Courses

ITALIAN STUDIES COURSE OFFERINGS

COURSES SPRING 2008 ITALIAN STUDIES

ITAL0200 - Elementary Italian

Elective for students without previous training in Italian. No credit for first semester alone. Fundamentals of Italian grammar and development of skills in speaking, comprehension, and writing. Overview of contemporary Italian society. Sufficient for enrollment in the Bologna Program. Five meetings per week, audio and video work, six Italian films. Note: This is a year course.

ITAL0200 - S01 – Erica MORETTI

M.,W.,F. 10:00-10:50 AM (C Hour) and T.,Th. 10:30- 11:50 AM (I Hour)

ITAL0200 S02 – Marco NATOLI

M.,W.,F. 11:00-11:50 AM (D Hour) and T.,Th. 1:00- 2:20 PM (J Hour)

ITAL0200 S03 – Stephen MARTH

M.,W.,F. 11:00-11:50 AM (D Hour) and T.,Th. 6:30-7:50PM (L Hour)

ITAL0200 S04 – Marco NATOLI

M.,W.,F. 1:00-1:50 PM (F Hour) and T.,Th. 10:30-11:50 AM (I Hour)

ITAL0200 S05 – Amanda MINERVINI

M.,W.,F. 1:00- 1:50 PM (F Hour) and T.,Th. 10:30-11:50 AM (I Hour)

ITAL0400 - Intermediate Italian II

Review of specific grammar problems. Reading of one novel or play, short stories, and newspaper articles. Compositions and oral presentations. Three Italian films. Prereq: IT 300, or placement by examination.

ITAL0400 S01 – Monica FACCHINI

M.,W. 10:00- 10:50 AM and T.,Th. 12:00-12:50 PM

ITAL0400 S02 – Stefano SELENU

M.,W. 10:00- 10:50 AM and T.,Th. 12:00-12:50 PM

ITAL0400 S03 -

M.,T.,W.,Th. 12:00-12:50 PM

ITAL0500 - Writing and Speaking Italian II

Continuation of 50. Emphasis on formal and informal styles of writing and speaking, using literary and nonliterary texts. Compositions, oral presentations, and weekly film screenings. Prerequisite: IT 500 placement by examination, or written permission.

ITAL0500 S01 – Cristina ABBONA

T.,Th. 2:30- 3:50 PM (K Hour) and M. 12:00-12:50 PM

ITAL 1020 - Boccaccio's Decameron and the End of the World

Close study and discussion of Boccaccio's collection of 100 tales told by ten narrators over a period of two weeks, while in flight from the devastating plague of 1348. The Decameron defined the standard of Italian prose narrative for almost four centuries, and furnished a great number of the plots of Italian (and French and English) Renaissance drama. Students will be invited to contribute to the Decameron Web, the Boccaccio award-winning web site administered by the department of Italian Studies. Other, shorter, works of Boccaccio will be read to prepare for tackling the Decameron. Sections in both English and Italian. Sections in both English and Italian. Instructor: Ronald Martinez

ITAL 1020 S01 – M. 3:00- 5:20 PM

HIST 1050 - Renaissance Italy

Italian society and culture from the fourteenth through the sixteenth centuries. Explores the traditional understanding of the Renaissance as a period of remarkable artisticand intellectual achievements in Italy as well as the broader social, political and cultural context for these innovations. Topics include art, political theory, humanist scholarship, family life, court society, religion, urban and rural identities and sexuality. Instructor: Caroline Castiglione

HIST 1050 – M-W-F 10-10:50AM

ITAL 1390 - Modern Italian History

Examination of Italian society, culture, and politics over the past two centuries. Particular attention is devoted to the creation of Italian national identity, the role of the Catholic Church, changing gender and class relations, conflicts between North and South, the development of fascism, postwar political developments, and changing Italian family life.In Italian.

ITAL 1390 - Lorenzo Benadusi

T.,Th. 2:30-3:50PM

ITAL 1620 - The Divina Commedia: Dante's Paradiso: Justifying a Cosmos

Close study of the third and final part of Divine Comedy, in which Dante unfolds how, in his view, the planetary and stellar spheres condition human lilfe and fashion the Providential plan of history. There will be ancillary readings from Dante's other works: Convivio, the Monarchia, and the Epistles. In Italian. Prerequisite: IT 50 or 60. Instructor: Ronald Martinez

ITAL1620 S01 - W. 3-5:20pm

COLT 1811R - Modern Identities and the Mediterranean

This course explores the cultural, political, and social definitions of nationhood primarily focusing on the literature of Italy and Greece but also on non-native works about the two countries. The course will begin with an examination of the definitions of Mediterranean identity as they emerged in the region. What is the symbolic significance of defining the nation as Mediterranean (as opposed to European)? It will then proceed to explore the Greek/Italian literary and historical heritage as defined by non-native writers: the importance of Greco-Roman mythology in the works of Freud and Lacan, the fascination of the Romantics with Greece and Italy etc. Finally, the course will examine the ways in which Greek and Italian writers, poets, and filmmakers adopted or reacted to these non-native appropriations in the process of re-defining their own modern identity. Primarily for seniors and graduate students.

F 3-5:20pm – Instructors: Stewart-Steinberg and Pourgouris

IT 2050 Microhistory (HI0298 s.17)

Italian historians pioneered a methodology called “microhistory,” which emphasizes the importance of interpreting seemingly insignificant details in order to understand individuals for whom we typically have little information. We will examine some classic examples of this genre, alongside debates about the method. Students should pursue their own geographic and disciplinary interests in the final assignment by writing a microhistory. Asst. Prof. C. Castiglione

W. 3-5:30pm (N hour)

ITAL 2820A - Italian Studies Colloquium

The Italian Studies Colloquium is a forum for an exchange of ideas and work of the community of Italian scholars at Brown and invited outside scholars. Students are expected to come prepared with informed questions on the topic presented. Presentations in Both Italian and English. Written permission required. Instructor: Caroline Castiglione

M. 4:30-6:00PM

If you need any additional information please contact Mona_Delgado@brown.edu or call 863-1561.