42768 - Cinema and Literature

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the students will have learnt how to analyze relationships between languages e texts in literary and filmic areas, to achieve a good analysis skill of relations between the two languages, through the in-depth study of some exemplary texts. The students will be able to include these relationships into a brief and historical excursus about the evolution of the cinematographic language and techniques and poetries of film adaptation from origin up to the present day.

Course contents

Literature and cinema: ten steps into history and evolution of an exchange

Throughout the course we will learn how mastering the history of cinema based on a cultural survey of his most incisive moments, thus providing the basis for more competent analysis of film texts. In this path acquires special importance the relationship with the literature, model of narrative structures and rich source of stories. During the semester you will learn how cinematic tradition is contaminated by experimental forms as well as technical developments, in a way they affect with their strong imprint authors and genres (expression of both the productive needs and the public desires).

Readings/Bibliography

For those attending electronic materials will be available. Information will be provided in class.

 

C. Bragaglia-E. Marchese, Alfabeti: il cinema, Bari, Laterza, 1999 (the book is available only in libraries). As other option, the students can study these two texts: Vincent Pinel, Il montaggio (Torino, Lindau, 2004); Anne Marie Guérin,Il racconto cinematografico (Torino, Lindau, 2006).

Fernaldo Di Giammatteo, Milestones, Torino, Utet, 1998 (the book is available only in libraries or in electronic format).

Alessandro Cinquegrani, Letteratura e cinema, Brescia, La Scuola, 2009 

The students of Cinema History and Criticism, instead of the text of Alessandro Cinquegrani, have to study:

Paolo Bertetto (ed. by), Introduzione alla storia del cinema, Torino, Utet, 2012

or, as an alternative, René Prédal, Cinema, cent'anni di storia, Baldini e Castoldi, 2010

Every student will be allow to agree with the professor a list of alternative texts.

The students have to watch at least 8 movies from Milestones by Di Giammatteo (but the text must be studied in its entirety).

At the exam the students have to bring the list of the chosen movies.

The attendance (also for the past courses) is valid only for a year from the first examination session after the end of the course.

Teaching methods

Traditional teaching with watching movies and the use of digital texts partly available on line at the end of course

Assessment methods

The oral examination consists in an oral interview which has the aim of evaluating the communication skills, learning skills, appropriate knowledge and understanding of the bibliography in the course program and making judgements.

Those students who are able to demonstrate a wide-ranging and organized understanding of the subject matter, who use critically and who master the field-specific language of the discipline will be given a mark of excellence.

On the contrary students who demonstrate gaps in their knowledge of the arguments covered during the course, inappropriate language use, deficiency of familiarity with the literature in the program bibliography will not be given a pass mark.

Specific evaluations parameters will be explained at the beginning of the course.

Teaching tools

DVD and VHS are available at: Videoteca del Dipartimento di Musica e Spettacolo (via Barberia, 4); Sala Borsa; Biblioteca di Discipline Umanistiche (via Zamboni, 36). Possible electronic sources will be stated during the classes.

Office hours

See the website of Cristina Bragaglia