ITALIAN STUDIES COURSES SPRING 2012
Language and Culture Courses
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, two Italian films. Note: This is a year course.
ITAL0200 - S01 – 20513
M.,W.,F. 1:00-1:50 PM and T.,Th. 1:00-2:20 PM
ITAL0200 S02 – 20514
M.,W.,F. 10:00-10:50 AM and T.,Th. 9:00-10:20 AM
ITAL0200 S03 – 20515
M.,W.,F. 10:00-10:50 AM and T.,Th. 10:30-11:50AM
ITAL0200 S04 – 20516
M.,W.,F. 11:00-11:50 AM and T.,Th. 10:30-11:50AM
ITAL0200 S05 – 20517
M.,W.,F. 11:00- 11:50 AM and T.,Th. 1:00-2:20 PM
ITAL0400 Intermediate Italian II
Review of specific grammar problems. Reading of one novel and newspaper articles. Compositions and oral presentations. Three Italian films. Prereq: IT 300, or placement by examination.
ITAL0400 S01 – 20518
M.,W. 12:00- 12:50 AM and T.,Th. 12:00-12:50 PM
ITAL0400 S02 – 20519
M.,W. 1:00- 1:50 PM and T.,Th. 1:00-1:50 PM
ITAL0400 S03 - 23295
M.,W. 2:00- 2:50 PM and T.,Th. 12:00-12:50 PM
ITAL0600 Advanced Italian II - 20520
Continuation of 500. Emphasis on formal and informal styles of writing and speaking, using literary and nonliterary texts. Compositions, oral presentations, and film screenings. Prerequisite: IT 500, placement by examination, or written permission.
IT0600 S01 - T.,Th. 2:30- 3:50 PM
Instructor: Cristina Abbona Sneider
Literature and Culture Courses
HIAA0560 - The Visual Culture of Early Modern Rome - 26627
Examines Renaissance Roman painting, sculpture, and architecture in the context of the unique urban character of the city: site of antique myth, religious pilgrimage, and a cosmopolitan court. Beginning with Filarete and Fra Angelico, we move through the Renaissance (Michelangelo and Raphael), looking at the formation of artists' workshops and academies, ending with the urbanization programs of Sixtus V. A
T,Th: 2:30-3:50PM
Instructor: Evelyn Lincoln
ITAL 0751 - When Leaders Lie: Machiavelli in International Context –26870
This course examines the writing of Niccolò Machiavelli, a Renaissance author praised and condemned for his insistence on analyzing the realities of politics, rather than the ideals of political behavior. Machiavelli's view of the tenuous relationship of ethics to politics has cast him as the founder of political science and the proponent of "consequential morality" or the notion that the ends justify the means. We will also examine precedents for his ideas in the Greek and Islamic world and conclude by examining the relevance of Machiavelli's insights for understanding political practices and ethics in the twenty-first century. Enrollment limited to 20 first year students. FYS LILE WRIT
ITAL 0751 S01 – Caroline CASTIGLIONE
M 3-5:20PM
ITAL 0985 - Visions of War: Representing Italian Modern Conflicts - 27092
This interdisciplinary course addresses issues of war within Twentieth century Italy. As a phenomenon that crucially defines the "short century," war occupied a central role in various cultural products. This class will embrace fictional, non-fictional, musical, and visual texts that recount the experience of conflicts as seen through the eyes of Italian intellectuals. We will discuss works by authors such as Ungaretti, Calvino, Levi, and Monicelli, and analyze sources such as soldier's songs and military posters. Readings will range from literary theory and trauma studies to history. Prerequisite: ITAL 0600 or Brown in Bologna Program. The course will be conducted in Italian.
I
TAL0985 – Erica MORETTI
Tu+Th. 2:30-3:50PM
ITAL1020 – Boccaccio’s “Decameron” - 20437
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.
Instructor: Ronald Martinez
ITAL1020 S01 – W 3-5:20PM
Topics in the Early History of Printmaking: Festival and Carnival
(HIAA1550B) - 26917 - ITAL1550B - s01
This course looks at the printed festival books made for recording ideal versions of royal entries, funerals, weddings and other printed expressions of regal celebration, alongside printed, painted and otherwise recorded evidence of popular celebrations such as carnival, and civic and religious festivals such as the Sienese palio. Although beginning with circulated prints and books, we will also look at the material culture of these events in their widest sense to investigate the advertisement and control of festival cultures. The class will focus on early modern Italy but students are welcome to broaden our geographic horizons. Enrollment limited to 20.
Instructor: Evelyn LINCOLN
M 3:00 – 5:20PM
ITAL1620 - The Divina Commedia: Dante's Paradiso: Justifying a Cosmos - 20438
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 0500 or 0600.
Instructor: Ronald Martinez
M 3-5:20PM
ITAL2300 - Seminar in ITalian Literature, Culture, and Criticism - 26792
This seminar focuses on some of the most important contributions made to critical theory made by modern Italian thinkers, beginning with Antonio Gramsci and ending with Giorgio Agamben. Readings include, other than Gramsci and Agamben, works by Antonio Negri, Roberto Esposito and Adriana Cavarero. Open to juniors, seniors, and graduate students.
Prof. Suzanne Stewart-Steinberg
Th. 4-6:20PM
ITAL2550 - Gender Matters – 27035
This course examines the impact of gender as a category of historical analysis. Beginning with Joan Scott's seminal work on the topic (1986), students assess its subsequent global impact. Two Italian issues are considered in this comparative context: Is gender analysis still gender analysis if the word gender is not employed? How has the study of masculinity, sexuality, and queer studies opened new lines of inquiry? The recasting of women as moral beings and the experiences of Benvenuto Cellini will be used as case studies to examine these questions. Students work in their own geographical area for their final project. Open to seniors and graduate students.
Prof. Caroline CASTIGLIONE
Tu 1:30-4:00PM
ITAL2820 - Italian Studies Colloquium - 25648
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: Ronald Martinez
W. 5:30-7:00PM
ITALIAN STUDIES COURSES FALL 2011
ITAL0100 - 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. Five meetings per week, audio and video work, two Italian films. Note: This is a year course.
ITAL0100 - S01 – 10659
M.,W.,F. 1:00-1:50 PM and T.,Th. 1:00-2:20 PM
ITAL0100 S02 – 10660
M.,W.,F. 10:00-10:50 AM and T.,Th. 9:00-10:20 AM
ITAL0100 S03 – 10661
M.,W.,F. 10:00-10:50 AM and T.,Th. 10:30-11:50AM
ITAL0100 S04 – 10662
M.,W.,F. 11:00-11:50 AM and T.,Th. 10:30-11:50AM
ITAL0100 S05 – 10663
M.,W.,F. 11:00- 11:50 AM and T.,Th. 1:00-2:20 PM
ITAL0300 - Intermediate Italian I
Review of the fundamentals of grammar, with emphasis on speaking and writing. Reading of representative short stories. Weekly compositions, presentations, and a paper. Three Italian films. Prerequisite: IT 100-200, or placement by examination. Requirement for enrollment in the Bologna Program.
ITAL0300 S01 – 10664
M.,W. 12:00- 12:50 AM and T.,Th. 12:00-12:50 PM
ITAL0300 S02 – 10665
M.,W. 2:00- 2:50 PM and T.,Th. 1:00-1:50 PM
ITAL0300 S03 - 10666
M.,W. 2:00- 2:50 PM and T.,Th. 12:00-12:50 PM
ITAL0500 - 10667 - Writing and Speaking Italian I
The purpose of this advanced course is to improve speaking and writing skills by offering extensive practice in a variety of styles and forms. Students will discuss various aspects of contemporary Italian culture. Reading, analysis and class discussion of texts (articles, songs, pictures, short stories, movies and television), oral presentations based on research, and a writing portfolio (compositions, essays, blog and a journal). . Three meetings per week plus film screenings. Prerequisites: IT 40o, or placement by examination.
ITAL0500 S01
T.,Th. 2:30- 3:50 PM and W. 2:00-2:50 PM
HIAA 0550 CRN 16866 - Florence and Tuscany in the Fifteenth Century
An examination of the paintings, sculpture, graphic art, and architecture of Tuscany in the 15th century, primarily in Florence but also venturing into Siena, Arezzo, Borgo San Sepolcro. Using Renaissance critical terms and analytical tools, takes into account the technical and commercial habits of craftspeople, the economy of the cities and towns, and the forms and functions of art in domestic, civic, and religious spheres. Weekly one-hour conference required.
HIAA 0550 S01 – Evelyn LINCOLN
T.,Th. 1-2:20PM
ITAL1000B - CRN16979 - Reading Recent Italian Fiction
Readings of contemporary Italian fiction. The course aims to develop students written and oral expression in Italian. A broad range of themes will be discussed. Prerequisite: ITAL 0600, Bologna Program or placement by examination.
ITAL1000G
T.,Th. 2:30-3:50PM
ITAL 1010 – 10668 - Dante in English Translation: Dante’s World and the Invention of Modernity
Primarily for students with no knowledge of Italian. Given in English. Concentrators in Italian should enroll in ITAL 1610; they are expected to read the material in the original. Close study and discussion of Dante's deployment of systems of retribution in the Inferno and rehabilitation in the Purgatorio with a view to imagining a society based on love and resistant to the effects of nascent capitalism and the money economy. Dante's work summarizes and transforms the entire ancient and medieval tradition of literature, philosophy, and science.
ITAL1010 – Ronald Martinez
T.,Th. 2:30-3:50PM
ITAL1030A – 16787 - Modernity, Italian Style
Italian cinema of the 1960s and 1970s, from Neo-realism to the Neo-avant-garde and from Comedy to Political film. We will review the cinematic construction of the Modern, focusing in particular on issues of Space/Representation, Time/Narrative and Gender/Genre in major works by Fellini, Antonioni, Visconti, Pasolini, Bertolucci, Rosi, Pontecorvo, Bellocchio, Germi, Leone, Argento, Petri and Cavani. Lectures in English; discussion group in Italian. Film screenings Tuesday 7-9PM.
ITAL1030A– Prof. Massimo Riva
Tu-Th 1-2:20PM
HIST1430 S01 - 16933– Truth on Trial: Justice in Italy, 1400-1800
Law courts had a profound impact on Italian society and culture between the Renaissance and the Enlightenment. Law courts helped define what constituted deviance, legitimate knowledge, and individual rights. They did so in a long ago world in which it was possible to imagine that some gifted individuals could fly, that certain people were created superior to others, and that the sun revolved around the earth. From the persecution of heretics and witches, to the trial of Galileo and the increasing use of courts by women and other marginalized groups, the Italian legal arena mediated what was political, social, scientific, and religious truth. By the eighteenth century many judicial practices came under criticism, including the use of torture and the death penalty. How did reformers attempt to remake the legal regime and the society in which it was by then so intricately entangled? LILE PHIST1430 s.01 – Caroline Castiglione
M. 3-5:20PM
ITAL1610 - The Divina Commedia: Inferno and Purgatorio
A close reading of the first two canticles of Dante's poem in the light of contemporary European and American critical interpretations. In Italian.
IT0161 S01 - R. L. MARTINEZ
T.,Th. 1:00- 2:20 PM (J Hour)
HIAA2540D – The Theater that was Rome- 17032
"The Theater that was Rome" is a digital research site uniting text and images to portray the development of Rome (1500-1800) in the flood of printed information that proceeded from interest in the physical and mythological city. Our goal is to provide historical and critical interpretation of these illustrated books and prints that created Rome as a theater for the most advanced technological and decorative feats of an international group of artists, architects, engineers, authors, and publishers, looking at their productive collaborations, and using original materials, often in languages other than English, at the Hay Library and on the website. For graduate students; qualified upper-level undergraduates should contact the instructor. Enrollment limited to 15.
W 3-5:20PM
Prof. Evelyn LINCOLN
ITAL 2820A - Italian Studies Colloquium – 14729
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.
Wednesday 5:30-7.00PM
Instructor: Ronald Martinez