Program Director: Alessandro Vettori
Director of Undergraduate Studies: Andrea Baldi
Program Faculty:
Andrea Baldi, Italian; Ph.D., California (Los Angeles)
Rudolph Bell, History; Ph.D., CUNY
T. Corey Brennan, Classics; Ph.D., Harvard
Eric Davis, Political Science; Ph.D., Chicago
Paola Gambarota,
Italian; Ph.D., Yale
Archer St. Clair Harvey, Art History; Ph.D., Princeton
Samantha Kelly, History; Ph.D., Northwestern
Tod Marder, Art History, Ph.D., Columbia
David Marsh, Italian; Ph.D., Harvard
Sarah Blake McHam, Art History; Ph.D., Institute of Fine Arts (New York)
Paul McLean, Sociology; Ph.D., Chicago
Catherine Puglisi, Art History; Ph.D., Institute of Fine Arts (New York)
Kirk Sanders, Classics; Ph.D., Texas (Austin)
Jonah Siegel, English; Ph.D., Columbia
Alessandro Vettori, Italian; Ph.D., Yale
Rhiannon Noel Welch, Italian, Ph.D., California (Berkeley)
Laura S. White, Italian; Ph.D., California (Los Angeles)
Virginia Yans-McLaughlin, History; Ph.D., SUNY (Buffalo)
Major Requirements
The Italian studies option is designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the peoples, history, language, literature, and arts of Italy and the Italian diaspora from antiquity through the present. It consists of 36 credits, distributed as follows. Five courses are taken in Italian language and/or literature, beginning at the level of 01:560:131 or higher, and continuing with 01:560:132 and 321. The other two courses of the five can be taken either in Italian (01:560:322, 250; 305,306) or in English, as per the list of electives in Italian. (Students planning on careers demanding a high level of Italian language proficiency are encouraged to take all five courses in Italian.) All students must also take the two core seminars, 01:560:231 (within one semester of declaration of major) and 01:560:232, with a 1-credit Civic Engagement and Service Education Partnerships (CESEP) component (after returning from Study Abroad experience). Five additional courses forming a coherent set are to be chosen from the Italian studies course list with the approval of the Italian studies director.
Students are encouraged to choose an option around which elective courses may be selected across disciplines (art history, classics, history, Italian, music). Possible options include a period specialization, such as ancient Italy, early modern Italy, modern Italy, or a theme, such as the classical tradition, imperial myths, humanism, cultural identity, the role of women. No more than three courses or 9 credits may be taken in any one discipline.
All majors must take part in a study abroad experience. Participation in the Rutgers Study Abroad yearlong or semester program in Florence, Ferrara, or Rome, the Italian department summer program in Urbino, or an approved equivalent fulfills this requirement. Up to 9 credits of the 15 elective credits meeting the approval of the Italian studies director can be taken toward the major in the Rutgers Study Abroad yearlong or semester program in Florence, Ferrara, or Rome, or the Italian department summer program in Urbino.
Italian Studies Minor
The Italian studies minor consists of six courses or a total of 18 credits. At least three of the six courses must be taken in the Italian language and/or literature beginning at the level of 01:560:131 Intermediate Italian or above. The remaining three courses may be chosen from the Italian studies course list.
Honors in Italian Studies
Students with a 3.0 or better GPA and an average of 3.5 or better in the major will be invited to write an honors thesis, which may be supervised by any Italian studies faculty member. The thesis project may earn up to 6 credits toward the Italian studies major.
