Andrei Barashkov
Assistant Professor of Italian
Email: abarashk@middlebury.edu
Phone: work802.443.5060
Office Hours: On leave academic year 2012-2013
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Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
INDE 0800 - Ind Scholar Thesis
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, Fall 2011, 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, Winter 2012
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
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
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 2010
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 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, 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
LNGT 0101 - Introduction to Linguistics ▲
Introduction to Linguistics
This is an introductory course in linguistics taught in English. The main topics will include the nature of human language as distinct from other communication systems; the subsystems of linguistic knowledge, i.e., sound patterns (phonology), word-formation (morphology), sentence structure (syntax), and meaning (semantics); language and the brain; language acquisition; language use in context; geographical and social dialects; and historical development of language and language change. (Formerly INTD 0112) 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Fall 2010, Fall 2013
LNGT 0201 / INTD 0201 / 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 review 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. (LNGT 0101 or by approval) 3 hrs. lect./disc.
Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2012