2024-2025 Academic Year

Fall 2024

FYSM 100 First-Year Seminar
The First-Year Seminar (FYS) introduces students to Dickinson as a "community of inquiry" by developing habits of mind essential to liberal learning. Through the study of a compelling issue or broad topic chosen by their faculty member, students will: - Critically analyze information and ideas - Examine issues from multiple perspectives - Discuss, debate and defend ideas, including one's own views, with clarity and reason - Develop discernment, facility and ethical responsibility in using information, and - Create clear academic writing The small group seminar format of this course promotes discussion and interaction among students and their professor. In addition, the professor serves as students' initial academic advisor. This course does not duplicate in content any other course in the curriculum and may not be used to fulfill any other graduation requirement.

ITAL 101 Elementary Italian
Intensive study of the fundamentals of Italian grammar, with a view to developing reading, writing, speaking, and understanding skills. Laboratory and other audiovisual techniques are used. Cultural elements are stressed as a context for the assimilation of the language.

ITAL 103 Accelerated Italian
Accelerated study of the fundamentals of Italian language with the goal of developing reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. Designed for native or proficient speakers of Spanish, French, or Portuguese, this course covers in one semester what is usually taught in two courses (IT101 and IT102). Due to the intensive nature of this course, students should plan to commit themselves to a fast-paced learning environment. Upon successful completion, students will be prepared to take IT201. There is no lab, but students are expected to attend the weekly Italian Table. We recommend that students already have at least two semesters of college study in a Romance Language (other than Italian) or 3 years of high school study in a Romance Language (other than Italian); or be a native or a heritage speaker of a Romance Language (other than Italian). Non-native speakers will be assessed through a placement test or a conversation with the instructor.

ITAL 341 The Discourse of Love
What is Love? Through a diverse selection of works from authors such as St. Francis, Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Lorenzo de' Medici, Pietro Aretino, Gaspara Stampa, and Veronica Franco, students will examine the nature of love from a variety of perspectives. From the spirituality of religion to the physicality of desire and attraction, this course will confront topics such as the medieval and Renaissance ideas of love (courtly love, the Dolce Stil Novo, and love sickness), theological notions of love (charity), different expressions of love (heterosexuality, same-sex attraction and polyamory), and transgressive types of love (lust, adultery, and prostitution). This course is taught in Italian. Prerequisites: 231 and 232, or permission of the instructor. Offered every year.