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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "CMS/ITS 241"
COURSE NAME: "Italian Cinema"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Summer Session I 2016
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Federica Capoferri
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
MTWTH 11:00 AM 12:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
This course carries 3 semester hours of credit.
OFFICE HOURS:
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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.
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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,, Monicelli, Petri, Bertolucci, Moretti, Sorrentino. 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 | M. Marcus | Princeton UP | 978-0691102085 | | |
| After Fellini. National CInema | M. Marcus | John Hopkins UP | 9780801868474 | | |
| The Cultural Turn | F. jameson | Verso | 9781859848760 | | |
| Stupendous Miserable City. Pasolini's ROme | J.D. Rhodes | Minnesota UP | 978-0816649303 | | |
| Italian National Cinema | P. Sorlin | Routledge | 9780415116985 | | |
| The FIlms of Federico Fellini | P. Bondanella | Cambridge UP | 978-0521575737 | | |
| History of Contemporary Italy | P. Ginsborg | Penguin | 9780140124965 | | |
| Roberto Rossellini | P. Brunette | Cambridge UP | 9780520200531 | | |
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
| Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
| Attendance | More than 2 classes missed will result in a F in this portion of your grade. Any late arrival will count as 1/3 of an absence. Events scheduled in the syllabus count as 2 class attendance. | 5% |
| Weekly quizzes (4) | Short in-class quizzes (4 questions, 10 minutes) on readings. NO MAKE UP | 15% |
| Class participation | Students 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 COMPUTER, I-PAD, AND ANY SORT OF DEVICES ARE ALLOWED DURING THE CLASS. (F). | 10% |
| Oral presentation | Individual or group presentation (depending on the class’ size) on a topic previously discussed with the instructor. 20 minutes, Students are required to send an outline to the Instructor at least 3 days before their presentations. | 15% |
| Questionnaire | take-home assignment due June 16th. 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. Answers are not supposed to be based only on class lectures and required readings but show evidence of further readings (at least 3 additional academic sources: no web reviews and generic blogs). Format: MLA style or Chicago style. | 25% |
| Final Exam | Cumulative in-class exam 1) Short questions (CREDITIS, GENERAL NOTIONS). 2) Brief answered on specific critical keys. 3) essay. Date: Friday June 26th, 2015 | 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 co
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 2 absences will result in F for this portion of your grade.
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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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Make up for June 2 will be held on June 10 |
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SCHEDULE. Please note that Instructor may make changes .
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WEEK I— (May 23-26)
M:Introduction: Cinema, History, Nation. Thinking about Film, History and Narratives
--Documentary on Italy during WWII.
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T:Screening: Roma Città Aperta (Rome Open City, Rossellini, 1945)
W: Class Discussion
TH: Screening: Ladri di biciclette (Bycicle Thief, De Sica, 1948)
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Marcus, Millicent.” Introduction”, Italian Film in Light of Neorealism, Princeton UP
M. Marcus. "Introduction".
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Brunette, Peter. “Open City.” Roberto Rossellini. 41-60. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996.
Marcus, Millicent. “Open City...”, Chapter 1
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Marcus, Millicent, “Bicycle Thief”, Chapter 2, Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism.
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WEEK 2 (May 30-June 1st)
M: Quiz I--Class Discussion
T Screening: La dolce vita (Fellini, 1959),
W La dolce vita. Class discussion
TH: NO class
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WEEK 3 ((June 6-10)
M: Screening Mamma Roma (Pasolini, 1961).
T- Quiz 2. Class discussion.
W: Screening: Deserto rosso (Red desert, Antonioni, 1964).
TH: Class discussion.
F . Make up. Screening: Il conformista (The conformist, Bertolucci, 1970).
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Sorlin, Pierre. “Fourth Generation: The Sweet Life.” Italian National Cinema. New York: Routledge, 1996. EBL.
Ginsborg, Paul. “The ‘Economic Miracle’: Rural Exodus and Social Transformation, 1958-1963.” History of Contemporary Italy. 210-253, 499-508. London: Penguin Books, 1990
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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Rhodes, John. “Brief History of Roman Periphery” and “Mamma Roma and the oedipal (housing complex" in Stupendous miserable city. Pasolini’s Rome, University of Minnesota Press, 2007.
M. Marcus, "Antonioni's Red Desert- Abstraction as the guiding idea" (in Italian film...).
M. Marcus. "Bertolucci's Il conformista: A Moral Charge".
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WEEK 4 (June 13-16)
M: Quiz 3. Class discussion.
T: Screening: Indagine su un cittadino al di sopra di ogni sospetto (Petri, 1971).
W. Class discussion. Oral Presentations
TH: Screening: Caro diario (Moretti, 1993),
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M. Marcus. "Petri's Investigation on a citizen above Suspicion: Power as Pathology" in Italian film....
M. Marcus. "Caro diario and the cinematic body of Nanni Moretti" in After Fellini.
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Home screening: C'eravamo tanto amati (Scola, 1974).
Reading: M. Marcus, last chapter in Italian film...
June 16 th: Questionnaire due.
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WEEK 5 (June 20-23)
Class discussion
T. Screening. TBA
W: Class discussion
TH: Review
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TBA
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FINAL EXAM June 24
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