(Offered in English) An in-depth analysis of Machiavelli’s The Prince, from historical, social, and political perspectives.

(Offered in English and Italian) An exploration of literary representations of love and sex in Medieval and Renaissance Italy. Writers studied include Dante Alighieri, Francesco Petrarca, Giovanni Boccaccio. Other topics include politics, power, and success through the writings of Pietro Aretino, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Baldassare Castiglione, Lorenzo de’ Medici. Texts will be available in Italian and English.

(Offered in English and Italian) This course investigates the concept of “the animal,” the process of animalization, and the dichotomy between humans and animals in modern Italian literature, film, and poetry. Through a diverse selection of works in which animals serve as symbols, characters, or creative catalysts, students explore how animal representations shape narrative structures and challenge anthropocentric perspectives. The course also delves into the ethical, philosophical, and social dimensions of animal imagery in modern Italian thought. Featured authors include Giambattista Basile, Dino Buzzati, Italo Calvino, Elsa Morante, Giovanni Verga, and Umberto Saba. 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 Italian) A study of Italian dialects, regional variants, and the effect that immigration and emigration have had on the language as we read, hear, and speak it today.

(Offered in Italian) A theoretical-practical approach to language teaching and learning. Based on relevant scholarship, students evaluate existing materials and create their own original exercises which they have the opportunity to implement in another Italian language course.

(Offered in Italian) A theoretical-practical approach to language teaching and learning. Based on relevant scholarship, students evaluate existing materials and create their own original exercises which they have the opportunity to implement in another Italian language course.

(Offered in English and Italian) An internship opportunity (minimum 100-hours) for students interested in gaining experience in a branch of Education such as teaching, curriculum, administration, etc. Placements, determined in consultation with the student, may include elementary, secondary, or college/university classes, units, and departments. To request an internship placement, write to the program coordinator of Italian prior to course enrolment. As part of this course, students can choose to participate in an international experience that may involve added costs and require a supplementary application process.

(Offered in Italian) An examination of the notions of self, gender and society amidst the emergence of new social consciences and technologies in the 19th century. Writers studied include Giacomo Leopardi, Alessandro Manzoni, Giovanni Verga, and the works of the first Italian woman recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Grazia Deledda.

(Offered in English) An analysis of the masterpieces of Italian fiction (in English translation), examined against the backdrop of modern-day Italy and centred on issues of national and individual identity. Writers studied include Sibilla Aleramo, Alberto Moravia, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Cesare Pavese, Umberto Saba, Italo Svevo, and Elio Vittorini. Texts will be available in Italian and English.

(Offered in English) An exploration of expressions of gender diversity in Italian culture through time. Particular attention will be paid to issues of persecution, social struggle and activism, censorship, and marginalization of LGBTQ+ individuals and works. Texts will be available in Italian and English.

(Offered in English) This course explores the contributions of Black Italian writers, filmmakers, artists, and activists, analyzing a diverse range of works through historical, political, and social lenses. Central themes include identity, alterity, gender, and race. The course features works by Ubah Cristina Ali Farah, Anna Maria Gehnyei, Fred Kudjo Kuwornu, Amara Lakhous, Marie Moïse, and Igiaba Scego, among others. Texts will be available in Italian and English. Experiential Learning Opportunities include engaging with authors, filmmakers, scholars, community organizations, and diasporic networks, and participating in virtual tours of locations featured in the works studied.  

(Offered in English) Students will develop a deeper and more nuanced understanding of key theories and practices as they relate to the central topics investigated in the course. The course may have a historic, literary, cinematic, cultural, or other focus. Students should contact the Department for the topic when course is offered. 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.

An internship opportunity for students interested in gaining work-place experience, in private or public sectors. Placements, determined in consultation with the student, may include corporations, local media, non-profit community organizations. To request an internship placement, write to the program coordinator of Italian prior to course enrolment. As part of this course, students can choose to participate in an international experience that may involve added costs and require a supplementary application process.

(Offered in English, performances in Italian) A study of 15th- to 18th-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). An in-depth study of the Inferno, in Dante’s Divine Comedy. Texts will be available in Italian and English.

(Offered in English) An in-depth study of Purgatory and Paradise, in Dante’s Divine Comedy. Texts will be available in Italian and English.

An investigation of the intellectual trends and literary forms in Italy from the pre-enlightenment to Romanticism. Readings from the works of Vico, Muratori, Gravina, Metastasio, Rolli, Parini, Verri, Beccaria, Goldoni, Alfieri and others.

(Offered in Italian) A study of the foundations of the Italian language. Topics/key figures in focus include the transition from Latin to Italian, Dante Alighieri, the “Questione della lingua”, during the Renaissance. Students will explore those and other topics through pertinent readings and linguistic analyses of representative texts.

(Offered in Italian) A study of the Italian language, from the 19th century to the present, with a focus on contemporary varieties as spoken and written within and outside of national borders. Changes in the language will be analyzed through syntactic, lexical, and morphological perspectives as well as by looking at factors which affect those adjustments (contact with other languages, media, etc.).

This is an advanced-level Italian language practice course. Emphasis is given to enhancing oral proficiency, including pronunciation, and to acquiring and practicing nuances and subtleties of the language. Students enrich their language skills through Experiential Learning Opportunities (e.g., interviewing guest speakers, engaging in webinars and virtual tours).

A directed-research project, facilitated by a supervising faculty member in the Italian Studies program. Research may be in cinema, culture, linguistics, literature, or theatre.

A project supervised by an Italian Studies faculty member on a topic in Italian language, literature or linguistics.

A directed-research project, facilitated by a supervising faculty member in the Italian Studies program. Research may be in cinema, culture, linguistics, literature, or theatre.

A close, practical study in which students observe, actively participate in, and reflect on the teaching and learning processes in an Italian language course, under the supervision of a member of the Italian Studies program. Students develop and implement strategies for the successful delivery of lesson plans and grammatical and communicative activities.

A close, practical study in which students observe, actively participate in, and reflect on the teaching and learning processes in an Italian cinema, literature, or theatre course, under the supervision of a member of the Italian Studies program. Students develop and implement strategies for the successful delivery of lesson plans and discussion-based activities.

(Offered in Italian) A directed-research project for students registered in the UTM Italy Study Abroad Program. Projects are facilitated by a supervising faculty member in the Italian Studies program.

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.

This course offers an introduction to the study of the relationship between language and society with the goal of understanding language use through social structures. Working within this socially-informed perspective, topics covered will include language, perception, and identity development; verbal and non-verbal communication; speaking across cultures; language use and social networks; and language and power. This course counts towards only the English Language Linguistics Minor (ERMIN1200); it does NOT count towards the Linguistic Studies Minor (ERMIN0506) nor the Linguistic Studies Major (ERMAJ1850).

This course offers an in-depth study of a particular region or language from a linguistic and anthropological perspective. In some cases this will involve focusing on a particular language or speech community (e.g., Vietnamese) including its historical development and the ways in which its boundaries have been defined. In other cases, it will involve a broader, regional approach (e.g., mainland Southeast Asia). Topics vary from year to year but may include semantic and grammatical structure, language variation and use, language pragmatics, poetry and poetics, literacy and orality, political discourse, historical linguistics and comparative reconstruction, language contact and shift.