Notre Dame Department of Romance Languages and Literatures: Italian Courses, Spring 2008

Language background, or whatever may be required for the courses listed on this page, is indicated within each separate description. For information on lower level language courses in Italian, please contact the department office, 343 O'Shaughnessy Hall. For information on the major in Italian, please contact Professor Moevs.

ROIT 20201      INTERMEDIATE ITALIAN I                      VARIOUS TIMES   MWF
J. Kriesel, K. Serafin
An advanced, third-semester college language course. Emphasis on expansion and refinement of oral and written language skills (competence) requisite for work in upper-level language and literature courses. Reading and discussion of a variety of literary and nonliterary texts of appropriate difficulty. Grammar review is a secondary component.

ROIT 20215 INTENSIVE INTERMEDIATE ITALIAN       VARIOUS TIMES MWF, T/R
A. Blad, P. Vivirito
Intensive Intermediate Italian is an accelerated language and culture course, combining the study of more complex language structures, communication tasks and cultural concepts in a stimulating daily classroom environment. If you have completed ROIT 10115 or ROIT 10102 successfully and are ready for a challenge, this course may be the perfect continuation for you. It completes the university language requirement and counts as two courses toward the major or minor. It is recommended for students who wish to advance their linguistic preparation significantly before study abroad.

ROIT 21205     PRE-STUDY ABROAD: JOURNEY TO ITALY              4:30-5:45 W
A. Blad
     This course is designed for students planning to spend a semester or a year abroad in Notre Dame's study abroad programs in Rome or Bologna, Italy. By means of a carefully planned program of film viewings, lectures, discussions and internet guided tours organized by Notre Dame's Italian Studies faculty, students will be provided with an advanced introduction to the history and topography of Rome/Bologna, Italian lifestyle(s), pop music and youth cultures, service learning, sport and internship opportunities, as well as cultural events, including opera theatre and music concerts scheduled for AY 2006-2007 in Bologna and Rome. The Italian Studies faculty will also assist students in assessing their linguistic and cultural competency in Italian, and in fashioning individualized learning goals for their study abroad experience.

ROIT 27500-01         INTERMEDIATE ITALIAN II: MEDIA & CULTURE       11:45-12:35 MWF
A. Blad
        This course offers students a new and interesting view on Italian Contemporary Culture by putting the young generation at the center of study. The expansion of vocabulary and the study of grammar will be incorporated in the discussion of different readings, movies, music, passions and habits of the young Italian generation. The context of the course will offer to students numerous possibilities for debating and negotiating their personal views which will guide the development and refinement of oral and written proficiency. The course will include a variety of creative presentations, role-plays, and other collaborative assignments. Prerequisites: three semesters of Italian. This course counts as a 200-level course toward the Italian major or minor.

ROIT 27500-02            INTERMEDIATE ITALIAN II: ART & CULTURE   1:45-12:35 MWF
   G. Lenzi-Sandusky
        In this course students will continue to develop their skills in speaking, reading and writing Italian through selected readings in Italian art and culture. It includes the study of intermediate-advanced grammar structures while familiarizing students with new and interesting vocabulary based on the specific cultural content areas such as the patronage, the artists and the techniques that produced some of the masterpieces of western art. Students will broaden their linguistic abilities and cultural knowledge through videos, interviews, commentaries, articles, pamphlets, slides and the University's art collections. Assignments will include individual and group presentations, a midterm and a final. Prerequisites: three semesters of Italian. This course counts as a 200-level course toward the Italian major or minor.

ROIT 30310-01, 02       TEXTUAL ANALYSIS                 1:30-2:45 MW, 11:00-12:15 T/R
K. Serafin, C. Sbordoni
   This course introduces the fundamental principles and techniques of literary analysis in each of the major genres (lyric poetry, short story, theatre, epic poetry, novel), while presenting a sampling of masterpieces and authors from across the whole Italian literary tradition. The course also aims to increase fluency in speaking, reading, and writing Italian, by comprehensively reviewing and exploring grammar, and by consistent practice of language skills. Requirements include grammar quizzes, short essays, brief presentations, and a final exam. Taught in Italian. Pre-requisite: ROIT 202 or equivalent; ROIT 201 (or equivalent) by permission. Recommended for majors and supplementary majors.

ROIT 30721       MODERN ITALIAN LITERATURE AND CULTURE      2:00-3:15 T/R
J. Welle
   Conducted in Italian, this course provides a survey of major literary authors, literary genres, as well as examples of contributions to theatre and cinema, from the eighteenth century to the present. Writers and playwrights to be treated include Goldoni, Foscolo, Leopardi, Verga, D’Annunzio, Pirandello, Marinetti, Deledda, Ginzburg, Calvino, and Fo. A number of significant modern and contemporary films will also be analyzed. Requirements include participation in class discussions, a number of brief papers and oral reports, as well as midterm and final exams.

ROIT 30830/63830        HIGH RENAISSANCE & MANNERIST ART         2:00-3:15 T/R
R. Coleman
Leonardo, Michelangelo, Bramante, and Raphael provide the basis of study of one of the most impressive periods of artistic activity in Italy - the High Renaissance in Rome and Florence. The course also investigates the origins of Mannerism in the expressive achievements of Jacopo Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino, and the succeeding generation of late-Renaissance maniera artists who helped to formulate a new courtly style.

ROIT/LLRO 40116                       DANTE II                                             12:30-1:45 T/R
C. Moevs
Dante's Comedy is one of the supreme poetic achievements in Western literature. It is a probing synthesis of the entire Western cultural and philosophical tradition that produced it, a radical experiment in poetics and poetic technique, and a profound exploration of Christian spirituality. Dante I and II are a close study, over two semesters, of the entire Comedy, in its cultural (historical, literary, artistic, philosophical) context. Dante I covers the works that precede the Comedy (Vita Nuova, Convivio, De vulgari eloquentia) and the Inferno, Dante II covers the Purgatorio and Paradiso, along with the Monarchia. These are separate courses, and can be taken independently, though they do form an integrated sequence. The course and all discussion will be conducted in English. Dante's minor works will be read in English translation; all critical articles will be in English. The Comedy will be read in facing-page translation, and we will refer to it in Italian. Acquaintance with Latin or a Romance language is therefore helpful, though not strictly necessary. Crosslist LLRO 40116, ROIT 40116, MI 40553, 60553, LIT 73665

ROIT 40150        AMORI INFELICI, AMORI FELICI                            2:00-3:15 T/R
C.Sbordoni                 .
Conducted in Italian, this course explores various representations of unhappy and happy love in Medieval and Renaissance Italian literature, as they were shaped by six of the major Italian authors of those times, through a selection of texts of different genres: lyric poetry, short narrative, chivalrous epic, pastoral drama. The first part of the course will focus on stilnovistic poetic experiences in the late Duecento, Cavalcanti's destructive love and Dante's Vita Nuova and Rime, and on its ripest fruits: Boccaccio's realistic "paintings" of happy and unhappy loves in days fourth and fifth of the Decameron and Petrarch's tireless identification of love and poetry in his Canzoniere. The second part, focused on Quattrocento Florence and central Italy, will present texts by Poliziano, Lorenzo de' Medici and Boiardo. The third part will concentrate on the Cinquecento: Gaspara Stampa's Rime, Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, Tasso's Aminta. The discussion of the texts will be accompanied by forays into visual arts (painting and sculpture) and music. Crosslist MI

ROIT 40230                       RENAISSANCE WOMAN                       1:30-2:45 M/W
J. DellaNeva
This course, taught in English, is designed as an introduction to the study of women and literature of the Renaissance period in Europe. It will treat the subject of the "Renaissance woman" in three ways. First, there will be a brief historical overview of the condition of women of different social classes during this period, focusing on topics such as their education, the role of marriage, and the convent as an alternative to married life. Secondly, it will survey how women were viewed in the literature written by men in various European countries. Here we shall read, in English, excerpts from Dante and the courtly love tradition, Petrarch and the Petrarchists, Shakespeare, and Rabelais, among others. We shall also consider the portrayal of women in artistic works of this time, comparing this to their literary representation. Next, we shall study the literature created by women during the Renaissance in Europe. During this part of the course, we shall consider some of the problems generated by women's writing, using Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own as a point of departure for our discussions. At the end of the course, we will resume our study of the image of woman in the Renaissance by reading a modern play set at that time (Peter Whelan's The Herbal Bed on the trial of Shakespeare's daughter) that treats some of the issues facing women at that time. There will be two medium length analytical papers and a final cultural presentation in lieu of an exam. Furthermore, active participation in classroom discussions - including short oral presentations on assigned topics -- will be expected and a close reading of the texts will be emphasized.

ROIT 41590                        ITALIAN THEATRE WORKSHOP                  5:00-6:15 T/R
J. Welsh
   Students participating in this exciting total immersion theatre workshop will work together to put on a full-scale professional-level production of a play by Dario Fo Gli imbianchini non hanno ricordi. Students may be involved not only as actors, but also as designers of sets, costumes, and publicity/audio. This is an exciting and challenging way to greatly improve your speaking and communication skills, while getting to know an important work of literature. The workshop is open to students of all levels of Italian and may also be taken for FTT (Film, Television, and Theatre) credit. Every rehearsal and design meeting as well as all written communication will take place entirely in Italian. Participants must have completed Italian 10101 and 10102 or Intensive Italian 10115. Exceptions may sometimes be made for students who have completed only10101; please contact the instructor with any questions.

ROIT 42116    DANTE II DISCUSSION GROUP                                 DAY/TIME TBD
C. Moevs
        Students of the Italian language are eligible to sign up for an additional single credit discussion section as part of the Language across the Curriculum (LAC) initiative in the College of Arts and Letters. Choosing this option means that students will read a canto per week of the Comedy in Italian and meet once a week with a section leader who will guide a discussion in Italian and grade some brief writing assignments. The LAC discussion section in Italian associated with this course will be graded on a pass/fail basis and credited to the student's transcript. Up to three LAC discussion credits can be applied toward a major, secondary major, or minor in Italian.

ROIT 53000         SENIOR SEMINAR: OPERA & POLITICS                                 9:30-10:45 T/R
P. Polzonetti

Taught in Italian, this course offers an introduction to the major features of opera as theatre. We will use our opera glasses to look at Italian politics and culture during two crucial moments in history: 1) the end of the great period of the Enlightenment; 2) Italy’s foray into colonialism following the Italian nationalistic movement that led to Unification (the Risorgimento). The class is divided into two parts. Part one focuses on Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia. Both comic operas are based on Beaumarchais’ Figaro saga, but are respectively set before and after the French Revolution. Part two focuses on colonial themes in two late 19th-century tragic operas: Verdi’s Aida and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Lectures, student presentations, and discussions will be in Italian, with readings in both English and Italian. The Italian Seminar is required for Majors and Supplementary Majors.

ROIT 63116                       DANTE II                                                    12:30-1:45 T/R
C. Moevs
Dante's Comedy is one of the supreme poetic achievements in Western literature. It is a probing synthesis of the entire Western cultural and philosophical tradition that produced it, a radical experiment in poetics and poetic technique, and a profound exploration of Christian spirituality. Dante I and II are a close study, over two semesters, of the entire Comedy, in its cultural (historical, literary, artistic, philosophical) context. Dante I covers the works that precede the Comedy (Vita Nuova, Convivio, De vulgari eloquentia) and the Inferno, Dante II covers the Purgatorio and Paradiso, along with the Monarchia. These are separate courses, and can be taken independently, though they do form an integrated sequence. The course and all discussion will be conducted in English. Dante's minor works will be read in English translation; all critical articles will be in English. The Comedy will be read in facing-page translation, and we will refer to it in Italian. Acquaintance with Latin or a Romance language is therefore helpful, though not strictly necessary. Crosslist LLRO 40116, ROIT 40116, MI 40553, 60553, LIT 73665

ROIT 63550                ITALIAN MEDIA SYSTEM                            3:30-6:00 W
P. Ortoleva

This course explores the explosive changes in the Italian media system over the past three decades in relation to the transformation of politics and society. Cultural production in fashion and design, popular and serious music, television and cinema, book publishing, the cell phone phenomenon and new media will be analyzed within the broader dynamics of general media change. Taught in English. Cross list LIT 73876, ROIT 63550, FTT 40243

ROIT 63830/30830 HIGH RENAISSANCE & MANNERIST ART         2:00-3:15 T/R
R. Coleman
       Leonardo, Michelangelo, Bramante, and Raphael provide the basis of study of one of the most impressive periods of artistic activity in Italy - the High Renaissance in Rome and Florence. The course also investigates the origins of Mannerism in the expressive achievements of Jacopo Pontormo, Rosso Fiorentino, and the succeeding generation of late-Renaissance maniera artists who helped to formulate a new courtly style.

ROIT 63955                   MANZONI
C. Moevs                                                                                3:30-6:00 R
     Alessandro Manzoni's Promessi Sposi is an enduring classic, one of the great novels of nineteenth century Europe. Its importance in forging the cultural, literary, and linguistic identity of the emerging Italian nation is rivalled only by Dante's Comedy. In this seminar we will read the Promessi Sposi in its historical and cultural context (the tension and fusion between enlightenment and romantic ideals at the threshold of the Italian nation-state), paying special attention to the work's artistic, social, and religious aims as a novel at once historical, political, and self-consciously Catholic. We will also, through the course of the seminar, look at Manzoni's other works (the other redactions of the Promessi Sposi, the poems, plays, and essays) to try to form a complete picture of Manzoni's intellectual, cultural, religious itinerary in relation to his time. The seminar will be conducted in Italian, and will require student presentations and a research paper.