Italian (B.A.)

Group A Courses

* ITAL 110a, Elementary Italian I  Staff

A beginning course with extensive practice in speaking, reading, writing, and listening and a thorough introduction to Italian grammar. Activities include group and pairs work, role-playing, and conversation. Introduction to Italian culture through readings and films. Conducted in Italian.  L1  1½ Course cr
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* ITAL 130a, Intermediate Italian I  Staff

The first half of a two-term sequence designed to increase students' proficiency in the four language skills and advanced grammar concepts. Authentic readings paired with contemporary films. In-class group and pairs activities, role-playing, and conversation. Admits to ITAL 140. Conducted in Italian. ITAL 120 or equivalent.  L3  1½ Course cr
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Group B courses have readings in Italian and are usually conducted in Italian. They are open to students who have passed ITAL 140 or 145 and to others with the consent of the director of undergraduate studies and the instructor.

ITAL 150a, Advanced Composition and Conversation  Julia Pucci

Discussion of social, political, and literary issues in order to improve active command of the language. Development of advanced reading skills through magazine and newspaper articles, essays, short stories, films, and a novel; enhancement of writing skills through experiments with reviews, essays, creative writing, and business and informal Italian. Classroom emphasis on advanced speaking skills and vocabulary building.  L5
MW 11:35am-12:50pm

* ITAL 162a, Introduction to Italian Literature: From the Duecento to the Renaissance  Simona Lorenzini

This is the first course in a sequence studying Italian Literature. The course aims to provide an introduction and a broad overview of Italian literature and culture from the Duecento to the Renaissance, specifically focusing on authors such as Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Machiavelli, Ariosto, and literary and artistic movements such as Humanism and Renaissance. These authors and their masterpieces are introduced through readings, works of art, listening materials, videos, and films. Great space is left for in-class discussion and suggestions from students who may take an interest in specific authors or subjects. This course is interactive and open, and the authors mentioned here are only indicative of the path that we follow. At the end of the course, students are able to analyze and critique literary works of different genres and time periods. The course is conducted in Italian. Prerequisite: ITAL 140 or equivalent.  L5, HU
MW 2:30pm-3:45pm

* ITAL 172b, Introduction to Italian Literature: From the Baroque to the Present  Simona Lorenzini

This course is the second course in a sequence studying Italian Literature. This course introduces students to the masterpieces of Italian literature, in prose and poetry, from the Baroque to the 21st century. We closely read sample writings representative of the most important authors and literary movements, including Galileo, Manzoni, Pirandello, and Ferrante, and the ways in which they encompassed science, medicine, culture, law, gender. Through critical readings, textual analysis, and class discussions, students appreciate the intellectual and artistic traditions that shaped the birth of the Italian nation. Texts and authors are examined in their historical, social, and cultural context. The course is conducted in Italian. Students are required to take notes during the lectures and learn new vocabulary specific to the topic studied. Prerequisite: ITAL 140 or equivalent.  L5, HU
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* ITAL 185a, Italian History from 1945  Serena Bassi

An examination of the major events in Italian history from 1945 to the present. Advanced grammar, writing, and speaking explored in the context of Italian history. Topics include World War II, the founding of the Italian Republic, postwar reconstruction, the major political parties, the protest movements of 1968, the collapse of the Left, and the rise of the Northern League and Berlusconi. Consideration also given to immigration, the environment, and cultural issues.  L5, HU
TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

* ITAL 309a / ENGL 219a / HUMS 149a / LITR 179a / WGSS 179a, Gender and Genre in Renaissance Love Poetry  Ayesha Ramachandran

Introduction to the poetic genres of lyric, epic, and pastoral in the European Renaissance. Focus on questions of desire, love, and gendered subjectivity. The historical contexts and political uses of discourses of eroticism and pleasure in Italy, Spain, France, and England. Written exercises include poetic imitations of Renaissance texts.  HU
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* ITAL 470a and ITAL 471a, Special Studies in Italian Literature  Christiana Purdy Moudarres

A series of tutorials to direct students in special interests and requirements. Students meet regularly with a faculty member.
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* ITAL 491a, The Senior Essay  Christiana Purdy Moudarres

A research essay on a subject selected by the student in consultation with the faculty adviser.
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Group C courses are conducted in English and are open to students without previous study of Italian. Majors in Italian are required to read the material and write their papers in Italian.

ITAL 310a / HUMS 180a / LITR 183a, Dante in Translation  Christiana Purdy Moudarres

A critical reading of Dante's Divine Comedy and selections from the minor works, with an attempt to place Dante's work in the intellectual and social context of the late Middle Ages by relating literature to philosophical, theological, and political concerns. No knowledge of Italian required. Course conducted in English.  HU  Tr
MW 1pm-2:15pm

ITAL 315a / HIST 280a / RLST 160a, The Catholic Intellectual Tradition  Carlos Eire

Introductory survey of the interaction between Catholicism and Western culture from the first century to the present, with a focus on pivotal moments and crucial developments that defined both traditions. Key beliefs, rites, and customs of the Roman Catholic Church, and the ways in which they have found expression; interaction between Catholics and the institution of the Church; Catholicism in its cultural and sociopolitical matrices. Close reading of primary sources.  HU
TTh 2:30pm-3:20pm

* ITAL 367a / LITR 327a, Saying Goodbye: Meditations on Art, Death and Afterlives, the Bible through Shakespeare and Sor Juan  Jane Tylus

How do we take leave of the people, places, and work that we love? Our course objectives are to strive to understand the important role that leavetakings play in life and artistic expression, especially between 1300-1700; to probe the differences between religious faiths of early modernity with respect to rituals of saying goodbye and the afterlife; to sharpen our skills as readers, spectators, and listeners of works that engage with complex questions regarding the meaning of life and one’s lifework; and to contextualize our readings within more contemporary conversations by theologians and theorists about dying, grief, and letting go. We also examines rites of passage and departure, even as our main focus is figures such as Dante, Michelangelo, Montaigne, Shakespeare, and Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, whose differing faiths during a period of religious crisis produced various kinds of finished—and unfinished—works. Our class is held in the Beinecke library, where we regularly consult first editions and in some cases (Donne’s letters and poems) autograph copies, as well as evaluate the material evidence for ways that manuscripts and books reveal how authors parted with their works (dedications, envois), and how readers comment on their own encounters with leavetakings.  WR, HU
TTh 2:30pm-3:45pm