For over 2,000 years, Rome has been a central political, religious and cultural symbol for the West, a position that it still retains today. This course will give an overview of some of that history, looking at topics that include: representations of Imperial power, the enduring presence of Roman ruins in the Romantic imagination, the complex and multicultural history of Roman cuisine, the important presence of Rome in the postwar American imagination, and the enduring presence of Rome in the artistic and cinematic imagination (we will see films including, La grande bellezza, Three Coins in the Fountain, Open City, and the recent Italian superhero film, They Call Me Jeeg). All films, readings and discussion in English. Three short papers and a final exam, plus fascinating lectures and discussion. Come and explore Rome this semester!

Gen Eds in : Western Culture and Humanities and the Arts.

335 Mechanical Engineering Building

T Th 9:30 – 11:00