An interdepartmental program in Italian Studies

Last updated: November 11, 2010 at 11:01 a.m.

Objectives

Italian studies provides an interdisciplinary major and a minor for those who wish to extend their study of Italian beyond language and culture to areas of Italian literature, history, film, art history, and music. The study of Italian within a variety of cultural contexts enables students to deepen their understanding of a national heritage beyond the boundaries of a single time frame, region, gender, genre, or academic discipline. Students are encouraged to study abroad in their junior year and to take advantage of resources within the Boston Area Consortium (Boston College, Boston University, Tufts University, and Wellesley College). Only students who entered Brandeis prior to the fall of 2011 are eligible to apply for this program.

How to Become a Major or a Minor

Only students who entered Brandeis prior to the fall of 2011 are eligible to apply for this program. Students in the major and the minor work closely with an adviser to develop an individualized plan of study that balances the exploration of a broad range of topics and sectors with a focus on a single discipline or cultural period.

How to Fulfill the Language Requirement
 The foreign language requirement is met by successful completion of a third semester course (numbered in the 30s) in the language program. Students must earn a grade of C- or higher in order to be eligible to enroll in the next course in the language sequence.

How to Choose a Course at Your Level
 To choose the appropriate course, students need to take a placement exam. It is a self-graded exam that can be accessed online at www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/italtest.html. After finishing the exam, students should complete the questionnaire online. The director of language programs will then contact each student to discuss placement. Students who fail to take the placement exam will not be permitted to enroll.

If a student has a score of 620 or above on the Italian SAT II, the language requirement is automatically fulfilled and the students is eligible to enroll in 100-level courses. See "How to Become a Major or a Minor" above.

Study Abroad
Majors and minors in Italian Studies are encouraged to study abroad for all or part of their junior year.

Committee

Paola Servino, Chair and Undergraduate Advising Head
(Romance Studies)

Seth Coluzzi
 (Music)

William Kapelle
 (History)

Alice Kelikian
 (History)

Richard Lansing
(Romance Studies)

Charles McClendon
 (Fine Arts)

Benjamin Ravid
 (Near Eastern and Judaic Studies)

Jonathan Unglaub
 (Fine Arts)

Requirements for the Minor

A minor in Italian studies consists of five semester courses:

A. One advanced language course: ITAL 105a or ITAL 106a.

B. One literature course: ITAL 110a, ITAL 120b, or IECS 140a.

C. One Italian-related culture course from the list in requirement C below (line C under the Requirements for the Major).

D. Any two elective courses from the course listings in A, B, or C above.

Requirements for the Major

The major in Italian studies consists of a minimum of nine semester courses, including the completion of one advanced language course, three literature courses, four courses from the related disciplines, and completion of the senior option. Students seeking honors will take a minimum of ten courses, configured as follows.

A. At least one advanced language course: ITAL 105a or ITAL 106a.

B. Three literature courses: ITAL 110a, ITAL 120b, ITAL 128a, ITAL 134b, IECS 140a.

C. Any four of the following courses relating to Italian culture, or other courses approved by the student's adviser:

FA 45a (St. Peter's and the Vatican)
FA 51a (Art of the Early Renaissance in Italy)
FA 58b (High and Late Renaissance in Italy)
FA 60a (Baroque in Italy and Spain)
FA 197b (Methods and Approaches in the History of Art: Leonardo da Vinci)
HIST 123a (The Renaissance)
HIST 139b (Fascism East and West)
HIST 170a (Italian Films, Italian Histories)
ITAL 128a (Mapping Modern Italian Culture)
ITAL 134b (Cinema e Letteratura)
MUS 52a (Opera)
NEJS 151b (Ghettos, Gondolas, and Gelato: The Italian Jewish Experience)

D. Students must complete either ITAL 97a or b (Senior Essay) or ITAL 99d (Senior Thesis) in their senior year, or an equivalent course or courses in a cognate department that results in the writing of a senior essay or senior thesis on a subject relating to Italy.

E. Students are strongly encouraged to study abroad during their junior year for either one or two semesters. Equivalent or appropriate courses taken abroad may count toward the concentration. Students who are unable to engage in study abroad are encouraged to avail themselves of relevant courses offered by consortium institutions in the Boston area (principally, Wellesley College, Boston College, Boston University, Tufts University).

Courses of Instruction

(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

ITAL 10a Beginning Italian
Prerequisite: Students enrolling for the first time in an Italian course at Brandeis must take the online placement exam at www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/italtest.html. Students must earn a grade of C- or higher in ITAL 10a in order to enroll in a 20-level Italian course.
For students who have had no previous study of Italian. A systematic presentation of the basic grammar and vocabulary of the language within the context of Italian culture, with focus on all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Usually offered every year.
Staff

ITAL 20b Continuing Italian
Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in ITAL 10a or the equivalent. Students enrolling for the first time in an Italian course at Brandeis must take the online placement exam at www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/italtest.html. Students must earn a grade of C- or higher in ITAL 20b in order to enroll in a 30-level Italian course.
For students with some previous study of Italian. Continuing presentation of the basic grammar and vocabulary of the language within the context of Italian culture and practice of the four language skills. Special attention to reading and writing skills, as well as guided conversation. Usually offered every year.
Staff

ITAL 30a Intermediate Italian
[ fl ]
Prerequisite: A grade of C- or higher in ITAL 20b or the equivalent. Students enrolling for the first time in an Italian course at Brandeis must take the online placement exam at www.brandeis.edu/registrar/newstudent/italtest.html. Students must earn a C- or higher in ITAL 30a in order to enroll in a 100-level Italian course.
Readings in contemporary Italian short stories, newspaper and journal articles, and short essays of cultural interest will be supplemented by video presentations (opera, film, "filmati," and "telegiornale" from RAI) designed to enhance oral comprehension. Typical themes include social conflicts (Fascism, the problem of the "Mezzogiorno") and cultural phenomena (feminism, art, geography). Review of grammar includes written exercises and short compositions. Usually offered every fall.
Staff

ITAL 92a Internship in Italian Studies
Staff

ITAL 97a Senior Essay
Students should consult the undergraduate advising head before enrolling. May not be taken for credit by students who have satisfactorily completed ITAL 97b.
Offers students an opportunity to produce a senior essay under the direction of an individual instructor. Usually offered every fall.
Staff

ITAL 97b Senior Essay
Students should consult the undergraduate advising head before enrolling. May not be taken for credit by students who have satisfactorily completed ITAL 97a.
Offers students an opportunity to produce a senior essay under the direction of an individual instructor. Usually offered every spring.
Staff

ITAL 98a Independent Study
May be taken only with the written permission of the advising head and the chair of the department.
Reading and reports under faculty supervision. Usually offered every year.
Staff

ITAL 98b Independent Study
May be taken only with the written permission of the advising head and the chair of the department.
Reading and reports under faculty supervision. Usually offered every year.
Staff

ITAL 99d Senior Thesis
Students should consult the undergraduate advising head before enrolling.
Usually offered every year.
Staff

(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students

IECS 140a Dante's Divine Comedy
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English
translation.
A close study of Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso as a symbolic vision of reality reflecting the culture and the political, philosophical, and theological thought of the Middle Ages. Readings to include the Vita Nuova, the Aeneid (Bk. 6), and selections from the Bible, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, and St. Thomas' Summa Theologicae. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Lansing

ITAL 105a Italian Conversation and Composition
[ fl hum wi ]
Prerequisite: ITAL 30a or the equivalent.
Provides students with an opportunity to develop their oral and written proficiency in Italian, while familiarizing themselves with different facets of contemporary Italian culture and society. Readings will be supplemented by films and recordings. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Servino

ITAL 106a Advanced Readings in Italian
[ fl hum ]
Prerequisite: ITAL 30a or the equivalent.
Close study and analysis of representative works of Italian literature (prose, poetry, drama) and culture (art, history, music, cinema, politics) designed to enhance the student's reading skills. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Lansing

ITAL 110a Introduction to Italian Literature
[ fl hum ]
Prerequisite: ITAL 30a or the equivalent.
Surveys the masterpieces of Italian literature from Dante to the present. It is designed to introduce the student to the major authors and literary periods, styles, and genres and present an overview of the history of the literature. Conducted in Italian. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Lansing

ITAL 120b Modern Italian Literature
[ fl hum ]
Prerequisite: ITAL 30a or the equivalent.
Analysis of major works by Svevo, Pirandello, Moravia, Silone, Lampedusa, Pavese, Primo Levi, Montale, and Vittorini with respect to the political, economic, and social problems of post-Risorgimento Italy. Conducted in Italian. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Lansing

ITAL 128a Mapping Modern Italian Culture: Inherited Conflicts
[ hum oc ]
Prerequisites: ITAL 105a or 106a. Conducted in Italian with Italian texts.
Covers a broad range of cultural topics that exemplify creative responses to historical events and social dilemmas that have shaped contemporary Italian culture. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Lansing and Ms. Servino

ITAL 134b Nella cultura ebraica italiana: cinema e letteratura
[ fl hum wi ]
Prerequisite: ITAL 105a or equivalent. Conducted in Italian. Materials fee: $30.
Analyzes Italian Jewish representations in Italian culture from the founding of the ghetto in Venice in 1516 to modern times. Works of Italian Jewish writers and historians are examined as well as Italian movies that address Jewish themes within the mainstream of Italian culture. This course has an interdisciplinary approach while focusing on advanced Italian language skills. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Servino

Electives

FA 45a St. Peter's and the Vatican
[ ca ]
The history, growth, and development of Christendom's most famous shrine, with particular concern for the relationship between the design and decoration of the Renaissance/baroque church and palace complex and their early Christian and medieval predecessors. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. McClendon

FA 51a Art of the Early Renaissance in Italy
[ ca ]
Major painters, sculptors, and architects in Rome, Florence, and Venice from Masaccio to Leonardo da Vinci. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Unglaub

FA 58b High and Late Renaissance in Italy
[ ca ]
A study of sixteenth-century painting, sculpture, and architecture from Leonardo da Vinci to Tintoretto. Usually offered every year.
Mr. Unglaub

FA 60a Baroque in Italy and Spain
[ ca ]
The artistic spectacle of papal Rome and Hapsburg Spain is explored. The works of Caravaggio, Bernini, and Velazquez capture the contradictions of the age: sensuality/spirituality, ecstasy/piety, degradation/deliverance, realism/idealism, exuberance/restraint, and statecraft/propaganda. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Unglaub

HIST 123a The Renaissance
[ ss ]
Culture, society, and economy in the Italian city-state (with particular attention to Florence) from feudalism to the rise of the modern state. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Kapelle

HIST 139b Fascism East and West
[ ss ]
A comparative analysis of dictatorship in Europe, Japan, and Latin America during the twentieth century. Topical emphasis on the social origins, mass culture, and political organization of authoritarian regimes. Usually offered every third year.
Ms. Kelikian

HIST 170a Italian Films, Italian Histories
[ ss wi ]
Explores the relationship between Italian history and Italian film from unification to 1975. Topics include socialism, fascism, the deportation of Jews, the Resistance, the Mafia, and the emergence of an American-style star fixation in the 1960s. Usually offered every second year.
Ms. Kelikian

IECS 140a Dante's Divine Comedy
[ hum ]
Open to all students. Conducted in English with readings in English
translation.
A close study of Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso as a symbolic vision of reality reflecting the culture and the political, philosophical, and theological thought of the Middle Ages. Readings to include the Vita Nuova, the Aeneid (Bk. 6), and selections from the Bible, Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics, and St. Thomas' Summa Theologicae. Usually offered every second year.
Mr. Lansing

MUS 52a Opera
[ ca ]
Open to music majors and non-majors.
Surveys the history of opera from its emergence around 1600 to the present day. In addition to tracing musical changes, the social, cultural, and intellectual trends that influenced (and were shaped by) these changes are also considered. Usually offered every second year.
Staff

NEJS 151b Ghettos, Gondolas, and Gelato: The Italian Jewish Experience
[ hum ss ]
Topics include the Jews of classical antiquity, attitude of church and state toward Jews, ghetto, Jewish merchants and moneylenders, Renaissance and the Jews, Marranos and the Inquisition, raison d'état, emancipation, Holocaust, and communities today. Usually offered every second year.
Staff