Courses Offered in Italy

2qh credits

This course is taught in close connection with the other Advanced Italian courses and includes the analysis of literary texts. From here students move forward to the composition of their own written pieces.

2qh credits

Students work through advanced compositional techniques. At this point the student is ready for more ambitious writing tasks.

2, 2, 2qh credits

This class centers around discussion and reflection on various themes dealing with Italian culture and literature, syntactic and morphological issues, and idiomatic expressions. Audiovisual aids are used.

3, 3, 3qh credits

In the advanced level, the contents of the course result from a careful analysis of a more complete grammatical structure. The study of the language is finalized in this course to supply the student with instruments with each to express articulately, with an in-depth study of the fundamental notions, the distinction between the written and the spoken language, formal and informal style and a brief panorama of the more common vocabulary used (journalistic, bureaucratic, etc.) The course also provides the student with an analysis of the use of hypothetic, interrogative, and indirect propositions, and the study of the passive tenses of verbs.

3qh credits

A review of Italian grammar, including advanced study of syntax and morphology.

2qh credits

Students will obtain an understanding of contemporary artistic, social, and existential issues in the Italy of today. Themes include the role of women and children in Italian society, family related issues, and the contemporary work environment, music, and art, etc.

2qh credits

The study of Italian contemporary literature, with a consideration of the evolution of the Italian language. Literary analysis and criticism will be explored through a variety of Italian texts.

2, 2, 2qh credits

Training in basic sculpture, modeling (how to prepare ceramics, create a blend, make and finish a sculpture, and use of a ceramics wheel), firing, and using various techniques across the ages.

2, 2qh credits

A close complement to the Beginning Grammar course, Beginning Composition consists of an applicative program of grammatical structure and syntax. The objective of the course is to strengthen the student in the field of technical writing using both free writing and spelling exercises.

3, 3, 3qh credits

This course provides the student with the ability to speak basic Italian. Naturally, the conversations are conducted in the present and they include, gradually, what the student learns in the grammar course. According to the motivation of the student, he or she is able to form questions and think through communicative activities, both real and imaginary, or listen to lectures which are especially simple and rich with the language more frequently used in formal situations and in writing. On occasion, audiovisual material is used.

5, 5, 5qh credits

The didactic method provides an integrated structure based on the language that is, in fact, the vehicle by which one identifies with everyday situations. The program includes fundamental notions of phonetics, grammar, and general culture. The order is prevalently oriented so that the student can learn through direct and concrete experience, which offers the student a ready-to-use map of the language. The contents of this elementary grammar course are taught in consecutive order of the principal verb forms (present, past, imperative), the use of adjectives (possessive, degrees, comparative, and superlative) and pronouns. Other elementary styles (such as indirect speech) are also introduced.

2, 2, 2qh credits | offered Summer

An intensive introduction to the fundamentals of the Italian language. Focus includes grammar, spelling, composition, dictation, conversation, reading, pronunciation, culture, and civilization. Does not apply toward an Italian major or minor. No credit for students with previous college-level Beginning Italian credit.

1, 1, 1qh credits

Membership in the Institute choir is open to all students.

1, 1qh credits

Events, figures from politics, sports, and media seen through a historical perspective. During this course we will look at the most representative newspapers in order to see what is happening in our globalized world. We will place various current events within a bigger picture in an attempt to capture a better understanding of history. This broad approach will always be fresh and interpretive.

1-2qh credits

Students who desire may, with authorization from the department chair, undertake a personal study project supervised by an appropriate professor on the basis of a study contract. Offered any term.

1-2qh credits

Students who desire may, with authorization from the department chair, undertake a personal study project supervised by an appropriate professor on the basis of a study contract. Offered any term.

2, 2, 2qh credits

This course covers the basics of fashion illustration, draping, sewing, and simple pattern making. Students will learn how to draw and color the fashion figure and the various articles of clothing from models and fashion photos, how to drape muslins on a model form and develop basic bodices, skirts, sleeves, etc., how to make paper patterns, the steps to designing a collection and finally to have the opportunity to produce a garment of their choice. Minimum of five students is required.

1, 1, 1qh credits

Classes may vary upon demand of the students.

1qh credits

An overview of the physical as well as political geography of the country. Special attention is given to the main regions and their unique features.

2qh credits

An introduction to the relations between religious and political authorities and laws in Europe, from the Roman Empire to the 20th century, concluding with the analysis of the present situation.

2, 2qh credits

This course is structured around Italian art and the history behind it from the Etruscan period through Classical Greek and Hellenistic Greek art. Lessons are supported by power-point presentations, slides, videos, and photos.

2qh credits

This course gives an overview of the development of Italian music from the Medieval Era to the musical productions of the 1800’s and 1900’s. It also covers an anthropology of Italian Pop Music and the works of contemporary artists. The students will be able to appreciate the instruments which were invented in Italy, such as the mandolin and violin.

2, 2qh credits

Soon after the Second World War ended, the world became familiar with the Italian cinema. During the following years of economic boom various expressions of the Italian comedy were born. The results although sometimes strange and unrefined, were groundbreaking expressions of comedy and satire. Our course will go through a selection of typical Italian cinema accompanied by comments and explanations together with film projections. From touching and rough Neorealist stories to contemporary satirical ones, including the revolutionary interpretation of Italian western movies.

2, 2, 2qh credits | offered Summer

An intensive review of the fundamentals of the Italian language. Focus includes grammar, spelling, composition, dictation, conversation, reading, pronunciation, culture, and civilization. Does not apply to an Italian major or minor. Not open to students in ITLN101, 102, 103.

2, 2, 2qh credits | offered Summer

An accelerated review of concepts of the Italian language including grammar, spelling, composition, dictation, conversation, reading, pronunciation, culture, and civilization. Prerequisites: ITLN103 or ITLN193 and a sufficiently high score on the placement examination.

2 credits

A close complement of the Intermediate Grammar course, Intermediate Composition is composed of an applicative program of grammatical structure and syntax. The objective of the course is to strengthen the student in the field of technical writing using both narrative and descriptive styles. Particular attention is given to free writing and spelling exercises.

2, 2, 2qh credits

Through a more structured interaction with the grammar course and thanks to a greater familiarity with the fundamentals of Italian, several things are accomplished in this course. The student is able to take on a more prevalent and active role in conversations, to understand Italian books which correspond with audio and visual cassettes and to project simple individualization in themes discussed in conversations. The student experiences a constant revision of the learning structures of vocabulary by reviewing in class and by solving the homework exercises.

5, 5, 5qh credits

It is the intent of this course to maintain the interactive structure characteristic to the didactic plan of the grammar and conversation programs. The grammar and style contents of the intermediate course, nevertheless, are offered in a greater concentration so that the student is able to analyze the non-intuitive forms of the language. The course includes phonics and spelling, fundamental grammar structures, cultural studies, and relatively articulated literature. The object of the course is to provide the student with linguistic instruments adequate for complete self-expression.

2, 2, 2qh credits | offered Summer

An accelerated course in Italian at the intermediate level. Focus includes grammar, spelling, composition, dictation, conversation, reading, pronunciation, culture, and civilization. Prerequisites: ITLN103 and a sufficiently high score on the placement examination.

2qh credits

An introduction and overview of the development through history, from the Magna Carta to the Treaty of Lisbon, of human rights charters, treaties, courts, and institutions in the European area (ONU, CEDU, EU, CSCE-OSCE), and especially their provisions on religious freedom.

1–3qh credits

One (1) credit repeatable for a total of three (3) credits for the whole academic year. Seventy-five (75) hours per credit per quarter (7.5 hours per week) required. Internship credit must be included in the maximum total of 18 quarter hours.

3qh credits | offered Summer

An intensive outline of the history of Italian art. The student will learn to recognize the basic peculiarities of the most important artistic periods of Italian history. The course will be composed of theoretical part consisting of classroom lectures, preparation for visits to the most beautiful cities in Italy with explanations of major masterpieces an monuments. The second part of the course is constituted by guided tours in which the students will see firsthand the masterpieces and monuments discussed in the classroom, as well as studies in Mediterranean folklore, ceramics, fashion design or Mediterranean cooking. The aim of this course is to offer students a general knowledge of Italian art and culture. Taken concurrently with ITLN101, 102, 103 and TILN191, 192, 193.

2qh credits

The course is focused on Italian Renaissance and Baroque. With regard to Renaissance, Florence plays a role of primary importance: the city is the cradle for the flowering of new ideas at the base of the humanities. Various forms of artistic expression, and the leading figures of this period are Brunelleschi, Donatello, Masaccio, Leonardo, Raffaello, Michelangelo. The course briefly analyzes other relevant artistic circles, Rome and Venice, equally important for artists of international significance, such as Titian. The Florentine Mannerism (Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino, Vasari), is the period of transition that will see the overcoming of Renaissance classicism and the introduction of a new theatrical sensibility in works of art: the Baroque. Rome and Naples experience a new way of making and thinking art: Bernini, Caravaggio, Pietro da Cortona, Luca Giordano, Rubens, and Rembrandt are the main artists of this period, and they leave their mark in Florence. Lessons are supported by power-point presentations, slides, and photos.

3qh credits | offered Summer

An intensive outline of the history of Italian art. The student will review the most important artistic periods of Italian are history and the artists who made these time periods special. There will be required course works based on the lectures and on the trips taken.

2qh credits

This class consists of reading, listening to, and comprehending newspaper and other articles and contemporary musical compositions, followed by discussions. The themes found in these materials often reflect social problems which exist in modern Italy: the roles of women and children, the family, work environment, etc. The class will also emphasize the direct experience of the linguistic aspects existing in the contemporary spoken language.

2qh credits

What happens when an English citizen or an American traveler visits our country? Amazement, surprise, interest, puzzlement, or wonder… Using works of both British and American literature, this course will attempt to provide an overview of outsider viewpoints on Italy and Italian culture. Through this method we can better understand how Italy and Italians are viewed by others, and arrive at a closer understanding of the students’ own experience.

1, 1, 1qh credits

This course is based on an overview of some of the most important Italian cities. Though emphasis is placed on history and art, sights and monuments are also covered. A preparatory lecture is given before field trips to important museums, historic sights, and monuments. Written reports are required after every tour.

2qh credits

This course looks at Italian history and development in the twentieth century and the birth of modern democracy in Italy. The lesson includes understandable discussions and an in-depth look at the recent international events that concern Italy. The lessons are emphasized through the reading of daily and weekly journals and newspapers.

2qh credits

The origin of Italian literature studies through representative authors and their texts up until the 16th century. The analysis of literary texts will include examples of both prose and poetry.

1, 1, 1qh credits

This course analyses Italian Art from the last part of the 19th century and the influence of impressionism through Modernism and informal art. Emphasis will be placed on the relationship between art, graphics, and photography.

2qh credits

The purpose of this course is to gain insight into the relations between the various religions found in the European Union, with particular emphasis on Christian denominations. This class aims to be multidisciplinary with strong attention to historical profiles, legal systems, and political science.

1, 1qh credits

Traditional Italian/Mediterranean cooking of both popular and world famous dishes.

2, 2, 2qh credits

This creative course explores the visual elements of line, shape, value, volume, space, and texture. Students of every talent level are invited to develop their drawing ability by experimenting with various mediums such as pencil, charcoal, conté, wash, and ink as applied to still life, and landscapes. This course is comprehensive, beginning with basic line, stroke, and shading in pencil, and progressing through medium level in preparation for the final project of an original oil painting on canvas. A minimum of five students is required.

1qh credits

This required course, using both theory and practice, will provide students with useful instruments to learn a phonetically correct pronunciation of the Italian language.

2qh credits

Survey of the History of photography in Italy. Select Italian photographers. Includes Digital photography basics and training in the photographer's perspective. Includes field experience.

1, 1, 1qh credits

Individual lessons. A small additional fee must be paid.

2qh credits

Religious paintings are an alternative way to explore the Italian Renaissance and Baroque, by choosing the most remarkable subjects of the Bible: the different ways to represent the same topics are analyzed by the most important artists, focusing on their own style and their choices about how to represent each subject. (This course is taught entirely in Italian).

2, 2, 2qh credits

This course will familiarize students with diverse skills of artistic sculpture (modeling, plaster casts, etc.) and knowledge of the techniques and materials used. Students will learn to create casts and molds with clay and plaster, as well as carving, stamping, and will use techniques of color. Just as Donatello, Bernini and Michelangelo did, students will also learn to use clay, plaster, wax and cement.

1, 1, 1qh credits

From stitching to pattern drawing, this course focuses on the intricacies of tailoring. Designed as a hands-on course, much of the learning experience will be done through practical mean, such as hand stitching, fabric and thread selection, and pattern making. Projects for this course will range from partial to full garment production.

2qh credits

Translation methodology and its application to translations of Italian texts into English and vice versa. Attention is given to the idiomatic expressions in both languages. Level of Italian language required: Advanced grammar, composition, and conversation.

1qh credits

Individual lessons are available. A small additional fee must be paid.