Italian Studies (ITAL)

https://cola.unh.edu/classics-humanities-italian-studies

The Italian studies program offers courses in Italian language, culture, literature, history and cinema, as well as courses on Italian American culture. Italian courses can also be used to fulfill Discovery Program requirements and the bachelor of arts foreign language proficiency requirement. In addition to the Italian studies major, an Italian studies minor is available.

The program provides opportunities both to achieve high competence in Italian language and culture and to apply these knowledge skills to other disciplines. The Italian studies program encourages independent and innovative thinking and research so that students may pursue and achieve individualized goals while they prepare for the challenges of thriving in the world community.

Study Abroad

The Italian studies program allows students to register for approved study abroad programs through the University.

Italian (ITAL)

ITAL 401 - Elementary Italian I

Credits: 4

For students without previous training in Italian. Aural comprehension, speaking, writing, reading, (No credit for students who have had two or more years of Italian in secondary school; however, any such students whose studies of Italian have been interrupted for seven years should consult the Program Coordinator about possibly receiving credit).

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 402 - Elementary Italian II

Credits: 4

For students who have completed ITAL 401 or an equivalent. Aural comprehension, speaking, writing, reading. (No credit for students who have had two or more years of Italian in secondary school; however, any such students whose studies of Italian have been interrupted for seven years should consult the Program Coordinator about possibly receiving credit).

Attributes: Foreign Language Requirement

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 425 - Introduction to Italian Studies

Credits: 4

This course explores Italian culture and society and examines the role of Italian art, cuisine, literature and history via readings, films, music, and lectures. What makes Italy Italy? What does it mean to be Italian? How do phenomena such as regionalism, the Mafia, and the European Union shape our understanding of contemporary Italy? The course analyzes the interactions among culture, politics, history, and society as a means of defining national identity.

Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery)

Equivalent(s): ITAL 425H

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 444A - Italians Come to America: Representing Emigration and Immigration on Both Sides of the Atlantic

Credits: 4

Course is designed around the phenomenon of emigration from Italy to the United States over the last century or so, with particular attention to the time period between the end of the nineteenth century and the mid-twentieth century. While core media under examination are literature and film, we also draw on historical, anthropological, political and sociological readings to help us consider the many issues involved.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc); Inquiry (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 444B - Mamma Mia! Italian Motherhood from the Virgin Mary to Carmela Soprano

Credits: 4

This course examines motherhood and the special role of the Italian mother - la mamma italiana - in past and present italian society. Through readings from a wide variety of disciplines - theology, history, medicine, and literature - as well as an examination of art and film, we will analyze the origins and conflicted nature of Italian attitudes toward motherhood. Topics include: maternal love and self-sacrifice, beliefs about generation and their influence on maternal and paternal roles, Italian family structure. Mussolini's promotion of motherhood, the phenomenon of mammismo or "Mama's boys", and Italian-American mothers, including Carmela Soprano.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc); Inquiry (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 444C - Feelings: A Cultural History

Credits: 4

How do we understand emotions? What is their relationship to our daily life, and to the larger world? They seem personal, but they are also universal, shaping not just individuals, but communities, politics, and society at large. This course charts the history of emotions through literature, visual art, and film, with a particular focus on Italy and the United States, and explores how feelings inform our political and cultural understanding of the world around us.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc); Inquiry (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 503 - Intermediate Italian I

Credits: 4

For students who have completed ITAL 402 or an equivalent. A complete review of the fundamentals of grammar and syntax. Selected readings as a general introduction to Italian civilization and culture. Films and activities.

Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 504 - Intermediate Italian II

Credits: 4

For students who have completed ITAL 503 or an equivalent. A review of the fundamentals of grammar and syntax. Selected readings as a general introduction to Italian civilization and culture. Films and activities.

Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL #510J - Rome: The Eternal City in Italian Culture

Credits: 4

This course offers an interdisciplinary introduction to the Eternal City and its role in Italian culture from the Middle Ages to the present. Together, the online and on-site components of the course allow students to compare their theoretical historical, social and artistic knowledge of Italian culture (acquired through readings, films and online lectures) with experiential knowledge gained through first-hand exposure to contemporary Rome. All readings in English. Fulfills the World Cultures Discovery requirement.

Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

Special Fee: Yes

ITAL 521 - Medieval and Renaissance Italian Culture

Credits: 4

This course explores the culture and society of Medieval and Early Modern Italy through major works of fiction and non-fiction. The East met the West and the North met the South in the Italian peninsula making it one of the most diverse, wealthy, creative, powerful, and influential regions in Europe. In examining this period, the course asks such questions as: What was the Renaissance? Why were the Muslims and Vikings in Sicily? What is the Bonfire of the Vanities? Why did Shakespeare set so many plays in Italy? No prerequisites and all work is in English.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc); Inquiry (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 522 - Modern and Contemporary Italian Culture

Credits: 4

This course explores the culture and society of modern and contemporary Italy through major works of fiction and non-fiction. In examining the emergence of the new nation-state, the course poses such questions as: What does "We have made Italy; now we need to make the Italians" mean? What is Fascism? What is "la dolce vita?" How have climate change and the refugee crisis changed Italy and Italians? The unification of Italy, colonialism, Fascism, Made in Italy, La Dolce Vita, domestic terrorism, North vs South are some of the topics examined. No prerequisites and all work is in English.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc); Inquiry (Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 525 - Italian Cinema

Credits: 4

Italian Cinema is a survey of the development of the film industry in Italy and of major Italian films. Through film, the course explores the culture, society, history, and politics of Italy, as well as the aesthetics, technology, economics, and theory of cinema. No prerequisites and all work is in English.

Attributes: FinePerformingArts(Discovery)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 526 - The Art of Cinema in Italy

Credits: 4

While studying in Italy students explore the relationship between cinema as art, the reception and distribution of films cinema historiography (including archives), and technology. Students read about movements, directors, and expectations of genre, and identify connections between artistic concerns and the technology involved in making, preserving and restoring films. Students visit the Cineteca di Bologna and attend the annual Cinema Ritrovato film festival.

Attributes: FinePerformingArts(Discovery)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

Special Fee: Yes

ITAL 540 - Making Italian Americans: Migration and Identity Formation

Credits: 4

This course examines historical, social, economic, political, cultural, religious, and folkloric structures that shape how Italian Americans identify themselves as a distinct ethnicity. Through study of Italian American identity, the course analyzes the Italian state in the late nineteenth century, immigration policies in the United States, the challenges of assimilation, the demise of traditional Italian American communities (i.e., "Little Italy"), and the role of ethnic identity in contemporary American society.

Attributes: Social Science (Discovery)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 595 - Practicum

Credits: 2

Practical use of Italian language and culture through special projects outside the classroom.

Repeat Rule: May be repeated for a maximum of 4 credits.

Equivalent(s): ITAL 595A

Grade Mode: Credit/Fail Grading

ITAL 631 - Advanced Conversation and Composition I

Credits: 4

Rapid review of basic grammatical structures and in-depth study of more complex linguistic patterns. Vocabulary building. Frequent written compositions and oral presentations using materials on contemporary culture taken from the various media. Phonetics and oral/aural skills development.

Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Prerequisite(s): ITAL 504 with a minimum grade of C.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 632 - Advanced Conversation and Composition II

Credits: 4

Advanced spoken and written Italian to attain aural-oral fluency. Advanced reading and composition.

Attributes: World Cultures(Discovery); Writing Intensive Course

Prerequisite(s): ITAL 504 with a minimum grade of C.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 635 - Italian Food Studies

Credits: 4

Italian Food Studies acquaints students with the principles of aesthetics as they pertain to our understanding of and relationship to food. The philosophical aspects of the course are complemented by experiential components that emphasize the particularity as well as the diversity of the Italian regions.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 651 - Introduction to Italian Culture and Civilization I: Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque

Credits: 4

Survey of major representative writers and artists, studied against the backdrop of social and cultural history. Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Machiavelli, Marino. (Not offered every year).

Attributes: Writing Intensive Course

Prerequisite(s): ITAL 631 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of D-.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 652 - Introduction to Italian Culture and Civilization II: Age of Enlightenment, Romanticism, Modernism

Credits: 4

Survey of major representative writers and artists, studied against a backdrop of social and cultural history. Parini, Goldoni, Leopardi, Manzoni, Pavese, Calvino. (Not offered every year).

Attributes: Writing Intensive Course

Prerequisite(s): ITAL 631 (may be taken concurrently) with a minimum grade of D-.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 675 - Special Topics in Italian Studies

Credits: 4

Topics drawn from all aspects and periods of Italian Studies. May be repeated for credit barring duplication of materials.

Prerequisite(s): ITAL 631 with a minimum grade of D-.

Repeat Rule: May be repeated up to unlimited times.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 681A - Ancient and Medieval Italy

Credits: 4

Taking an interdisciplinary, but historically centered perspective, this course examines the construction of Italy as both a nation and culture from the pre-Roman period to the fifteenth century.

Attributes: Historical Perspectives(Disc)

Equivalent(s): ITAL 681B

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 681B - Ancient and Medieval Italy

Credits: 4

Taking an interdisciplinary, but historically centered perspective, this course examines the construction of Italy as both a nation and culture from the pre-Roman period to the fifteenth century.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc)

Equivalent(s): ITAL 681A

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 682B - Italian Culture: Early Modern, Modern and Contemporary

Credits: 4

Taking an interdisciplinary, but humanistically-centered perspective, this course examines the construction of Italy as both a nation and culture from the fifteenth century to the contemporary era.

Attributes: Humanities(Disc)

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 683 - UNH in Bologna Summer Program

Credits: 0-8

This is an administrative placeholder course for the UNH in Bologna summer program. Students can be registered for both this administrative course number and the course number(s) of course(s) being offered on site.

Co-requisite: INCO 589

Grade Mode: Credit/Fail Grading

Special Fee: Yes

ITAL 733 - History and Development of the Italian Language

Credits: 4

Development of the Italian language from Roman times to the present. Examines the comparative method and internal reconstruction as well as processes of changes in phonology, syntax and lexicon. The course introduces issues in dialect geography, the basic features of paleography and surveys the evolution of scripts.

Prerequisite(s): ITAL 631 with a minimum grade of D-.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 775 - Topics in Literary & Cultural Studies

Credits: 4

Advanced course on a literary/cultural topic. Possible topics include African Italian Literature, Dante, Poetry, Theatre, Italy and the European Union, Social & Political Movements, Environment, Sustainability, Film. Barring duplication of subject, the course may be repeated for credit.

Repeat Rule: May be repeated up to unlimited times.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 795 - Independent Study in Italian Language and Literature

Credits: 1-4

Individual guided study.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading

ITAL 796 - Independent Study in Italian Language and Literature

Credits: 1-4

Individual guided study.

Grade Mode: Letter Grading