Section A18: Fascism and Modernity in 20th Century Italian Culture
What is fascism? How does the political movement and the form of government of 1922-1943 Italy relate to the contemporary common use of the word "fascism"? Exploring the rise and fall of Italian fascism as well as its impact on post WWII Italian national identity, this course traces the origins of fascism in Italy and its controversial legacy in contemporary mass culture. Through critical readings, literature, film and other realia, we will study Italian fascism as a complex cultural phenomenon at the intersection between politics and aesthetics, art and propaganda, elite and popular culture.