Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Summer 2025 - HUM 106 D100

Art and the Humanities (3)

Class Number: 4898

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    May 12 – Aug 8, 2025: Fri, 2:30–5:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Introduction to the study of art across cultures and periods. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:


On the outskirts of Rome in 1948, an unemployed father is unexpectedly offered work hanging posters in the city center. To do the job, he needs a bicycle, and so he buys back the one he had pawned to feed his family. But on his very first day of work, the bicycle is stolen. With his young son as his companion, he searches the city for his bike and for the thief who stole it.

This is the basic plot of Vittorio De Sica's Ladri di biciclette (Bicycle Thieves, 1948) – a film widely celebrated as one of the greatest ever made. In HUM 106, you will watch and analyze this film as part of a broader introduction to Italian neorealist cinema. The main objective of this course is to explore why this seemingly simple, even unremarkable style of filmmaking represents one of the most revolutionary and influential artistic movements in the history of world cinema. We will study how and why this type of "realist" filmmaking emerged during and just after the Second World War; why it represented such an innovative, dynamic approach to cinematic storytelling; and why Italian neorealist cinema has remained so influential – and for so long – among filmmakers in Italy and around the world down to the present day.

This version of HUM 106 offers more than just an opportunity to watch exceptional films. It’s a chance to learn the basic skills of analyzing films as audio-visual humanistic texts and reading them in their social and political contexts. In this course, we will assess the strengths and limitations of Italian neorealist cinema as an artistic medium for representing “reality” in the past and present. We will also evaluate how effective these filmmakers are at interpreting the historical problems and contemporary social issues that they visualize on the big screen.

For this course, you will watch one film out of class each week. Films will be streamed on Canvas and subtitled in English. To situate films in their social and political contexts, supplemental readings will be assigned each week. 

No background in Italian or film studies is necessary.

Grading

  • Participation 30%
  • Portfolio 20%
  • Midterm paper 15%
  • Final Paper 35%

NOTES:

This course fulfills the Global Humanities requirements for the  


Students should register for only one course between HUM 106 and HUM 333W.
If a student registers for both, then one will be dropped at the end of the week of their registration.

Materials

REQUIRED READING:

Anthony Cardoza, A History of Modern Italy: Transformation and Continuity, 1796 to the Present


ISBN: 9780199982578

Additional readings will be available on Canvas and via the library’s e-book and journal collections.

 


REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

At SFU, you are expected to act honestly and responsibly in all your academic work. Cheating, plagiarism, or any other form of academic dishonesty harms your own learning, undermines the efforts of your classmates who pursue their studies honestly, and goes against the core values of the university.

To learn more about the academic disciplinary process and relevant academic supports, visit: 


RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.