Flavia Brizio-Skov
 Associate Professor of Italian
 University of Tennessee

Literature




Fascism & Resistance in Italian Literature & Cinema

Fascism, Nazism & Francoism in Literature & Cinema

Spaghetti Westerns

home

  


Singing at the International House, “Festa Italiana”.

Fascism & Resistance in Italian Literature & Cinema

M 2:30/3:30 HSS
W 2:30/5:30 Hodges Library-Audiovisual

This course will examine the most important literary and cinematic trends in pre- and post-war Italy. In the first part of the course we will watch Luce newsreel-documentaries filmed between 1920 and 1940, and we will read novels written during these twenty years. In the second part we will watch movies made from 1945 to the present that deal with the representation of Fascist Italy. We will compare and read these films in contraposition to the Luce material in order to acquire a more in-depth view of this historical period. Both in films and in novels we will analyze the shifting perspective that writers and directors had in their assessment of one of the most turbulent and tragic moments of Italian history. The objective of the course is to investigate the impact that Fascism, War and the Post-War Period had on literature and cinema in order to achieve a greater understanding of contemporary culture.

The course will meet twice a week: Monday for one hour (in HSS), and Wednesday for a three hour session (in Hodges-Audiovisual) to allow for film viewing and discussion. The class will be conducted in English. The course is designed for both non-majors and majors of Italian (Italian majors and minors will read the literary works in Italian). All the films are in Italian with English subtitles, and all the literary texts are available in translation. There are no prerequisites. Requirements will include one mid-term, one final, and one class presentation. For further information contact Flavia Brizio, Department of Romance Languages (tel. 974-2311). (Because the content of this course changes, students may take this course twice, for up to 6 credits.)

           
 

Fascism & Resistance in Italian Literature & Cinema Syllabus *

Week I
Jan 14
 Introduction Fascism - “Rise and fall of a dictator: Mussolini” (doc., BBC, 105).
 
Week II
Jan 19
 HOLIDAY - Martin Luther King Day
Jan 21
 Men and not Men (book 1945 Vittorini) The conformist (film Bertolucci 1970, 116) discussion
 
Week III
Jan 26
 Men discussion
Jan 28
 A special day (film Scola 1977, 105') discussion
 
Week IV
Feb 2
 Men discussion
Feb 4
 Christ stopped in Eboli (film Rosi 1978, 150') discussion
   
Week V
Feb 9
Men discussion
Feb 11 The garden of the Finzi-Contini (film De Sica 1970, 93)
 
Week VI Feb 16 Pereira Declares (book Tabucchi 1995) discussion
  Feb 20 Generale della Rovere (film Rossellini 1959, 129) discussion
 
Week VII Feb 23 Pereira discussion
Feb 25 Rome open city (film Rossellini 1945, 98) discussion
 
Week VIII March 2 Pereira discussion
March 6 Era notte a Roma (film Rossellini 1960, 140) discussion
 
Week IX March 9 Pereira discussion
March 11 Paisan (film Rossellini 1949, 81') discussion
     
Week X March 16 The Reawakening / The Truce (book Primo Levi) discussion
  March 18 Two women (film De Sica 1960, 110') discussion
     
WeekXI March 23-25 Spring Break - HOLIDAY
 
WeekXII March 30 The Truce discussion
April 1 Night and fog (documentary A. Resnais, 1956, 32) The lost children of Berlin (documentary)
 
Week XIII April 6 MIDTERM
April 8 Adam, One Aftenoon and Other Stories (book Calvino 1949) discussion - Stalingrad (film J. Vilsmaier 1992, 138')
 
Week XIV April 13 Adam discussion
April 15 The 4 days of Naples (film Nanni Loy, 1962, 120')
 
Week XV April 20 Adam discussion
April 22 Le soldatesse (film Zurlini, 1966, 120)
 
Week XVI April 27 Adam discussion
April 29 Night of the shooting stars (film Taviani, 1982, 105)
 
WeekXVII May 4 Take-home
 
FINAL WEEK May 7-9 to 11-12 Final Week
 
Grade Distribution:
The final grade will be calculated as follows:
  Midterm 30%
  Take Home-Final 30%
  Oral Report 30%
  Attendance 10%
     
  Grade Scale:
  A 90-100 C+ 76-79
  B+ 86-89 C 70-75
  B 80-85 D 60-69
     
  Exams: will include the material covered in class. Please note that Attendance at the screening is mandatory -- all the films are available for extra-viewing at the Audiovisual center in Hodges Library in order to give you the opportunity to review the films before your class presenattion or exams. Bibliography of critical material at Reserve Desk in Hodges Library will be distributed separately.
     
  Midterm and Take Home Final: will include questions on the material covered in class.
     
  Oral Presentation: students will choose a book or a film and they will base their report on (at least) two critical articles. The oral report has to be presented to the class but it also has to be written and handed in after the oral presentation: at least 4 pages typed with a biblio of the critical material used.
     
  Attendance: to be active is essential in a class whose main object is critical discussion about literature and cinema. Good class participation requires regular attendance and actual involvement in all class activities and assignments.
     
  Purpose of course: In the course we will focus on the movies made from 1945 to the present that deal with the representation of fascist Italy. We will compare and read these films in contraposition to the novels in order to acquire a more in-depth view of this historical period. The objective of the course is to investigate the impact that Fascism, War and the Resistance had on literature and cinema in order to achieve a greater understanding of contemporary culture.
     
 

Textbooks: Textbooks: E. Vittorini, Men and Not Men (Marlboro Press, 1985); A. Tabucchi, Pereira Declares (New Directions 1995); Primo Levi, The Reawakening (Boston Little Brown, 1965); I. Calvino, Adam, One Afternoon and Other Stories (London: Minerva, 1992).

     
  *Feel free to come to see me whenever you need help!