Italian Studies Minor
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Mario Aste (Languages), Coordinator
Tel#: (978) 934-4120
Office: Coburn Hall, Room 114
The interdisciplinary minor in Italian Studies consists of 18-24 credits of coursework. Beginning Italian courses at the 100 level may not be credited to the Italian minor. Six credits at the 200 level or above are required for the Italian language component. At least six credits at the 300 level or above must be taken outside of the Italian language component. For course descriptions, see the department listing as indicated next to the course title.
43.331 Renaissance and Reformation
52.310 Special Topics in Italian Studies
52.325 Italian American Literature and Culture
52.330 Italian Women Writers
52.335 Cinema and the Italian Americans
52.371 Dante's Divine Comedy
52.373 Italian Humanism
52.374 Classics of Italian Cinema
52.376 Pirandello: Theater and Influence
52.378 Italian Cinema and Culture
52.380 Italian Cinema: Directors and Themes
58.308 Art, Science and Technology in the Renaissance
58.321 Italian Renaissance Art
58.322 Baroque Art in Italy
58.330 Italian Mannerist Art
43.331 Renaissance and Reformation
The history of Europe in the time of transition between the late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. Two principles topics are the intensification of cultural change which bean in Italy around 1300 and spread slowly northward and the disruption of the unity of the Western Christian church. 3 cr.
52.310 Special Topics in Italian Studies
A limited topic of special interest in culture, civilization, or literature. May be taught in English or Italian. Course content and approach varies depending on instructor. The faculty post and distribute a detailed course description each semester, and students are urged to use this information in making their selections. 3 cr.
The following courses are conducted in English, do not satisfy any language requirement and cannot be counted as part of the Modern Language major.
52.325 Italian American Literature and Culture
Discusses the most prominent authors and works of Italian American Literature as they, by using the ethnic setting are able to convey universal human concerns and themes. Conducted in English. 3 cr.
52.330 Italian Women Writers
Studies women writers of Italy by giving attention to the genres of narrative, poetry, theater and autobiography. Authors are selected according to their impact on issues affecting women, gender studies, feminism, avant-garde, modernism, social relations and psychological discourse. Conducted in English. 3 cr.
52.335 Cinema and the Italian Americans
A course looking at the ways in which film addresses issues of ethnicity and its representation in the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural memory of American life. This will be an interdisciplinary course focusing on the relentless portrayal in the news and entertainment industries of Italian Americans. It will shed light on the contributions of this ethnic group by analyzing the negative and positive stereotypes through films. 3 cr.
52.371 Dante's Divine Comedy
A detailed study of the Divine comedy. Consideration is given to the influence of Dante's minor works, to the unity of the poem as a synthesis of Dante's new life, and to Dante's views of the world and history. Conducted in English. 3 cr.
52.373 Italian Humanism
A study of the waning of the Middle Ages and the dawning of the Renaissance as seen through the work of Petrarch and Boccaccio. Emphasis is on the study of sources and the influence of Petrarch and Boccaccio upon the literatures of western Europe. Conducted in English. 3 cr.
52.374 Classics of Italian Cinema
This course, through a series of classic Italian films, internationally recognized, will present how the style is not only something which comes from within the director reflecting that most intriguing of all subjects: the personality of the director, but also the film's influence upon American productions. 3 cr.
52.376 Pirandello: His Theater and Influence
A course devoted to the major works of Pirandello which have established his reputation as an entertainer and a social critic with special emphasis upon his notion of appearance vs. reality and his influence upon contemporary French drama. Conducted in English. 3 cr.
52.378 Italian Cinema and Culture
A guide to contemporary Italian studies through literary and cultural approaches. The works of central figures in contemporary Italian letters are examined in view of their impact on Italian life. Emphasis is given to poets, novelists, the new cinema, the influences of existentialism, and the impact of America on Italian literature. Conducted in English. 3 cr.
52.380 Italian Cinema: Directors and Themes
A study of Italian film history and its accomplishment by exploring the relationship of cinema to socio-political, economic, cultural and literary events. The course will discuss in depth either a) one or two major and well known directors; b) a major thematic and stylistic division in a century of cinematic creativity. 3 cr.
58.308 Art, Science and Technology in the Renaissance
From Filippo Brunelleschi's first perspective experiments to Leonardo da Vinci's prolonged study of human anatomy and optics, Renaissance artists exhibited unprecedented interest in he scientific nature of light, color, space, and form as they affected artistic creativity. At no other time in history were technology, science and art so closely interconnected. Discussion will focus on the achievement of Italian artists of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries as they attempted to translate their new scientific understanding of the world. Fall, alternate years. 3 cr.
58.321 Italian Renaissance Art
A study of painting, sculpture and architecture in Florence, Rome and Venice during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Special emphasis on the formation of the High Renaissance style and the role of representative artists of the period, such as Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael in Central Italy; Giorgione and Titian in Venice. Fall, alternate years. 3 cr.
58.330 Italian Mannerist Art
A study on the impact of the High Renaissance in the sixteenth century, the subsequent development of early Mannerism in central Italy and the formation of the Proto-Baroque style in Venice and Northern Italy, the establishment of the courtly Mannerist style. The role of representative artists such as Anguissola, Pontormo, Rosso, Parmigianino, Bronzino, Beccafumi, Fontana, Vasari, Veronese, Bandinelli, Cellini, Palladio, Peruzzi and Ammanati is emphasized. Spring, alternate years. 3 cr.
58.332 Baroque Art in Italy
The development of painting, sculpture and architecture in Italy during the seventeenth century with special emphasis on Rome and Venice. The role of representative artists (Caravaggio, Bernini, Borromini, Pietro da Cortona, Artemisia Gentileschi, Elisabetta Sirani and Longhena) is emphasized. Prerequisite: 58.101 and/or 58.204, 58.321 or permission of instructor. Fall, alternate years. 3 cr.