Course Descriptions
Department of Italian Literature
Survey of Italian Literature
LA IS ML 300 / 400
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
This course offers students a comprehensive survey of the development of Italian literature from the beginning up to the present day. Readings, lectures and discussions will cover: 1) The fourteenth century writers Dante, Petrarca and Boccaccio; 2) the Renaissance period's Humanist poetry and prose, chivalric poems and the work of Machiavelli; 3) the poetry and prose of the nineteenth century; 4) the theatre of Pirandello; and 5) the contemporary novel.
Prerequisites: None for the 300 level. For the upper level section (400) taught in Italian, students must have completed at least three semesters of Italian language (Intermediate III). Students must take the Italian placement test.
An Introduction to Medieval Italian Literature: Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio
LA IS ML 305 / 405
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
This course has as its focus the important trio of fourteenth century Italian literature: Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca and Giovanni Boccaccio. The following texts will receive the most attention: Dante's Vita Nuova and Divine Comedy, Petrarca's Il Canzoniere and Boccaccio's The Decameron. All three writers will be discussed in relation to the culture and society of their times.
Prerequisites: None for the 305 level. For the upper level section taught in Italian, students must have completed at least 3 semesters of Italian language (Intermediate III). Students must take the Italian placement test.
Contemporary Italian Literature
LA IS CL 310 /410
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
This course covers twentieth century Italian literature: prose, poetry and theatre. As in all countries of the Western world, the twentieth century in Italy was a period of enormous development, upheaval and change. All the literary works examined in this course will be set against the background of the great social, economic, political and cultural movements of the last century. The authors and literary movements discussed will include: Gabriele D'Annunzio and Decadentism, Luigi Pirandello, Futurist poetry, the Crepuscolari, Hermetic poetry (Giuseppe Ungaretti, Eugenio Montale, Salvatore Quasimodo), Italo Svevo, Cesare Pavese and Neorealism, Italo Calvino, Natalia Ginzburg, Dacia Maraini, Antonio Tabucchi, SusannaTamaro.
Prerequisites: None for the 230 level. For the upper level section taught in Italian, students must have completed at least 3 semesters of Italian language (Intermediate III). Students must take the Italian placement test.
“Midway In Our Life's Journey” - Dante and His World
LA IS DW 320
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
While remaining primarily a literary study of the great medieval poet Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), this course will place a strong emphasis on history. This exploration of the Divina Commedia and other works will be set against the often dramatic and personal events of the poet's own life, and set in the context of medieval culture, philosophy and the turbulent politics of fourteenth-century Florence. Dante was described by his son as “theologian, philosopher and poet.” In the Commedia, Dante deals with the universal subjects of good vs. evil, man's responsibility and free will vs. predestination. This course will analyze the impact of the Divine Comedy on Western thought. Some classes will be conducted on-site in Florence's city center.
Prerequisites: none
Nineteenth Century Italian Literature
LA IS NC 325
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
This class will examine the 19th century Italian novel, with a special emphasis on Alessandro Manzoni's I Promessi Sposi (1840). The course will also examine certain 20th century novels like Tomasi di Lampedusa's Il Gattopardo (1958) which were influenced by 19th century novels. The social, cultural and political context of these novels will be emphasized. The focus will be placed on the common themes of gender, class, location.
Prerequisites: none
Literature of the Grand Tour of Italy
LA CL GT 340
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
Since antiquity travel has been one of the most fascinating experiences in the lives of individuals or groups of people and Italy one of the most desired destinations among travellers of different countries. The term ‘Grand Tour’ was used for the first time in 1670 by the British priest Richard Lassels and it specifically refers to the travelling experiences of members of the British nobility in Italy and France during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Especially in the second part of the eighteenth century the Grand Tour became an essential ingredient in a young gentleman’s life and general education. “A man who has not been in Italy is always conscious of an inferiority, from his not having seen what it is expected a man should see”, said the critic Samuel Johnson, expressing a view widely shared by his contemporaries. This course will analyze the literature generated by the 'Grand Tour' experience in Italy during the 18th and the 19th century and its continuation and development in the 20th century. The main focus of the course will be the textual analysis of the essays, letters and diaries written by some of the most famous authors who resided and travelled in Italy. Our selection will include writings by Byron, Shelley, Goethe, Stendhal, Dickens, Mark Twain, Mary McCarthy, Kate Simon, Christopher Woodward.
Prerequisites: None
ITALIAN STUDIES
History of Italian Cinema
LA CT IC 220
3 semester credits (30 lecture hours + 30 film viewing hours)
This course traces the history of Italian Cinema from the 1940's to the present. The evolution of Italian cinema is explored through an overview of the different genres of movies: from neo-realism to commedia all'italiana ; from the spaghetti western to the auteurism of the 60's and 70's, and beyond. Please note that some of the film viewing hours will be outside of the regularly schedule class time.
Prerequisites: None
Introduction to Italian Theatre
LA CT IS 230
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
This course traces the history of Italian theatre from the Renaissance to the 20th century. The students will receive a broad overview of the subject and will be able to relate the evolution of Italian theatre to the rest of the arts, including 19th century Opera.
Prerequisites: none
Italian Society in Film
LA CT IS 220 / 320 in Italian
3 semester credits (30 lecture hours + 30 film viewing hours)
The aim of this course is to explore and understand the evolution of contemporary and modern Italy through the viewing and discussion of Italian films produced since the Second World War. The films chosen strongly reflect the nation and its changing culture and society. Critical, historical and sociological readings augment the analysis and discussion of the films themselves.
Prerequisites: The 320 section of this course can substitute the mandatory Italian language course. It is taught in Italian and students must have completed at least three semesters of Italian as well as taken the Italian Placement Test.
Historical Geography of Italy: Italy through space and time
LA HS GI 230
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
The course has an interdisciplinary approach, as it aims to present and deepen the relation between the different layers of time (History) as they happened within space (Geography), with a particular focus on Central Italy between the Renaissance and the twentieth century.
After an introduction to the physical conformation of Italy and its geographical features, the course will analyze how the most important central Italian historical happenings took place within such spaces, and how the latter were modified by the former. Particular attention will be devoted to the study of specific historical and social episodes that have transformed Italian society since the fifteenth century, and the way these transformations have changed the geography of the Italian peninsula, with a focus on the agricultural changes of Central Italy and Tuscany in particular. The course will show the close link between history and geography in Italy, and how it evolved during recent centuries.
Prerequisites: none, although an overall knowledge of European history is recommended.
Commedia dell’Arte
LA CT CA 240
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
This course introduces students to the history of the Commedia dell'Arte - the vital form of improvisational popular theatre that began in Italy in the fifteenth century - and how this form created the foundation for modern theatre. Students will learn the techniques of Commedia dell'Arte in terms of movement, mask-work and voice, as well as how to approach the roles of the stock characters: Zanni, Arlecchion, Brighella, Pantalone and the Lovers. Students will learn precise comic mechanisms, improvisation styles, ‘lazzi’ (gags) and ‘generici’ (general texts), character improvisation, ‘Canovaccio’ scenes and dealing with modern comedy.
Prerequisites: none
The Italian Style
LA IS IS 250
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
This course explores the extraordinary phenomenon of the renowned excellence and distinctive characteristics of Italian style from the Unification of the Italian Nation to the present day. The course focuses not only on particular products and brands but also on the distinctive Italian character, way of living, attitudes and peculiarities. This historical study of Italian taste will be set within the context of social, artistic, economic, political, technological and scientific issues. Particular emphasis will be given to the Florentine environment. Consideration will be given to all aspects of industry, craftwork and product design from ceramics to textiles, from cuisine to showbiz, from automobiles to furniture, from fashion to household objects
Prerequisites: none
The Second World War in Italy and Its Aftermath
LA HS WI 250
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
This course looks at the Second World War as it was fought in Italy from July 1943 to \May 1945; and its effects on postwar Italy. The battle for Italy was remarkable because it involved not only conventional warfare between the German and Allied armies; but also an overlapping and vicious 'civil war' between fascist and anti-fascist Italians. There is too the question of the Catholic Church's neutrality; the incursion of Tito's Yugoslav partisans and, of course, the deportation to the death camps of much of Italy's Jewish community. The class will include lessons using power point display, visits to the sites of the 'civil war' in Florence and viewings of Italian films - films of exceptional calibre - relating to the war in Italy. Students will also be assessed on one of three Italian novels relating to this period.
Prerequisites: None
Contemporary Italian Cinema in Italian
LA IS CC 300
3 credit hours (30 lecture hours + 30 film viewing hours)
This course has as its focus contemporary Italian cinema from the 1980's up to the present day. The following films receive the most attention: Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso, Moretti's Polombella Rossa, Benigni's La Vita e' Bella. All films will be discussed with reference to political, social and aesthetic issues in contemporary Italy. Please note that some of the film viewing hours will be outside of the regularly schedule class time.
Prerequisites: This course can substitute the mandatory Italian language course. Students must have completed at least two semesters of Italian and must take the Italian Placement Test.
Contemporary Italy - An Anthropological View
LA IS CI 300 / 350
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
This course analyses the traditional cultures of Italy from the post-war period from an anthropological standpoint with reference to: the social organization of communities, family ritual, traditions and folklore, gender issues, land tenure, Mediterranean cultural patterns.
The focus is on what is generally defined as “made in Italy”: society, culture and style in post-war Italy. Lectures will cover topics such as the role of the Catholic Church, the institution of the family, festivals and the definition of the Italian identity, cultural traditions, sport, popular songs and musical cultures. We will examine some key moments and issues in contemporary Italy such as:
The attempt at building a new national identity after the fall of Fascism;
The Cold War and its impact on Italian society;
The North-South divide, the “economic miracle”, the southern and the Mafia issues;
Sport traditions, popular music and fashion;
The Italian Family between tradition and change;
Contemporary developments in the Italian Society.
Prerequisites: Please note that the upper division level of this course is taught in Italian. Students must have completed at least the first three levels of Italian and must take the Italian Placement Test.
Art of the Italian Family Business
LA IS FB 300
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
This course explores the evolution, characteristics and significance of Italian family firms. Family businesses have always been central to the social and economic fabric of Italy; some of the world's oldest family companies are Italian and the city of Florence represents a very important starting point for some of these. The first part of the course will give an overview of the history of family firms from the Roman Empire to the present day and their role in the social, political and economic life of Italy . The second part will consider case studies in different sectors: wine and food, fashion, the automobile industry and the hospitality sector. Field trips to family firms in and around Florence are an integral part of the course. This course analyzes the changes and trends in Italian family businesses over the centuries and how this system with 2,000 years of history behind it faces an age of increasing European unity and integration, mass immigration to Italy and competing with China and India in the age of globalization.
Prerequisites: none
Italian Theatre in the 20th Century
LA CT TT 300
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
This course explores the development of Italian 20th century theatre. The following playwrights will receive the most attention; Chiarelli, D'Annunzio, Pirandello and the theatre of the absurd, Betti, De Filippo and others.
Prerequisites: None
Introduction to Modern Italian Politics
LA PS IP 300
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
Following an introductory survey of Italian politics from the unification of Italy in 1870 through to the Fascist era, this course will focus upon the political institutions established in Italy following the Second World War and on the main protagonists in party politics since that time. The emphasis will be on the forty year dominance of the Christian Democrats and the changes which came about with the institutional revolution of the “clean hands” campaign and leftist rule in the 1990's. The latter gave way, in 2001, to the present day 'Berlusconi era' which will receive particular attention. The following recurrent political issues will be discussed: the problems of integrating the south of Italy into the national economy, state responses to social movements (domestic terrorism in particular), how Italian politics and the Italian economy play a key role in the Mediterranean and European balance of power.
Prerequisites: none
Italian Migration: History and Sociology
LA GE IM 300
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
The course examines the history of Italian settlements in Europe, U.S.A., selected Latin American countries and Australia in the context of Italian migration in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The course is an exploration of the historical migratory patterns of Italians abroad during the last 150 years and consequent issues of identity and integration. Students will investigate these topics from a wide variety of sources, literary, historical and sociological texts as well as media reports and films.
The topic considers: phases, reasons for, and destinations of the Italian exodus; the early settlers in France, Argentina, Brazil and U.S.A.; regional migration; migration patterns; settlement areas; occupations; early British-American attitudes; Italians and fascism; internment and the Second World War; post-war migration; the melting pot and the Italian identity; second, third and fourth generation Italians abroad. A segment of the course is devoted to the history of Italian settlement in the U.S.
Prerequisites: None
Great Italian Opera
LA MU HO 300
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours + mandatory performances)
This course gives a broad overview of Italian operatic history. Tracing its origins back to the late sixteenth century 'Camerata' in Florence (which led to the first music dramas of Claudio Monteverdi), the course explores the history of Italian opera through a chronological selection of representative works from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Emphasis will be placed on: musical, dramaturgical, sociological and historical aspects of opera. Other topics include: the technical issues of opera production, the role of singers and the relationship between the composer and the playwright or librettist. Selected works include: Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Bellini's La Norma, Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermour; Verdi's La Traviata and Puccini's Tosca.
Prerequisites: none
Gender Relations in Italian Society
LA IS IE 320
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
The course examines the development, structure, and maintenance of the Italian family throughout history. Topics covered: Sexuality and the development of relationships; the study of individuals, groups, and families; diversity in modern families; and community regulations/policies addressing issues of family change, crisis, and maintenance. Students will evaluate different styles of interpersonal communication, compare and contrast family/individual behavior patterns associated with human life cycle transitions, and examine various social issues associated with the study of Italian families.
Prerequisites: None
Italian - American Communities - an Anthropological Study
LA AN IA 320
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
This course traces the formation of Italian communities in the United States, beginning with the great migration from Italy to America in the 1880's, and continuing to present day. Particular emphasis will be placed on the social structures of these communities, their assimilation, and their changing cultural values over the span of more than a century. The course will examine both the individual and the social construction of an ethnic identity - the “Italian-American.” The course will use personal biographies, literature, film and popular culture (television fiction).
Prerequisites: none
Writing about Florence
L A CW WF 320
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
Since the nineteenth century (and even before) Florence and Tuscany have provided inspiration for a large number of Anglo-American writers such as the poets Shelley and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, the novelists George Eliot, D.H. Lawrence, E.M. Forster and Thomas Harris and travel writers/memoirists John Ruskin, Mary McCarthy and David Leavitt. This creative writing course will guide students in finding their own response to the city of Florence and their experience in it. The resulting work may be in the form of short story, poetry or non-fiction. All written work will be presented to the class for discussion. Reading assignments of the work of well-known writers on the city of Florence will be discussed in class. Walking tours of the city and its outskirts will form part of the course.
Prerequisites: none
The Italian-American Experience
LA IS IE 325
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
This course explores the cultural anthropology and sociology of the Italian-American family from the beginning of the twentieth century to present day. The course will focus on the following themes: stereotypes, gender, religion, politics, social change, and community character and adaptation. Students will analyze newspapers, magazines, and narrative fiction, as well as documentaries, feature films, and popular television programs. Special attention will be paid to the emotional and cultural experience of the return of the Italian-American to his/her roots in Italy.
Prerequisites: None
Family and the Community
LA IS FC 350
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
This course provides a study of the relationship between child, family, community and educators, including a study of parent involvement in community lifestyles. The main component of the course is a field study of a less affluent community of a suburb of Florence with a growing immigrant population. Students will study family lifestyles and current issues in the community with a focus on education, social and racial integration, recreation and healthcare.
Prerequisite: Students should have completed at least two semesters of Italian (Intermediate II) in order to take this course. Use of Italian is fundamental to completing this course. Students must take the Italian Placement Test.
Education In Italy
LA IS ED 335
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
The first part of this course examines each stage of the Italian educational system from the nursery school (asilo nido) through the various levels and choices of secondary and high school. This examination of Italian schooling will also be approached from an historical standpoint, particularly mapping changes in the last three decades. The following questions will be examined: What is the effect of immigration on schools and how have they adapted to the recent influx of non-European pupils?; What is/has been the role of the Catholic Church in state education and has the increasingly secularized nature of Italian society impacted on schooling?; How has the role of the teacher changed and how does the role compare to those in other countries? How and why has the curriculum changed? The second part of the course will examine the choices for higher education from technical colleges to university. Italy boasts the oldest universities in the world - those of Salerno, Bologna, Padua and Pavia - and some attention will be given to the history of the Italian university and its role in the Renaissance period. The structure, organization, admission procedures, student life and degree system of the modern university will be examined. This course will include a visit to an Italian high school and discussion groups with students from the Università degli Studi di Firenze.
Prerequisites: None
Modern Italy
LA HS MI 355
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
This course traces the history of Italy from 1815 to the present day, seeing Italy transformed from a divided and largely agrarian land into one of the leading nations of Europe and a center for design, food, wine, fashion, film and the visual arts. Themes include: the Risorgimento, the rise of Fascism, Italy's ambivalent roles in the two Worlds Wars, the post-war economic miracle', Red Brigade terrorism, the Mafia, the Vatican, political scandals, the 'Clean Hands' movement, secularization and Italy's role in the European Union. Lectures will be supplemented with films such as: Roma Città Aperta, Il Postino, Cinema Paradiso and La Vita è Bella.
Prerequisites: None
Over 2000 Years of Jewish History in Italy
LA HS JH 360
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
The Jewish community in Italy is the oldest in Europe existing for some 2,200 years. This course will investigate when and why they came, where they settled and why they chose certain areas over others. Topics will include: language, art and architecture, particular religious traditions and chants, their ‘Golden Age’; the ghettos; relations between Jews and their host communities; Tuscany as a unique example with areas of full freedom and others of severe limitation: Livorno (Leghorn) and Florence; their legal status; family life; participation in national politics. The Holocaust will be addressed through the experience of Jewish communities in Italy. The course includes visits to important Jewish sites in Florence and film screenings.
Prerequisites: none
History of the Mafia
LA HS HM 380 / 420
3 semester credits (45 lecture hours)
This course discusses the origins and development of the Mafia in the context of Italian politics, economics and society from the nineteenth century until the present day. Special focus will be given to judicial procedures against the Mafia in the past 30 years, to the nature of Mafia activities and their spread beyond Sicily to the Italian mainland and the relationship of 'Cosa Nostra' to the United States. Lectures and discussions will be heavily supplemented with newspaper/magazine articles, films (documentary and fictional) and contemporary literature.
Prerequisites: Please note that the upper division level of this course 420 is taught in Italian. Students must have completed at least four semesters of Italian or have the instructor’s approval. Students must take the Italian Placement Test. Students will be working form original Italian source materials and all projects and papers are to be completed in Italian.