The College Catalogue

101 {1101} c. Elementary Italian I. Every fall. Fall 2012. Anna Rein.

Three class hours per week, plus weekly drill sessions and language laboratory assignments. Study of the basic forms, structures, and vocabulary. Emphasis is on listening comprehension and spoken Italian.

102 {1102} c. Elementary Italian II. Every spring. Spring 2013. Jonathan Combs-Schilling and Davida Gavioli.

Continuation of Italian 101. Three class hours per week, plus weekly drill sessions and language laboratory assignments. Study of the basic forms, structures, and vocabulary. More attention is paid to reading and writing.

Prerequisite: Italian 101 or the equivalent.

103 {1103} c. Accelerated Elementary Italian. Spring 2013. Anna Rein.

Three class hours per week, plus one hour of weekly drill and conversation sessions with a teaching fellow. Covers in one semester what is covered in two-semesters in the 101–102 sequence. Study of the basic forms, structures, and vocabulary. Emphasis on listening comprehension and spoken Italian. For students with an advanced knowledge of a Romance language or by permission of instructor.

Prerequisite: Placement into French 205 or higher, or Spanish 205 or higher, or permission of the instructor.

203 {2203} c. Intermediate Italian I. Every fall. Fall 2012. Davida Gavioli.

Three class hours per week and one weekly conversation session with assistant. Aims to increase fluency in both spoken and written Italian. Grammar fundamentals are reviewed. Class conversation and written assignments are based on contemporary texts of literary and social interest.

Prerequisite: Italian 102 or placement.

204 {2204} c. Intermediate Italian II. Every spring. Spring 2013. Anna Rein.

Three class hours per week and one weekly conversation session with assistant. Aims to increase fluency in both spoken and written Italian. Grammar fundamentals are reviewed. Class conversation and written assignments are based on contemporary texts of literary and social interest.

Prerequisite: Italian 203 or placement.

205 {2305} c. Advanced Italian I. Every fall. Fall 2012. Jonathan Combs-Schilling.

Strengthens fluency in reading, writing, and speaking through an introduction to contemporary Italian society and culture. An advanced grammar review is paired with a variety of journalistic and literary texts, visual media, and a novel. Conducted in Italian.

Prerequisite: Italian 204 or placement.

208 {2408} c - IP. Introduction to Contemporary Italy: Dalla Marcia alla Vespa. Spring 2013. Davida Gavioli.

In the recent past, Italy has experienced violent political, economic, and cultural changes. In short succession, it experienced Fascist dictatorship, the Second World War, the Holocaust, and Civil War, a passage from Monarchy to Republic, a transformation from a peasant existence to an industrialized society, giving rise to a revolution in cinema, fashion, and transportation. How did all this happen? Who were the people behind these events? What effect did they have on everyday life? Answers these questions, exploring the history and the culture of Italy from Fascism to contemporary Italy, passing through the economic boom, the “Years of Lead,” and the Mafia. Students have the opportunity to “relive” the events of the twentieth century, assuming the identity of real-life men and women. Along with historical and cultural information, students read newspaper articles, letters, excerpts from novels and short stories from authors such as Calvino, Levi, Ginzburg, and others, and see films by directors like Scola, Taviani, De Sica, and Giordana.

Prerequisite: Italian 205 or permission of the instructor.

[222 {2522} c. Dante’s Divine Comedy.]

225 {2525} c - IP. Italians at Sea: Exploration, Love, and Disaster from the Mediterranean to the Seven Seas. Spring 2013. Jonathan Combs-Schilling.

The sea has always served as a venue for human daring and a reservoir for tales of the human condition. From shipwrecks to melting icecaps, it is also a potent symbol of the precariousness of our existence. Italy’s cultural production serves as a case study through which to explore the seascape in its many forms: a horizon of desire, a space for cross-cultural encounters, a reflection of our stewardship of the “blue planet.” Topics include fictional and real accounts, through various media, of the Mediterranean and its inhabitants from antiquity to the present (the merchants of Boccaccio, the monsters of Ariosto, the haunting shores of Montale), Italian navigators such as Marco Polo and Columbus, and issues of colonialism, immigration, and environmental degradation. (Same as Environmental Studies 248 {2480}.)

[309 {3009} c. Introduction to the Study and Criticism of Medieval and Early Modern Italian Literature.]

310 {3010} c. Women of Invention: Contemporary Women’s Writing in Italian. Fall 2012. Davida Gavioli.

Focuses on the development of narrative and theatrical prose written by women in Italy over the course of the twentieth century, and on the cultural and social issues raised by their narratives in the context of the dramatic changes that the country was undergoing. These works lead us progressively through an examination of Italy at the turn of the century, of the image of the ideal female created during the fascist era, of the condition of women in postwar Italy, of the dramatic impact that the feminist movement had on women writing in the 1960s and 1970s and, finally, on the experimentation in theme, style, and technique that has marked the most recent generation of women writers. Students encouraged to reflect on the relationship between literature written by women and the social and cultural context in which it is produced. Readings include novels and short stories by, among others, Sibilla Aleramo, Natalia Ginzburg, Alba de Cespedes, Dacia Maraini, Susanna Tamaro, and the theatre of Franca Rame.

Prerequisite: Italian 208 or permission of the instructor.

[311 {3011} c. “Now a Major Motion Picture!”: Cinema and Modern Literature in Italy.]

[314 {3014} c. Renaissance Italian Theater.]

[318 {3018} c. From Rimini to Gomorra: Times of Renewal in Contemporary Italian Literature.]

[320 {3020} c. Dante’s Commedia.]

327 {3207} c - IP. Italians at Sea: Exploration, Love, and Disaster from the Mediterranean to the Seven Seas. Spring 2013. Jonathan Combs-Schilling.

The sea has always served as a venue for human daring and a reservoir for tales of the human condition. From shipwrecks to melting icecaps, it is also a potent symbol of the precariousness of our existence. Italy’s cultural production serves as a case study through which to explore the seascape in its many forms: a horizon of desire, a space for cross-cultural encounters, a reflection of our stewardship of the “blue planet.” Topics include fictional and real accounts, through various media, of the Mediterranean and its inhabitants from antiquity to the present (the merchants of Boccaccio, the monsters of Ariosto, the haunting shores of Montale), Italian navigators such as Marco Polo and Columbus, and issues of colonialism, immigration, and environmental degradation. For students with an Italian minor or Romance language major; all work will be done in Italian, and an extra weekly one-hour meeting will be used to discuss materials in Italian.

Prerequisite: Italian 208 or permission of the instructor.

401–404 {4000–4003} c. Independent Study in Italian. The Department.

405 {4029} c. Collaborative Study in Italian. The Department.