Department of Romance Studies

All schedule information is tentative. Please see the Registrar's site for the latest information.

For a full list of courses offered next semester, download the PDF brochure: Italian Studies Course Offerings Fall 2023

For a video introduction to the Italian Studies program, visit our ROMS Course Videos page.

For more information about ITAL 10-106 placement/enrollment, please see our Language Programs Placement page. If you have any questions, please contact Prof. Harder.

(1) M,W,Th 12:20–1:10; F 12:45–1:35 PM, Monteleone
(2) M,W,Th 1:20–2:10 PM; T 12:45–1:35 PM, Servino

Prerequisite: For students with little or no knowledge of Italian language. Permission required (please see instructions on our Language Programs Placement page).

Are you interested in experiencing a taste of Italy right here on campus? If reading an Italian menu with the right accent, understanding Bocelli and Botticelli, speaking the language, and learning about love and passion beyond the stereotypes are not enough to get you involved, we will find many more ways to make your Italian experience worthwhile. Just as in Italy, if you have no specific reasons to study Italian, we will make one up just for you!

(1) M,W,Th 1:20–2:10; T 12:45–1:35 PM, Monteleone
(2) M,T,W,Th 11:15 AM–12:05 PM, Servino

Prerequisite: A grade of C– or higher in ITAL 20b or the equivalent. Permission required (please see instructions on our Language Programs Placement page).

Is Italian synonymous with pizza and the Mafia? Of course not! Students in this course advance their study in Italian language and culture by improving their ability to recount events, give descriptions, and make comparisons —both orally and in writing. Working with newspaper articles, short stories, and films, students gain an understanding of what growing up in Italy is all about! Students learn how the closeness of family and friends is the basis of Italian culture and how Italians are able to live in a modern Italy despite their old soul that comes from ancient values and colorful imagery of its people.

(1) T,Th 2:20–3:40 PM, Monteleone

Prerequisite: ITAL 30a, ITAL 105a, or the equivalent. Permission required (please see instructions on our Language Programs Placement page). [OC]

Let’s learn about Italians through their stories and practice reading and communicative skills while learning about the developing of Italian identity from the end of 1800s to the present. In this course, students will analyze and discuss short Italian texts, selected for their relevance and accessible language, as well as videos and films. Proficiency in Italian will be improved through interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational activities. This is an Oral Communication course.

(1) T,Th 3:55–5:15 PM, Servino

Prerequisite: ITAL 105a or 106a or permission of the instructor. Conducted in Italian.

Why Study Dante (and much more!)? Just for the Hell of it! Surveys the masterpieces of Italian literature from Dante’s journey to Goldoni’s stage. Come explore intrigues of love and politics in Italian culture and literature, through dynamic analysis and discussions of primary texts. 

(1) M,W 4:05–5:25 PM, O'Donoghue

Examines Pompeii and Herculaneum, buried by Vesuvius in 79 CE, using the ancient cities' art, architecture, and wall writings to understand the social, political, economic, and religious realities of Roman life on the Bay of Naples, especially in the first century CE.

(1) M,W,Th 1:20–2:10 PM, Kapelle

[Cross–listed with ECS, MERS, CLAS]

Survey of Roman history from the early republic through the decline of the empire. Covers the political history of the Roman state and the major social, economic, and religious changes of the period.

(1) T,F 11:10 AM–12:30 PM, Kelikian

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.