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Course Descriptions
Italian Cinema: From Neo to New: Sex and Politics in Italian Cinema
Professor Dana Renga
TR 12:30-2:18
Call Number: 09605-9
Available for BER, GEC, and LAR Credit Autumn Quarter 2008.
In Italian culture sex and politics are intimately entwined, to the point that distinctions between the personal and the collective are often blurred, yet their interpolation is rarely, if ever, indifferent. The history of sexuality can be viewed as a history of culture and politics. Through examining the crossovers between "private" arenas of home and family into "public" realms of politics, the economy and religion, this course aims to disclose how, in Italian culture, the personal and the political are inextricably linked. This course presents students with an overview of Italian cinema of the last seventy years. We will look in detail at films by ten seminal Italian directors. The course will touch upon major movements in Italian film history, including Neorealism, commedia all'italiana, engaged or political cinema and new Italian comedy. Topics to be addressed include: Italian fascism (including Italy’s problematic alliance with Nazi Germany and the Partisan Resistance), the so-called "economic miracle," Italy’s not-so "Dolce vita," regional identity and racism, gender relations, the mafia, political corruption, terrorism and immigration. Films will be screened during class.
