The Department of Italian is committed to providing the university
community with an authentic experience of Italian language, literature, and
culture, and to providing intercultural and interdisciplinary knowledge as well
as fundamental analytical tools. The language is taught with an emphasis on
four skills: comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. Literature and
culture are taught with an emphasis on critical analysis, intercultural skills,
and interdisciplinary approaches. Equipped with linguistic skills and refined
insights into a different culture, students acquire the ability to interact in
changing local and global environments and to participate in them with deeper
understanding and greater effectiveness.Departmental Learning Goals and Expected OutcomesGoal I. General Linguistic Proficiency
Students achieve the linguistic and intercultural competence
necessary to communicate in Italian. Our instructors teach Italian with an
emphasis on cultural immersion and interpersonal modes of communication.
Students will be able to read and write texts in formal, literary, and academic
registers.Goal II. Cultural
Proficiency
Students achieve the skills necessary to research and critically
analyze Italian culture (literature, film, art, design, fashion, etc.). In
addition to culture courses taught in Italian, courses taught in English
provide the same skills to students without prior knowledge of Italian and
Italian American culture.Goal III. Professional
Preparation
Students learn about research and writing methods in Italian
literature and culture, which equips them with the necessary skills to enter
graduate programs in the humanities or professional graduate schools, including
law schools and schools of international affairs or diplomacy, as well as
careers in education, international business (finance, import/export, wine,
food, and fashion), journalism, and public relations.
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