Students Will Become Cognizant of the History of Italian Cinema and Will Learn to Critically Analyze Film in a Global Perspective
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QUEENS COLLEGE The City University of New York Department of European Languages and Literatures ITALIAN CINEMA 250w READING ITALY THROUGH FILM F: (9:15-1:15)/Powdermaker 302 Professor Eugenia Paulicelli/King 205A/ Tel: 718 997 5659/Email: [email protected] Office hours: M: 1:00-2:00; 3:30-4:30 or by appointment COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course will focus on the study of the contributions made by Italian filmmakers to the art form of cinema from early experimentation in neorealism in the 1940s till the present. Each time the course will focus on a specific topic and historical period. Students will learn the history of cinema in Italy, and will study the innovations in form, narrative and aesthetics introduced by Italian filmmakers. In particular, students will be trained to look at Italian cinema in a global perspective on account of its international breadth and the impact their technological innovations had on the history of global cinema. The film 1860 will introduce the cinema under Italian fascism so crucial for understanding not only the history of Italy but also of Europe and the impact the totalitarian regime had on world history. The students will also learn of the role played by fascist cinema in the reinterpretation of the Risorgimento and the subsequent phases of the unification of the Italian nation, an issue this that will be treated later in the course through other films produced in post-war Italy. In addition, 1860, although made in 1937, is important as a means to locate the first seeds of the aesthetic of neo-realism that will become known to the world through Roberto Rossellini, an author who will be studied in depth in the course. Through the analysis of narrative style, students will learn to identity the neo-realist aesthetic and the shift that took place in the experimental cinema of the 1950s and 1960s with directors such as Michelangelo Antonioni, Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, and Pier Paolo Pasolini who have been very influential not only in Italy but to world cinema. The themes of alienation, consumerism, and the anthropological revolution that took place in Italy during the so-called “economic miracle” will be explained and addressed through film. The insurgence of violence and terrorism in the 1970s and 1980s will also be part of the films analyZed in the course. REQUIRED TEXTS: Peter Bondanella, Italian Film. Available at the Queens College Bookstore; Carlo Levi, Christ Stopped at Eboli. Anthology of articles on film, historiography and cinematic theory; chapters from Tim Corrigan, A Short Guide to Writing about Film; and from L. Giannetti, Understanding Movies will be included. The material is available for purchase at Queens Copy Center, 65-01 Kissena Boulevard and put on ereserve. COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Reading 20% Class Participation 10% Peer Review 5% Short Papers 20% (10% each) Final Paper 25% Midterm examination 15% Learning Objectives: Students will become cognizant of the history of Italian cinema and will learn to critically analyze film in a global perspective. Students will become familiar with some of Italian cinema’s most important film directors and aesthetic movements, from the silent diva film, to neorealism, modernism and postmodernism. Reading Since reading, writing and critical thinking skills are intertwined, reading is a vital and essential component of this course. Besides doing all the reading assigned for each class, you are expected to “read” actively, that is to say, to interact with the film in order to interrogate it and engage in a conversation with it, instead of reading passively to acquire mere informational knowledge. With that in mind, part of each class―usually 5-10 minutes―will be devoted to non-graded, exploratory writing activities that can help you generate, extend, deepen and clarify critical thinking in relation to the reading and the viewing of the day. Moreover, reading should foster and facilitate productive and fruitful class discussion. Italian majors are expected to write in Italian and view extra material with no subtitles. This will be coordinated with the Professor. Attendance and Participation As active learners and members of an academic community, you are all expected to attend and participate in class activities, especially in debates with your fellow students and your instructor. The objective of class discussion consists both in probing a subject and in acquiring awareness of the collaborative nature of knowledge. Thus, plan to attend every class and to be punctual, and please, whenever possible, inform me in advance about your absence. Short Papers and Final Paper A writing intensive course such as Italian Cinema 250W is aimed at helping students improve their critical skills abilities(posing questions, advancing hypotheses, gathering and analyZing data, marking arguments and producing college-level prose). There are two types of formal writing assignments for this course: I) two short papers and; II) Midterm examination; III) a final paper. I) As for the short papers or microthemes, each of them should be 4-5-page long and will tackle the development and tentative solution of circumscribed problems related to the reading. The question every short paper focuses on will be announced one week earlier by the teacher. II) As for the second type of assignment, it should be 10-page long and each student will be able to choose her/his topic. Prior to the submission of the final product, students are expected to submit a 1-page prospectus addressing the following questions: • What problem do you intend to address? • Why is it both interesting and significant? • What is your thesis statement? • What kind of bibliographical material and sources have you planned to use or have used so far? Later on, students should hand in a first draft for peer response. Along with final copies, students will have to submit all drafts and peer responses. In order to prepare you to for both types of writing assignments, in the course of the semester a writing fellow will conduct workshops on paper structure/thesis support and revision. A writing fellow will be available to work with you on specific assignments. Format. All writing assignments should be typed, double-spaced, with 1” margins, and carefully edited and proofread. They must also be provided with a cover page including the title, your name, and course name and number. In order to cite sources and construct your works cited list properly, please use MLA guidelines you can find in the following web site: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/ Criteria for Evaluation Generally, when evaluating student writing, I will follow an ideal scale of concerns, giving priority to higher-order issues such as: ideas, organization, development and clarity, over lower-order issues such as: sentence correctness, style, mechanics and spelling. As a general principle, you may consider that a successful paper fulfills both higher- and lower-order requirements, whereas an unsuccessful essay fails in fulfilling all of them (of course, the higher- order concerns in particular) or does not follow the assignment at all. Writing Center and Writing Across the Curriculum As your instructor, I am always willing and glad to help you both inside and outside of class in one-on-one conferences during my office hours. Please, do not hesitate to meet with me whenever you feel puzzled by course issues. As an alternative, especially as far as writing is concerned, please consider taking advantage of the valuable tutoring that the staff of the Writing Center (http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/qcwsw/) and the Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) program (http://qcpages.qc.cuny.edu/Writing/) available on our campus can offer you at any stage of the writing process. Academic Integrity and Plagiarism Academic dishonesty and plagiarism―defined as “Borrowing, purchasing, or otherwise obtaining work composed by someone else and submitting it under one’s own name” (Rebecca Moore Howard)―are unacceptable and severely punished by the college (see the CUNY policy statement on academic integrity.) In case of a plagiarized pa per, the worth of the assignment will be subtracted from your final grade, while, in case of a second occurrence of plagiarism, the minimum penalty will be an F in the course. This said, plagiarism often represents a desperate and wrong measure to solve difficulties that might always find a more appropriate solution through the support of your instructor and college institutions. Moreover, sometimes plagiarism is also due to ignorance of discipline-specific citation and attribution conventions, about which you can learn by consulting the above-mentioned web site for a clear and detailed MLA formatting and style guide. WEEK 1/ Framing History: Representing the Risorgimento (Italy’s process of unification) in Fascist Italy 1860 (1937) by Alessandro Blasetti. Introduction to the course. Reading: Bondanella, pp.1-30. WEEK 2/Towards the End of Fascism: Italian Neorealism Week 2: Rome, Open City (1945) by Roberto Rossellini. The Manifesto of Italian Neorealism : Paisan (1946) by Roberto Rossellini Reading: Bondanella, pp 31- 102; T. Corrigan, “How to write about film” (Xeroxed copies) Rossellini, from My Method (Xerox material) * First short paper questions to be announced WEEK 3/ Part II. The Post-war: The Economic Boom The White Sheik (1952) by Federico Fellini. Reading: Bondanella, pp.103-141; Giannetti, Understanding Movies (Xeroxed copies) * Instruction on paper structure and thesis support WEEK 4/: Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958) by Mario Monicelli Short paper I due Reading: G. N. Smith, “Italy: Tradition, Backwardness and Modernity” (Xerox material) Italy and Italian Cinema during the Years of the Great Transformation. WEEK 5/ L’Avventura (1960) by Michelangelo Antonioni Reading: : Bondanella, pp.196-252; Rohdie, Antonioni (Xerox material); E. Paulicelli, “Framing the Self, Staging Identity” (Xerox materials) * First short paper due WEEK 6/ Part III.