Brief description
Neorealism as a movement, if indeed it can be described as a movement, was very short-lived, yet associated with it are the names of some of the best known film directors, artists and writers of the fifties: from Rossellini and Visconti to Fellini, from Vittorini and Pasolini to Calvino. Despite running rapidly into the hostility of the Italian establishment its influence was profound and long-lasting both within Italy and abroad. After the long years of Fascist propaganda and mystification it distinguished itself for its keen sense of social responsibility, moral commitment and for its increasingly unwelcome determination to bring to the public's attention human, political and social problems.

Learning outcomes
By the end of this module students will

• have gained an insight into the circumstances and events which led to the flourishing of Neorealism;

• be capable of identifying and following the threads that link Neorealism to ideas muted in the early years of Fascism;

• be aware of the themes Neorealism appropriated by studying examples from literature, the visual art and cinema;

• be aware of the main reasons and the implications for the demise of Neorealism;

• be aware of the variety of idioms the culture of a country can assume;

• be capable of researching and preparing a presentation on a given topic, to be delivered in a student semina.

Further Notes
Bibliography:
Asor Rosa, A., Scrittori e popolo, Samona e Savelli.
Barberi Squarotti, G., La narrativa italiana del dopoguerra, Cappelli, 1965. 3rd ed. 1975.
Burke, Federico Fellini, Columbus Books.
Falaschi, G., Realta e Retorica: La letteratura del neorealismo italiano, G. D'Anna, Messina-Firenze.
Ferretti, G. C., Letteratura e Ideologia, Editori Riuniti.
Liehm, M., Passion and Defiance, University of California Press.
Luperini, R., Il Novecento (2v.), Loescher, 1981.
Manacorda, G., Storia della letteratura contemporanea 1940-1975, Editori Riuniti, 1977.
Marcus, M., Italian Film in the Light of Neorealism, Princeton.
Pacifici, S., The modern Italian novel (3): From Pea to Moravia, Southern Illinois University Press, 1979.
Pullini, G., Il romanzo italiano del dopoguerra (1940-1960), Marsilio.
Witcombe, R. T., The New Italian Cinema, Secker Warburg.
Writers and Society in Contemporary Italy, ed. M. Caesar & P. Hainsworth, Berg, 1984.

Films:
Visconti, L., Ossessione, La Terra trema
De Sica, Ladri di Biciclette
Rossellini, R., Paisa
Fellini, La Strada.

Art & Photography:
Guttuso; C. Bevilacqua, M. Giacomelli (from UWA collection)

Additional material will be handed out in class.