to leave room for corrections Paragraphs indented but no extra spaces between them Name and date in the top left corner of the first page Title centered over the essay, capitalized. MLA or CHiCAGO Style for quotations and bibliography.20%
oral presentationsIndividual or group presentation (depending on the class’ size) on a topic previously discussed with the instructor. 15-20 minutes- Please not that the materials presented by students will be part of the final exam. SO students are required to pay attention, take notes, and incorporate in their assignments classmates' oral presentations.10%
FINAL EXAMiN-CLASS EXAM BASED ON 1) Informational part (short answers on movies' credits 2) Brief answered on specific critical keys. 3) essay.30%
midterm examIn class exam. Questions on readings, screenings, and a 3-4 pages essay on a given topic25
ParticipationStudents are expected to answer to the instructor’s questions, provide insightful comments, ask meaningful questions and show their engagement in the class discussion. (A) Students are obviously supposed to pay attention to the instructor’s lecture and to their classmates’ comments and presentation. (B). Students are NOT supposed to use the class to take care of their social network. NO I-PHONE, COMPUTER, I-PAD, AND ANY SORT OF DEVICES ARE ALLOWED DURING THE CLASS. Students disregarding this policy will receive an F for this portion of their grade.. 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


WEEK 1

Introduction: Cinema, History, Nation. Thinking about Film, History and Narratives

Screening: Roma Città Aperta(Rome Open City, Rossellini, 1945)

Millicent. Marcus, "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. Brunette, "Open City" in Roberto Rossellini, University of California Press, 1996, pp. 41-60.



WEEK 2

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

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

Millicent Marcus. "De Sica's Bycicle Thief: Casting shadows on the visionary city" in Italian film...
 A. Bazin, De Sica Metteur en Scène, in What is cinema, vol. 2, University of California Press, 2004, pp 61-68 (available on line)



WEEK 3




WEEK 4

Neo-Realism II: An Aesthetic Approach. Lecture and class discussion . 

Screening: Riso Amaro (Bitter Rice, De Santis, 1949). 

________________________
Class Discussion. QUIZ 2

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

Millicent Marcus, "De Santis's Bitter Rice. A neorealist hybrid"


                         


_________________________________
Readings: 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.

P. Bondanella, "Beyond neorealism: character and narrative form in early Fellini from Luci del varieta to La dolce vita" in P. Bondanella, The Films of Federico Fellini, Cambridge UP, 2002. 

P. Bondanella, "La dolce vita, The Art Film Spectacular".in The Films of Federico Fellini, Cambridge UP, 2002.

 









__________


                         
Home Screening: La dolce vita (1960, F. Fellini).

WEEK 5

 

 Lecture and class discussion. 

:Pasolini VS Fellini. --ScreeningMamma Roma-- Pier Paolo Pasolini (1962).
QUESTIONNAIRE DUE

P. Sorlin, "Fourth Generation. The sweet life". Italian National Cinema, Routledge, 1996..
 D.Rhodes, Stupendous, Miserable City. Pasolini's Rome, Minnesota University Press, 2007.  Chapter 5 



 QUESTIONNAIRE DUE.

WEEK 6

Class Discussion.

Screening: Deserto Rosso (1964). Michelangelo Antonioni.

 Marcus’ Chapter on Deserto Rosso in Italian Film...



WEEK 7

 

Class Discussion-Review for Midterm
W: MIDTERM





WEEK 8

 

Screening B. Bertolucci's Il conformista (1970)

Class Discussion. 

M. Marcus, Chapter on Il conformista in Italian Film...

 

WEEK 9

 



WEEK 10 







                         
WEEK 11 

WEEK 12

Class Discussion. Oral presentations. 


Cinema and Politics in the 70's
--Screening E. Petri's Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto (1970)

_______________________

History, Cinema, and Cinema History.--Screening Ettore Scola'sC'eravamo tanto amati (1974)—

Class discussion -Oral presentations. 

-------------------------------
Screening Nanni Moretti Caro diario(1993) - class discussion

                                               
-------------------------------


Screening. M. Bellocchio,Buongiorno, notte (2002)

Class Discussion--Oral presentations-- 

Marcus, Power as Pathology in Italian film...

Mikel J Koven, What is giallo?in La dolce morte. Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film, Scarecrow Press, 2006,  pp. 1-18 





______________________________________
  Marcus, Chapter on C'eravamo tanto amati in Italian film...

F. Jameson, "Postmodernism and Consumer Society", in The Cultural Turn, Verso, 2009, pp.1-20, 121






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

---------------------------------------------------
Carlo Testa, "Film, Literature, and Terrorism: Mapping Italy's Politcal Landscape by Cinematic Means", Italica, Vol 84, n. 4, Winter 2007, pp. 781-798 (JSTOR)

                                                                             










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________________


WEEK 13

Screening. P. Sorrentino, Le conseguenze dell'amore (2004)

Class Discussison

 Alfio Leotta. "Do Not Underestimate The Consequences of Love: The Representation of the New Mafia in Contemporary Italian Cinema",Italica, vol. 88, n. 2, Summer 2011, pp. 286-296 (JSTOR).



 



WEEK 14

 

 Screening: TBA
Class Discussion
REVIEW FOR FINAL EXAM
                       


Roberto Rossellini P. Brunette Cambridge UP 9780520200531   Book Modify Delete
History of Contemporary Italy P. Ginsborg Penguin 9780140124965   Book Modify Delete
The Films of Federico Fellini P. Bondanella Cambridge UP 978-0521575737   Book Modify Delete
Italian National Cinema P. Sorlin Routledge 9780415116985   Book Modify Delete
Stupendous Miserable City J.D. Rhodes Minnesota UP 978-0816649303   Book Modify Delete
The Cultural Turn F. Jameson Verso 9781859848760   Book Modify Delete
After Fellini. National CInema.... M. Marcus J. Hopkins UP 9780801868474   Book Modify Delete
Italian Film in the light of Neorealism M. Marcus Princeton UP 978-0691102085   Book