General information about the Columbia College Program
Columbia College Bulletin
Undergraduate Major in Italian Literature Worksheet
Undergraduate Major in Italian Cultural Studies Worksheet
Columbia College Major/Concentration Declaration/Change Form
Study Abroad Approval Form
A major in Italian
offers students the opportunity to study Italian literature and culture
in an intimate, seminar setting with the close supervision of the
department’s faculty. The department offers the major or concentration
on two tracks: Italian literature and Italian cultural studies. Both
programs include a prerequisite and a corequisite sequence of language
courses designed to give students a command of written and spoken
Italian.
The major in Italian literature exposes students to some of the key
authors and works in Italian literature from the Middle Ages to the
present. The basic required sequence ( V3333 -
V3334
) provides an overview of major authors and works in the Italian
literary tradition. Students select an additional five courses from the
department’s offerings in Italian literature.
The major in Italian cultural studies provides students with the
opportunity to explore diverse aspects of Italian culture from the
Middle Ages to the present. The basic required sequence ( W4502 -
W4503
) is an interdisciplinary investigation into Italian culture since
national unification in 1860. In consultation with the director of
undergraduate studies, students select an additional five courses from
the department’s 3000- or 4000-level
offerings or from other humanities and social science departments with a focus
on Italian culture.
Highly motivated students have the opportunity to pursue a senior
thesis or tutorial project under the guidance of a faculty advisor in
an area of Italian literature or culture of their choosing. The thesis tutorial (V3993) will count for three points and can be substituted for one of the five aforementioned courses.
Departmental courses taught entirely in English do not have
linguistic prerequisites and students from other departments who have
interests related to Italian culture are especially welcome.
Italian language instruction employs a communicative approach that integrates
speaking, reading, writing, and listening. Courses make use of materials that help
students to learn languages not just as abstract systems of grammar and vocabulary
but as living cultures with specific content. Across the levels from elementary
to advanced, a wide range of literary, cultural and multimedia materials, including
books, film, and opera, supplement the primary course text. The sequence in elementary
and intermediate Italian enables students to fulfill the College’s foreign
language requirement and thoroughly prepares them for advanced study of language
(
V3335 - V3336) and for literature courses taught in Italian. Specialized language courses allow
students to develop their conversational skills. For highly motivated students, the
department offers intensive elementary and intensive intermediate Italian, both of
which cover a full year of instruction in one semester. Courses in advanced Italian,
although part of the requirements for a major or a concentration in Italian literature or cultural studies,
are open to any qualified student whose main goal is to improve and perfect their
competence in the language. It is recommended that advanced undergraduate students take one of the following composition courses: Italian W4000 - Stylistics; Italian W4012 - Laboratorio di Scrittura; or Italian W4018 - Laboratorio di Traduzione, if they are considering graduate studies in Italian or a career that requires
superior command of spoken and written Italian.
A wide range of cultural programs are sponsored by the Italian
Academy for Advanced Studies in America, located in Casa Italiana.
These programs, which include the activities of the Italian Poetry Review, the Columbia Seminar on Modern Italian Studies, and the Italian
Academy Film Festival,
enrich the learning experience of the student and offer opportunities
to meet distinguished Italian and Italian-American visitors to the
University. The Paterno book collection is housed in Butler Library and
contains valuable resources on Italian literature and culture.
For inquiries into the Department and its Undergraduate and Graduate degrees offered please contact 212-854-2308 or italian@columbia.edu.
