Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
ITAL 0101 - Intensive Beginning Italian ▲
Intensive Beginning Italian
This course is an introduction to the Italian language that provides a foundation in both spoken and written Italian. Focus on the spoken language encourages rapid mastery of the basic structures and vocabulary of contemporary Italian. The exclusive use of Italian in dialogue situations and vocabulary building encourages the student to develop skills in a personalized context. Conversation and drill are stimulated and fostered through active reference to popular Italian music, authentic props, and slides of Italian everyday life and culture. Students are required to participate in the Italian table. 6 hrs. disc./perf.; 2 hrs. screen
Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013
ITAL 0102 - Intensive Beginning Italian
Intensive Beginning Italian II
This course is a continuation of ITAL 0101, and emphasizes spoken and written Italian and the mastery of more complex grammatical structures and vocabulary. Students continue to work with conversation partners, but will also incorporate more specific cultural references in oral presentations and in written assignments. Students attend the Italian table and mandatory film screenings. (ITAL 0101 or equivalent)
Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Winter 2011, Winter 2012, Winter 2013
ITAL 0103 - Intensive Beginning Italian ▹
Intensive Beginning Italian III
This course emphasizes increased control and proficiency in the language through audiovisual, conversational, and drill methods. Italian life and culture continue to be revealed through the use of realia. Short reading selections on contemporary Italy and discussions enlarge the student's view of Italian life and culture. Students continue to participate in the Italian table. (ITAL 0102 or equivalent) 6 hrs. disc./perf.; 2 hrs. screen.
Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014
ITAL 0123 - Accelerated Beginning Italian ▹
Accelerated Beginning Italian
This course is an intensive introduction to the Italian language that condenses the material normally covered in ITAL 0101 and 0102. We will focus on the spoken language and encourage rapid mastery of the basic structures and vocabulary. Conversation and drill will be stimulated and fostered through active reference to popular Italian culture, film, and music. We will meet 5 times a week including two 75-minutes meetings and an additional drill session. After completing this course students will be fully prepared for second-year Italian. 6 hr lect./disc./1.5 hr drill
Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014
ITAL 0201 - Intro to Romance Ling
Introduction to Romance Linguistics
This course welcomes students and speakers of French, Italian, Latin, Portuguese, and Spanish who are curious about linguistics and wish to undertake a comparative study of the Romance linguistic family as a whole. We shall survey the basic principles and methods of the linguistic science and immediately apply them to the rich and fascinating data drawn from the history of the Romance languages. Through alternating internal (structural) and external (socio-cultural) approaches to the study of languages, our goal is to construct a coherent vision of unity and diversity that at once characterize the native languages of more than 900 million speakers worldwide. No previous experience in linguistics is required but a good knowledge of at least one Romance language is obligatory. (Approval required; Two semesters of a Romance language study) 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Spring 2009, Spring 2010
ITAL 0250 - Intermediate Italian
Intermediate Italian
A glimpse into Italian daily life will provide the context for reviewing grammar, for engaging conversation, and for writing. In exploring facets of Italian life such as regional differences, school, the family, attitudes towards politics, and food--among others--we will formulate valuable cross-cultural comparisons. Discussion, debate, and role-playing will help us generate and practice different forms of discourse that we will use for our increasingly more sophisticated ideas expressed in increasingly more complex grammatical structures. (ITAL 0102 or equivalent). Discussion/performance. 3 hrs. lect./disc./screen
Fall 2009, Fall 2010
ITAL 0251 - Intro Contemporary Italy ▲
An Introduction to Contemporary Italy
Intended for students at the intermediate level, this course will afford the opportunity to expand conversation, writing, and reading skills while consolidating knowledge of the more difficult points of grammar. The contextual focus of the course is contemporary Italian culture, including contemporary history and politics, the economy, the division between North and South, immigration from developing countries, environmental issues, and popular music, among others. Italian films, music, and articles from newspapers and news magazines will enhance and complete the learning experience. (ITAL 0250, waiver, or equivalent)
Winter 2010, Winter 2011, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013
ITAL 0252 - Italian Culture: Facism-Pres ▹
Italian Culture II: From the Sixties to the Present Day
To deepen the historical knowledge gained in ITAL 0251, we will discuss and analyze modern and contemporary Italian literature of various genres, as well as essays, art, and film. In the context of reading, critical viewing, textual analysis, and discussion, we will continue to develop both historical and linguistic competence. Discussion and the writing process, along with selected exercises, will continue to refine grammatical competence. (ITAL 0251) 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014
ITAL 0290 - Dante In English
Dante (in English)
An introduction to Dante's major literary works, La Vita Nuova (The New Life) and the Divine Comedy. Close readings of the text will seek to give students an appreciation of Dante's place in world literature. Dante's masterpieces will also be discussed in a historical and philosophical perspective, and supplementary readings will acquaint the reader with the medieval view of life and literature.
Spring 2011
ITAL 0299 - Literary Feasts ▹
Literary Feasts: Representations of Food in Modern Narrative (in English)
This course will consider food and eating practices within specific cultural and historical contexts. We will analyze realistic, symbolic, religious, erotic, and political functions surrounding the preparation and consumption of food. Readings will be drawn from several national traditions, with a focus on Europe. Authors will include, among others, I. Dinesen, L. Esquivel, J. Harris, E. Hemingway, T. Lampedusa, P. Levi, C. Petrini, M. Pollan, E. Vittorini, and B. Yoshimoto. Viewing of several films where food and eating play an important role will supplement class discussion. 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Spring 2009, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2014
ITAL 0352 - Cinema e Letteratura del 900
Cinema e Letteratura del Novecento: Rappresentazioni dell'Olocausto
In this course we will examine the cinematic and literary representation of the Holocaust in Italian culture. Students will engage in interactive discussions on a variety of literary texts, films, commentaries, testimonies, and theoretical writings. Readings will include works by Giorgio Bassani, Primo Levi, Lorenza Mazzetti, and Liana Millu, and films by such directors as Gillo Pontecorvo, Vittorio De Sica, Francesco Rosi, Roberto Benigni, Andrea & Antonio Frazzi, Ferzan Ozpetek and others. In addition to attending regular class meeting times, students will be expected to attend all film screenings. (ITAL 0252 or waiver) 3 hrs. lect./disc./screens.
Spring 2013
ITAL 0354 - Epoche I: il Periodo Moderno ▲
Epoche della letteratura italiana I: introduzione al periodo moderno
This course acquaints students with the major 19th and 20th century works and movements and develops the students' linguistic, critical, and analytical skills. The readings will introduce literary genres within a chronological framework. Special emphasis will be placed on the skill of writing in Italian. (ITAL 0252 or equivalent) 3 hrs. lect./disc., 2 hrs. screen.
Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013
ITAL 0355 - Epoche II: Medioevo-Rinascimen ▹
Epoche della letteratura italiana II: introduzione al Medioevo e al Rinascimento
While continuing to develop critical and analytical skills through a careful reading of excerpts from the literary masterpieces of the Italian Middle Ages and the Renaissance, students will explore the artistic representations of one of the most enduring facets of human experience: love. Love in all its nuances, as spiritual ecstasy, volatile emotion, intellectual construction, erotic drive, insane passion, and comic interaction, has in fact dominated Italian literature and culture for centuries. Why has Italian culture produced such conflicting representations of love? How do Medieval and Renaissance texts still communicate with our deepest feelings and emotions, and, in particular, with our perception of love and sexuality? Through selective readings of Medieval prose and poetry by Dante, Boccaccio, and Petrarch, and of Renaissance works by Machiavelli, Ariosto, and Tasso, this course will address and discuss these questions. The analysis of visual culture (medieval and Renassance art; contemporary films based on the original literary texts) will complement the readings. (ITAL 0354 or equivalent) 3 hrs. lect./disc. 2 hrs. screen.
Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2014
ITAL 0401 - History of Italian Language
History of the Italian Language
In this course we shall trace the development of the Italian language as it is reflected in written documents from the country's various regions and historical periods. Our main discussion topics will include the linguistic fragmentation of Italy, the emergence of regional literary traditions, the debates concerning the national language, and the complex linguistic practices of modern Italian society. The course will give the students an historical perspective on the Italian grammar, expose them to the basics of philological analysis, survey a wide variety of texts, and, ultimately, promote a deeper understanding and appreciation for the richness and diversity of Italy's linguistic and literary heritage. (ITAL 0355 or equivalent) 3 hrs disc.
Fall 2009, Fall 2010
ITAL 0450 - Italian Fascism and the Body
Fascist Bodies: Italian Fascism and the Corporeal Idea
The idealize image of the human body-characterized by strength, virility, impenetrability, and wholeness-played a central role in Italian culture during the years of the Fascist regime (1922-45). This interdisciplinary course examines representations of the body under Italian Fascism, focusing particularly on how the regime mobilized its politics through various concepts of the body, both male and female. Students will focus on short readings of primary texts: political speeches, oral histories, legal declarations, magazine articles, photographs, advertisements, films, fiction, and poetry. Each text will be considered carefully for the ideas and values it communicates in relation to its historical context. Emphasis will be placed on the discussion of questions such as: How is meaning about the body created? What is the relation between body and identity? What types of organismal metaphors are used to describe social, political, legislative, and cultural entities? (ITAL 0355 or equivalent) 3 hrs. disc.
Fall 2009
ITAL 0451 - Italian Fiction of Intrigue
Italian Fiction of Intrigue: From Past to Present Day
In this course we will study the social and political anxieties expressed, and possibly tamed, by the popular genre of the "giallo" or Italian pulp crime novel. We will focus on two related historical moments - the period of the fascist regime in early 20th century Italy and the so-called "second republic" which stretches from the late 20th century to the present day - in order to explore the transformation of the genre and to examine potential shifts in the social reflection it presents. We will read the works of well-known writers such as Andrea Camilleri and Carlo Lucarelli, as well as the lesser known Alessandro Varaldo and Vasco Mariotti. (ITAL 0355 or equivalent) 3 hrs disc.
Fall 2011
ITAL 0459 - Modern Italian Lit and Culture ▲
Modern Italian Literature and Culture
This course will consider the works of Italian twentieth-century novelists and will explore the authors' narrative techniques within a larger discussion of the social context that their works reflect and interpret. Focusing on novels by Natalia Ginzburg, Carlo Levi, Carlo Collodi, Italo Calvino, we will discuss issues related to gender roles, family, education, class, and politics. Special attention will be devoted to each author's approach to the art of storytelling. Films inspired by some of the novels will supplement the readings. (ITAL 0355 or equivalent) 3 hrs. disc.
Fall 2012, Fall 2013
ITAL 0465 - Representations Urban Italy
Representations of Urban Italy: Florence and Ferrara
In this interdisciplinary seminar, we will consider broadly how Italian cities are represented in historical novels, in film and in the arts. Middlebury's two university cities provide the primary, but not exclusive, focus of the course. After considering "the urban" through selected theoretical material, memoirs, and fiction, we will discuss two modern historical novels on famous Renaissance and Baroque women, by women, Bellonci's (Rinascimento privato; Isabella d'Este) and Banti's (Artemisia[Gentileschi]). Through their heroines' peripatetic lives, these two novels encourage a consideration of other Italian cities. In the works of Bassani and Pratolini, we will consider how Florence and Ferrara are portrayed between and after the two World Wars. Relevant urban sites, art works, and films will also be discussed. 3 hr sem./screening (ITAL 0354, 0355, or equivalents)
Spring 2009
ITAL 0481 - Memory & National Identity
Memory Matters: National Identity in Contemporary Germany and Italy
In the course we will explore the crucial role of memory in the formation of national identity, and focus on the troubled remembrance of the Nazi period in Germany and the Fascist period in Italy. Using primary sources in their original language, students will study the ways in which the memory of this difficult past decisively informs contemporary national identity. Topics will include commemorative sites, national symbols, autobiographical memory, traumatic memory, and trans-generational memory. Classes will alternate between a plenary English session and discussions in either German or Italian. This course is equivalent to INTL 0481 and GRMN 0481. 3 hrs. sem./disc.
Spring 2011
ITAL 0490 - Dante In Italian
Dante in Italian
This course concentrates on a close reading of the whole of Dante's Inferno. Students will learn about the historical and literary context of the work, read excerpts from the Purgatorio and the Paradiso, get acquainted with the long tradition of Dante commentaries, and contribute twice a week to an on-line discussion on the weekly readings. After two short papers that will analyze specific aspects of a canto, students will prepare as a final project a Lectura Dantis: a detailed analysis of a canto of the Inferno that will include critical material. (ITAL 0355 or equivalent) 3 hrs. disc.
Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012, Spring 2013
ITAL 0550 - Independent Study ▲ ▹
Independent Study
Italian faculty as a group will consider and approve requests by qualified juniors and seniors to engage in independent work. Students must submit a prospectus that includes a bibliography of no less than five sources. Interested students should contact members of the Italian faculty before the end of the preceding term to discuss their project and to see if they are available to direct the Independent Study. Students must submit a prospectus with the department chair by the end of the first week of classesfor fall and spring term approvals, by the end the last week of fall semesterfor winter term approvals. Prior to submission, sufficient advance consultation with project directors is required.Junior students are strongly encouraged to consider independent study as preparation for senior honors thesis work.
Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014
ITAL 0755 - Senior Honors ▹
As prerequisite, students must have an A- or above average in Italian courses and a B overall average to be considered for honors work. They may achieve honors through a one-credit thesis of 25 or more pages, whose work may extend over one or more semesters, or through a comprehensive exam. Italian faculty as a group will consider and approve requests by qualified juniors and seniors to engage in honors work.
Spring 2009, Winter 2010, Spring 2010, Winter 2011, Spring 2011, Winter 2012, Spring 2012, Winter 2013, Spring 2013, Spring 2014
ITAL 1001 - Dante in Translation
Dante in Translation
Central to world literature, Dante's Divine Comedy traces the Poet's journey from the darkness of the Inferno, through the chiaroscuro of the Purgatory mountain, to the celestial vision of the Paradiso. We will situate the work in the context of Dante's poetic predecessors (Virgil, Provencal troubadours/trobaritz, the Sicilian School, Guido Cavalcanti), and in the cultural and historical context of the Middle Ages. We will also consider modern art, literature, and film influenced by the Comedy. Readings will be complemented with audio support in English and Italian.
Winter 2010