Italian Americans on Screen

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course surveys the representation of Italian Americans in films and TV series from the silent era to the present. During the first half of the semester students will be exploring the use of stereotypes and film genres commonly used to depict Italian Americans, During the second half of the semester, students will focus on the Italian American experience at large, analyzing films that deal with a wide variety of topics (from domesticity, family, and food to emigration). This course will help students reflect upon the concept of Italian Americanness, and question the very existence of Italian American cinema. Indeed, during the semester, students will appreciate how Italian Americans progressively moved from being represented by others, to finally acquiring their own authorial voice. Nonetheless, this voice will be problematized, along with the ever-recurrence of stereotypes and labels that continue to plague the Italian American identity and community.