Faculty of Arts & Science 2016-2017 Calendar

Italian

• Italian Specialist | Italian Major | Italian Minor
• Italian Culture and Communication Studies Minor
• Italian Courses

Faculty

To study Italian is not only to acquire a language, but also to study a rich literature and a many-sided culture which have played an important, and sometimes dominant, role in Western civilization. For Canadians, the Italian contribution bears a special significance: the vast influx of Italians has brought changes in our way of life and a living presence to reinforce traditional Italian influences, thus enriching the meaning of the term Canadian. Italian combines well with other modern languages and literatures, and other programs such as European Studies, Literary Studies, and Mediaeval and Renaissance Studies, but is by no means restricted to these. Students may choose from Specialist, Major and Minor programs in Italian Studies. Italian courses are offered for beginners as well as for students who may have prior knowledge or instruction in Italian. Oral practice is included in all language courses. Students well qualified in the Italian language may be excused from language courses in first year (please see the Undergraduate Coordinator). 300- and 400-series courses are available to qualified third and fourth-year students and may be taken concurrently. These courses offer a wide range of options in language, literature, linguistics, culture and cinema. There are courses in Italian literature, culture and cinema that are given in English and have no language requirement. In conjunction with Woodsworth College, ITA courses may be taken in Italy at the University of Siena during July and August. A number of bursaries are available. Students may apply to take their Third Year in Italy under the Study Abroad Program in conjunction with the Centre for International Experience (http://www.studentlife.utoronto.ca/cie). Undergraduate Coordinator: 416-926-2338 Email: italian.undergrad@utoronto.ca Enquiries:100 St. Joseph St. Room 204 (416-926-2345) Web site:http://www.utoronto.ca/italian/

Italian Programs

(10 full courses or their equivalent, including at least one full course equivalent at the 400 level)

1. The following language courses: ITA100Y1, ITA250Y1, ITA350Y1, ITA450H1
2. One additional 200-series ITA full course equivalent
3. Two full course equivalents at the 300+ level in literature, including 0.5 FCE in each of the THREE periods of Italian literature:
   
   Medieval / Renaissance: ITA300H1/ITA311H1/ITA312H1/ITA320H1/ITA321H1/ITA325H1/ITA332H1/ITA370H1/ITA420H1/ITA455H1
   
   Baroque / Enlightment: ITA301H1/ITA326H1/ITA390H1/ITA420H1/ITA436H1/ITA455H1
   
   Modern / Contemporary: ITA301H1/ITA310H1/ITA330H1/ITA334H1/ITA346H1/ITA380H1/ITA381H1/ITA410H1/ITA421H1/ITA455H1
4. One half course from the following: ITA360H1/363H1/371H1/431H1/432H1/471H1
5. One half course from the following:    ITA311H1/ITA320H1/ITA321H1/ITA332H1/ITA340H1/ITA341H1/ITA342H1/ITA345H1ITA347H1/ITA441H1/ITA370H1/ITA420H1
6. Two additional full course equivalents at the 300+ level with at least one half course at the 400 level
7. ITA495H1

NOTE: No more than TWO full courses or equivalent where the language of instruction is English may be counted towards the Specialist Program.

(7 full courses or their equivalent, including at least one half-course equivalent at the 400 level)

1. The following language courses: ITA100Y1, ITA250Y1, ITA350Y1
2. One additional 200-series ITA full course equivalent
3. One full course or equivalent at the 300+ level in literature
4. One half course from the following: ITA360H1/363H1/371H1/431H1/432H1/471H1
5. One half course from the following:    ITA311H1/ITA320H1/ITA321H1/ITA332H1/ITA340H1/ITA341H1/ITA342H1/ITA345H1/ITA347H1/ITA441H1/ITA370H1/ITA420H1
6. One additional 300+ series course of which at least one half course must be at the 400 level

(4 full courses or their equivalent)

Any 4 ITA courses (at least one full course equivalent must be a 300/400-level literature course)

4 full courses (or equivalent) including one full course equivalent from any of the following:

ITA340H1/ITA341H1/ITA342H1/ITA345H1/ITA347H1/ITA441H1/445H1

ITA360H1/ITA363H1/ITA431H1/ITA432H1

ITA356Y1/357Y1/358Y1/359Y1

ITA371H1/ITA471H1

The Department of Italian Studies participates in the Faculty of Arts and Science’s Language Citation initiative for Italian. Proficiency in Italian is an invaluable asset for those wishing to pursue a career in social work, business, applied science, government, law, medicine or education. A knowledge of Italian complements undergraduate studies in other areas, such as music, fine art, literary studies, European history or political science, to name a few.

The Language Citation recognizes a significant level of achievement in language study with a high level of academic success. The Citation in Italian is available to students who, having completed a first year language course in Italian (ITA100Y1/ITA151Y1) (or the equivalent prerequisite training), earn a grade of at least B- in a second-year language course (ITA250Y1/ITA251Y1) and in one FCE in Italian language at the 300 or 400 level.

Students should note that the Language Citation is not equivalent to an academic program and that enrolment in a program is not necessary in order to earn the recognition bestowed by the Citation.

Italian Courses

The 199Y1 and 199H1 seminars are designed to provide the opportunity to work closely with an instructor in a class of no more than twenty-four students. These interactive seminars are intended to stimulate the students’ curiosity and provide an opportunity to get to know a member of the professorial staff in a seminar environment during the first year of study. Details can be found at www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/course/fyh-1/.

ITA100Y1 - Italian Language for Beginners – An introductory course for students with no previous knowledge of the Italian language.  Not open to students with grade 11 and/or 12 U or M Italian or with previous experience, exposure or instruction in Italian. 

ITA250Y1 - Intermediate Italian – The subsequent course for students who have completed ITA100Y1 or ITA151Y1. 

This course is also open to students who have completed  Grade 11 and/or 12 Italian (U or M level) or with previous experience or instruction in Italian.  For this group, the Department may conduct assessment to determine appropriate placement. 

The Department reserves the right to place students in the language course appropriate to their level of language skill.

An introduction to the main elements of the Italian language. The development of speaking, reading, and writing skills. Introduction to Italian culture and texts. 

A course specifically designed for students who wish to take Italian as a breadth requirement. Emphasis will be given to basic aspects of communication in a functional context. This course cannot be used towards any Minor, Major or Specialist program in Italian. (Offered in Siena only)

The course is designed to introduce students to Italian grammar and develop basic oral and comprehension skills. Elements of Italian culture, past and present, are also examined in the context of language and communication. To select the appropriate second-year follow-up course, students are asked to contact the Undergraduate Coordinator. (Offered in Siena only)

The course will focus on authors from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance who had a defining influence on Western literature, such as Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio, Machiavelli, Ariosto and Tasso. This course includes a component designed to enhance students’ research experience. (Given in English)

The course will focus on authors from the Baroque to the Twentieth Century who had a defining influence on Western literature, such as Marino, Goldoni, Manzoni, Pirandello, Calvino. This course includes a component designed to enhance students’ research experience. (Given in English)

Through the study of literature and art from Italian unification to the present, and of their social and political context, this course aims to give students a comprehensive introduction to contemporary Italian culture and society. All texts are read in translation. The course includes a component designed to introduce students to methods of scholarly research appropriate to the field. (Given in English)

The course will explore how notions of identity and (self)-representation emerge in literature by Canadian writers of Italian descent. Works by Nino Ricci, Pier Giorgio Di Cicco, Frank Paci, Mary Di Michele, Caterina Edwards and Gianna Patriarca will be examined to illustrate the critical evolution of the immigrant journey from its historical experience to its current branding. This course includes a component designed to enhance students’ research experience. (Given in English)

This course is designed to enhance students oral proficiency in Italian, improve listening and reading comprehension and develop a broad lexical base for more effective communicating skills. Elements of Italian culture are also examined in the context of language and communication through a series of topical readings which form the basis of discussions. (Offered in Siena only)

This course surveys the history of Italian cinema and the sociopolitical circumstances surrounding the film industry, from its early days to the present, while also introducing the students to methods of analysis and research appropriate to the field. Emphasis will be placed on films from the silent era to the 1960s, and from the 1960s to the present. This course includes a component designed to introduce students to methods of scholarly research appropriate to the field.

The course is given in English and all films shown have English subtitles.

From early Sino-Roman cultural exchanges to the present day commercial relations, Italian travelers to Asia have produced a large body of works showing original thinking, intellectual audacity, and religious tolerance. This course focuses on some of these accomplishments, including The travels of Marco Polo, the writings of Matteo Ricci Li-Madou, and Roberto de Nobili, and the paintings of Giuseppe Castiglione. This course includes a component designed to enhance students’ research experience.  (Given in English)

Grammar review, readings of Italian authors and oral practice to enhance comprehension and expressive skills.

Credit course for supervised participation in faculty research project. Details at http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/course/rop.

This course provides a chronological , comprehensive view of Italian literature and its major authors and trends, in their socio-historical contexts from its beginnings to the Renaissance. This course includes a component designed to enhance students’ research experience.

This course provides a chronological, comprehensive view of Italian literature and its major authors and trends, in their socio-historical contexts from the Baroque period to the present day. This course includes a component designed to enhance students’ research experience.

The course illustrates Italy's contribution to the history of the trope during a time when countries became increasingly interdependent and conscious of each other's cultures. Through literary and social analysis the course traces the most vital aspects of the journey motif. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience. (Given in English)

A study of the Vita Nuova and of the Divine Comedy within the literary and cultural contexts of the Middle Ages. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience. (Given in English)

A study of Petrarch's Canzoniere and of Boccaccio's Decameron in relation to later Middle Ages. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience. (Given in English)

A study of Italian Theatre (comedy, tragedy) from the 16th to the 20th Centuries with focus on staging and acting techniques culminating with the production of a play. The performative process will also provide experiential learning for students and improve their oral communication.  This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.

Dante's poetry and great Christian epic of conversion explode with the passions of this world. This course focuses on intertextual and rhetorical strategies used to fashion the author's complex vision of contemporary society within the framework of providential history. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.

A continuation of ITA320H1, this course examines the Purgatorio and the Paradiso in the context of Dante's vision of contemporary society. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.

A comprehensive historical and thematic review of love poetry in the Italian lyric tradition. The course focuses on the distinctive elements of the lyric genre  from the establishment of the canon with Petrarch to its amplification with Tasso. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.

A chronological and historical review of the forms and themes of love poetry in the Italian lyric tradition.  The course follows the evolution of the genre from late Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque writings, to the love poetry of DAnnunzio. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.

Italy’s foremost author’s conscious attempt to write the great representative (“epic”) work of the Risorgimento.  This course explores Manzoni's continuing struggle to find the appropriate language, style, and genre to express his vision of history. This course includes a component designed to enhance students’ research experience.

An exploration of the theme of love in the Renaissance and its development in a variety of literary forms. Analysis of treatises, poetry, short stories and letters with the purpose of examining intertextuality and the practice of imitation, as well as the social and political aspects of love, such as marriage, women's position in society, pornography, homosexuality and other issues. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience. (Given in English)

 The focus of this course is the films of Italian Neorealism, one of the most influential, artistic, and intellectual movements in the history of world cinema. While emphasis will be placed primarily on the work of Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, and Luchino Visconti, the course will also offer a detailed discussion of the historical context and of the sociopolitical issues of postwar Italy. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience. (Given in English)

The course looks at Italian cinema from the perspective of gender and genre studies. While the focus will be primarily on film, the course will also engage with different media and discuss how these have informed and influenced Italian notions of masculinity and femininity throughout the Twentieth Century. The emphasis on genre will provide the structure to organize a discourse that will embrace very diverse and multifaceted texts, and will enable students to develop their analytical and critical skills in the field. This course includes a component designed to enhance students’ research experience. (Given in English)

This course discusses the notion of the Popular as applied to Italian cinema. By focusing on the number of films that have appropriated popular international genres such as Spaghetti Westerns, Horror, and Poliziotteschi, this course will discuss Italian cinema in a global context, drawing parallels and comparisons with other national industries. Students will gain a broader understanding of Italian film culture, and will apply their critical and research skills to a wide range of texts. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience. (Given in English)

This course will examine how several filmmakers of Italian descent engage with the representation of their diasporic identity. Particular emphasis will be placed on Italian-Canadian and Italian-American cinema, as well as on Italian cineastes working in Argentina, Brazil, and Australia. The course will analyze films that span from silent to contemporary, from the formation of the stereotypical images to the re-appropriation of archetypes on the part of “ethnic” filmmakers. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.(Given in English)

This course focuses on issues of genre and authorship in the context of a general discussion of Italian film-making as a national and popular tradition. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience. (Given in English)

This course investigates Italy's pivotal role in epochal cultural changes:  from manuscript to print and from print to computers.  The impacts of Print Technology in the Renaissance and of Electronic Technology from Marconi onward are thoroughly analyzed.  This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience. (Given in English)

For students who have completed ITA250Y1/ITA251Y1. Discussion of problems of grammar, style, and composition. Language analysis based on readings of Italian authors. One hour a week of oral practice. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.

A survey of artists, writers, and thinkers from the time of Dante to the days of Leonardo. During field trips, the streets, squares, churches, and palazzi of many cities serve as living laboratories for a discussion of the topography of mediaeval and Renaissance cities. This course includes a component designed to enhance students’ research experience. (Offered in Siena only.)

ITA356Y0: This course is taught in English and is open to students from other disciplines.

A survey of artists, writers, and thinkers from the time of Dante to the days of Leonardo. During field trips, the streets, squares, churches, and palazzi of many cities serve as living laboratories for a discussion of the topography of mediaeval and Renaissance cities. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience. (Offered in Siena only.)

ITA357Y0: Students who wish to petition the Department for credit towards a Specialist or Major in Italian will be required to do the readings in Italian

Analysis of a selection of philosophical, artistic, musical, and literary works from the age of the Baroque to the present. The main topics of discussion include: Romanticism, Italian unification, theatre, opera, Futurism, fascism, Neorealism, regional differences, and industrialization. Field trips and viewing of movies included. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience. (Offered in Siena only)

ITA358Y0: This course is taught in English and is open to students from other disciplines.

Analysis of a selection of philosophical, artistic, musical, and literary works from the age of the Baroque to the present. The main topics of discussion include: Romanticism, Italian unification, theatre, opera, Futurism, fascism, Neorealism, regional differences, and industrialization. Field trips and viewing of movies included. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience. (Offered in Siena only)

ITA359Y0: Students who wish to petition the Department for credit towards a Specialist or Major in Italian will be required to do the readings in Italian.

For students having a knowledge of Italian and/or Italian dialects but no background in linguistics. Concepts of general linguistics. Italy as a linguistic entity. The structure of contemporary Italian, with special regard to its sound system and grammatical categories. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience. (Given in English)

Starting with a survey of the sociolinguistic situation in Italy before Unification, this course deals with the complex relationship between regional languages and dialects on the one hand and Common Italian on the other. The recent rise of regional variants of Italian and its impact on the dialects are also discussed. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.

Concepts of power and strategies for success in Renaissance texts including Machiavelli's Il principe, Castiglione's Il libro del cortegiano and Della Casa's Galateo. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.

A course designed for advanced students. Written translation of a variety of non-technical texts from English into Italian and Italian into English. Treatment of common difficulties in translating to and from the two languages. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.

This course examines the development of modern Italian novel by taking as its focus the question of the relationship between narrative and the world. The course analyzes some of the major figures of Nineteenth-Century realist tradition such as Manzoni and Verga, as well as the resurgence of realist narrative in the post-World War II period with authors such as Pavese and Calvino. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience. (Given in English)

Focusing on compelling themes arising from critical and theoretical debates in 20th-century culture, this course analyzes poetic, narrative and dramatic works by major Italian modern and contemporary authors. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.

A study of the conventions of the Commedia dell'Arte tradition in the context of its performance history from the late Renaissance to the present. Issues examined include acting techniques, improvisation, masks and costumes, iconography and adaptation to film. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience. (Given in English)

The area of concentration will depend upon the instructor teaching the course in any given year. (Offered only during the summer through the Summer Abroad Program)

An instructor-supervised group project in an off-campus setting. Details at http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/course/399. This course includes a component designed to enhance students’ research experience.

An instructor-supervised group project in an off-campus setting. Details at http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/course/399. This course includes a component designed to enhance students’ research experience.

An intensive study of Machiavelli’s major works in English translation, including his political treatises (The Prince, excerpts from The Discourses), plays (The Mandrake Root), letters, and short story (Belfagor), in the context of Renaissance Florence, the history of Machiavelli criticism, and modern ethical debates. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience. (Given in English)

This course will study works by the major Italian playwrights of the Twentieth Century, including two of Italy’s Literature Nobel Prize winners, Luigi Pirandello and Dario Fo. Particular attention will be paid to the relationship between individual works and broader literary and cultural movements, as well as to issues regarding staging and production of the plays under discussion. The course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.

The short story genre and its development from the Middle Ages to the Baroque. In addition to Boccaccio's tales, included are some of the most famous stories of Western literature, which later inspired masterpieces in all art forms, such as Romeo and Juliet, Othello and Puss in Boots. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.

Focusing on short stories by some of the most important authors of the Twentieth Century, such as Pirandello and Calvino, this course will provide an introduction to the major tendencies of contemporary Italian literature. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.

An historical overview of the Italian language from the first Medieval documents to the texts of the Questione della Lingua. It deals with historical grammar and the analyses of early Italian texts. An introduction to notions of linguistic statistics.Empirical quantitative methods are based on the three most important databases of old Italian:TLIO,OVI,BIZ. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.

The evolution of the Italian Language from the Questione della lingua to Contemporary issues pertaining to reading of literary and non literary documents and analyses of the social, political and economic conditions which influenced Early Modern, Modern and Contemporary Italian. Introduction to techniques pertaining to notions of linguistic statistics. Quantitative methods will be based on the three most important databases for the Early modern,Modern and Contemporary Italian: Vocabolario della Crusca (online),BaDIP and BIZ.  This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.

An analysis of the process of adaptation in an exploration of the ideological and narratological perspectives as well as the stylistic elements of literary and cinematic discourse. Selections include novels by Verga, Tomasi di Lampedusa, Moravia, Bassani and their filmic adaptations by directors such as Visconti, De Sica, Bertolucci. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience. (Given in English)

This course examines works by writers of Italian descent, focusing on themes linked to the second-generation experience, such as intergenerational conflict, gender relations, the return journey, and the quest for identity. The comparative approach of this investigation will bring within the same framework the diasporic literatures of Canada, the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, and of other countries. (Texts available in English and in their original language).  This course includes a component designed to enhance students’ research experience.  (Given in English)

This advanced-level course is designed to provide students with further study of the Italian language and culture with emphasis on varied methods of expression. This course will improve students' oral and written communication skills.   

The course will focus on the writings of women in different periods of Italian history. Spanning a variety of genres, from the novel to autobiography, from poetry to essayism, the course will discuss various aspects of the debate regarding the changing roles of women in society. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.

Opportunity to apply acquired knowledge in a work placement environment. The placement will take place in local community organizations, Private Business Associations and local media.

A course designed for advanced students. Written translation of literary, administrative, business, and semi-technical texts from English into Italian and Italian into English. This course includes a component designed to enhance students' research experience.

An opportunity to pursue at the 400-level an independent course of study not otherwise available. A written proposal, co-signed by the instructor, must be submitted on the appropriate proposal form for approval by the Department of Italian Studies. Application deadline: April 30 for F courses, November 30 for S courses.

In exceptional circumstances, students may request to pursue at the 400-level an independent course of study not otherwise available. A written proposal, co-signed by the instructor, must be submitted on the appropriate proposal form for approval by the Department of Italian Studies. Application deadline April 30.

Based on a professor’s research project currently in progress, this course will enable an undergraduate student to play a useful role in the project while receiving concrete training in research. This course is mandatory for all students enrolled in the specialist’s program.

This course, linked to the instructor’s research project, will provide training in a variety of research methods. This course includes a component designed to enhance students’ research experience.