Envisioning Contemporary Europe: New Political Realities in Film, Literature, and Art

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

In this course, we'll focus on some of the central issues in contemporary European cultures: how to construct a sense of historical memory and cultural heritage, how are gender, racial, and class struggles impacting national and increasingly transnational identities, and what is the role of the artist in depicting those changes. In each unit we'll compare how films, novels, television series, and conceptual art frame these issues, zeroing in on points of commonality and divergence. We'll also be incorporating films from the Nanovic Film Series at the Browning Cinema. Some of the texts we'll be discussing: Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Almodóvar, Parallel Mothers, Pawlikowski, Ida and Cold War, Ferrante/HBO, My Brilliant Friend, Ferrante/Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter, Rohrwacher, Lazzardo Felice, Kay and Uzan, Lupin, Ladj Ly, Les Misérables, Price, Borgen, Donnersmarck, Never Look Away, Sorrentino, Hand of God and The Great Beauty, Varda and JR, Faces, Places