This is a beginner- to intermediate-level Italian language course. The course provides a thorough review of grammatical structures designed to improve the students’ self-expressiveness in Italian.

Students enrich their language skills and engage with various aspects of Italian culture through Experiential Learning Opportunities (e.g., virtual tours of Italian cities and key institutions).

(Offered in Italy) A beginner to intermediate-level language course. The course provides a thorough review of grammatical structures designed to improve the students’ self-expressiveness in Italian. Selections from contemporary authors and passages dealing with present-day issues are also introduced as a basis for discussion in Italian. In this course students will be participating in an international learning experience that will have an additional cost and application process. Students have the option of participating in co- and extra-curricular learning experiences. When those are offered, additional costs and application processes may apply.

(Offered in English) An introduction to 20th-century Italian literature. Writers studied include Italo Calvino, Dacia Maraini, Elsa Morante, and Alberto Moravia. Texts will be available in Italian and English.

(Offered in English) This course examines 20th- and 21st-century Italian narratives with a focus on how gender, identity, and marginalization are represented and contested in literary texts. Emphasizing speculative and genre-defying works, the course explores how female-identified writers innovate literary forms to engage with pressing social, political, and cultural transformations in contemporary Italian society. Authors studied include Sibilla Aleramo, Elena Ferrante, Dacia Maraini, Margaret Mazzantini, Melania Mazzucco, Anna Maria Ortese. Texts will be available in Italian and English. Experiential Learning Opportunities include engaging with authors, filmmakers, and scholars, and participating in virtual tours of locations featured in the works studied.

(Offered in English) This course provides an introduction to second language pedagogy with a particular focus on Italian. Students will learn key concepts in pedagogy and compare the teaching and learning processes and experiences of first and second language learners as well as the roles of classroom teachers and learners via the creation of linguistic portraits and pedagogical materials.

(Offered in English) This course examines the major works of Italy’s Tre Corone - Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca, and Giovanni Boccaccio - within the broader context of medieval Italian literature and culture. Through close stylistic and critical analysis of key genres, including lyric poetry, long narrative poetry, and the short story or novella, students explore how these foundational authors helped to shape the literary traditions of Italy and, more broadly, of Europe. The course also considers their pivotal role in the development of the Italian vernacular, a cornerstone of Italy’s linguistic and cultural identity. Texts will be available in Italian and English. Experiential Learning Opportunities include engaging with scholars and participating in virtual tours of locations featured in the works studied.

(Offered in English) A survey of foundation authors, such as Manzoni, Marino, Goldoni, Alfieri, Eco, Ginzburg, Levi, Ferrante, and their works, from the Baroque to present times. Texts will be available in Italian and English.

(Offered in English) An exploration of Italian fashion throughout the centuries, its presence in Italian literature (e.g. Dante, Castiglione, Leopardi), politics (e.g. Medici dynasty, fascism), movies (e.g. Roman Holiday, La dolce vita), television, and the influence of the “Made in Italy” brand globally. In this course, students have the option of participating in co- and extra-curricular learning experiences. When those are offered, additional costs and application processes may apply.

(Offered in English) An exploration of Italian culture through the lens of creative expression, examining how Italy’s artistic heritage (e.g., music, art, architecture, industry, automotive design) reflect and shape the country’s cultural identity. By considering Italian operas and their stars, such as Andrea Bocelli, to Renaissance masterpieces, like The Last Supper, to contemporary designers, such as Giorgetto Giugiaro (FIAT, Ferrari), students will discover the rich traditions and modern innovations that define Italy’s cultural identity and continue to inspire creativity all throughout the world. Students have the option of participating in local field trips (to, e.g., performances, art installations, museums, etc.). When travel experiences are offered, additional costs and application processes may apply.

(Offered in English) History through an examination of influential work in Italian literature (e.g. Artusi, Guerrini), art (e.g. Bellini, Caravaggio), and cinema (movements such as Neorealism, Comedy, Italian-Style). The course explores the relationship between the representation of food and questions of identity and diaspora and ponders a redefinition of authenticity. Students explore their own culinary patterns to discover links between history, food, culture, and identity. Students have the option of participating in local and international field trips (to restaurants, factories, farms). When travel experiences are offered, additional costs and application processes apply.

(Offered in English) This course examines cultural myths and legends from the 19th to the 21st century, focusing on oral and written traditions from Northern, Central, and Southern Italy. Through these narratives, students explore how Italian culture has addressed and redefined issues such as women’s rights, gender equality, and the constructions of masculinity and femininity. The course also critically investigates the origins and persistence of cultural stereotypes and clichés, and how these are reinforced—or challenged—through storytelling. Texts will be available in Italian and English. Experiential Learning Opportunities include engaging with authors, filmmakers, scholars, and participating in virtual tours of locations featured in the works studied. Students also have the option of participating in co- and extra-curricular learning experiences. When those are offered, additional costs and application processes may apply.

(Offered in English and Italian) An overview of key events in Italian civilization, from 1960 to present times, through a selection of various written materials and media. Topics include economy, the arts, media, and others. In this course, students have the option of participating in co- and extra-curricular learning experiences. When those are offered, additional costs and application processes may apply.

(Offered in English) A study of the most critically acclaimed and/or financially successful Italian films. Students also consider the differences and similarities in audience reception, depending on where (in Italy or abroad) films are released. Films analyzed include Bicycle Thieves, The Great Beauty, Life Is Beautiful, The Postman. In this course, students have the option of participating in co- and extra-curricular learning experiences. When those are offered, additional costs and application processes may apply.

(Offered in English) A study of Italian cinema and key themes that have emerged from the silver screen since the 1980s (e.g. family matters, celebrity culture, the crisis of cinema and the cinema of the crisis, identity and immigration, religion, crime, politics). Films analyzed include Il divo, Habemus Papam, Mediterranea, Nuovo cinema paradiso, Reality, The Son’s Room, Suburra, Videocracy.

(Offered in English) A portrait of Italian immigration through Diaspora Studies, history, and sociolinguistics. Students will also explore the journeys of their own communities. Texts will be available in Italian and English.

(Offered in English) A portrait of Italian immigration through artistic expression in the works of, for example, De Cicco, De Michele, Patriarca, Ricci, and others, to highlight the voices that helped to establish/shape Italian-Canadian Studies. Students will have the opportunity to interact with writers, directors, and artists from the Italian-Canadian community.

(Offered in English) An introduction to Italian Linguistics through a study of modern Italian phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. Comparisons are also made between current trends in Italian linguistics and other languages with which students are familiar. Texts will be available in Italian and English.

An opportunity to conduct in-depth original research with a supervising professor. Students learn research methods and share in the excitement and discovery of acquiring new knowledge. Students are invited to visit Research Opportunity Program for a list of participating faculty projects and for application details.

(Offered in English) A study of select onscreen adaptations of Italian novels, short stories, and plays. Students investigate interconnections, through comparative analyses, of literary excerpts and their film adaptation by authors and film directors, such as Giorgio Bassani, Roberto Faenza, Daniele Luchetti, Melania Mazzucco, Alberto Moravia, Leonardo Guerra Sèragnoli. Experiential Learning Opportunities include engaging with authors, filmmakers, and scholars, and participating in virtual tours of locations featured in the works studied.

(Offered in English) A study of organized crime and crime bosses and their representation onscreen, in American gangster films and in Italian movies about the mafia. Films analyzed include Donnie Brasco, The Godfather Trilogy, Gomorrah, Goodfellas, The Mafia Only Kills in Summer, Placido Rizzotto.

(Offered in English) This course examines an integral part of Italian cinema - Commedia all'italiana (Comedy, Italian Style) of the 1950s, and the ways in which it continues to influence film comedies today. As the subgenre is deeply rooted in the external contexts that surround a film’s release, discussions will attempt to answer whether laughter can indeed be the best medicine. Films analyzed include Divorce Italian-Style, The Easy Life, Life Is Beautiful, Marriage Italian-Style, Quo vado?.

(Offered in English) This course explores the influence that Spaghetti Westerns and, in particular, the works of Sergio Leone had on the Italian-American auteur, Quentin Tarantino. Works, from both Leone and Tarantino, are analyzed through a variety of lenses (cinematographic, cultural, theoretical). Films include A Fistful of Dollars, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The Hateful Eight, Kill Bill, Once Upon a Time in America, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Pulp Fiction.

(Offered in English, performances in Italian) A study of 19th- to 21st-century Italian plays and playwrights, culminating in the staging of a play from one of those eras. Students may take on acting and/or stage production roles.

(Offered in English) This course offers a complete, A-Z approach to the study of key aspects of Italy’s past and present, framed within historical, political, and artistic contexts. Through a selection of short stories and cinematic representations, students explore themes that help reconstruct the historical and cultural identity of contemporary Italy. Experiential Learning Opportunities include engaging with authors, filmmakers, and scholars, and participating in virtual tours of locations featured in the works studied. Students also have the option of participating in co- and extra-curricular learning experiences. When those are offered, additional costs and application processes may apply.

Please note that when this course is offered in Italy, the international learning experience will have an additional cost and application process.

(Offered in English) A study of the Golden Age of Italian cinema, Neorealism, and its relation to the political and social climate of post-war Italy. Consideration is also given to how these films were received in the 1940s versus how they are screened and felt by today’s viewer. Films analyzed include Bicycle Thieves, The Children Are Watching Us, Rome Open City, Shoeshine.

(Offered in English) An examination of the evolution and influence of Italian neorealism on films released in the 1950s and 1960s. Films analyzed include Miracle in Milan, La Strada, Two Women, Umberto D.

This is an intermediate- to advanced-level Italian language practice course. Students enrich their language and cultural proficiency through Experiential Learning Opportunities (e.g., interviewing guest speakers, engaging in webinars and virtual tours).

This is an intermediate- to advanced-level Italian language practice course. Students develop their writing skills and stylistic expression through comprehensive practice across diverse forms of writing and through Experiential Learning Opportunities (e.g., studio seminars and workshops with guest speakers, locally- and internationally-based award-winning authors).

This is an intermediate- to advanced-level Italian language practice course. The course enhances proficiency through active engagement with contemporary media, journalism, and social networks. Students examine foundational journalistic practices in digital contexts, explore key concepts and techniques in translation, such as subtitling, dubbing, and adaptation, critically compare human and machine-generated translations, and utilize digital tools for analyzing primary texts and translation practices. Students apply their language skills in real-world contexts by engaging in Experiential Learning Opportunities (e.g., collaborating with professionals in print and digital media, publishing, and editing industries).