Italian

The aim of this course is to help students review and learn advanced structures of Italian grammar and vocabulary and to explore contemporary aspects of Italian culture. The course is strongly focused on communication: students learn the language they need to interact with Italian speakers in real-life situations. Students can understand a wide range of complex, longer texts, and recognize implicit meaning. They can express ideas fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for words expressions. They use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic, and professional purposes, and they produce clear, well-structured, detailed texts on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organizational patterns, connectors, and cohesive devices. Readings, homework, and in- and out-of-class activities are designed to help students expand their knowledge of Italian language and grammar. At this level, students are considered proficient users who can handle a wide range of elaborate ideas, and communicate fluently and spontaneously on personal, work-related and academic topics. They can demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of Italian culture within the broader framework of global perspectives in a multicultural world. All four abilities (writing, speaking, listening, reading) are developed, also with the support of authentic audiovisual materials such as Italian movies, short videos, tv programs, and songs. The course uses a communication-based approach: students engage in daily role-plays, group activities, games, and class discussions. Out of class activities are designed to take advantage of the opportunities for interaction and language practice, as well as immersion in Italian culture, that the city provides.

This course guides students through the history of Italian film, from its beginnings to the present day, using films shot in the Eternal City which has captured the minds of filmmakers for over a century. The course reviews the main currents and genres, from silent film to the “white telephone” films, from Neorealism to the Commedia all’italiana, from the great directors such as Roberto Rossellini, Mario Monicelli, Ettore Scola, Nanni Moretti, Cristina Comencini, and Paolo Sorrentino. Students watch these self-representations of Italians and their capital city to deepen their understanding of Italy and Italians, how they presented themselves to the world, what they were really like, and what they aspired to be. The lens of cinema allows students to understand the shifting cultural identity of Italy over the years, on both the local and global stage. Students experience the “Hollywood on the Tiber” first-hand by visiting the famous places where the films assigned to the course were made. Students participate on a special excursion to Rome’s world-famous Cinecittà studio, where some of the most famous films have been made by both national and international directors like Federico Fellini, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Sergio Leone, William Wyler, and Wes Anderson.