Professor: John Ahern; Associate Professor: Rodica Diaconescu–Blumenfeldb;
Assistant Professor: Eugenio Giusti; Visiting Assistant Professor:
Roberta Antognini.
Courses are conducted in Italian, except for 170, 175, 237, 238, 242,
250, 255, 270, 286. Medieval and Renaissance Studies 220, or a course
in Linguistics, such as Anthropology 150 or 252, may be counted in the
required 10 units.
Requirements for Concentration: 10 units including 220, 221,
222, 301.
Senior–Year Requirements: Italian 301 and 2 units of 300–level
courses. Students who wish to be considered for departmental honors
must also complete a Senior Project (Italian 300).
Recommendations: Summer study at the Vassar program in Siena.
The department strongly recommends that students interested in the Junior
Year in Italy begin the study of Italian in their freshman year. Majors
in their junior year are encouraged to participate in programs in Italy
in the Eastern Colleges Consortium in Bologna (ECCO).
Advisers: The department.
Correlate Sequence in Italian: Students majoring in other programs
may elect a correlate sequence in Italian.
Requirements: 6 units chosen from the following: Italian 205,
206, 220, 221, 222, 260, 265, 270, 301, 330, 331, 337, 338. At least
one course must be taken at the 300 level. All courses must be taken
for the letter grade. Courses taken in Italy or during the summer may
be substituted with department approval.
I. Introductory
105a–106b. Elementary Italian (1)
Introduction to the essential structures of the language with emphasis
on oral skills and reading. Analysis of a play by contemporary authors
and short fiction in the second semester. The department.
Open to all classes; four 50–minute periods; one hour of drill
and one hour of videolab in the Foreign Language Resource Center.
107b. Intensive Elementary Italian (2)
A single–semester equivalent of Italian 105–106. Ms. Antognini.
Open to all classes; four 75–minute periods; one hour of drill
and one hour of aural–oral practice or videolab in the Foreign
Language Resource Center.
175a. The Italian Renaissance in English Translation (1)
A survey of the masterworks: Dante's Vita Nuova, Petrarch's
Canzoniere, Boccaccio's Decameron, Castiglione's Book
of the Courtier, Machiavelli's Mandragola, and Ariosto's
Orlando Furioso. Mr. Giusti.
May not be counted towards the Italian major. Satisfies college requirement
for a Freshman Course.
II. Intermediate
205a. Intermediate Italian I (1)
Narration in popular culture, literature, and film. Analysis of folktales
by Calvino, short stories by Maraini, Sciascia, Ginzburg, poems by Maraini,
Pasolini, and Gabriele Salvatores' film Turné. Strong
emphasis on effective oral expression. Successful completion of this
course provides a suitable background for other 200level courses. Ms. Antognini,
Ms. Blumenfeld.
Two 75–minute periods and one hour of conversation.
206b. Intermediate Italian II (1)
Italy today: the image in the Italian media. Analysis and discussion
of the strategies of representation in newspapers (La Repubblica,
Paese Sera), magazines (Espresso), television and radio,
advertisements, and cinema. Formal study of grammar. Strong emphasis
on effective oral expression. Instructor to be announced.
Two 75–minute periods and one hour of conversation.
Prerequisite: Italian 205 or permission of instructor.
220b. Italian Civilization: Interpreting the Texts I (1)
From the origin of the Italian language to the masterpieces of the
Renaissance. Selected texts from the "Dolce stil nuovo" and
Dante's Vita nuova; Petrarch's Canzoniere and Italian
Humanism; Boccaccio's Decameron and the "novella" tradition;
Ariosto, Tasso and the Italian epic; Machiavelli, Castiglione, Bembo
on politics and ideology; Michelangelo, Leonardo, Cellini on words and
images. Mr. Giusti.
Prerequisite: Italian 205 or special permission of instructor.
[237b], 238a. Dante's Divine Comedy in Translation (1)
A close reading of the entire Comedy in its historical, philosophical,
theological, and literary contexts. Conducted in English. Mr. Ahern.
Open to all classes. Italian majors see Italian 337–338.
242a. Boccaccio's Decameron in Translation: The "Novella"
as Microcosm (1)
A close reading of the one hundred tales with emphasis on social, cultural,
and gender issues of the later Middle Ages. Reference is made to classical
sources (Ovid, Petronius, Apuleius), the French Fabliaux, and Courtly
Literature. The course also analyzes contemporary rewritings of the
text in different genres and media. Conducted in English. Mr. Giusti.
Open to all classes. Italian majors see Italian 387a.
Two 75–minute meetings.
250a. Italian Cinema in English (1)
For description see Italian 260a.
Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
May not be counted towards the Italian major.
Two 75–minute meetings and one film screening.
[255a. Four Italian Filmmakers (in English)] (1)
For description see Italian 265. Ms. Blumenfeld.
No prerequisites. Open to sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
May not be counted towards the Italian major
Two 75–minute meetings and two film screenings.
Not offered in 2001/02.
260a. Italian Cinema (1)
Cultural, ideological, and aesthetic issues in the history of Italian
cinema from neorealism to contemporary auteurs. Ms. Blumenfeld.
Prerequisite: Italian 205 or the equivalent.
Three 75–minute meetings and one film screening.
[265a. Four Italian Filmmakers] (1)
Close analysis of the narrative and visual styles of Federico Fellini,
Michelangelo Antonioni, Bernardo Bertolucci and Gianni Amelio. Ms. Blumenfeld.
Three 75–minute meetings and two film screenings.
Prerequisite: Italian 205 or the equivalent.
Not offered in 2001/02.
270a. Advanced Composition and Oral Expression (1)
Development of oral and written skills through extensive conversation
and essay writing. The course makes use of a variety of"texts"
available in traditional formats (books, magazines, journals, films),
as well as web–based materials. The
topics covered are in the area of contemporary issues, with emphasis
on cultural
and socio–political phenomena. Ms. Antognini.
Two 75–minute meetings.
Prerequisite: Italian 206 or 220 or 221 or 222 or the equivalent
290. Field Work (1/2 or 1)
297.01. Reading Course in Boccaccio (1/2)
The department.
297.02. Reading Course in Verga (1/2)
The department.
297.03. Reading Course in Svevo (1/2)
The department.
297.04. Reading Course in Pirandello (1/2)
The department.
297.05. Reading Course in the Modern Italian Novel (1/2)
The department.
298. Independent Work (1/2 or 1)
III. Advanced
Prerequisite for all advanced courses: 2 units at the 200–level
or by permission.
300a. Senior Project (1)
The department.
301b. Senior Seminar (1)
An examination of selected topics in recent Italian culture or of a
single topic across several centuries. May be taken more than once for
credit when topic changes. Required of all senior majors.
Topic for 2001/02: Because autobiography is equally a work of art and
of life it is also a unique literary form. To close readers it offers
a complex set of interpretive probleMs. We examine how different
autobiographers at different times have confronted the various issues
raised by telling their own stories. Analyzed texts include selections
from Dante's Vita Nuova, Petrarch's Epistles, Cellini's
Vita, Lorenzo Da Ponte's Memorie, Silvio Pellico's Le
mie prigioni, Neera's Una giovinezza del XIX secolo, Grazia
Deledda's Cosima, and Sibilla Aleramo's Una donna. Ms. Antognini.
Prerequisites: Italian 220 or the equivalent.
330b. The Italian Renaissance Epic, Fiction, Letters, Memoirs (1)
A study of Italian literature and civilization. Texts include Boccaccio's
Decameron, selections from the epic poems of Pulci and Boiardo,
Arisoto's Orlando furioso, Tasso's Gerusalemme liberata, selected
novelle by Bandello and Firenzuola, Aretino (theater), Vespucci's letters
to Lorenzo de' Medici, Cellini's Vita and Vasari's Le vite.
Mr. Giusti.
Prerequisites: Italian 220 or the equivalent.
[331a. The Italian Renaissance: Poetry, Theater, Politics, and Ideology]
(1)
A study of ethnic, religious, and sexual otherness as represented in
classical Renaissance texts. Selected readings of Michelangelo, Gaspara
Stampa, Veronica Franco (poetry); Ariosto, Machiavelli, Aretino (theatre);
Colombo, Vespucci, Castiglione, and Della Casa (politics and ideology).
Mr. Giusti.
Prerequisites: Italian 220 or 221 or 222 or the equivalent.
Not offered in 2001/02.
[337b.], 338a. Dante's Divine Comedy (1)
A close reading of the entire Comedy in its historical, philosophical,
theological, and literary contexts. Designed for Italian majors in their
senior year. Students in this course attend the same lectures as in
Italian 237, 238, but do the reading in the original, attend a separate
discussion class, and take separate exaMs. Mr. Ahern.
[342a. Giovanni Boccaccio's Decameron: The "Novella"
as a Microcosm] (1)
Students in this course attend the same lectures as in Italian 242,
but do the readings in the original, attend a separate discussion class,
and take separate exaMs. Mr. Giusti.
Prerequisite: Italian 220 or the equivalent.
Not offered in 2001/02.
382a. Dacia Maraini: scrivere dalla parte delle donne (1)
In this course we examine the complex literary production of contemporary
Italian writer Dacia Maraini. We explore the relation of feminism to
other radical political movements, the transformations and new freedoms
of contemporary Italian women, the de–ideologization of feminism,
and the intersection of feminist analysis with the analysis of class.
Texts may include: Dialogo di una prostituta con il suo cliente,
Una donna in guerra, Voci, as well as various other texts by Maraini
(poetry, films, critical essays). Ms. Blumenfeld.
Prerequisite: Italian 220 or the equivalent.
399. Senior Independent Work (1/2
or 1)
Eastern Colleges Consortium Program in Bologna
Vassar College, Wellesley College and Wesleyan University offer
a study abroad program at the Università di Bologna in Italy.
The program is committed to high academic standards and to providing
opportunities for students to develop their knowledge of the Italian
language and culture in one of the most venerable and prestigious academic
environments in Europe. Undergraduates wishing to study humanities and
social sciences may enroll for the fall or spring semesters or for the
full academic year. Students who enroll for the full year or for the
spring semester and who have at least an intermediate knowledge of Italian
will complete two regular university courses at the Università
di Bologna, as well as take courses in language and Italian studies
offered by the program. The program accepts no more than 45 students
from consortium institutions and from other colleges and universities.