ITAL 27.05 IMPEGNO! Italian Imagination and the Role of Intellectuals (1945–Today)

In this course we will explore the evolving role of the Italian intellectual from the postwar years to the present, tracing the ongoing back-and-forth between political engagement and formal experimentation. Beginning with the immediate post-WWII period and moving chronologically through the economic boom, the crisis years of the 1970s, the transformations of the late 20th century, and the hybrid forms of the 21st century, we will examine how writers, filmmakers, and artists negotiate tensions between civic responsibility, aesthetic innovation, and market forces.We will read texts by Vittorini, Pavese, Calvino, Banti, Ginzburg, Pasolini, Testori, Fortini, Tondelli, Siti, and contemporary filmmakers such as Torre, Garrone and Sorrentino. You will develop advanced linguistic, analytical, and interpretive skills, produce a short critical essay, and complete a final creative adaptation or transposition project inspired by course themes. Class discussions, primary readings, and assignments are in Italian. 

Degree Requirement Attributes

Dist:LIT; WCult:W

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Department-Specific Course Categories

French and Italian Languages and Literatures