Mar 28, 2024  
Academic Catalog 2016-2017 
    
Academic Catalog 2016-2017 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

LALW328 Contemporary Italian Literature and Film: Myths, Identity and the “Mirage of America” 3cr


This course introduces students to significant Italian literature of the second half of the 20th century. These novels and short stories provide a variety of perspectives and insights into Italy as a country, with its complex history, rich culture, and changing values (e.g. the role of the Catholic Church in a secular society, recent immigration from Africa and Asia, North-South regional conflict, and recent national debates on gender equality, on politics, and on the Mafia).

The course also treats significant post-1960 feature films by Italian directors and actors. These Italian authors, intellectuals and artists influence contemporary American literary and culture. In this respect, novels and films treated in this course reflect the “mirage of America” in Italian culture and also reveal contemporary Italian representations of Italian-Americans. Students analyze these representations of America in Italian culture and compare them with the images of present-day Italy in American media, arts and popular culture.

Prerequisites: LALW-200

Lecture
Elective
Fall and Spring