Art History: Italian Cinema

Catalog description

This course examines the cinematic representation of Italy with particular emphasis to the use of settings and space. We will explore how the visions of urban and rural spaces reflect the evolving cultural, social and political fabric of a nation in a period of rapid and often traumatic historical change. The course will feature screening of films set in several Italian locations, from Rome to Milan, from Naples to Venice, from Sicily to the Apennines, and represent different moments of Italian contemporary history. We will take advantage of the unique opportunity to study this cinema while residing in Rome and traveling in Italy, through the experience of the real settings that have figured so prominently in Italian cinema. Each session consists of an in-class lecture and a film screening. The course will also include one or two guest lecturers each semester.