Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Fall 2026 - HUM 335 D100

Modern Italian Culture (4)

La dolce vita

Class Number: 4761

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    Sep 9 – Dec 6, 2026: Fri, 12:30–4:20 p.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Examines topics in Italian history and culture through film, literature, primary sources, and/or art. May be repeated for credit when a different topic is taught. Students with credit for HUM 345 under the same topic may not take this course for further credit. Breadth-Humanities.

COURSE DETAILS:


In this seminar, we will study – and laugh at – the humanities on film. We will focus on the masters of “Italian-style” comedy (a.k.a. commedia all’italiana). At their peak of production and popularity in the 1950s and 1960s, Italian-style film comedies combined intensely mocking portrayals of Italian cultural life (and beyond) with socio-political critiques far more biting than those in more overtly “serious” films.  

Taking Fellini’s iconic – and ironic – film La dolce vita (The Sweet Life, 1960) as our thematic foundation, we will explore Italy’s dynamic but difficult transition from Mussolini’s dictatorship, wartime defeat, and widespread poverty in 1945 to a postwar democratic republic that became one of the world’s richest industrialized countries by the early 1960s. We will read our films as audio-visual humanistic texts that lampooned Italians’ pursuit of the “sweet life” during the postwar economic boom. Through their creative and often revolutionary works, we will examine their incisive parodies of cultural attitudes, social customs, sexual behaviors, mass consumerism, internal migration, the Mafia, and the Fascist legacy during this era of rapid change and unprecedented prosperity. 

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/political contexts, supplemental readings will be assigned.  

No background in Italian or film studies is necessary. 

Students who took HUM 350 in Spring 2024 may not take this course for further credit. 

Grading

  • Participation 33.3%
  • Portfolio 33.3%
  • Final project 33.4%

NOTES:

This course counts toward the following Global Humanities concentrations:

REQUIREMENTS:

Please have the following book in hand by the first class meeting: 

Paul Ginsborg, A History of Contemporary Italy (any edition) 

You can find an electronic copy via Google Play (see here): 

https://play.google.com/store/info/name/Paul_Ginsborg?id=05y0_3v 

Print copies are available through Amazon, Chapters and various online booksellers. The book is also available for free on the Internet Archive (using its reader): 

https://archive.org/details/historyofcontemp0000gins 

All other readings will be available on Canvas or via the SFU library’s electronic resources.  

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.