Italian Studies

Major

10 courses

1. Language in Context (5):
a. ITAL 231: Reading and Writing Contemporary Italian Culture
b. ITAL 232: Reading and Performing Italian Texts or 270: Italian Language in Context (offered in Bologna, fall semester)
c. ITAL 301: The Discourse of Love
d. ITAL 305: Ideas of Italy or ITAL 306: Real and Imaginary Journeys
e. ITAL 400: Senior Seminar

2. Core Requirements (3):
a. Culture (1 course).
A topics course on Italian cultural productions, practices and contexts: ITAL 321: Topics in Medieval and Early Modern Studies or 322: Dante's Divine Comedy; or ITAL 323: Topics in Modern and Contemporary Italian Studies or ITAL 324: Italian Cinema.

b. History (1 course).
A course with a strong emphasis on Italian history such as: ITAL 321: Topics in Medieval and Early Modern Studies or ITAL 323: Topics in Modern and Contemporary Italian Studies (with approval of program coordinator when topic is pertinent, for example: "Filming the Making and Unmaking of Italy" or "Terrorism in Italian Film"); HIST 232: Modern Italy; HIST 223: Renaissance Europe; HIST 375 Europe's Dictators.

c. Visual Arts and Representations (1 course).
A course with a strong emphasis on Italian visual arts and representations such as: ITAL 323: Topics in Modern and Contemporary Italian Studies (with approval of program coordinator when topic is pertinent, for example: "Representations of the Holocaust in Italian Cinema" or "Representations of Women in Italian Film and Media"); ITAL 324: Italian Cinema; ARTH 205: Reading Bologna (offered only in Bologna); or ARTH 300: Italian Renaissance Art 1250-1450 or ARTH 301: Italian Renaissance Art 1450-1563; ARTH 205: Michelangelo Man & Myth. Other courses with a strong visual component, such as architecture, sculpture, photography, television, and performance, may be eligible only when the topic is pertinent to Italian culture and must be approved by the program coordinator. Courses (such as ARTH 304: Southern Baroque) that analyze Italian visual arts and representations in a comparative context may be suitable as well, provided that students write their final papers on Italian culture and society. NOTE: ARTH 300, 301 and 304 prerequisite for Italian Studies major is ARTH 101 or 102 or permission of instructor.

3. Area of Emphasis. (2 courses in one elective emphasis)
Two courses to be taken in one area of emphasis: (a) Humanities, (b) History, (c) European and Mediterranean Studies, or (d) Film and Media Studies. These courses are to be chosen in consultation with the advisor in Italian Studies. Other approved courses may be substituted for any course in an area of emphasis only when the contents of the course are suitable and if approved by the program coordinator.

a. Humanities.
ITAL 321: Topics in Medieval and Early Modern Studies; ITAL 322: Dante's Divine Comedy; CLST 224: Roman Archaeology; MUAC 351: Seminar in Medieval and Renaissance Music (such as "The Madrigal and Poetics in Renaissance Italy").

b. History.
ITAL 323: Topics in Modern and Contemporary Italian Studies (such as "The Making and Unmaking of Italy"); CLST 253: Roman History; HIST 105: Medieval Europe; HIST 223: Renaissance Europe; HIST 232: Modern Italy.

c. European and Mediterranean Studies.
ITAL 323: Topics in Modern and Contemporary Italian Studies (such as "The Making and Unmaking of Italy" or "Italian Cookery: Practices, Culture, Identity" or "Italian Colonialism"); HIST 232: Modern Italy; HIST 358: 19-20th Century European Diplomacy; INTD 390: Intercultural Seminar (offered only in Bologna); POSC 250: Comparative West European Systems; POSC 275, 276 Studies in Modern European Politics (offered only in Bologna); POSC 276: Italian Politics (offered only in Bologna); POSC 290/ECON 214: European Economic Integration (offered only in Bologna).

d. Film and Media Studies
ITAL 324: Italian Cinema (such as "The History of Italian Cinema" or "The Cinema of Federico Fellini"); ITAL 323: Topics in Modern and Contemporary Italian Studies (such as "Terrorism in Italian Film" or "The Holocaust in Italian Cinema" or "The Representation of Women in Italian Media").

Opportunities for Off-Campus Study

Junior Year
The curriculum for Italian Studies students is comprised of three elements, as follows:
1) K. Robert Nilsson Center courses which serve well the interdisciplinary character of the Italian Studies major. Students are encouraged to conduct research and to write their papers for these courses in Italian.
2) Independent Studies, in Italian, involving specialized projects using resources available only in Italian. Directed by on-site Italian faculty from the K. Robert Nilsson Center, the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, or the University of Bologna, one-credit independent studies will be grouped in small seminars.
3) Courses at the University of Bologna chosen from a wide variety of university courses appropriate to the major. The Coordinator of Italian Studies should be contacted for information.

Summer Immersion Program
The Department will periodically offer to students an immersion program in Italy during the summer. This program is of special interest to those who cannot go abroad during the academic year.