Italian Studies Major
Studying Italian language, literature, and culture, you will explore Italy's historical legacy and contemporary society while developing essential communicative and analytical skills and deepening your awareness of other cultures. The Italian Studies program builds upon Italy's artistic, intellectual, and scientific tradition, reexamining historical perspectives while illuminating modern cultural dynamics and societal trends. In our language courses, where their journey begins, students learn language skills, such as written and oral communication, but also reflect on cultural differences, both between Italy and the United States and within Italy. Small group sessions with Italian university students, who serve as Foreign Language Assistants, further emphasize intercultural interactions and the development of oral language proficiency. As students advance through the program, they further hone their communicative abilities and expand their critical thinking skills as they explore topics in Italian literature and culture.
Students who choose to major in Italian Studies are strongly encouraged to study abroad in Florence, where they can immerse themselves completely in the language and culture, thereby accelerating their progress. Italian Studies itself is inherently interdisciplinary, and the program allows students who major or minor to take one or two related courses (in English) in other departments. The interdisciplinarity of our program, combined with the important skills that students acquire through the study of Italian language, literature, and culture, prepares our majors and minors for a rapidly evolving and global job market. Recent graduates in Italian Studies, which students often combine with another major or minor field, have pursued careers in medicine, law, finance, journalism, business, higher education, fashion/design, government, and tourism.
Department Advanced Placement Policy
Students with AP credit in Italian language and culture earn placement in the curriculum but not progress toward the minimum number of courses required by the major. Students who take a course that duplicates the AP award in Italian will forfeit the AP credit. Students with AP credit in Italian language and culture will not be permitted to enroll in a course below the 300 level. Please note that there is no AP Italian Literature exam.
Requirements
The major consists of a minimum of 10 courses in Italian language, literature, and culture including:
| Code | Title |
|---|---|
| Required Italian courses: | |
| Elementary Italian 2 (for those who start in Elementary, see program coordinator) | |
| Intermediate Italian 1 and Intermediate Italian 2 | |
| Italian Comp & Conv | |
| One course in Medieval and/or Renaissance Studies: | |
| Dante | |
| Medieval-Renaissance Medicine | |
| Italian Philology | |
| One course Modern/Contemporary Italian Studies: | |
| Intro to Contemporary Italy | |
| Sicily through Literature & Film | |
| Twentieth Century Novel & World War 2 | |
| 19th Century Novel | |
| One course that deals with Gender or Racial Identity (in any period) | |
| ITAL 340 | Black Italy |
| ITAL 453 | Italian Women's Autobiography |
The remainder of the courses taken to fulfill the major requirements are electives and may include any combination of the other courses offered by the Italian Studies program, such as literature, culture, special topics, and tutorials (taken either during the third or fourth year of study). Students may also take a maximum of two courses in English. These courses may include Italian courses taught in translation or approved courses in related departments such as History, Music and Visual Arts.
Students interested in majoring in Italian should begin their Italian language studies early in their program. Majors are strongly encouraged to study abroad in Italy (Florence).
For those who study abroad, four of the courses taken in Florence may be applied to the major. Certain courses taken abroad may be accepted as the equivalent of the specific requirements listed above or as elective courses. Those students who spend their third year in Italy should declare their major before departing.
All students who major in Italian are required to take two courses in their fourth year. Students may not take courses in English in their fourth year without the consent of their major advisor.