Courses
This page displays the schedule of Bryn Mawr courses in this department for this academic year. It also displays descriptions of courses offered by the department during the last four academic years.
For information about courses offered by other Bryn Mawr departments and programs or about courses offered by Haverford and Swarthmore Colleges, please consult the Course Guides page.
For information about the Academic Calendar, including the dates of first and second quarter courses, please visit the College's master calendar.
Spring 2013
| COURSE | TITLE | SCHEDULE/ UNITS |
MEETING TYPE TIMES/DAYS | LOCATION | INSTRUCTOR(S) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITAL B002-001 | Elementary Italian II | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 10:00 AM-11:00 AM MWF | Thomas Hall 116 | Perco,G. |
| Lecture: 9:45 AM-10:45 AM TTH | Thomas Hall 116 | ||||
| ITAL B002-002 | Elementary Italian II | Semester / 1 | LEC: 9:00 AM-10:00 AM MWF | Thomas Hall 116 | Perco,G. |
| LEC: 8:45 AM- 9:45 AM TTH | Thomas Hall 116 | ||||
| ITAL B102-001 | Intermediate Italian | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 11:15 AM-12:45 PM TTH | Thomas Hall 116 | Perco,G. |
| ITAL B207-001 | Dante in Translation | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 11:15 AM-12:45 PM TTH | Thomas Hall 223 | McAuliffe,D. |
| ITAL B225-001 | Italian Cinema and Literary Adaptation | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 2:30 PM- 4:00 PM MW | Carpenter Library 25 | Ricci,R. |
| LEC: 6:00 PM- 8:00 PM SU | Carpenter Library 25 | ||||
| ITAL B304-001 | Il Rinascimento in Italia e oltre | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 12:00 PM- 2:00 PM F | Carpenter Library 15 | Ricci,R. |
| ITAL B399-001 | Senior Conference | Semester / 1 | |||
Fall 2013
| COURSE | TITLE | SCHEDULE/ UNITS |
MEETING TYPE TIMES/DAYS | LOCATION | INSTRUCTOR(S) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITAL B001-001 | Elementary Italian | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 9:00 AM-10:00 AM MWF | Thomas Hall 116 | Interim,R. |
| Lecture: 8:45 AM- 9:45 AM TTH | Thomas Hall 116 | ||||
| ITAL B001-002 | Elementary Italian | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 10:00 AM-11:00 AM MWF | Thomas Hall 116 | Interim,R. |
| Lecture: 9:45 AM-10:45 AM TTH | |||||
| ITAL B101-001 | Intermediate Italian | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 9:45 AM-11:15 AM TTH | Thomas Hall 102 | Ricci,R. |
| ITAL B211-001 | Primo Levi, the Holocaust, and Its Aftermath | Semester / 1 | LEC: 2:15 PM- 3:45 PM TTH | Taylor Hall D | Patruno,N. |
| ITAL B213-001 | Theory in Practice:Critical Discourses in the Humanities: Rhetoric and Interpretation after Post-Modernism: | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 1:00 PM- 2:30 PM MW | Interim,R. | |
| ITAL B255-001 | Uomini d'onore in Sicilia: Italian Mafia: The Italian Mafia in Cinema and Literature | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 12:45 PM- 2:15 PM TTH | Carpenter Library 17 | Ricci,R. |
| ITAL B330-001 | Architecture and Identity in Italy: Renaissance to the Present | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 2:30 PM- 4:00 PM MW | Taylor Hall E | Harper,A. |
| ITAL B398-001 | Senior Seminar | Semester / 1 | Other: Date/Time TBA | Dept. staff, TBA | |
Spring 2014
| COURSE | TITLE | SCHEDULE/ UNITS |
MEETING TYPE TIMES/DAYS | LOCATION | INSTRUCTOR(S) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITAL B002-001 | Elementary Italian II | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 9:00 AM-10:00 AM MWF | Thomas Hall 116 | Interim,R. |
| Lecture: 8:45 AM- 9:45 AM TTH | Thomas Hall 116 | ||||
| ITAL B002-002 | Elementary Italian II | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 10:00 AM-11:00 AM MWF | Thomas Hall 116 | Interim,R. |
| Lecture: 9:45 AM-10:45 AM TTH | Thomas Hall 116 | ||||
| ITAL B102-001 | Intermediate Italian | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 9:45 AM-11:15 AM TTH | Thomas Hall 118 | Ricci,R. |
| ITAL B212-001 | Italy Today: New Voices, New Writers, New Literature | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 2:15 PM- 3:45 PM TTH | Thomas Hall 129 | Interim,R. |
| ITAL B215-001 | The City of Naples | Semester / 1 | Lecture: 2:30 PM- 4:00 PM MW | Carpenter Library 17 | Harper,A. |
| ITAL B320-001 | Nationalism and Freedom: The Italian Risorgimento in Foscolo, Manzoni, Leopardi | Semester / 1 | LEC: 12:00 PM- 2:00 PM T | Carpenter Library 15 | Ricci,R. |
| ITAL B399-001 | Senior Conference | Semester / 1 | Other: Date/Time TBA | Dept. staff, TBA | |
2013-14 Catalog Data
ITAL B001 Elementary Italian Fall 2013 The course is for students with no previous knowledge of Italian. It aims at giving the students a complete foundation in the Italian language, with particular attention to oral and written communication. The course will be conducted in Italian and will involve the study of all the basic structures of the language--phonological, grammatical, syntactical--with practice in conversation, reading, composition. Readings are chosen from a wide range of texts, while use of the language is encouraged through role-play, debates, songs, and creative composition. Language Level 1 ITAL B002 Elementary Italian II Spring 2014 This course is the continuation of ITAL B001 and is intended for students who have started studying Italian the semester before. It aims at giving the students a complete foundation in the Italian language, with particular attention to oral and written communication. The course will be conducted in Italian and will involve the study of all the basic structures of the language--phonological, grammatical, syntactical--with practice in conversation, reading, composition. Readings are chosen from a wide range of texts, while use of the language is encouraged through role-play, debates, songs, and creative composition. Prerequisite: ITAL B001 or placement. Language Level 1 ITAL B101 Intermediate Italian Fall 2013 This course provides students with a broader basis for learning to communicate effectively and accurately in Italian. While the principal aspect of the course is to further develop language abilities, the course also imparts a foundation for the understanding of modern and contemporary Italy. Students will gain an appreciation for Italian culture and be able to communicate orally and in writing in a wide variety of topics. We will read newspaper and magazine articles to analyze aspects on modern and contemporary Italy. We will also view and discuss Italian films and discuss internet materials. Language Level 2 ITAL B102 Intermediate Italian Spring 2014 This course provides students with a broader basis for learning to communicate effectively and accurately in Italian. While the principal aspect of the course is to further develop language abilities, the course also imparts a foundation for the understanding of modern and contemporary Italy. Students will gain an appreciation for Italian culture and be able to communicate orally and in writing in a wide variety of topics. We will read a novel to analyze aspects on modern and contemporary Italy. We will also view and discuss Italian films and discuss internet materials. Language Level 2 ITAL B200 Pathways to Proficiency Not offered 2013-14 This course is intended for students who have already completed the elementary-intermediate sequence and who are interested in pursuing the study of Italian. The aim of the course is to improve students' proficiency in the Italian language, so that they will be able to take more advanced courses in Italian literature and cultural studies. The focus of this course is to expose students to crucial issues that have influenced Italian culture and society, concurring to develop distinctive ways of thinking, cultural artifacts (literary works, music, works of art, and so on), and that are at the core of contemporary Italian society. Prerequisite: ITAL102 or placement. Division III: Humanities ITAL B201 Focus: Italian Culture and Society ISection 001 (Fall 2012): Music and Language
Section 002 (Fall 2012): Icons or Stereotypes? Food, Design, Fashion Not offered 2013-14 Language and Cultural Studies course with a strong cultural component. It focuses on the wide variety of problems that a post-industrial and mostly urban society like Italy must face today. Language structure and patterns will be reinforced through the study of music, short films, current issues, and even stereotypes. Prerequisite: ITAL 102, or equivalent. Division III: Humanities Critical Interpretation (CI) ITAL B207 Dante in Translation Not offered 2013-14 A reading of the Vita Nuova (Poems of Youth) and The Divine Comedy: Hell, Purgatory and Paradise in order to discover the subtle nuances of meaning in the text and to introduce students to Dante's tripartite vision of the afterlife. Dante's masterpiece lends itself to study from various perspectives: theological, philosophical, political, allegorical, historical, cultural, and literary. Personal journey, civic responsibilities, love, genre, governmental accountability, church-state relations, the tenuous balance between freedom of expression and censorship--these are some of the themes that will frame the discussions. Course taught in English; One additional hour for students who want Italian credit. Division III: Humanities Inquiry into the Past (IP) ITAL B208 Petrarca and Boccaccio in Translation Not offered 2013-14 The course will focus on a close analysis of Petrarch's Canzoniere and Boccaccio's Decameron, with attention given also to their minor works and the historical/literary context connected with these texts. Attention will also be given to Florentine literature, art, thought, and history from the death of Dante to the age of Lorenzo de' Medici. Texts and topics available for study include the Trecento vernacular works of Petrarch and Boccaccio; and Florentine humanism from Salutati to Alberti. Course taught In English; ITAL B303 is the same course taught in Italian. Division III: Humanities Critical Interpretation (CI) ITAL B211 Primo Levi, the Holocaust, and Its Aftermath Fall 2013 A consideration, through analysis and appreciation of his major works, of how the horrific experience of the Holocaust awakened in Primo Levi a growing awareness of his Jewish heritage and led him to become one of the dominant voices of that tragic historical event, as well as one of the most original new literary figures of post-World War II Italy. Always in relation to Levi and his works, attention will also be given to other Italian women writers whose works are also connected with the Holocaust. Division III: Humanities Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Cross-listed as HEBR B211 Cross-listed as COML B211 ITAL B212 Italy Today: New Voices, New Writers, New Literature Spring 2014 This course, taught in English, will focus primarily on the works of the so-called "migrant writers" who, having adopted the Italian language, have become a significant part of the new voice of Italy. In addition to the aesthetic appreciation of these works, this course will also take into consideration the social, cultural, and political factors surrounding them. The course will focus on works by writers who are now integral to Italian canon - among them: Cristina Ali-Farah, Igiaba Scego, Ghermandi Gabriella, Amara Lakhous. As part of the course, movies concerned with various aspects of Italian Migrant literature will be screened and analyzed. Division III: Humanities Counts toward Gender and Sexuality Studies Counts toward Film Studies ITAL B213 Theory in Practice:Critical Discourses in the Humanities
Section 001 (Fall 2013): Rhetoric and Interpretation after Post-Modernism: Fall 2013 An examination in English of leading theories of interpretation from Classical Tradition to Modern and Post-Modern Time. This is a topics course. Course content varies. Division III: Humanities Critical Interpretation (CI) Cross-listed as RUSS B253 Cross-listed as PHIL B253 ITAL B215 The City of Naples Spring 2014 The city of Naples emerged during the Later Middle Ages as the capital of a Kingdom and one of the most influential cities in the Mediterranean region. What led to the city's rise, and what effect did the city as a cultural, political, and economic force have on the rest of the region and beyond? This course will familiarize students with the art, architecture, culture, and institutions that made the city one of the most influential in Europe and the Mediterranean region during the Late Middle Ages. Topics include court painters in service to the crown, female monastic spaces and patronage, and the revival of dynastic tomb sculpture. Division III: Humanities Cross-listed as HART B216 Cross-listed as CITY B216 ITAL B222 Focus: Reading Italian Literature in Italian I Not offered 2013-14 The course will read major examples of the short story and novella through several centuries of Italian fiction, including texts written by women writers and immigrant writers. We will read novelle and short stories by Fogazzaro, D'Annunzio, Primo and Carlo Levi, Pasolini, Dacia Maraini, Antonio Tabucchi. This is a half semester Focus course. Division III: Humanities Critical Interpretation (CI) ITAL B223 Focus: Reading Italian Literature in Italian II Not offered 2013-14 The course consists of a close reading in Italian of representative theatrical texts from the contemporary stage to the origins of Italian theater in the 16th century, including pieces by Dario Fo, Luigi Pirandello, Carlo Goldoni, the Commedia dell'arte and Niccolò Machiavelli. Attention will be paid to the development of language skills through reading out loud, performance, and discussion of both form and content, enhanced by the use of recordings and videos. Attention will also be paid to the development of critical and analytical writing skills through the writing of short reviews and the research and writing of a term paper. This is a half semester Focus course. Division III: Humanities Critical Interpretation (CI) ITAL B225 Italian Cinema and Literary Adaptation Not offered 2013-14 The course will discuss how cinema conditions literary imagination and how literature leaves its imprint on cinema. We will "read" films as "literary images" and "see" novels as "visual stories." The reading of Italian literary sources will be followed by evaluation of the corresponding films by well-known directors, including female directors. We will study, through close textual analysis, such issues as Fascism, nationhood, gender, sexuality, politics, regionalism, death, and family in the Italian context. Cross-Cultural Analysis (CC) Counts toward Film Studies ITAL B235 The Italian Women's Movement Not offered 2013-14 Emphasis will be put on Italian women writers and film directors, who are often left out of syllabi adhering to traditional canons. Particular attention will be paid to: a) women writers who have found their voices (through writing) as a means of psychological survival in a patriarchal world; b) women engaged in the women's movement of the 70's and who continue to look at, and rewrite, women's stories of empowerment and solidarity; c) "divaism", fame, via beauty and sex with a particular emphasis on the '60s (i.e. Gina Lollobrigida, Sofia Loren, Claudia Cardinale). Counts toward the Gender and Sexuality Studies Concentration. Division III: Humanities Counts toward Gender and Sexuality Studies ITAL B255 Uomini d'onore in Sicilia: Italian Mafia
Section 001 (Fall 2013): The Italian Mafia in Cinema and Literature Fall 2013 This course aims to explore representations of Mafia figures in Italian literature and cinema, with reference also to Italian-American films, starting from the 'classical' example of Sicily. The course will introduce students to both Italian Studies from an interdisciplinary prospective and also to narrative fiction, using Italian literature written by 19th, 20th, and 21st Italian Sicilian authors. Course is taught in Italian. Prerequisite: ITAL B102 or permission of the instructor. Division III: Humanities Course does not meet an Approach Counts toward Film Studies ITAL B299 Grief, Sexuality, Identity: Emerging Adulthood Not offered 2013-14 Adolescence is an important time of personality development as a result of changes in the self-concept and the formation of a new moral system of values. Emphasis will be placed on issues confronting the role of the family and peer relationships, prostitution, drugs, youth criminality/gangsters/violence, cultural diversity, pregnancy, gender identity, mental/moral/religious development, emotional growth, alcoholism, homosexuality, sexual behavior. Prerequisite: ITAL B102. Division III: Humanities Counts toward Gender and Sexuality Studies Counts toward Film Studies ITAL B301 Dante Not offered 2013-14 A reading of the Vita Nuova (Poems of Youth) and The Divine Comedy: Hell, Purgatory and Paradise in order to discover the subtle nuances of meaning in the text and to introduce students to Dante's tripartite vision of the afterlife. Dante's masterpiece lends itself to study from various perspectives: theological, philosophical, political, allegorical, historical, cultural, and literary. Personal journey, civic responsibilities, love, genre, governmental accountability, church-state relations, the tenuous balance between freedom of expression and censorship--these are some of the themes that will frame the discussions. Prerequisite: At least two literature courses (one at the 300 level) Division III: Humanities ITAL B303 Petrarca and Boccaccio Not offered 2013-14 The focus of the course is on The Decameron, one of the most entertaining, beloved and imitated prose works ever written. Like Dante's divine comedy, this human comedy was written not only to delight, but also to instruct by exploring both our spiritual and our natural environment. The Decameron will be read in Italian. Attention will also be paid to Petrarca's Canzoniere, of which a small selection will be read in Italian. Topics will include how each author represented women in the context of 14th-century Italy. Prerequisite: At least one 200-level course. Taught in Italian. Division III: Humanities ITAL B304 Il Rinascimento in Italia e oltre Not offered 2013-14 Students will become familiar with the growing importance of women during the Renaissance, as women expanded their sphere of activity in literature (as authors of epics, lyrics, treatises, and letters), in court (especially in Ferrara), and in society, where for the first time women formed groups and their own discourse. What happens when women become the subject of study? What is learned about women and the nation? What is learned about gender and how disciplinary knowledge itself is changed through the centuries? Prerequisite: At least one 200-level course. Taught in Italian. Division III: Humanities Counts toward Gender and Sexuality Studies ITAL B307 Best of Italian Literature Not offered 2013-14 This course focuses on the key role played by Italian culture in the development of the European civilization and Western literature. Many texts found their way to France, Spain, England where they were read, translated, disseminated. This process of assimilation influenced life, language, politics, and literature. The unique role played by Italian Renaissance on European civilization shines through contemporary best-sellers, The Da Vinci Code. Prerequisite: a 200-level course in Italian Division III: Humanities ITAL B310 Italian Popular Fiction Not offered 2013-14 In English. This course explores the Italian "giallo" (detective fiction), today one of the most successful literary genres among Italian readers and authors alike. Through a comparative perspective, the course will analyze not only the inter-relationship between this popular genre and "high literature," but also the role of detective fiction as a mirror of social anxieties. Italian majors taking this course for Italian credit will be required to meet for an additional hour with the instructor and to do the readings and writing in Italian. Prerequisites: One literature course at the 200 level. Division III: Humanities Cross-listed as COML B310 ITAL B320 Nationalism and Freedom: The Italian Risorgimento in Foscolo, Manzoni, Leopardi Spring 2014 This course deals with 19th century Italian poetry and literary movement for Italian unification inspired by the realities of the new economic and political forces at work after 1815. As a manifestation of the nationalism sweeping over Europe during the nineteenth century, the Risorgimento aimed to unite Italy under one flag and one government. For many Italians, however, Risorgimento meant more than political unity. It described a movement for the renewal of Italian society and people beyond purely political aims. Among Italian patriots the common denominator was a desire for freedom from foreign control, liberalism, and constitutionalism. The course will discuss issues such as Enlightenment, Romanticism, Nationalism, and the complex relationship between history and literature in Foscolo, Manzoni, and Leopardi. This course is taught in Italian. Division III: Humanities ITAL B322 Focus: Reading Italian Literature in Italian III Not offered 2013-14 The focus of the course is on The Decameron, one of the most entertaining, beloved and imitated prose works ever written. Like Dante's divine comedy, this human comedy was written not only to delight, but also to instruct by exploring both our spiritual and our natural environment. Prerequisite: two years of Italian and at least a 200-level course. Taught in Italian. Division III: Humanities Inquiry into the Past (IP) ITAL B323 Focus: Reading Italian Literature in Italian IV Not offered 2013-14 Attention to Petrarca's Canzoniere, of which a small selection will be read in Italian. Topics will include how the author represented women in the context of 14th-century Italy. Prerequisite: two years of Italian and at least a 200-level course. Division III: Humanities ITAL B330 Architecture and Identity in Italy: Renaissance to the Present Fall 2013 How is architecture used to shape our understanding of past and current identities? This course looks at the ways in which architecture has been understood to represent, and used to shape regional, national, ethnic, and gender identities in Italy from the Renaissance to the present. The class focuses on Italy's classical traditions, and looks at the ways in which architects and theorists have accepted or rejected the peninsula's classical roots. Subjects studied include Baroque Architecture, the Risorgimento, Futurism, Fascism, and colonialism. Course readings include Vitruvius, Leon Battista Alberti, Giorgio Vasari, Jacob Burckhardt, and Alois Riegl, among others. Cross-listed as HART B330 Cross-listed as CITY B330 ITAL B380 Modernity and Psychoanalysis: Crossing National Boundaries in 20th c. Italy and Europe Not offered 2013-14 Designed as an in-depth interdisciplinary exploration of Italy's intellectual life, the course is organized around major literary and cultural trends in 20th century Europe, including philosophical ideas and cinema. We investigate Italian fiction in the global and international perspective, from modernity to Freud and Psychoanalysis, going beyond national boundaries and proposing ethical models across historical times. Prerequisites: One 200-Level course in Italian ITAL B398 Senior Seminar This course is open only to senior Italian and Romance Languages majors. Under the direction of the instructor, each student prepares a senior thesis on an author or a theme that the student has chosen. By the end of the fall semester, students must have completed twenty pages in draft. See Thesis description. ITAL B399 Senior Conference This course is open only to senior Italian and Romance Languages majors. Under the direction of the instructor, each student prepares a senior thesis on an author or a theme that the student has chosen. In April there will be an oral defense with members and majors of the Italian Department. See Thesis description. ITAL B403 Supervised Work Offered with approval of the Department.