Winter 2022

Winter 2022 Italian Courses


ITA 002 Elementary Italian
Jay Grossi

  • Section 001 CRN 29843
  • Section 002 CRN 29844
  • Section 003 CRN 29845

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

Students build on the foundations established in ITA 001 to continue learning how to communicate effectively and accurately in Italian while expanding their cultural knowledge about Italy but also the 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 together the geography, history, art, society, and cultural norms of Italy while studying the structure of Italian language. 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 individually study grammar and complete the homework 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. Taught in Italian. Student attendance, participation, and input are essential and encouraged.

Required Textbook: Melucci & Tognozzi, Piazza, Student Edition: Introductory Italian, 2nd edition (Cengage) textbook + MindTap
ISBN-10: 1-337-56581-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-337-56581-3

MindTap ISBN: 9781337565844

ITA 022 Intermediate Italian
Viola Ardeni / CRN 44453

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

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 personal dynamics of contemporary Italian families? What is the M.O.S.E.? How did the Italian peninsula become one nation? Students 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. 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. Taught in Italian. Student attendance, participation and input are essential as well as encouraged.

Required Textbook: Cummings & Pastorino, Immagina 3rd edition (Vista Higher Learning) Looseleaf textbook + Supersite Plus + webSAM, ISBN: 978-1-54330-443-5

OR Cummings & Pastorino, Immagina 3rd edition (Vista Higher Learning) Supersite Plus + webSAM CODE-ONLY, ISBN: 978-1-54330-563-0

Equitable Access ISBN: 978-1-54334-604-6

ITA 031 Beginning Italian for Spanish Speakers
Viola Ardeni / CRN 29847

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 

 Students bridge the gap between their previous and/or inherited knowledge of Spanish and other Romance languages and the fundamentals of the Italian language in order to communicate effectively and accurately in Italian. Students also acquire intercultural competence to negotiate between their linguistic and cultural identities and Italy’s cultures. What does student life look like in Italy? What is il calcio? How do you describe past events in Italian? 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. 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 grammar and complete the homework before each meeting. In class, students absorb the language and recognize the interconnectedness between reading, writing, listening, speaking, and cultural learning 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 learning. Taught in Italian. Student attendance, participation and input are essential as well as encouraged.  

Required Textbook: Melucci & Tognozzi, Piazza, Student Edition: Introductory Italian, 2nd edition (Cengage) textbook + MindTap 
ISBN-10: 1-337-56581-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-337-56581-3

MindTap ISBN: 9781337565844 

ITA 108 Contemporary Italian Culture
Professor Grace Delmolino / CRN 44454

In this course, we will attempt to define what makes Italy "Italy" in the 21st century. What is the current political climate and how did it get there? What are the major social issues in Italy today (race, family, unemployment, religion, etc.)? What constitutes Italian pop culture and what does that say about the Italian creative imaginary? How has Italy’s recent and not-so-recent history shaped the nation?

No prerequisite: those with little/no knowledge of Italian and an interest in Italy are welcome!

Lecture/Discussion—3 hour(s); Term Paper. Analysis of cultural issues in contemporary Italy: Myth and reality of imagined Italies, Italian identities; immigration and race relations; the media and popular culture. Taught in English. GE credit: AH, OL, SS, VL, WC, WE.

GE credit: AH, OL, SS, VL, WC, WE.

ITA 115D Early Modern Italian Lyric 
Professor Grace Delmolino / CRN 44455

What is a “poem”? Why should we read poetry? Why are there so many poems about love? Can poetry help us un heartbreak, joy, anxiety, uncertainty, identity and other big experiences in our lives? We’ll consider these questions as they apply to early modern Italian poetry. Beginning with Petrarca’s Canzoniere, and continuing to the poetry of Renaissance women writers like Gaspara Stampa and Vittoria Colonna, we’ll study the development of the lyric tradition from the 1300s to the 1600s. Students will write short, low-stakes creative exercises imitating various formal aspects of the poetry we read, as well as longer essays interpreting the significance of a poem. Taught in Italian and fulfills the literary period requirement (Renaissance) for the Italian Major.

Prerequisite: Italian 009(S) or the equivalent or consent of instructor (gdelmolino@ucdavis.edu).

Lecture/Discussion—3 hour(s); Term Paper. Prerequisite(s): ITA 009 or ITA 009S; or Consent of Instructor. Examination of the poetic tradition influenced by Petrarch. Consideration of the relation between gender and genre in such poets as Petrarch, Bembo, della Casa, Tasso, Marino, Gaspara Stampa, Veronica Franco, Isabella di Morra.

GE credit: AH, WC, WE.