Italian Identity in Film & Literature
01:560:347 Francesco Pascuzzi
Office hours: audio conferences by appointment
Learning goals
This course analyzes the construction of Italian identity and its evolution through the study of a number of novels and films that grapple with itspersonal, geographical, political, and socialfeatures.The course will track and investigate the unfolding of this complex, layered and ever-changing notion from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, to the struggles for self-preservation during World War II and the 1968 upheavals, to contemporary issues of cultural and ethnic reconfiguration related to the phenomenon of immigration.Through readings and screenings of major literary and cinematic works, the course is designed to foster the development of essential analytical and critical skills that students can apply to diverse historical periods and cultural frameworks. Conducted in Italian.
Novels
-Giuseppe TomasidiLampedusa, Il gattopardo (1958)
(selected passages)
-Alberto Moravia, La ciociara (1958)
-NiccolòAmmaniti, Io non ho paura (2001)
-Roberto Saviano, Gomorra (2006)
(selected passages)
Films
-Luchino Visconti, Il gattopardo (1963)
-Roberto Rossellini, Roma cittàaperta (1945)
-Francesco Rosi, Trefratelli (1981)
-MatteoGarrone, Gomorra (2011)
Essays
-Paola Filippucci, Anthropological Perspectives on Culture in Italy
-Vanessa Maher, Immigration and Social Identities
-John Dickie, The Notion of Italy
-Simon Parker, Political Identities
Requirements
- Each student is responsible to complete the required readings and viewings each week as detailed in the weekly unit program.
- There will be four quizzes, one at the end of each unit (quiz #4 will be administered the penultimate day of class). Each quiz will reflect the work done on the texts (both literary and filmic) during that week. Each quiz is worth 10% of the final grade.
- In the third week, each student shall arrange a digital presentation on a topic related to a novel, film or essay. This topic might also be related to the student’s final essay project. The presentation is worth 10% of the final grade.
-For their final assignment, students will write a 5-page essay that considers a movie, novel or essay from the above lists in connection to one of the movies or novels listed below.The final essay is worth 50% of the final grade.
- All digital presentation and essay topics will have to be approved by the instructor at the end of the second unit in a live session (week 2).
- Students are required to submit all assignments on time. Failure to do so will have a negative impact on the final grade.
Additional texts
-Baarìa (Tornatore)
-Un borghese piccolo piccolo (Monicelli)
-La ciociara (De Sica)
-Io sono Li (Segre)
-Lamerica (Amelio)
-Io non ho paura (Salvatores)
-Parentiserpenti(Monicelli)
-Il corpodelledonne (Zanardo)
-Cristo si è fermato a Eboli (Levi)
-Il disprezzo(Moravia)
-L’isoladi Arturo (Morante)
-Formidabiliqueglianni (Capanna)
-Il giardinodeiFinzi-Contini (Bassani)
-Uomini e no (Vittorini)
Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
In order to avoid plagiarism (the representation of the words or ideas of others as one’s own), every quotation must be identified by quotation marks or appropriate indentation and must be properly cited in the text or in a footnote. Always acknowledge your sources clearly and completely when you paraphrase or summarize material from another source (in print, electronic, or other medium) on whole or in part. If you are in doubt, please consult the policy on plagiarism and academic integrity at Rutgers and do not hesitate to ask for clarifications, if needed. Please check:
Program
Unit 1 (7/11 – 7/17) / Il Gattopardo (TomasidiLampedusa)Il Gattopardo (Visconti)
Essay #1 (Dickie)
Quiz #1 (7/17)
Unit 2 (7/18 – 7/24) / La Ciociara (Moravia)
Roma cittàaperta (Rossellini)
Essay #2 (Parker)
Quiz #2 (7/24)
Live sessions (to be held between 7/19 and 7/23)
Unit 3 (7/25 – 7/31) / Io non ho paura (Ammaniti)
TreFratelli (Rosi)
Essay #3 (Filippucci)
Quiz #3 (7/31)
Digital presentation (7/29)
Unit 4 (8/1 – 8/7) / Gomorra (Saviano)
Gomorra (Garrone)
Essay #4 (Maher)
Quiz #4 (8/6)
FINAL DUE BY or ON 8/7