The Italian Program

Italian Prizes:

The Italian program awards one or two prizes every year to students pursuing a minor or a major in Italian. Excellence demonstrated in all courses devoted to Italian language and culture, is the main criterion for eligibility. This prize is called Alfredo De Palchi prize for Italian Studies, and consists of a diploma and a monetary sum.

Summer Study:

Trips in Italy Students interested in summer travel can enjoy the experience of an interdisciplinary course - "Landmarks of Early Italy" - which uncovers the layered culture of the Italian peninsula. This course is part of the study abroad program of the all university curriculum general education courses.

COURSES:
Italian 116: Intensive Elementary Italian Course Description ITA 116 is an intensive course designed for students with no knowledge of Italian. Its goal is the development of five skills - - listening, speaking, reading, writing and cultural sensitivity- - which will enable students to communicate effectively in the target language. A variety of aspects of Italian culture will be introduced through literary texts, audiotapes, videotapes, newspapers and journals. They will also be part of our class discussions or compositions. Each meeting will include a series of activities, which will enliven the class, and ensure focused attention on the part of the learner. Upon completion of Italian 116, students will be able to understand the language used in daily situations, as well as simple literary texts. Together with linguistic proficiency at an elementary level, students will acquire some familiarity with Italian culture, which will add another perspective to their views.
Italian 210: Intermediate Italian I Course Description Italian 210 is a four-credit course designed for students who have had two semesters of college-level Italian or the equivalent. This course focuses on the development of both oral and written communication in the target language. Grammar will be presented through familiarization with Italian culture using readings on contemporary life in Italy (political and social issues, environmental problems, the media, the educational system, sports and entertainment) as well as twentieth-century short literary texts. The improvement of aural comprehension is another goal of this course which includes weekly laboratory exercises. Students will assess their writing and conversational skills in compositions and reports based on the readings and the videos. In case of serious speaking difficulties, the fourth contact hour may be entirely devoted to pronunciation, diction, and phonetic drills. Upon completion of ITA 210, students will be able to deal with moderately complex grammatical constructions, a variety of idiomatic expressions and linguistic registers. This course also provides a broad and accurate panorama of Italy today.
Italian 211: Intermediate Italian II This is a continuation of the previous course.
Italian 300: Literature, Conversation and Composition Course Description ITA 300 is a four-credit couse of advanced Italian composition and conversation. It is designed for students with two or more years of college level Italian. As a third level modern language course it also introduces students to literary analysis while furthering their knowledge of complex grammatical structures and linguistic expression. Important aspects of Italian civilization are also discussed in this course. Specific Goals: 1. A higher degree of proficiency in Italian (written and oral expression) 2. Broadening of literary knowledge 3. Practice in critical reading
Italian 430: Dante's Divina Commedia Course Description In this course students will engage in a close reading of the Divine Comedy. There will be regular class discussions focusing on the most complex aspects of Dante's poem as an eminent expression of the medieval mind. Literary analysis will accompany explorations into medieval cosmology, political life and allegorical modes as represented in Dante's one hundred cantos. A series of videotapes will show the various interpretations visual artists offered of Dante and his work. Classes will be structured as follows: during the first hour and a half of our meetings, each student is expected to illustrate particular sections of the poem, focusing on the content and the style of the text. The second part of our meetings (one hour) will be devoted to group discussions based on commentaries and exegetical articles by Dante scholars included in the Reading Packet (Lecturae Dantis).