FMS 242 – All is Fair in Love and War – D. Bleich
This course contests its title. There is language and literature/film that records how language has failed as a means of (human) species adaptation toward conflict resolution in domestic and international contexts. This course, following the observations of Virginia Woolf in Three Guineas (1939), tries to document the language/literary connections between domestic violence and war making. In domestic situations, violence is protected by traditions of privacy and male governance of households; in public situations, there has been an inertia throughout recorded history in enacting the ideal announced in Isaiah: "[nations] shall not learn war any more." In our own society, genres of popular and elite culture teach the necessity and glory of war through literature, film, toys, sports, and ideals of heroic behavior. Our normal ways of speaking still presuppose violence and war as a "last resort" in solving domestic and international antagonisms.
We will examine a variety of texts in different genres to show how our taken-for-granted means of speaking and story-telling may be teaching war and domestic violence instead of promoting peaceful households and halting future generations' learning of war.
TR 12:30 – 13:45
Morey 402
4 Credits
Cross-listed: ENG 265/465
CRN# 49533
FMS 285 – Italian Cinema: A Reflection of and a Reflection on Italian Culture - E. Fabbrini
This course provides a compendium of Italian cinema from the post-war period to the 1960s through the work of a few directors who have made Italian cinematography famous all over the world and have often been a source of inspiration for important foreign directors. By looking at these artists as primary contributors to the narrative and interpretation of the years following Mussolini's dictatorship and the tragedy of World War II, the course aims at an understanding of the historical and social development of Italian society of the time and its quest for a definition of national identity. Themes addressed include: 1. From the Resistance to the new neorealist cinema. Definition of Neorealism; 2. Reconstruction and the restoration of the cinema system in the 1950s. Auteur cinema; 3. The modernity of the 1960's. New cinema and commedia all'italiana. Filmmakers include: De Sica, Rossellini, Visconti, Fellini, Germi and others.
TR 14:00 - 15:15
Harkness 210
4 Credits
Cross-listed: IT 124/224
CRN# 94715
FMS 298 – Contemporary Japanese Cinema – J. Bernardi
Japanese cinema has changed radically since the 1980s: independent productions are now a commercial standard; a new home entertainment market irrevocably transformed patterns of consumption; an increasingly global market for Japanese (and, more broadly, Asian) film has generated "brand name" recognition at a new level of popularity worldwide. Concurrent demographic, socio-political, and economic changes have ruptured conventional conceptions of national identity; Japan has in particular been forced to reconsider its 20th century identity crisis as part of Asia. This course explores how recent films reflect such developments (e.g., reworking and reinterpreting once familiar genres) and the significance of contemporary works within the broader context of a global market (e.g., the singular popularity of specific genres like Horror, as well as the broad diversity such phenomena can conceal).
TR 15:25 – 16:40
Dewey 2-110E
4 Credits
Cross-listed: JPN 291/491, CLT 214M/414M, FMS 498
CRN# 49649
FMS 303 – Postcolonialism and Globalization Theory– G. Niu
This class will provide an overview of postcolonial studies and investigate recent theories. It includes some study of short literary works and films. No prerequisites. Work includes discussion leading, research essays, and short writing assignments.
MW 14:00 – 15:15
Morey 524
4 Credits
Cross-listed: ENG 380