Italian Studies 350 - Italian Film

Course taught in English. Re-examines Italian neo-realism and the filmmakers' project of social reconstruction after Fascism. How Italian film produces meanings and pleasures through semiotics and psychoanalysis, so as to understand the specific features of Italian cinema, its cultural politics, and the Italian contribution to filmmaking and formal aesthetics. Course taught in English. (Gen. Ed. AT)

This course is a historical overview of how the most modern form of visual and narrative art responded to Italian culture, i.e. one of the richest traditions in painting, mosaic, and theater. From silent movies to current productions, the history of Italian film parallels and documents also the history of a modern nation, from pre-industrial to post-industrial economy. The course is conducted entirely in English.