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Courses in Italian (ITA)

Lower Division Courses

Students offering high school language preparation as a prerequisite must take a placement test.

1. Elementary Italian (5)

Discussion—5 hours; laboratory—1 hour. Introduction to Italian grammar and development of all language skills in a cultural context with special emphasis on communication. (Students who have successfully completed Italian 2 or 3 in the 10th or higher grade in high school may receive unit credit for this course on a P/NP grading basis only. Although a passing grade will be charged to the student’s P/NP option, no petition is required. All other students will receive a letter grade unless a P/NP petition is filed.)—I, II. (I, II.)

1A. Accelerated Intensive Elementary Italian (15)

Lecture/discussion—15 hours. Special 12-week accelerated, intensive summer session course that combines the work of courses 1, 2, and 3. Introduction to Italian grammar and development of all language skills in a cultural context with emphasis on communicative ability. Not open for credit to students who have completed courses 1, 2, or 3.—IV. (IV.) Bassi, Grossi

1S. Elementary Italian (5)

Discussion/laboratory—5 hours. Introduction to Italian grammar and development of all language skills in a cultural context with special emphasis on communication. This course is taught abroad. Not open for credit to students who have completed course 1.—III.

2. Elementary Italian (5)

Discussion—5 hours; laboratory—1 hour. Prerequisite: course 1. Continuation of course 1 in areas of grammar and basic language skills.—II, III. (II, III.)

2S. Elementary Italian (5)

Discussion/laboratory—5 hours. Prerequisite: course 1. Continuation of course 1 in the area of grammar and basic language skills. This course is taught abroad. Not open for credit to students who have completed course 2.—III.

3. Elementary Italian (5)

Lecture/discussion—5 hours. Prerequisite: course 2. Continuation of grammar sequence, and practice of all language skills through cultural texts.—I, II, III. (I, II, III.)

3S. Elementary Italian (5)

Lecture/discussion—5 hours. Prerequisite: course 2. Completion of grammar sequence and continuing practice of all language skills through cultural texts. This course is taught abroad. Not open for credit to students who have completed course 3.—III.

4. Intermediate Italian (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; laboratory—3 hours. Prerequisite: course 3. Review of grammar and syntax through written exercises and short prose works. Intended to develop the linguistic foundations of students who have completed the first year language classes.—I, II, III. (I, II, III.)

4S. Intermediate Italian (3)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours. Prerequisite: course 3 or the equivalent. Review of grammar and syntax through written exercises and readings of short prose works. Intended to develop the linguistic foundations of students who have completed the first year language classes. This course is taught abroad. Not open for credit to students who have completed course 4.—III.

5. Intermediate Italian (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; laboratory—3 hours. Prerequisite: course 4. Review and study of grammar and syntax, readings of short prose works, and written exercises. Intended to prepare students to read, understand, and discuss modern Italian.—I, II, III. (I, II, III.)

5S. Intermediate Italian (3)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours. Prerequisite: course 4. Preparation to read, understand, and discuss texts written in Italian. Transition between course 4 and 10. This course is taught abroad. Not open for credit to students who have completed course 5.—III.

8A. Italian Conversation (3)

Discussion—3 hours. Prerequisite: course 3 or the equivalent. Course designed to offer practice in speaking Italian. May be repeated once for credit. (P/NP grading only.)—I, III. (I, III.)

8AS. Italian Conversation (3)

Discussion—3 hours. Prerequisite: course 3 or the equivalent. Practice in the speaking of Italian. Course is taught abroad. May be repeated for up to 6 units of credit. Not open for credit to students who have completed course 8. (P/NP grading only.)—III.

8B. Italian Conversation (3)

Discussion—3 hours. Prerequisite: course 8A. Course designed to offer practice in speaking Italian. (P/NP grading only.)—II. (II.)

8BS. Italian Conversation (3)

Discussion—3 hours. Prerequisite: course 8A. Practice in the speaking of Italian. Course is taught abroad. May be repeated for up to 6 units of credit. Not open for credit to students who have completed course 8B. (P/NP grading only.)—III.

9. Reading Italian (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 5. Reading and discussion of modern Italian prose, including selections from creative, scientific and journalistic writings. Introduction to contemporary Italian literature and culture. Strengthening the student’s command of the Italian language.—I, II, III. (I, II, III.) Cannon

9S. Reading Italian (3)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours. Prerequisite: course 5. Reading and discussion of modern Italian prose, including selections from creative, scientific and journalistic writings. Introduction to contemporary Italian literature and culture as well as strengthening the student’s command of the Italian language. This course is taught abroad. Not open for credit to students who have completed course 9.—III.

50. Studies in Italian Cinema (4)

Lecture—2 hours; discussion—1 hour; term paper. Introduction to Italian cinema through its genres. Focus is on cinema as a reflection of and a comment on modern Italian history. Film will be studied as an artistic medium and as a form of mass communication. GE credit: ArtHum, Wrt.—II. (II.)

90X. Lower Division Seminar (1-2)

Seminar—1-2 hours. Prerequisite: lower division standing and consent of instructor. Examination of a special topic in Italian language or culture (such as Italian culture seen through film, Italian feminism, literature, or politics) through shared readings, discussions, written assignments, or special activities such as film screening or laboratory work.

98. Directed Group Study (1-5)

Primarily intended for lower division students. (P/NP grading only.)

Upper Division Courses

101. Advanced Conversation, Composition, and Grammar (4)

Lecture—3 hours; weekly essays. Prerequisite: course 9 or consent of instructor.—I. (I.) Heyer-Caput, Cannon

101S. Advanced Composition, Conversation and Grammar (4)

Lecture—3 hours; extensive writing. Prerequisite: course 9. Instruction and practice in expository writing in Italian, with emphasis on advanced grammar, organization, and vocabulary building. Course will be taught in Italy. Not open for credit to students who have completed course 101.—III.

104. Italian Translation and Style (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; two research papers; term paper. Prerequisite: course 101 or consent of instructor. Practice in translation from Italian to English and English to Italian, using literary and non-literary texts of different styles. Analysis of linguistic problems and elements of style contained in the translation material.—III. (III.) Cannon

104S. Translation and Style (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 101 or consent of instructor. Practice in translation from Italian to English and English to Italian, using literary and non-literary texts of different styles. Analysis of linguistic problems and elements of style contained in the translation material. Course will be taught abroad. Not open for credit to students who have completed course 104.—III.

105. Introduction to Italian Literature (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 101 or consent of instructor. Introduction to the study of the principal authors, works, and movements of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Early Modern periods in Italy. GE credit: ArtHum.—II. (II.) Schiesari

105S. Introduction to Italian Literature (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 101 or consent of instructor. Introduction to the study of the principal authors, works, and movements of the Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern periods in Italy. This course is taught abroad. Not open for credit to students who have completed course 105. GE credit: ArtHum, Div, Wrt.—III.

107. Survey of Italian Culture and Institutions (4)

Lecture—3 hours; term paper. Assessment of the impact of regional autonomy on Italian cultural life from the Middle Ages to the present. Special emphasis will be placed upon achievements in literature, the arts, philosophy, and socio-political institutions. To be taught in English. GE credit: ArtHum.—III. (III.) Foscarini

107S. Survey of Italian Culture and Institutions (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Assessment of the impact of regional autonomy on Italian cultural life from the Middle Ages to the present. Special emphasis on achievements in literature, the arts, philosophy, and socio-political institutions. Taught in English. This course is taught abroad. Not open for credit to students who have completed course 107. GE credit: ArtHum.—III.

108. Contemporary Issues in Italian Culture and Society (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Analysis of cultural issues in contemporary Italy: Myth and reality of imagined Italies, Italian identities; immigration and race relations; the media and popular culture. Taught in English. GE credit: ArtHum, Div, Wrt.—I. (I.) Bassi

108S. Contemporary Issues in Italian Culture and Society (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Analysis of cultural issues in contemporary Italy; myth and reality of imagined Italies; Italian identities; immigration and race relations; the media and popular culture. Taught in English. This course is taught abroad. Not open for credit to students who have completed course 108. GE credit: ArtHum, Div, Wrt.—III.

112. Medieval and Renaissance Poetry:
St. Francis to Petrarch (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 9 or consent of instructor. Study of the origins of Italian religious and secular poetry of the 13th and 14th centuries. A diversified poetry is illustrated in works of St. Francis, Dante, Cavalcanti, Petrarch, the Sicilian School, the Sweet New Style Poets, and other authors. Offered in alternate years. GE credit: ArtHum.—(I.)

113. Dante Alighieri, Divina Commedia (Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso) (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 9 or consent of instructor. Study of Dante Alighieri’s Divina Commedia, and its role in the development of Italian language and literature. Emphasis will be placed on reading the whole poem within the historical context of the Middle Ages. GE credit: ArtHum.—III. (III.)

114. Boccaccio, Decameron, and the Renaissance Novella (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 9 or consent of instructor. Study of the development of the short story in Italy, as exemplified in Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron, in his predecessors and Renaissance followers. Offered in alternate years. GE credit: ArtHum.—II.

115A. Studies in the Cinquecento (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 9 or consent of instructor. Analysis of key texts from the high moment of the Italian Renaissance. The political and aesthetic legacy of humanism will be foregrounded in relation to authors such as Ficino, Ariosto, Machiavelli, Aretino, Castiglione, and Tasso. Offered in alternate years. GE credit: ArtHum.—(III.) Schiesari

115B. Italian Literature of the Renaissance and the Baroque: From Cellini to Marino (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 115A. Continued examination into the loss of an ideal. Emphasis on the conflicts in Michelangelo and Tasso leading to Marino, with an excursus on Galileo’s role in the formation of a modern literary standard. GE credit: ArtHum.—III. (III.) Schiesari

115C. Italian Drama from Machiavelli to the Enlightenment (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 9 or consent of instructor. Development of comic and tragic forms as critical representations of their societal and historical contexts, i.e. Machiavelli and the logic of power, Baroque dramatists in the service of counter-reformation Italy, Goldoni’s comedies and bourgeois social consciousness. Offered in alternate years. GE credit: ArtHum.—I. Schiesari

115D. Early Modern Italian Lyric (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 9 or consent of instructor. Examination of the poetic tradition influenced by Petrarch. Consideration of the relation between gender and genre in such poets as Petrarch, Bembo, della Casa, Tasso, Marino, Gaspara Stampa, Veronica Franco, Isabella di Morra. Offered in alternate years. GE credit: ArtHum.—I. Schiesari

118. Italian Literature of the Eighteenth Century (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 9 or consent of instructor. Development of modern Italian literature. Emphasis on the work of Goldoni, Bettinelli, Baretti, Parini, Alfieri and Vico. GE credit: ArtHum.—I. (I.)

119. Italian Literature of the Nineteenth Century (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 9 or consent of instructor. Romanticism in Italy, including Manzoni, Verga, and Verismo. GE credit: ArtHum.—II. (II.) Heyer-Caput

120A. Italian Literature of the Twentieth Century: The Novel (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 9 or consent of instructor. Development of the novel from Svevo to the present. Emphasis on the work of Svevo, Levi, Moravia, Pavese, and Vittorini. GE credit: ArtHum.—III. (III.) Cannon, Heyer-Caput

120B. Italian Literature of the Twentieth Century: Poetry and Drama (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 9 or consent of instructor. Italian poetry with emphasis on Hermeticism; the theater of Luigi Pirandello and its role in the development of contemporary Italian drama. GE credit: ArtHum.—I. (I.) Cannon, Heyer-Caput

131. Autobiography in Italy (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: course 9 or consent of instructor. The development of representations of selfhood with particular attention to generic conditions, the confessional tradition and the problem of women’s self-representation. Authors studied may included Petrarch, Tasso, Casanova, Alfieri, Zvevok, Sibilla Aleramo and Primo Levi. Offered in alternate years. GE credit: ArtHum.—III. Heyer-Caput, Schiesari

139B. Italian Literature in English: Boccaccio, Petrarch and the Renaissance (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Petrarch and Boccaccio and their relations to the Middle Ages and the Renaissance; the Renaissance, with particular attention to the works of Lorenzo de’ Medici, Leonardo da Vinci, Machiavelli, Ariosto, Michelangelo, and Tasso. GE credit: ArtHum.—II. (II.)

140. Italian Literature in English Translation: Dante, Divine Comedy (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: any course from the GE Literature Preparation List. Reading of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, through the otherworld realms of Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. GE credit: ArtHum, Wrt.—I. (I.)

141. Culture, Gender and the Italian Renaissance (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: any course from the GE Literature Preparation List. Critical analysis of texts from the Italian Renaissance. Primary concern focuses on issues such as “the dignity of Man;” education and gender politics; “high” and “low” culture and its relation to literary practices. GE credit: ArtHum, Div, Wrt.—II. (II.) Schiesari

142. Masterpieces of Modern Italian Narrative (4)

Lecture—1.5 hours; discussion—1.5 hours; term paper. Prerequisite: either English 3, Comparative Literature 2, or History 4C. Analysis of major works of Italian narrative fiction from unification of Italy to present. Students will learn to use representative methods and concepts which guide literary scholarship. Consideration of works within European social and cultural context. Offered in alternate years. GE credit: ArtHum, Wrt.—III. Cannon

145. Special Topics in Italian Literature (4)

Lecture/discussion—4 hours. Prerequisite: course 9 or consent of instructor. Study of special topics and themes in Italian literature, such as comic literature, epic poetry, pre-twentieth century theater, fascism, futurism, women and literature, and the image of America, etc. May be repeated for credit when topic differs. GE credit: Wrt.—I, II, III. (I, II, III.)

145S. Special Topics in Italian Literature (4)

Lecture/discussion—4 hours. Prerequisite: course 9 or consent of instructor. Study of special topics and themes in Italian literature, such as comic literature, epic poetry, pre-twentieth-century theater, fascism, futurism, women and literature, the image of America, etc. This course is taught abroad. May be repeated for credit. Not open for credit to students who have completed course 145. GE credit: ArtHum, Wrt.—III.

150. Studies in Italian Cinema (4)

Lecture/discussion—3 hours; film viewing—3 hours. Prerequisite: Humanities 10 or consent of instructor. Introduction to Italian cinema through its genres. Focus on cinema as a reflection or a comment on modern Italian history. Film as an artistic medium and as a form of mass communication. GE credit: ArtHum, Div, Wrt.—II. (II.) Cannon

190X. Upper Division Seminar (1-2)

Seminar—1-2 hours. Prerequisite: upper division standing and consent of instructor. Examination of a special topic in Italian language or culture through shared readings, discussions, written assignments or special activities such as film screening or laboratory work. Limited enrollment. May not be repeated for credit.

192. Italian Internship (1-12)

Internship—3-36 hours. Prerequisite: upper division standing and consent of chairperson of Italian Department. Participation in government and business activities to gain work experience and to develop a better knowledge of Italian language and culture. (P/NP grading only.)

194H. Special Study for Honors Students (3)

Independent study—3 hours. Prerequisite: open only to majors of senior standing who qualify for honors program. Guided research, under the direction of a faculty member, leading to a senior honors thesis on a topic in Italian literature, civilization, or language studies. (P/NP grading only.)

195H. Honors Thesis (3)

Independent study—3 hours. Prerequisite: course 194H. Writing of an honors thesis on a topic in Italian literature, civilization, or language studies under the direction of a faculty member. (P/NP grading only.)

197T. Tutoring in Italian (1-4)

Seminar—1-2 hours; laboratory—1-2 hours. Prerequisite: upper division standing and consent of instructor. Tutoring in undergraduate courses, including leadership in small voluntary discussion groups affiliated with departmental courses. May be repeated for credit for a total of 6 units. (P/NP grading only.)

197TC. Community Tutoring in Italian (1-5)

Discussion—1-2 hours; laboratory—2-4 hours. Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Field experience as Italian tutors or teacher’s aides. May be repeated for credit for a total of 10 units. (P/NP grading only.)—Foscarini

198. Directed Group Study (1-4)

Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (P/NP grading only.)

199. Special Study for Advanced Undergraduates (1-5)

Prerequisite: consent of instructor. (P/NP grading only.)

Graduate Courses

297. Individual Study (1-5)

Prerequisite: graduate standing or consent of instructor.

298. Group Study (1-5)

Prerequisite: graduate standing or consent of instructor.

299. Research (1-12)

Prerequisite: graduate standing or consent of instructor. (S/U grading only.)

299D. Dissertation Research (1-12)

Prerequisite: graduate standing or consent of instructor. (S/U grading only.)