Explore some major aspects and periods of the history, literature and culture of Italy, while consolidating, refining and further expanding the advanced-level competence that you have built in the previous years. Learn how to express yourself in Italian with increasing accuracy and sophistication.
Breathtaking duels and battles! Mighty warriors! Inescapable romances! Interplanetary journeys! The engaging stories coming straight from the Italian Renaissance are every bit as exciting as the latest Marvel movie or the next Star Wars episode. Join us in September, as we will explore the amazing worlds created by Boiardo, Ariosto and Tasso – just like you’d explore the world of your favourite videogame!
You can’t build a thorough understanding of today’s global culture if you don’t have any familiarity with the literary treasures of modern and contemporary Italy. In this course you will be introduced to a number of Italian writers who have contributed to shape the way in which we have come to think of ourselves and the world in the past one hundred years or so. The works of Luigi Pirandello, Eugenio Montale, Italo Calvino, Primo Levi, Roberto Saviano, among others, will provide us with the literary platform to explore such topics as national and personal identity, memory, love, justice, crime. Discussion of a variety of novels, short stories, memoirs, plays and poems will allow us to reflect on the often fuzzy boundary between fiction and reality, as well as on the role of Italian writers in the evolution of literary genres and styles.
Do you want to become better acquainted with a more sophisticated use of the Italian language? In Advanced Italian we will expand and consolidate your ability to comprehend Italian in a variety of social situations and refine your understanding and appreciation of both the history and the contemporary culture of Italy.
In this course you will examine the genre history, ideological implications, and cultural anxieties expressed by a selection of different Italian film genres. Popular films will introduce you to the most successful and exported genres of Italian Cinema: come and learn about Spaghetti Western, Comedy “Italian Style”, the Poliziesco, the Giallo Thriller, and the Italian Horror film!
On March 3rd, the grade 11 and grade 12 students from Saint Michael’s College School (Toronto), accompanied by their professors of Italian Anna di Meglio and Gennaro Di Leo, came to Western and joined our classes. Among our students, they recognized alumni of their own school who kept studying Italian, now at the university level.
It was a fun day, rich in activities, encounters and information.
We hope to see you again, ragazzi!
We would like to once again congratulate the winners in the most recent Modern Languages and Literature Photo Contest. First place winner, Becky Quinn, and third place winner, Laura Acquaviva, entered photos that were taken while on exchange in Siena!
Check out this article to see these beautiful photos and read about Becky’s and Laura’s experience while in Italy.
http://news.westernu.ca/2015/03/snapshots-experience-tapped-winners/
We all know that Western has talent; but did you know that Western has Italian talent as well? Yes, on Thursday March 26th, at 6:30 pm, come see the talent of Western’s Italian students. This Italian evening, also known as Serata Italiana, will take place in Conron Hall, also known as UC 224.
We hope you can join this evening of art and fun! See you Thursday!
Hello fellow Westerners!
Today we celebrate Italian Studies “Share the Link” Day! Which link? This link. Yes, we like to invite you all to share this link onto your Facebook page as a means of showing support for Italian Studies at Western University. Invite your friends to like our page and help our community grow.
Ask them to like this page or follow our blog. There are so many Italian events and activities in our Western community that it would be a shame if they missed out!
For example, we have a number of events in preparation, among which: a show that will feature our own students of Italian (Italian Serata), a symposium on Italian World War Two partisan that will conclude our film retrospective on the same theme with the screening of “l’uomo che verra”, as well as weekly gatherings with the Italian conversation club, and biweekly Italian Movie screenings with Cineclub Italiano.
Please everyone, help us grow! Share this link onto your Facebook page to show support for Italian Studies at Western. Also, check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/westernuitalian.
Thanks everyone!
Each year, the Modern Languages and Literature department holds a photo contest for the students who participated in a study abroad program. This contest gives students a great opportunity to share some of their favourite photos while promoting the range of opportunities that our department has available to students. This year there, the Modern Languages and Literature Photo contest received over 800 votes! We are proud to announce that two of the top three winners are in the Italian program.
Continue reading Modern Languages and Literature Photo Contest Winners
Italian Studies at Western University 