How many Italian films can you name?  Last year I could have only named 2; the really well known Oscar winning “La Vita e bella” and of course Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita.”  This semester I am taking Italian 321, in which we are learning about Italy through the lens of film and literature. 

My professor has been using film and literature as a way to explore many different topics regarding Italy’s history and contemporary issues.   Most recently we have been discussing immigration.  It has been a very interesting topic mainly because immigration has been such a big issue in the U.S.’s political scene lately as well. In class this week we are watching the film “Quando sei nato, non piu nasconderti.”   This film was directed by Marco Tullio Giorana, who also directed “I cento passi,” which is a little more well known.  So far I have throughly enjoyed the film, we are watching the rest of it in class tomorrow.  Earlier in the semester we read the book “Novecento” by Alessandro Baricco, and then watched the film “The Legend of 1900″ which was based on the book (and it was in English!).

I love that I am able to continue my language studies all the way into my senior year, although this class makes me really miss Italy.  I was able to study abroad the summer after my sophomore year.  I studied in Florence, Italy through the Bel Canto Institue of music.  Studying abroad was one of my favorite experiences in college. In Florence I was able to live with a family, but then after my program I was able to visit my own relatives who live in Abbruzzo!   While I was in Italy I was exposed to several of these films but not necessarily taught quite in the same academic sense as this class.  It has been wonderful to have a class taught entirely in Italian, but that also focuses on different aspects culturaly through all sorts of different types of media!  I’ll keep you posted on how I like the end of the film! Ciao for now!