Italian (ITAL)

ITAL 1001 is a three-credit course designed for absolute beginners and offers a dynamic blend of language learning and cultural exploration. The course develops all four communicative skills, speaking, listening, reading, and writing, while introducing key aspects of Italian history, daily life, and contemporary culture through readings, videos, films, and digital tools. Students gain practical communication skills for real-life situations, including ordering food, handling everyday tasks, requesting information, asking for directions and transportation details, engaging in informal conversations, and composing simple messages and short texts. Learning extends beyond the classroom through cultural activities and field trips.

This intensive Italian language course, designed for native or proficient speakers of Spanish or another romance language, covers in one semester materials usually taught in two semesters in Basic and Intermediate Italian. The course provides an accelerated introduction to Italian, allowing students who successfully complete it to enroll in Advanced Italian I. As in other Italian language courses, attention is devoted to the four skills of speaking, understanding, reading, and writing. Aspects of Italian history, culture, and contemporary life are also introduced through readings, listening materials, videos and films and through the use of language technologies. The general objectives are to provide students with basic tools for oral and written communication in Italian, but also to offer them the opportunity to learn about Italian culture and life and to reflect about intercultural differences and similarities. This course is specifically designed with the needs and strengths of Spanish speaking students in mind, so that the similarities between the two languages can be used to promote specific learning paths.

Italian Language and Culture: Beginner is a first-year intensive course that provides a first approach to the Italian language for absolute beginners. Attention is devoted to the four skills of speaking, understanding, reading and writing. Aspects of Italian history, culture, and contemporary life are also introduced through readings, listening materials, videos and films and through the use of language technologies (such as Canvas and other digital tools). The general objectives are to provide students with basic tools for oral and written communication in Italian, but also to offer them the opportunity to learn about Italian culture and life and to reflect about intercultural differences and similarities.

Italian society and pop-culture" is a 1-credit course designed mostly for freshmen students. Topics will include Italian life-style, (daily routine, family, work, leisure, travel), news & tabloids, Italian customs and traditions, the role of cuisine, fashion and sports, cultural items linked to the social phenomenon (including songs, films, and TV series), Italy and social media." The course is asynchronous and taught in English.

This course surveys key works of Italian art produced between ca. 1300 and 1500 throughout Italian regions. Focusing on major centers such as Florence, Milan, Rome, Ravenna, Napoli, and Venice, as well as smaller courts such as Urbino and Mantua, it considers the works of the most important artists of the period, among them Giotto, Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Donatello, Giovanni Bellini, Botticelli, and Leonardo da Vinci. Works of art are studied in their broader cultural and religious context, with particular attention paid to issues of patronage and gender. The course is in English, but students will learn technical terms in Italian in order to discuss works of art. Museum trips to the National Gallery will expose students to original works of art. Open to all majors. No previous knowledge of Italian is required. The course is taught in English

This course offers a critical exploration of key authors, literary works, and cultural movements that have shaped Italian identity throughout the centuries, examined within their historical and political contexts. Designed to provide a broad foundation in modern Italian culture, the course is especially recommended for first-year Italian majors. However, it is taught entirely in English and welcomes all students with an interest in Italian literature, history, and cultural developments.

Italian Language and Culture Intermediate is a first-year intensive course designed to further develop language ability and knowledge of Italian culture for students who have completed ITAL 1011 or have already had some exposure to the language. As in the case of ITAL 1011, the four skills of speaking, understanding, reading and writing are developed in a balanced way. Aspects of Italian history, culture, and contemporary life are also introduced through readings, listening materials, videos and films and through the use of language technologies (like Canvas and digital tools). The general objective is to provide students with basic tools for oral and written communication in Italian and to offer them the opportunity to learn about Italian culture and life, but also to reflect about intercultural differences and similarities.

Advanced Italian for Spanish Speakers is the second semester intensive course that continues and builds on the work done during the Italian for Spanish Speakers course. It provides a review of Italian grammar already learned in the previous semester, along with the opportunities to further develop the four skills of speaking, understanding, reading, and writing at an advanced level. The course is centered on thematic units which deal with the multifaceted aspects of the Italian history, culture, and contemporary life, and these subjects are presented to the students through readings, listening materials, videos and films, and through the use of a variety of language technologies’ tools. Advanced Italian for Spanish Speakers addresses the objective to develop students’ proficiency in oral and written Italian, to provide them with the linguistic sophistication to communicate in formal and informal encounters and exchanges as if living in Italy. Finally, this course will also put a special emphasis on intercultural reflection on and exchange between the Italian, the Latin/Iberian America, and the USA culture and lifestyle. Ad

Advanced 1: Italian through Contemporary Culture and Society is a second-year intensive course that meets Monday thru Thursday with asynchronous learning online on Fridays. It continues and builds on the work done in ITAL 011 and ITAL 032 providing a review of Italian grammar learned in the previous years and opportunities to develop the four skills of speaking, understanding, reading, and writing at an advanced level. The course is centered on thematic units dealing with aspects of Italian culture, and contemporary life that are presented to students through readings, listening materials, videos and films, and through the use of language technologies (like Canvas and other digital tools). The general objective is to develop students’ proficiency in oral and written Italian, to provide them with the tools not only to communicate in formal and informal encounters and exchanges in the target country, but also to function in Italian within academic environments. Finally, intercultural reflection and exchange are given prominence in ITAL 111, as in the other courses that constitute the Italian Language curriculum.

Advanced 2: Italian through Traditions, History, and the Arts is a second-year intensive course meets Monday thru Thursday with asynchronous learning online on Fridays. It continues and builds on the work done in ITAL 1011, ITAL1511, and ITAL 2011 providing a review of Italian grammar learned in the previous years and opportunities to develop the four skills of speaking, understanding, reading, and writing at an advanced level. The course is centered on thematic units dealing with aspects of Italian history, culture, traditions and the Arts that are presented to students through readings, listening materials, videos and films and through the use of language technologies (like Canvas and other digital tools). The general objective is to develop students’ proficiency in oral and written Italian, to provide them with the tools not only to communicate in formal and informal encounters and exchanges in the target country, but also to function in Italian within academic environments. Finally, intercultural reflection and exchange are given prominence in ITAL 2012 as in the other courses that constitute the Italian Language curriculum.

This course is designed to integrate language proficiency and area studies by focusing on topics on Contemporary Italy, from demography, geography, history, economics, politics, society, and media to the arts and literature. An oral language exam will be administered upon registration to determine level of proficiency. Conducted in Italian. Note: SFS students may count their final oral examination as their required oral proficiency test.

This course invites advanced students of Italian to refine their writing skills and develop their own expressive voice in the language. Through the close reading and discussion of two novels—"Scontro di civiltà per un ascensore a Piazza Vittorio" and "Nessuno torna indietro"—students will explore major historical and cultural themes such as immigration, fascism, the role of women, and the evolution and diversity of the Italian language. Meetings with scholars and authors will further enrich students’ perspectives on how language can serve as a tool of expression, identity, and cultural understanding. Designed as a bridge between language study and upper-level, content-based courses, this class helps students strengthen their analytical and writing abilities while engaging deeply with Italian literature and culture. It is particularly suited for students who have completed Advanced II and/or plan to study abroad. Conducted in Italian.

This course is designed to introduce advanced students of Italian to the theory and practice of translation Students learn to translate texts (Italian to English and English to Italian) from a variety of topics and genres. By learning fundamental theoretical concepts and techniques of translation, in this course students also gain practical experience in reading, paraphrasing, summarizing, editing and proofreading. They also learn the criteria for evaluating translations. In addition, students learn how to research terminology as well as resolve lexical, stylistic and cultural problems that may arise. Therefore, they become aware of linguistic and cultural differences in subject-related areas. The texts used in Italian Translation come from authentic sources and cover a variety of genres, including newspapers, commercials, cartoons, songs, movie subtitles and literature sources. During this course, Italian grammar rules are reviewed to master linguistically complex structures and enhance language competence. Requirement: ITAL 112 or instructor’s approval

Have you ever dreamed of working for Ferrari, Prada, a Società Italiana Multinazionale, or as an international lawyer? Would you like to wake up in the morning and read the business newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore along with your cappuccino? Italy, known for its rich artistic patrimony, is also an industrial power with a thriving economy. This course will introduce students to the Italian business culture, its entrepreneurship, the success of the “made in Italy” brands, and the language of business, finance, and commerce. The course will also focus on how business is conducted in Italy, taking into account language, customs, regional differences, and politics. Furthermore, it will introduce students to Italian communicative strategies used in business transactions and business correspondence in Italian. Guest speakers from Italian businesses and the world of fashion will contribute to the course. Conducted in Italian.

This course analyzes Italian cinema as both a reflection and a facet of Italian culture, society, and politics while providing a historical overview of its major periods and trends, from the Silent Era to the present.

Conducted in Italian.

The course will explore the Medici, one of the most powerful and important families of the Italian Renaissance. As bankers, politicians, patrons, writers, cardinals, popes the Medici represent the perfect example of a civilization that used beauty and the arts to achieve power, and dynastic prestige. The Medici also had a strong influence on the Catholic church with popes and cardinals, such as Leo X, and Clemens VII. Some members of the family were crowned monarchs of France (Caterina and Maria, queens of France), and others, through marriages, established a direct or indirect influence on many aristocratic and powerful European families of the time. The Medici faced setbacks, and exile, but eventually they became the absolute rulers of the city of Dante and Machiavelli for more than two centuries. The last Medici, Giangastone, was the twilight of the dynasty. He died without heirs, and the blood line was extinguished. The course will explore literary texts, paintings, plays, political and economic aspects related to such a prominent family. Also, it will explore diversity issues, such as the African origins of the first Duke of Florence, or homosexuality in Renaissance Italy and Florence. The importance of patronage cannot be stressed enough, as well as the importance of political meanings and messages “carved” into some of the most beautiful, and influential masterpieces of all times. Also, the strategies that the Medici adopted to achieve wealth and power are of particular interest even today. The course will also explore thinkers such as Machiavelli, or great architects such as Brunelleschi, and Alberti, or artists, and the relation that the Medici had with the political and cultural milieu of Florence. Finally, one of the goals of the course is to present the meaningful intersections between politics, art, literature and religion. The course is taught in Italian.

“Did women have a Renaissance?” Joan Kelly polemically asked in 1977, only to answer in the negative: “there was no ‘renaissance’ for women, at least not during the Renaissance.” The extraordinary amount of scholarship conducted in the last forty years, however, allows us to provide a more nuanced answer. While women’s status did not improve dramatically during the Renaissance, it is now clear that many factors—from the development of the printed press to the rediscovery of Plato—led to a more positive view of women’s role in society and of their very nature. One particularly fascinating aspect of this phenomenon is the unprecedented emergence of women writers, a distinctive feature of early modern Italian culture. Women also explored other forms of creativity and affirmed themselves as composers, painters, and actresses. This course explores some of the protagonists of this extraordinary season, from writers to painters, from the humanists of the late fifteenth century—such as Isotta Nogarola and Cassandra Fedele—to Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia who in 1678 became the first woman in the world to receive a university degree. Conducted in Italian.

Bella Ciao! Women in Italian Culture This course focuses on the shifting role of women in Italian culture, from the Middle Ages to the present, and on their contributions to the Italian unification and the Resistance. We will pay particular attention to women’s agency in literature and the arts, in terms of authorship and self-representation. Finally, we will analyze major changes in Italian society and law, such as Fascist demographic policies and the legislation regarding divorce and abortion, and their impact on women’s lives.

Who is a monster? What defines monstrosity in our culture and in earlier times? Monsters represent complete alterity and challenge the basic notion of self and identity within any given cultural paradigm. Encompassing literature, visual arts, music and other media, this course explores how the notion of monstrosity and complete alterity changed in Italian culture from antiquity to modern day. If in the classical era monstrosity was essentially seen as a marvel and a transgression of the natural order, today it has become a form of demonization of the Other, seen as the antagonist. Monsters provide a critical lens through which one can look at human nature and monstrosity can be seen as a paradoxical theology capable of subverting established assumptions. As writer Giorgio Manganelli (1922-1990) said, “Non v'è salvezza al di fuori del mostruoso” (“There is no salvation beyond the monstrous”). Course conducted in Italian. Readings in English and Italian.

The course will analyze the relationship between the Italian arts (visual, theatrical and cinematographic) and power, whether political or religious, with a particular focus on censorship. Through a variety of examples ranging from the Middle Ages to the present day, the course will examine the reasons why, and the ways in which, arts have conflicted with power. We will examine well-known cases involving Michelangelo, as well as modern-day cinema censorship and the 'censorship' of women as actresses or artists by the Roman Catholic Church. Conducted in Italian.

A journey of self-discovery, Dante’s Divine Comedy offers a remarkable panorama of the late Middle Ages through one man's poetic vision of the afterlife. However, we continue to read and study the poem not only to learn about the thought and culture of medieval and early modern Europe but also because many of the philosophical and moral issues confronting Dante and his age are no less important to individuals and societies today. Personal and civic responsibilities, governmental accountability, church-state relations, economics and social justice, literary and artistic influences, benefits and limitations of interdisciplinarity--these are some of the themes that will frame our discussion of the Divine Comedy. Readings and lectures in English.

This course will focus on the writings of Italian religious and lay women from the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries. We will read works from different genres (theater, narrative prose, correspondence, lyric poetry, etc.), written by women from different social and cultural backgrounds. We will discuss such issues as women's access to education and their role in society, as well as their contributions to spirituality and literature. Texts will include anthologies of texts in Italian: "Scrittrici mistiche italiane" and a bilingual anthology of Italian Women Poets of the Renaissance. Conducted in Italian.

"The Divine Comedy" is the main focus of attention. How did Dante arrive at the complexly structured, polysemous vision he unfolds in the triform symmetry of Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso? How does the four-fold allegorical method of interpreting "The Comedy", recommended by Dante himself, help us to understand the reality of life in 14th-century Italy. Is the reading of "The Comedy" an exercise in literary curiosity or does it possess the power to affect modern readers in our own lived reality? In order to address these and similar concerns, we will read translated selections from other works by Dante and his contemporaries and consider reactions to "The Comedy" from such perceptive readers as Boccaccio and T.S. Eliot. "The Comedy" will be read in its entirety in English translation. Satisfies the second semester of the College Humanities and Writing General Education Requirement. Taught in English.

The Decameron, one of the most entertaining, beloved and imitated prose works ever written, is an accurate reflection of fourteenth-century life in Italy. Like Dante’s Divine Comedy, this human comedy was written not only to delight, but also to instruct by exploring both our spiritual and our natural environment. Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), considered by some typically medieval and by others one of the first truly modern literary figures to emerge from the darkness of the Middle Ages into the light of the Renaissance, shows himself, as author of The Decameron, to be both a passionate believer and a passionate critic as he reconstructs society, destroyed by the Black Plague, through the perfection of his 100-fold narrative. Class discussions will focus on a close reading of the Decameron. Attention will also be given to Boccaccio’s sources, his imitators and the socio-cultural milieu in which he wrote. The Decameron will be read in English translation. Conducted in English. This course satisfies the Humanities and Writing II requirements of the College. This course may be offered in Italian or in English. Please refer to the schedule of classes to find out the language of instruction in a specific semester.

The course will present the evolution of Italian theater and dramaturgy from the 15th century to the 20th century. We will read and “explore” a great variety of texts (from Machiavelli to Goldoni, to Pirandello and others) and the texts will be put in the context of Italian politics, society and art, but also gender and women studies (the role of actresses, for example). One of the goals of the course will be to understand the intricacies of dramaturgy and the various layers that a theatrical text presents. We can also “perform” some parts of the texts in class so that we can understand (and appreciate) the problems behind the production of a play. The course will provide a solid historic background from the Renaissance to the Fascist regime and beyond. This course is conducted in Italian.

This course has a twofold goal: reading selected cantos from Dante’s Divine Comedy and exploring its rewritings and adaptations in popular culture including literature, comics, cinema, rock/pop songs, television and the visual arts. The course entertains the question of why and how Dante’s Divine Comedy, written seven-hundred years ago, still continues to inspire creative artists in all fields of the arts and beyond. From Milton to Dan Brown and Matthew Pearl, from Salvador Dali to Sandow Birk and Go Nagai, and from Chaucer to David Fincher, artists have adapted and referenced the Divine Comedy as the most relevant text depicting afterlife in all ages and cultures. This course combines close readings of selected passages from Dante’s masterpiece with their analyses vis-à-vis with the many texts, songs, video games, traditional and graphic novels and movies which it has inspired. Some of the course’s investigative questions include: how does the original text address issues that are still relevant to today’s society and individuals? How do adaptations and rewritings of Dante’s Commedia address issues current to our own world that were not addressed or were addressed differently in the original text? How is Dante still good for you today?

Since its beginnings in Florence, the Italian Opera reached a European popularity. Italian singers, similarly to actors in the Theater, performed in many countries. We will examine Theater and Opera from both theoretical and interdisciplinary perspectives. For the Opera we will select arias of different composers and periods, trace the development of this genre, and describe its performing characteristics. The course will also outline a cultural geography of the diffusion and success of this genre. For the Theater component of the course we will focus on the Commedia dell’Arte and its relations with the comic Opera (the so called opera buffa), and we will also overview the architectonic development of Theaters from the 17th to the 20th century.

The course is conceived as a voyage through different ages of Italian literature, theater and culture focusing on the representation of madness in literary texts and society. From Middle Ages to Renaissance, from the 18^th to the 20^th century we will analyze madness also in theater and opera. We will analyze the different relations towards madness during various ages and in the works of authors such as Ariosto, Boccaccio, Pirandello, Svevo (and others), and composers such as Donizetti or Verdi. Short written assignments, a mid-term exam, an oral presentation on a topic selected by the student, and a final paper will be required. The course will be conducted in Italian.

For the last decades, the “Made in Italy” brand has connoted the uniqueness of the Italian merchandise in the domains of fashion, food, furniture, and industrial design. The meeting point of centuries-long artisanal tradition and innovative production techniques, Italian goods are recognized worldwide as the embodiment of creativity, elegance, and high quality. This course delves into two of the most influential areas of the “Made in Italy,” namely, Fashion and Food, offering a cultural history of their respective productions and their establishment on international markets. Adopting an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, it examines the centrality of garments and nourishment in the shaping of individual and collective identities, political norms, and moral values at pivotal moments of the Italian nation-building process, from the development of the bourgeoisie to the contemporary phenomena of migration and globalization. As it approaches the present, the course devotes particular attention to sustainability, counterfeit clothing, and the slow food movement. The course will also include guest lectures by renowned specialists, and field trips to places and events related to the issues raised during the semester. For the wide-ranging topics it addresses, “Made in Italy: Fashion and Food” welcomes students with very diverse interests, from international business and economics, to anthropology, history, literatures (Italian and beyond), arts, and humanities at large. The course is taught in English

Love & Friendship in Medieval ItalyThis course traces the evolving meaning of the term "amistà" ("Friendship) in the Italian literature of 13th and 14th centuries. The notion of friendship allowed a certain degree of ambiguity since Classical Antiquity, signifying in Latin poetry alternatively an erotic relationship and a non-erotic, same-sex relationship. Christian poets such as Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarch dramatize the notion of friendship in a way that exploits poetically the term's ambiguity in an attempt to reconcile between divine love (Agape, or charity) and human love (Eros). Readings will include Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio. A portion of this course will be devoted to reading facsimile editions of 14th-century manuscripts, including Petrarch's partially autograph copy of his Songbook (Vat. Lat. 3195) and Boccaccio's autograph of the Decameron (Hamilton 90). Course conducted in Italian.

This course surveys the evolution of Italian song from World War II to the present time, with an emphasis on auteur song, orcanzone d’autore. Starting in the 1960s, the cantautori (singer-songwriters) produced music and lyrics of a novel kind which broke with tradition. Songwriters such as Fabrizio De André, Francesco De Gregori, Roberto Vecchioni, Francesco Guccini and others changed the key of Italian popular music: for the first time the authors of the songs were also their interpreters. The cantautori mixed sounds and rhythms from Anglosaxon rock and blues with Italian melody and bel canto, while at the same time making politics, love and societal changes the subjects of their lyrics. The cantautori have chronicled in a direct, unabashed way, the history and changes of modern-day Italy. The social and political commitment of the cantautori becomes manifest through their employment of literary references and distancing from the clichés of the Festival of Sanremo and mainstream music. In addition to reinforcing linguistic skills and cultural competences of the students, this course provides an in-depth analysis of the changes in Italian folk, pop and rock songs and their relations to literature. Particular emphasis will be given to cantautori who write with a literary approach. Instruction in Italian. Readings in Italian.

This course analyzes the representations of Italian mysteries, both historical and fictional from the middle ages to the twentieth century. It includes Italian poetry, narrative, films and songs describing mysteries, solved or unsolved.

Mafia, cosa nostra, camorra, ‘ndrangheta, omertà, cosche, padrini, picciotti... These terms, which continue to dominate Italian news, are systematically attached to a certain Italian reality but have also contributed to the creation of a veritable Italian imaginary and of controversial cultural clichés qualifying (rightly or not) Italy's broader legal, moral, social and political practices. 2017 marked the 25th anniversary of the murders of judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino by the Sicilian mafia. This double massacre deeply modified the State’s reaction to mafia crimes, as well as the discourse on them. With the aid of literary texts, movies, and a variety of additional interdisciplinary material about Italy’s daily social, political and cultural events, this course aims to examine the complexity of the "mafia" phenomenon, its history and evolution before and after Falcone and Borsellino, the political, economic and financial repositioning of mafia and other criminal organizations both in the South and in the North of Italy, their multiple aesthetic representations and their many myths. Meetings will be a combination of lectures and discussions, all in Italian. Written assignments will include two papers (6 and 8 pages) and weekly contributions to discussion threads on Blackboard.

This course is designed to offer students a panorama of contemporary Italian language and its varieties by leading them into an exploration of the great linguistic richness and diversity that characterizes Italy. Among the topics that will be discussed are the differences between Standard Italian and other language varieties such as popular Italian and dialects, the presence of dialects in literature, film, and everyday life; the characteristics of varieties such as the juvenile slang, the language of the media, the language of advertising; the role of gestures in communication among Italians. Students will discuss and analyze these phenomena through modern texts in contemporary Italian, from novels to songs to film. The course is conducted in Italian and satisfies one semester of the College Social Science General Education Requirement.

Between 1880 and 1930 several millions Italians left their country of origin to migrate to the United States. The experience of migration and of settling into a new land has marked the life of generations of Italian Americans. However, the history of this exodus, the struggles of the peoples that participated in it and the culture that they generated has only recently received the attention that it deserves both in Italy and in the United States. The main objective of this course is to fill this gap by offering students a glimpse into the Italian American experience. The course will provide the opportunity to acquire general information on Italian migration to the United States, but also to reflect on and discuss salient aspects of the history, literature, cinema and language of Italian Americans. The first part of the course will be focused on the history of Italian American migration. In the second part, students will read Christ in Concrete by Pietro Di Donato and discuss some important literary works that depict the early years of the migratory movement and the clash between different generations. Then we will talk about language among Italian Americans. Students will become acquainted with the evolution of Italian dialects in the United States and with the trajectory of Italian as a second and foreign language in the country. The last part of the course will center on media and cinema. Students will watch four movies by Italian American directors and they will reflect on and discuss how Italian Americans are portrayed in movies and television series such as the Sopranos. Central to these readings and discussions will be the question of Italian American identity and how perceptions about it have evolved both in Italy and in the United States. This course counts for the fulfillment of the social science requirement.

Niccolò Machiavelli (Florence 1469-1527) stands as the controversial political genius of the Italian Renaissance. The Borgia, the Medici, the Church of Rome, the ruling European and Italian dynasties, along with emperors, kings, leaders and tyrants of the past are the characters on the political "stage" set for The Prince (De Principatibus), Machiavelli's masterpiece. The course will present Machiavelli's major works in translation, including his texts for theater, in order to reflect on the nature of power, on Machiavelli's legacy, and on Italian and European Renaissance. The course will also present the anti-Machiavellian treatise par excellence, The Reason of State by the Italian Jesuit Giovanni Botero (c. 1544 – 1617). THIS COURSE IS TAUGHT IN ITALIAN

TBA

Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Quartet: Gender, Class, and Identity in Contemporary Italy In the Neapolitan Quartet, Elena Ferrante sketches a genealogical cycle that extends from the 1950s to the first decade of the new millennium while following the friendship between two women from working class Naples. In this course, we will focus on the main themes of the novels, such as the tension between standard Italian and dialect, the elusive notion of progress, women’s solidarity and rivalry, and changes in Italian society and culture from the aftermath of World War II to the present. We will also discuss the reasons behind Elena Ferrante’s global and extraordinary success and analyze Saverio Costanzo’s cinematic adaptation of her work for the HBO series My Brilliant Friend. Conducted in Italian.

This new language elective course offers students the opportunity to interact with a native speaker of Italian at an Italian university. Students will meet their Italian collaborator once a week during the semester for one hour. During each session, students will speak for 30 minutes in Italian and 30 minutes in English. Students will record and submit their video chat sessions to the instructor, and complete self-assessment assignments and provide other feedback as requested. To enroll in this course, students must have completed ITAL 011 Intensive Basic Italian. This course is intended for all intermediate and advanced level students who wish to improve their oral proficiency, especially those planning a semester abroad in Italy. Participation is limited to 15 students.

This new language elective course offers students the opportunity to interact with a native speaker of Italian at an Italian university. Students will meet their Italian collaborator once a week during the semester for one hour. During each session, students will speak for 30 minutes in Italian and 30 minutes in English. Students will record and submit their video chat sessions to the instructor, and complete self-assessment assignments and provide other feedback as requested. To enroll in this course, students must have completed ITAL 011 Intensive Basic Italian. This course is intended for all intermediate and advanced level students who wish to improve their oral proficiency, especially those planning a semester abroad in Italy. Participation is limited to 15 students.

Language is central to migration in many ways. For example, language diversity creates barriers between migrants and non-migrants, degrees of language distance often affect the choice of a future home for migrants, new languages and cultures are brought by migrants to the countries they settle in, differences in language and communication patterns influence the destiny of asylum seekers and migrant workers alike, linguistic preferences deeply influence identity processes. The main objective of the course is to create awareness of how important it is to consider the role of language(s) in relation to migration and settlement and centrally to reflect on how language related issues may create barriers in both concrete procedures related to the insertion of migrants in host societies and the social and psychological processes that accompany it. Central to the course will also be the consideration of possible alternatives to a view of linguistic diversity as a problem. Besides articles and book chapters, students will work with documents and case studies exemplifying issues and possible solutions. The course does not have pre-requisites, although some background in linguistics is desirable. The course is open to undergraduates and graduates and is taught in English.

Italian Language Varieties and their social uses: Standard, Dialects, Regional and other differentiations in the linguistic repertoire Students and scholars of Italian alike are often surprised by the regional and social variability of the Italian language. Indeed, the Italian spoken in different regions and areas of Italy varies dramatically as Italian boasts a rich tradition in terms of number of languages, dialects and minority languages spoken. In addition, Italy is now hosting the language of many migrant communities who make their linguistic presence felt in many ways. This course aims at presenting an overview of the historical development of Italian as a national language and of the main characteristics of regional varieties but it also proposes a reflection on the many ways in which this language changes according to social and situational parameters. Thus, topics of interest will be registers and specialized languages, but also the language of media and social media, the relationships between language and identity and language and politics in Italy. The course is taught in Italian and is open to graduate and undergraduate students

Language is central to migration in many ways. For example, language diversity creates barriers between migrants and non-migrants, degrees of language distance often affect the choice of a future home for migrants, new languages and cultures are brought by migrants to the countries they settle in, differences in language and communication patterns influence the destiny of asylum seekers and migrant workers alike, linguistic preferences deeply influence identity processes. The main objective of the course is to create awareness of how important it is to consider the role of language(s) in relation to migration and settlement and centrally to reflect on how language related issues may create barriers in both concrete procedures related to the insertion of migrants in host societies and the social and psychological processes that accompany it. Central to the course will also be the consideration of possible alternatives to a view of linguistic diversity as a problem. Besides articles and book chapters, students will work with documents and case studies exemplifying issues and possible solutions. The course does not have pre-requisites, although some background in linguistics is desirable. The course is open to undergraduates and graduates and is taught in English.

The study of identity is at the core of many disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, however there is a special link that con-nects language and discourse to identities. Not only does the way people speak reveal a lot about who they are, but it also predomi-nantly through discourse and communication that individuals and communities convey and negotiate their sense of self. Among dis-course genres, narrative has a privileged role in constructing and conveying identities and constitutes one of the main arenas in which such processes are negotiated. This course aims at reflecting on and learning about these connections between discourse and identity, with a particular focus on narrative and storytelling. Topics that will be covered include the various kinds and levels of identities that have been the object of study of discourse, the different approaches that have emerged in discourse studies with regards to the analysis of identities, the particular tools that have been developed to this end in narrative studies and some of the debates that have taken place around these themes. Students will collect and analyze different kinds of narratives in a variety of formats and contexts (includ-ing oral and written narratives, social media and other digital contexts) and the ways in which they are used to construct individual or collective identities such as institutional and political ones. The course presupposes some previous exposure to discourse studies and/or narrative studies so students who have had that exposure will be particularly well equipped to take it. This course is also labelled LING.444 The course is taught in English

What lies behind the stereotype of the translator as a betrayer (as in the Italian pun "traduttore traditore")? This course aims to answer this question by concentrating on three major aspects on the craft of translation: history, theory, and practice. We will examine the role of translation in modern and contemporary culture and its complex relationship with the question of power, by studying major Italian writers who also achieved fame as translators of foreign masterpieces. Students will be introduced to a variety of theories of and approaches to translation, with attention to their historical development down to the current connections between translation and poststructuralist, postcolonial and gender studies. The promises and the pitfalls of translation as intercultural communication will then be tested through a series of meetings devoted to practicing translation, when students will work on English and Italian texts from and to the target language. Conducted in Italian. Open to Georgetown students and students of the Consortium. Prerequisite: solid knowledge of Italian.

The island of Sicily has always exerted and continues to exert a special attraction not only for tourists but for art historians, linguists, literary scholars and political scientists because of its unique historical and geographical characteristics. From ancient Greek and Roman influences to Norman, Arab, and Spanish legacies, Sicily’s unique position at the crossroads of the Mediterranean has shaped its language, customs, and identity in unique ways making it both part of Italy and separate from it. Sicily bears the signs of all the civilizations that have conquered it while also offering its unique blend of these influences. The objective of this course is to offer an in-depth exploration of the rich linguistic and cultural tapestry of Sicily. We will briefly explore the historical development of the island with the different dominations that have characterized it, and then we will focus on how the island has been presented in some literary texts, in film and in the visual arts. Particular focus will be placed on Sicilian as a regional language, its place within Italian dialectology, and how it interacts with Italy’s standard variety. Students will also examine some of the vibrant cultural expressions of Sicily, including its folklore, cuisine, festivals, and its most significant social challenges such as the continuing influence of the Mafia, the recent migratory flows and the linguistic and cultural issues that they have raised. The course is taught in English.

The course will unfold as a reading of selected cantos of the Divine Comedy (Inferno, Purgatory and Paradise) and will highlight the thematic and conceptual continuity and unity of Dante's poem. The course will stress the historical context, relations with Middle-Ages arts, the narrative structure of the poem and how it answers the question of spiritual conversion. It will discuss Dante's involvement with the moral and political values of Florence and Italy and Dante’s political position with regards to the Empire and the Papacy; and it will emphasize both the stages in the pilgrim's moral reformation and the poet's deepening sense of his poetic art. It will end with an exploration of Dante's representation of Paradise. Conducted in Italian.

This course, taught in English, explores the evolution of ecological and environmental questions in Italian literature and culture through an analysis of selected modern and contemporary fiction, poetry, film, and journalism. It offers an interdisciplinary journey into the different representations, ideological perspectives, and practical engagements that, across time, have addressed crucial issues like the relationship between humans and nature, the ethics of coexistence with other species, pollution and eco-mafia, down to the most pressing concerns of our present, from climate change, deforestation and extinction to sustainability and renewable energy.

With the turn of the century and the new millennium, this course allows us to live through another fin-de-siecle experience, namely, the fascinating transition from the 19th to the 20th century. We will explore the multiple ways in which different literary and visual forms of representation reflect, react, and even anticipate the dramatic changes in the Italian philosophical, political, and social domains at the dawn of a new epoch, decreeing the death of realism. Pivotal issues: the exotic in decadent and colonial literature, the crisis of the hero and the will to power, the shock of the new, women writers' reaction to Fascist female stereotypes. Conducted in Italian.

The course presents an overview of the Jewish experience in Italy, from ancient Rome to Fascism, with particular attention to specific Jewish communities (or “nations,” according to an old definition) in Florence, Livorno, Venice, and Rome. We will examine the role and the representation of Jews in theater (religious and otherwise), literature and art, from Leone de’ Sommi (author of the world’s first treatise on the theatrical art) and Juda Abravanel (Leone Ebreo, a physician and humanist) to Twentieth-Century actresses (Franca Valeri), poets and intellectuals (Amelia Rosselli). The course may be offered in Italian or in English, please refer to the schedule of classes for information about a specific semester.

Narratives have been studied by many different disciplines: literary theory, psychology (clinical, cognitive, social, developmental), folklore, anthropology, sociology and linguistics. The focus of this course is the sociolinguistic study of narrative through qualitative and quantitative discourse analysis. Our main atten-tion is spontaneous oral narratives told during conversations (natural or focused) or informal interviews that you will collect. After discussing some key frameworks for the sociolinguistic/discourse study of narrative, and collecting and transcribing narratives for our own analyses, we will use our class corpus to analyze different aspects of storytelling. We will apply different models of narrative analysis to compare ways in which they ac-count for narrative structure, we will study how tellers manage narratives in interaction, how the use of linguistic elements and structures (such as tense, detail and reported speech) affect the way stories are told . We will also look at storytelling as a practice that both constructs and reflects different facets of meaning and context, e.g. identity, relationships, culture, ideology, power, conflict. Along with the spoken stories you collect, we will also discuss small stories,digital narratives and stories in institutional contexts, for example in the press or in court.

The senior seminar is a capstone course designed to familiarize students with the most significant theories and practices of critical analysis. It discusses the principles of the major approaches (such as Marxist, semiotic, and gender criticism), while testing their validity through applications to specific texts. Students will learn to recognize the different perspectives, select the most appropriate approach for a given context, and develop their own critical discourse. Conducted in Italian.

Italian Today: Language, Dialects and Society in Contemporary Italy How do Italians speak nowadays? Which dialects exist in the various regions of Italy? Are they still spoken? What kind of language is used on social media? How are Italians dealing with gendered language? These are some of the questions that we will discuss in the course, as its main objective is to give a general panorama of Italian as it is spoken and written today and of the social questions that are debated together with linguistic issues. In order to understand modern Italian, we will also study the historical development of a national language from the many different varieties existing on Italy’s territory. The course is in Italian but some of the readings will be in English. The course is open to graduate and undergraduate students.

This course analyzes the formation and development of monsters and monstrosity in Italian literature from its origins to the present day. Among the authors considered include Cavalcanti, Dante Petrarca, Boccaccio, Pulci, Ariosto, Levi, Manganelli, Eco. Texts will be placed into their cultural context and discussed critically. We will also analyze different literary strategies aimed to represent otherness through the category of the monstrous. Monsters provide a critical lens through which one can look at human nature and monstrosity can be seen as a paradoxical theology capable of subverting established assumptions. As writer Giorgio Manganelli (1922-1990) said, “Non v'è salvezza al di fuori del mostruoso” (“There is no salvation beyond the monstrous”). Instruction will be in Italian, readings will be in English and in Italian