Italian

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrollment is by permission of the instructor. The aim of the course is to illustrate the diversity of the world's languages and the implications of this diversity for a general theory of language and its use, discussing the main methods and results of the typological-functionalist approach and of the approaches developed in the pragmatic field. Through the comparison of different languages, belonging to the various families attested in the world, the theoretical and methodological bases for the analysis of structural, semantic and pragmatic diversity of human languages are discussed in detail, also in relation to cultural diversity. At the end of the course, students are able to trace different languages back to different 'linguistic types' and have an up-to-date knowledge of threatened and endangered languages; have a thorough knowledge of the notions of linguistic and pragmatic universals; be able to set up and carry out autonomously an interlinguistic comparison with respect to single linguistic and pragmatic phenomena; be familiar with the main techniques of data collection and linguistic documentation; and be able to orient themselves within the descriptive grammars of different languages.

The course is organized in five parts. For each topic, different perspectives and theoretical proposals are compared, in the light of the most recent scientific debate:

1. Introduction to linguistic diversity
2. The world's languages and their health status.
3. Analyzing linguistic diversity: data collection and methods of analysis
4. Linguistic typology: seeking order in chaos
5. Explorations of linguistic diversity

The topics addressed in the second part of the course are listed below. The list may be subject to change depending on the specific interests of the attending students.

• Different languages construct words differently: morphological types
• Subject and object in world’s languages: syntactic types
• The categorization of time and reality: languages without time markers, time and reality of nouns and adjectives
• Noun categories: genders (how many?) and number (beyond singular and plural...)
• Parts of speech: how are people, things, and events categorized? Are there languages without adjectives?
• The expression of gratitude in the world's languages: is saying 'thank you' a universal phenomenon or does it depend on education and culture?
• How to communicate misunderstanding? The expression of error and its repair in world languages
• Languages without AND and languages without OR: connectives beyond logical distinctions

A basic knowledge of general linguistics is required. Those who have never taken a basic linguistics exam will have to recover independently, by studying a basic manual (Berruto & Cerruti 2011 is suggested).

A four-skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking) language course with a generally communicative approach, using classroom-based and additional digital components, to Level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

This course consolidates and expands both receptive and productive skills through a variety of learning tasks, to be carried out individually and/or in group. It aims at fluency and accuracy and it fosters independent learning.

This is an independent research course with research arranged between the student and faculty member. The specific research topics vary each term and are described on a special project form for each student. A substantial paper is required. The number of units varies with the student’s project, contact hours, and method of assessment, as defined on the student’s special study project form.

This course covers the essential lines of food history in an economic, social, and cultural perspective, based on reading documentary, narrative, literary, and scientific sources, by way of examples of document interpretation and an introduction to proper historical work. The course introduces the use of original documents, narratives, and literary and scientific sources as starting points for historical research. The course provides the general outlines of food history and food cultures, with special emphasis on Italian and European history between the Middle Ages and the Modern Age. Its 15 lectures are structured in such a way that each includes a theoretical part and an analytical part discussing sources relevant to the topic covered in part 1. Topics include: the birth of Food History as a discipline, methodology, birth, and evolution of dietetic science in the West, food in Antiquity and Middle Ages, food in Europe, food production and land management, city supply and markets, eating behaviors, food and social identities, birth of written cookbooks, dissemination of European gastronomic cultures, the Colombian Exchange, Italian identity in the kitchen, and history and myth.

The Elementary Italian course provides students with the essential language skills to communicate effectively in common Italian contexts, covering the first level of Italian proficiency. Through a communicative approach and a strong emphasis on active participation, it helps students to quickly improve their ability to interact with Italians. Engaging in role-playing, group work, in and out of class task-based activities and oral and written tests, learners are immersed in the Italian language, reinforcing their listening, speaking, reading and writing abilities. Assignments and projects deepen their understanding of Florentine life and Italian culture. By the end of the course, students acquire foundational language skills as well as insights into Italy's rich cultural tapestry. 

The course offers a solid basis of the Italian language, beginning from its phonetics and fundamental grammar. The course begins with students becoming familiar with names; their number and gender; articles; verb grammar (present and past), and pronouns. The study then progresses through conversation, games and the production of simple texts.

The course teaches correct application of the basics of Italian language; focuses on apprehending expressions used in everyday context, and instructs on beginner level reading comprehension.

This course provides general knowledge of Italian contemporary history and the main interpretations of it. The course prepares students to transmit the knowledge acquired, adopting the appropriate vocabulary and being versed in the historiographical debate. It covers the methodologies used by the research on social classes including basic mass culture and consumption phenomena. It provides awareness of how sources and choice of methodology bear on the ultimate result. The course covers: Italy from the First to the Second Republic; the main political, economic, and social junctures that represented the framework within which the democratic political system was reconstituted in Italy in the aftermath of the Second World War; the institutional as well as the economic and social framework, always keeping the international context as a reference perspective; the various moments that have marked the history of the Italian peninsula since the Second World War, from reconstruction to the economic boom, from the years of revolts and movements to the crisis of the First Republic and of that party system that had contributed to rewriting the democratic political framework. Finally, attention is focused on the different generations of men and women who were protagonists of that history.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by permission of the instructor. At the end of the seminar, the student improves the knowledge of the Italian grammar. The student obtains the necessary linguistic abilities to understand and to analyze complex texts, as literary texts and related to the specialist bibliographies about the disciplinary area of the courses. The student is able to create texts in order to expose complex contents. The class is structured around the following activities: the analysis of Italian language through the study of literary texts and essays; an introduction to the reading of main bibliography of the courses in the first year of IS; producing texts and cultural and professional projects; commentaries and analysis of academic texts such as book, film, and art exhibition reviews and descriptions; and a focus on oral exposure aimed the presentation of cultural projects, events, shows, and exhibits. Students must have completed the equivalent of two or more years of university-level Italian language study as a prerequisite for this course.