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Undergraduate Courses

Course Descriptions for the Fall 2013 semester

ITAL 110 - Elementary Italian I, 3 cr.

Training in the four basic skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. This course, the first of the two-part elementary Italian sequence, quickly takes students from knowing no Italian at all to the point where they can understand and enjoy the language. In addition to using the textbook and its online components, students also learn about Italy's culture through innovative activities in class. Oral drills, written exercises, 3 hours per week. Training in the four basic skills: speaking, reading, writing and understanding. Text: Avanti!, 2nd ed. with online component.

ITAL 120 - Elementary Italian II, 3 cr.

Continued training in the four basic skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. Building upon what they learned in 110, students in this class are exposed to all principal grammar points that remain. Added emphasis on communication skills and on developing the ability to complete a wide range of linguistic tasks as well as on acquiring familiarity with Italian culture. Text: Avanti!, 2nd ed. with online componentPrerequisite: ITAL 110.

ITAL 126 - Intensive Elementary Italian, 6 cr.

Lecture with student participation. Acquisition of the four language skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. For students with no previous study of Italian. Course covers the same material as one year of Elementary Italian (110 and 120). Successful completion of ITAL 126 followed by ITAL 246 allows student to satisfy CAS language requirement in one year. Especially recommended for students intending to participate in the Siena Program.

ITAL 126H - Honors Intensive Elementary Italian, 6 cr.

The course's goal is to provide students with the opportunity to gain functional fluency in Italian in one semester so that they can, in future semesters, integrate the language into their major concentrations. In addition to mastering the traditional four skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing), students will simultaneously use the language as a bridge to Italy's culture, history and literature. Unlike the non-honors Italian 126, this course meets 5 times per week with the professor and an additional hour in small conversation groups with a native speaking foreign fellow from the Università di Bologna-Forlì hosted by the UMass Italian program.

ITAL 230 - Intermediate Italian I, 3 cr.
Course taught in Italian.

Readings, discussion, revision of grammar and exercises. Review of first-year grammar and further development of the four acquisitional skills: speaking, reading, writing, and understanding. Prerequisites: ITAL 120, 126 or instructor's permission.

ITAL 246 - Intensive Intermediate Italian, 6 cr.
Course taught in Italian.

Reading and discussion, selective grammar review and conversation. Development of reading skills, introduction to modern Italian literary texts which will serve as basis for class discussion and writing assignments. Grammar review and reinforcement will respond to student needs. Selected readings from the works of contemporary Italian authors: short stories, plays, poetry and short novel. Prerequisite: ITAL 126 or permission of instructor.

ITAL 280 Language Suite Conversation, 2 cr.
Course taught in Italian.

Thatcher House, by arrangement. First year Programs feature small classes or discussion sections of lecture classes taught in the residence halls. In order to participate, students must register for at least two residentially based courses in each of their first two semesters at the University. Honors Colloquium (ITAL 280 H01) available. 1 cr.

ITAL 303 - Writing on Language and Culture, 3 cr.
Course taught in Italian.

Seminar/Workshop. Fulfills the Junior-Year writing requirement.
Readings and discussions will be in Italian; written assignments for most students will be in English, as this course satisfies the departmental jr. year writing requirement. Students examine various genres of Italian cultural expression, including poetry, song, the short story, theater, cinema, the novel and, to a limited extent, art history. Emphasis is placed on developing and refining students' written critical responses to the objects of study. Each year the thematic content of the course will vary. Students should contact the designated instructor to apprise themselves of forthcoming thematic content. (Past thematic emphases included 'La Cultura e la letteratura del Mezzogiorno d'Italia' and 'Il paesaggio letterario italiano.')

ITAL 324 - Introduction to Italian Literature I, 3 cr.
Course taught in Italian.

Fulfills the Integrative Experience requirement for majors and carries GenEd AL designation.
This course introduces students to the major currents and concerns of Italian literature from the beginning to Late Humanism and incorporates the Integrative Experience model in the learning process. Some of the most famous authors of Early Modern Italy provide the points of departure for an exploration of life's most fundamental questions, which we will address from the perspectives of students' past GenEd studies and experiences. Requirements: intelligent, active class participation; short written exercises; group project. Prerequisite: Italian 240 or 246.

ITAL 371 - Advanced Grammar and Composition, 3 cr.
Course taught in Italian.

The goal of the course is to improve the understanding of Italian advanced grammar. This will be accomplished through: reading, analysis and discussion of a wide range of Italian texts, both literary and non-literary, in order to gain familiarity with many styles, registers and uses of the language. Students will also be involved in a substantial amount of guided writing in which they will have the opportunity to practice and experiment with topics in grammar, style, register and literary genres as they are discussed throughout the semester. Focusing on these areas will allow students to improve written and spoken communication skills. Active class participation is essential and will be a part of the evaluative process. Requirements: Weekly assignments, formal compositions, a midterm and a final exam. Prerequisite: Italian 240 or 246.

ITAL 497AF - The "Maestri" Antonioni and Fellini, 3 cr.
Course taught in English.

Course crosslisted at the 400 and 500 levels, with different course requirements for graduate and undergraduate students. This course examines the parallel work of two recognized masters of world cinema, Michelangelo Antonioni (1912-2007) and Federico Fellini (1920-1993) between the 1950s and the early 1970s, from their common origins and collaborations to their gradually diverging ways of coping with Italy's progressive modernization and finally to their complementary ideas of the world and of cinema, which have now become global paradigms.

ITAL 497M - Literatures of Fascist Italy, 3 cr.
Course taught in Italian

Course crosslisted at the 400 and 500 levels, with different course requirements for graduate and undergraduate students. The course will present an overview of the many aspects of Italian literary culture during and around the years of the fascist regime: from the hi-brow poetry of Eugenio Montale and Umberto Saba to the cultural debate on pro-fascist and antifascist periodicals, to the bestsellers of the time such as the novels of fascist propaganda, those meant for educating the large public of female readers, the so called "erotic" literature and many other aspects of Italian culture under the regime. Strong emphasis will be placed on the social and historic circumstances of which each text examined was an expression, thus providing an accurate account of the many aspects of fascism in Italy in relation with the larger European context. Requirements: Two formal assignments, midterm, presentations and final paper. Prerequisite: Italian 240 or 246.