Italian Courses Winter 2023

Winter 2023 Courses

Language Courses

ITA 002: Elementary Italian

For instructor information, see https://registrar-apps.ucdavis.edu/courses/search/index.cfm

Lecture/Discussion–5 hour(s); Laboratory. Pre-requisite(s): ITA 001 or ITA 001S. Students enrolling for the first time at UC Davis are encouraged to take the Italian Placement Exam. GE credit: AH, WC

In this course, students build on the foundations established in the first quarter of Elementary Italian to continue learning how to communicate effectively and accurately in the language. Meanwhile, students expand their cultural knowledge about Italy and refine their intercultural competence to negotiate between their identities and backgrounds and Italy’s cultures. How do you describe past events in Italian? What is it like to order food at a restaurant in Italy? What are tigelle and crescentine? As the second course of Elementary Italian sequence, Italian 002 delivers the answers to these and other questions, and provides opportunities to discover the geography, history, art, society, and cultural norms of Italy while studying the structure of Italian language. Throughout the quarter, for example, students read poems by famous Italian writers, such as Giacomo Leopardi and Gianni Rodari, and write their own poems inspired by them. More broadly, this course helps students to acquire important skills that are vital in any professional setting, such as interpersonal skills, creative expression, and cultural sensitivity. Italian 002 meets five days a week, and students are expected to study grammar and complete the homework on their own before each meeting. In class, students gradually absorb the language and recognize the interconnectedness between reading, writing, listening, speaking, and cultural learning. Students can expect the instructor to employ a variety of approaches, including communicative activities, in-pair and group work, grammar reviews, reading sessions, to foster learning. All class meetings are conducted in Italian and in person. Student attendance, participation, and input are essential and encouraged.

ITA 022 Intermediate Italian 
Dr. Viola Ardeni

Lecture/Discussion–4 hour(s); Laboratory. Pre-requisite(s): ITA 021 or ITA 021S. Students enrolling for the first time at UC Davis are encouraged to take the Italian Placement Exam. GE credit: AH, OL, WC, WE

In this course, students continue to expand upon the linguistic and cultural foundations built in their past learning of Italian through grammar exercises, short essays, novel excerpts, short films, and newscasting. In Italian 022, students also search for the answers to questions like: what are the interpersonal dynamics of contemporary Italian families? What is the M.O.S.E.? How did the Italian peninsula become one nation? They do so by simulating in class the real-life conversations and debates happening in Italy and among Italians right now. As the second course of the Intermediate Italian sequence, Italian 022 empowers students to hone their conversational and written Italian, and to develop sophisticated cultural knowledge that puts into dialogue Italian cultures with other cultures. Throughout the quarter, for example, students read poems by famous Italian writers, such as Grazia Deledda and Leonardo Sciascia, and write their own poems inspired by them. More broadly, this course cultivates skills that are crucial to any future career, such as critical analysis, effective writing, and cultural sensitivity. Italian 022 meets four days a week, and students are expected to individually review grammar and complete their homework before each class meeting. In class, students put into practice the rules, address the exemptions, and share ideas. Students can expect the instructor to employ a variety of approaches, including communicative activities, in-pair and group work, grammar reviews, reading and writing sessions, to foster learning. All class meetings are conducted in Italian and in person. Student attendance, participation, and input are essential and encouraged.

ITA 031 Beginning Italian for Spanish Speakers
Dr. Viola Ardeni

Lecture/Discussion–5 hour(s). Pre-requisite(s): SPA 003, SPA 003V, SPA 003Y, two years of high-school Spanish/French/Portuguese/Romanian, or native or heritage speaker of Spanish/French/Portuguese/Romanian. Students enrolling for the first time at UC Davis are encouraged to take the Italian Placement Exam. GE credit: AH, OL, WC

This course aims at bridging the gap between Italian and other Romance languages, with particular emphasis on Spanish, by drawing on the students’ previous and/or inherited knowledge. The goal is not only to communicate effectively and accurately in Italian, but to also acquire intercultural competence to negotiate between your linguistic and cultural identities and Italy’s cultures. Is Spanish like Italian when it comes to expressing gender? How is Italy’s school system? Which are the Italian zone blu? As the first course of the intensive sequence of Beginning Italian for Spanish speakers, Italian 031 delivers the answers to these and other questions, and provides unique opportunities to discover together the geography, history, art, society, and cultural norms of Italy while studying the structure of Italian language and recognizing connections between Romance languages and cultures and Italy. Throughout the quarter, for example, students read poems by the famous Italian writer, Gianni Rodari, and they write our own poems inspired by him. More broadly, this course helps students to acquire important skills that are vital in any professional setting, such as interpersonal skills, creative expression, effective writing, and cultural sensitivity. Italian 031 meets five days a week, and students are expected to individually study and complete the homework before each meeting. In class, students start covering the basic syntactic and morphological parallels between Italian and other Romance languages to enhance their metalinguistic knowledge at an intensive pace. Students can expect the instructor to employ a variety of approaches, including communicative activities, in-pair and group work, grammar reviews, reading sessions, to foster the interconnectedness between reading, writing, listening, speaking, and cultural learning. All class meetings are conducted in Italian and in person. Student attendance, participation and input are essential as well as encouraged.

Undergraduate Courses

ITA 101: Advanced Conversation, Composition & Grammar
Dr. Viola Ardeni

Lecture–3 hour(s). Pre-requisite(s): ITA 009, ITA009S, or the equivalent. Students enrolling for the first time at UC Davis are encouraged to take the Italian Placement Exam. GE credit: AH, OL, WC, WE

How do classic fairy tales sound in Italian? How does Italian writers like Italo Calvino and Emma Dante adapt them? How would your own original fairy tale be? This course explores the answers to these questions by honing the students’ advanced Italian language knowledge through exercises focused on grammar in context. As and advanced conversation course, Italian 101 also provides a collaborative setting where to converse in Italian about cultural topics brought forth by fairy tales (beauty, marriage, sexuality, etc.), and specific Italian cultural elements, such as regional linguistic variation or women’s labor conditions. Finally, Italian 101 refines writing skills through expository and creative writing; specifically, the writing of prose and poetry inspired by four classic fairy tales (Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White). Broadly, this course helps students to acquire important skills that are vital in any professional setting, such as critical thinking, effective writing, creative expression, and cultural sensitivity. Italian 101 meets twice a week, and students are expected to individually complete the assigned homework before each class meeting. In class, students discuss the material and the cultural issues at stake and put them in conversation with their own cultural selves. Students can expect the instructor to employ a variety of approaches, including debates, in-pair and group work, grammar reviews, writing sessions, etc., to foster learning. All class meetings are conducted in Italian and in person. Student attendance, participation and input are essential as well as encouraged. Italian 101 is required for students pursuing a Major or Minor in Italian.

ITA 115A: Studies in the Cinquecento
Prof. Grace Delmolino

Tues/Thurs 10:30-11:50am, Wellman 127

Ever heard of Galileo, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, or the Medici family? In this course you’ll learn about these famous Italians and their contributions to science, art, political theory, economics, and the cultural legacy of the Renaissance. Learn why Galileo was put under house arrest for asserting that the Earth revolved around the sun—impress your friends and family by using the term “Machiavellian” correctly—and discover how to apply the courtly principle of sprezzatura, the art of seeming effortlessly good at everything you do. The idea of a “Renaissance man” (or woman) is someone with competence in every domain of human achievement. In this course, you’ll learn a little bit of everything by studying the long Cinquecento, the transformative and innovative period from the late 1400s to the early 1600s.

Taught in Italian. Satisfies Renaissance period requirement for Italian Major.

Prerequisite: ITA 23 or consent of instructor (gdelmolino@ucdavis.edu)

GE credit: AH, OL, WC.

ITA 198 - Dialects and Contemporary Italy
Prof. Eric Louis Russell

M/W/F 10:00 – 10:50, Wellman 3

This course introduces you to the study of Italian dialects, both their form and use, as well as to the ways that dialects function in different social settings. Each of you will “adopt” your own dialect (we’ll collaborate to make sure there isn’t significant overlap), to which you’ll apply each of the foci we discuss, comparing and contrasting this to standard Italian and learning more about how it functions within respective sociolinguistic settings.

The course is split into four mini-units, one introduction and three focus areas: the lexicon, vocabulary and borrowing; phonetics, accent, and pronunciation; and sociolinguistics or language in society. No prior linguistics study is required, but students should have completed the lower-division Italian language sequence (beginning and intermediate) or its equivalent.

Another goal of our quarter is to continue progress in language proficiency: reading, writing, speaking, and listening will use Italian to the greatest extent possible (and English or other languages minimally). Through this practice, you will have opportunity to take important steps forward in building your “Italian linguistic home” – always with generosity and patience toward yourself and to others in the class.

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