IT 475 Modern Italian Literature and Cinema

Focus on silent films, fascism, WWII, Resistance, Neorealism, and reactions against Neorealism. IT 475 Modern Italian Literature and Cinema (3)(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements. This course will explore the literary, cultural, and historical backdrops behind a variety of films from Fellini's The Road, to one of the greatest spaghetti westerns ever made (Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West), to the Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film (Benigni's Life is Beautiful). Selected 19th and 20th-century prose texts also trace such issues as the individual's role in society and the use of the imagination in the representation of history. This course aims to provide students with the fundamental tools to read texts and watch films critically and intelligently while presenting an overview of some major themes of Italian culture. Students will be evaluated on three in-class exams, paper outline, final paper, and participation in class discussions/activities/debates. IT 475 is the first interdisciplinary course taught in English at the IT 400 level. The course helps satisfy the Italian minor requirement. It is also good for students who have taken IT 130 and want to know more about 20th-century Italian lit/film/culture without having to do course work in Italian. IT 475 may also be of particular interest to students of film and media studies, English or comparative literature, religious studies, and history. This course satisfies the Italian minor or bachelor of arts humanities requirements. IT 475 will be offered once a year with 40 seats per offering.