To the Italian Community at UC Davis and beyond,
Salve a tutte e tutti! My name is Viola Ardeni and I’m a Lecturer in Italian and the Italian Language Program Coordinator at UC Davis. I write on behalf of all faculty members and instructors in Italian (Grace Delmolino, Roxanne Elliott, Jay Grossi, Eric Russell, and Michael Subialka). Together, we teach, design courses, conduct research…in short, we run the Italian language program as well as the Major and Minor in Italian at UC Davis! I’m so happy to be writing our very first newsletter to all of you. Now that October is well underway, our courses of Italian language and culture have all started, and chances are you are enrolled in one of them. This quarter, we are offering ITA 001 Elementary Italian (welcome to the program! Benvenute e benvenuti!), ITA 021 Intermediate Italian (welcome back, spero che abbiate passato una buon’estate!), ITA 104 Italian Translation and Style (keep up the good work, traduttrici e traduttori!), and ITA 128 Topics in Italian Culture (thanks for taking our latest course on fascism…historical and present!). The academic year has also started for our student-run club, C.I.A.O. (Club Italiano Americano Organizzato). C.I.A.O.’s newly appointed President, Aracely Medina Garcia, has been leading weekly meetings, with the help of the Vice-President, Anna Lena Molteni, and the Treasurer, Siena Costanzo. The C.I.A.O. President has also joined the Faculty Advisor for Italian (Eric Russell), one of our tutors, Darlene Chen, and me in our first Italian Conversation Hour. It has been a busy beginning, and we’re excited for what’s coming next.
FUTURE EVENTS…DA NON PERDERE!
- The next C.I.A.O. meeting is taking place tonight, at 6:10 pm on Zoom (ID: 95266414407). Log it at this link to attend a virtual cooking night! Next week, October 25, there will be an Ognissanti/Halloween celebration, and on November 6, you should join C.I.A.O. for a social outing and some gelato eating.
- On Tuesday, November 8 at 6:10pm, C.I.A.O. and the Italian Program are proud to host our Fall Film Night, in 1002 Cruess Hall. Join us for the screening of Favola (Fairytale, 2018) by Sebastiano Mauri and with Filippo Timi. You may catch the trailer here, if you’re curious.
FUTURE COURSES…ALSO DA NON PERDERE!
In Winter 2023, we will offer ITA 002 Elementary Italian (ITA 001’s natural continuation), ITA 032 Beginning Italian for Spanish Speakers (speakers of other Romance languages are also encouraged to enroll!), ITA 101 Advanced Conversation, Composition, and Grammar (you’ll write your own fairy tale!), and ITA 115A Studies in the Cinquecento (learn what really a “Renaissannce man” …or woman, is!).
Roma, Italy - Courtesy of Eric Louis Russell
INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH
Questo mese, abbiamo intervistato…Siena Costanzo, the C.I.A.O. Treasurer as well as the Italian Peer Advisor!
What do you study? I am a double Major in English and Italian, with a double Minor in Archaeology and Sexuality Studies.
What do you like doing in your free time? Baking, reading, painting, and recently, I learned how to bind book.
What is your favorite thing about learning Italian language and culture? I love being able to speak fluently with my grandmother, we even text now. Nobody else in the family speaks Italian, so it has been nice to bring Italian back to the family. I also enjoy having Italian as a secrete language between my grandmother and me; it has created a lot of fun situations.
What is the first thing you will do next time you are in Italy? Go to a bookstore. I really want to buy a book in Italian from Italy.
Do you have something to say to our readers? I have candy at my office hours.
Courtesy of Siena Costanzo
LO SAPEVATE CHE…
…lo scorso 25 settembre ci sono state le elezioni politiche in Italia, che ora infatti ha un nuovo parlamento! Ma sapete chi h vinto? Qui c’è una descrizione degli eventi.
ITALIAN EXPERIENCES
L’esperienza di questo è mese è di…Yadhira Linares, one of our Italian tutors.
How has the studying and learning of Italian language and culture informed your life here and your time at UC Davis? It has obviously helped with the learning of a new language, but it has also opened my mind and has had an effect to my everyday life here. Learning Italian language and culture has opened doors to things I did not expect, like eating new food, listening to music, or watching shows. Now it’s part of my learning and something I want to interact with; before I was all about Mexico and the US! Perché penso che imparare italiano mi ha aiutato moltissimo! Even my experience at UCD has been affected.
Courtesy of Yadhira Linares
That’s all for now. We’ll be back mid-November with more events, reminders, and testimonials from the Italian community at UC Davis and beyond. A presto!