The aim of the course is to give the students the historical, cultural and critical instruments that are necessary to analyze the Italian Contemporary Culture. The relationships between literature, cinema and society will be put in evidence and discussed together with the students in order to provide them with a wider idea of what Italian culture is today.

By the end of the semester the students will be able to understand what are the elements that can be considered original to contemporary Italian culture and to identify their origin in relation to the socio-historical-economical evolution of the country during the period between the unification and nowadays.

By the end of this course students should be able to:

c) discuss the idea of Italian national identity, providing insight into major cultural and socio-political issues of modern Italy. a) an understanding of the style and of the cultural background of the writers studied in the course.

This course will examine a selection of post-1945 Italian films and novels, by internationally acclaimed directors (Rossellini, Fellini, De Sica, Pasolini) and writers (Levi, Sarchi). By following significant variations of the nature of national identity in the postwar cultural production, students will explore major aspects of Italian cinema, literature, history and society. The course is interdisciplinary and uses critical methods pertinent to the media involved and to lead students to question assumptions about both cinema and literature.

The course aims at providing students with a firm understanding of the literary, cultural and historical scene of Twentieth-Century Italy. During the course students will acquire the necessary linguistic and critical tools to analyse works of literature and cinema, discuss literary works and movies using the correct terminology, and be encouraged to make autonomous judgments. Moreover, the course wishes to stimulate an open-minded approach to recent Italian cultural history.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Course books

Novels

* Primo Levi, Se questo è un uomo (any edition)

* Alessandra Sarchi, Violazione (any edition)

Movies

* Rossellini, Roma città aperta

* De Sica, Umberto D

* Visconti, Bellissima

* Fellini, La strada

* Risi, Il sorpasso

* Pasolini, La ricotta

* Pietrangeli, Io la conoscevo bene

* Moretti, Palombella rossa

* Garrone, Gomorra

 

Further materials will be provided by the Instructor through Blended Learning/Moodle.

There are not special instructions for non-attending students.

Assessment

Exam: closed questions test

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Course books

please refer to the above information