ROMANIA TRANSFORMED (Romanian Literature, Art and Film)
Situated at the border between the East and West, Romania embodies the co-existence of cultural paradoxes informing major artistic trends and ideologies during the last 100 years. The course investigates the roots of surrealism, dadaism, theatre of the absurd, as well as practices of resistance against totalitarian regimes, and women's roles in forging a new democratic society. The students will learn about New Romanian Cinema and will have the unique possibility to attend the 7th edition of the Romanian Film Festival online (November 13-22) and virtually meet with Romanian film directors and actors. Taught in English, no knowledge of Romanian is required.
Readings
Poems: Ana Blandiana, Paul Celan;
Plays: Eugene Ionesco's Chairs (1952), Matei Visniec's The Body of a Woman as a Battlefield in the Bosnian War (2000)
Short Stories: Gherasim Luca's The Passive Vampire (1945), Mircea Cărtărescu's The Architect (1989)
Essays: Emil Cioran's Letter to a Faraway Friend (1960) and Aphorisms from the Trouble of Being Born and Tears and Saints
Novellas: Herta Müller's The Passport (1989)
Films:
Tales from the Golden Age, dir. Ioana Uricariu, Hanno Hoffer, 2009
Christmas Gift, dir. Bogdan Muresanu, 2017
Uppercase Print, dir. Radu Jude, 2019
Otto the Barbarian, dir Ruxandra Ghițescu, 2020
General Education Requirements met:
Individuals and Societies (I&S)
Visual, Literary and Performing Arts (VLPA)
Evaluation
20 % oral presentation;
30% short paper;
50 % final paper about 9-10 double spaced pages.