Welcome to Zeitgeist, in which we exercise democracy-in-action. We start by studying reportage on current affairs, paired with contemporary art that responds to, reflects on, or refutes the news. We go on to host a dynamic roster of guest musicians, writers, visual artists, multimedia artists, and activists, experiencing the guest's work and then responding with excellent questions to enhance our own artmaking. In a move from inquiry to action, students are responsible for crafting their own timely contributions related to the zeitgeist at the end of each week. We culminate with a collaborative, large-scale, public-facing art project. The goal is to facilitate intercultural, interdisciplinary, and inter-group dialogue about the here and now.

Gender, sexuality, as well as other markers of identity like class, race, and status are the result of cultural, political, and historical constructs. In this class, we will focus on sexual politics, and on sexualized politics, as represented in Italian cinema, in particular by women directors (a rarity of sorts in the landscape of the Italian cinema, and beyond). Some of the larger questions that will be discussed are: How is sexuality politicized? How is politics romanticized? Which are the major factors, agents, and ideas that have contributed, and may continue to do so, in the making and unmaking of sexual politics in modern Italian society and how do films represent such ideas? How has the feminist movement developed, or not, in Italy? Has the so-called “male gaze” been a significantly powerful force, finding its way even in the minds of radical female directors who declare to reject it?

Analysis of several novels and screenplays of different periods in comparison with their film versions in order to examine various modes of interpretation of the two media. Conducted in English. Students wishing to obtain credit for the French major, or the minor, must consult the instructor at the beginning of the course. For majors, novels must be read and papers must be written in French. No prerequisite. 1 unit.

Black Italian Cinema and Digital Performance is an introduction to issues of culture, “race,” identity, and citizenship in contemporary Italy drawing from documentary, film, and the new arena of the social media. An entire generation of Black Italians, in particular artists, entrepreneurs, bloggers (especially Millennials), have been affirming themselves in Italian culture and society, gaining progressively more visibility starting in the 1990s, thus entering the spotlight of the Global Black Diaspora. In this course we will ask questions such as: Which themes are most discussed among Black Italians? Which art forms do they cite and refer to? In which ways and through which channels do Black Italians engage with the Global Black Diaspora? How is this generation seeking to be included in the history and socio-economic system of a country that still refuses citizenship to children born on the Italian soil? What kind of cultural and artistic production has been emerging from “the new Italians”? Together with film-maker and activist Fred Kuwornu, we will explore his own work, and that of emerging artists such as Antonio Dikele Distefano, Ghali, and web-based projects such as “Afroitalian Souls.”