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What will I study?
Overview
The overall objective of the Italian Studies program is to teach you to process information from a wide variety of materials in Italian, both written and spoken. In subjects at all levels, you will be guided towards undertaking independent research projects into areas including language, literature, politics, cinema, theatre, travel writing, food and wine, immigration and identity.
Your course structure
The Bachelor of Arts requires the successful completion of 24 subjects (300-points), including at least one major. Most students study eight subjects each year (usually four subjects in each semester) for three years full-time, or the part-time equivalent.
Most Arts majors require 100 points of study (usually eight subjects) for attainment. This means out of your 300-point program, you have the opportunity to achieve two majors in your course.
COMPLETING YOUR MAJOR
Students completing a major or minor in Italian Studies will need to complete a certain distribution of compulsory and elective subjects based on their entry point. The core subjects in Italian are organised in a progressive sequence from Italian 1 through to Italian 6 and beyond. Entry and exit points are determined by the Italian Studies program based on the student’s background in the language, placement testing or prerequisites. Students normally progress through the subjects in consecutive order
For more information on required subjects, view the Handbook entry for this course.
BREADTH STUDIES
Breadth is a unique feature of the Melbourne Model. It gives you the chance to explore subjects outside of arts, developing new perspectives and learning to collaborate with others who have different strengths and interests — just as you will in your future career.
Some of our students use breadth to explore creative interests or topics they have always been curious about. Others used breadth to improve their career prospects by complementing their major with a language, communication skills or business expertise.
Explore this major
Explore the subjects you could choose as part of this major.
Electives
- Italian 1 12.5 pts
This subject provides a comprehensive introduction to contemporary Italian. Language classes will gradually familiarise the students with the structures, rules and skills necessary to communicate in Italian. Continuous assessment (through tests, exercises and other activities) is fundamental to evaluating the students’ progress in the acquisition of Italian. By the end of the semester, students should have developed oral and written competency in Italian and acquired the skills necessary to read and discuss simple literary texts.
- Italian 2 12.5 pts
This subject is a continuation of Italian 1 and / or Italian 1 (Mid Year Intensive). Students will extend their knowledge of the basic structures of the Italian language and will also widen their range of Italian vocabulary to further develop their ability to communicate through Italian. Students will be introduced to new aspects of contemporary Italian society through the programmatic study of topics ranging from Italian society, history, politics and cinema.
- Italian 1 (Intensive) 12.5 pts
This subject provides in intensive mode a comprehensive introduction to contemporary Italian. Language classes will gradually familiarise the students with the structures, rules and skills necessary to communicate in Italian. Continuous assessment (through tests, exercises and other activities) is fundamental to evaluating the students’ progress in the acquisition of Italian. By the end of the semester, students should have developed oral and written competency in Italian and acquired the skills necessary to read and discuss simple literary texts.
Compulsory
- Italian 3 12.5 pts
Students will consolidate and develop their ability to communicate in Italian while improving their understanding of Italian culture. A range of authentic media will be used to explore key themes in modern Italian society. This subject is designed for students with some prior knowledge, or experience, of the language, spoken and written. By the end of the semester, students should have attained a moderate level of complexity in speaking, listening, reading and writing of Italian, allowing them to expand their ability to engage in discussion, as well as to read, understand and produce a range of texts.
- Italian 4 12.5 pts
Students will further develop their communicative abilities in Italian and their understanding of Italian culture by engaging with authentic texts, written, spoken and audiovisual. A range of media and activities will be used to explore key themes in modern Italian society. The acquisition of structures such as the subjunctive and the passive will significantly extend students’ ability to understand and discuss information and views in Italian in both spoken and written form.
- Italian Cultural Studies A 12.5 pts
In this subject, taught either as a winter overseas intensive or on campus in semester 2, students will study key aspects of Italian culture, through the analysis of literary texts and other materials. Students will also have the opportunity to study the development of Italian society. By the end of the subject, students will have been introduced to a number of themes and texts in order to gain some understanding of the process of cultural analysis. They should also have acquired the ability to examine critically various aspects of Italian history and culture. Please note the winter overseas intensive is not available in 2021.
Compulsory
Complete this subject.
- Italian 5A 12.5 pts
In this subject students will be exposed to, and will work through, a number of different styles and registers. Students will undertake the study of selected literary and non-literary texts for the purpose of extending vocabulary and practising Italian conversation. By the end of the semester, students should have learnt to identify, and correctly use, the main registers of Italian, spoken and written. Students should also have improved their composition skills, and acquired the ability to discuss in Italian, both orally and in writing, extended prose texts.
Group A electives
Complete at least one of these subjects.
- To Hell with Dante 12.5 pts
This subject concentrates on selected cantos of Dante's Inferno. Students will develop techniques which will enable them to analyse the poetic language of the Inferno. Guided readings in secondary material will give students an understanding of some of the key medieval concepts of the Inferno. The subject is designed so that students will be in a position to appreciate and analyse one of the most impressive poems in western literature. By the end of the subject, students should have acquired some understanding of the basic theological, philosophical and literary concepts of the Inferno and have developed critical strategies for interpreting its poetry.
- Imaging Italy 12.5 pts
This subject is designed to allow students to explore representations of Italy through creative texts with a particular focus on visual narratives. It may include a study of aspects of Italian film, theatre, and visual art in their social and political contexts, and the relationship between those texts and the most relevant Italian cultural issues. Students will gain a better understanding of Italian cultural products and will improve their ability to analyse visual and written texts in Italian.
- Italian 8 12.5 pts
This subject continues its focus on the spoken and written language and culture of present day Italy. Students will undertake regular activities in order to further develop their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian to a higher standard. Students will expand their knowledge of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have further improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics.
- Languages of Venice: Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This intensive four-week study abroad subject will be taught in Venice between the end of November and December and focuses on the social and cultural spaces of Venice (real, imaginary, or interpreted): how these spaces were used, represented, and understood in early modern Venice. The subject will also explore how these private and public spaces were used in the early modern production of communication, information, and culture. Field trips to several sites and museums will provide students with the basic skills needed to work on fifteenth-century primary sources. On completion of this subject, students should have acquired an understanding of the use of languages and places in early modern Venice. Students will also be able to gain a basic knowledge of production and reception of culture and communication in early modern Venice and Europe.
- Italian Language in Focus 12.5 pts
This subject is designed to provide students with an analytical and comprehensive understanding of Italian usage. Topics will vary, and may include contrastive analysis of English and Italian, varieties of Italian, dialects, geographical variation, history of the Italian language, topics in applied linguistics. This subject is both descriptive and practical and is intended to give students a better understanding of Italian in its many contexts.
- Italian Fictions 12.5 pts
This subject will introduce students to the study of significant literary and/or visual and written texts, and may include the study of particular genres, authors, critical methodologies, literary and cultural schools or movements, cultural and/or literary developments in a particular century. Topics will vary according to current research and teaching interests of academic staff and various approaches and methodologies will be proposed.
- Contemporary Italy Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This subject provides students with a four-week intensive language and culture experience in Italy. Beginning in Milan, students will stay in a number of Italian cities/regions including Pavia, Parma, Prato/Florence, Sorrento and Rome. The focus of the subject will be an exploration of aspects of contemporary Italy including language, culture, society and the Arts. Students will be involved in a range of collaborative activities with local Italians, be exposed to Italian language and culture as it unfolds in everyday life in the 21st century and visit first hand a series of iconic Italian locations.
Group B electives
- A Taste of Europe: Melbourne Intensive 12.5 pts
In this course students learn about a selection of European cuisines and how they have been plated up for consumption in Melbourne. Food and wine are often used to support national and regional identity. In the first part of this course, students will consider the relationship between gastronomy and identity. Students will be introduced to a range of key culinary concepts and practices and the way we talk about them. Through analysis of some of the key features of French, Italian and Spanish cuisines, students will consider how these countries’ culinary profiles speak to wider socio-political issues such as authenticity, food and space, cultural practices and the history of food and wine.
In the second part of this course, students will consider issues of “authenticity” in the way cuisines are plated up for consumption in Melbourne. This will require students to interrogate their assumptions and expectations about European foods and wines and to reflect on their personal experience of the “taste” of Europe.
This subject will be offered on campus and online.
- Europe and its Others 12.5 pts
This subject explores portrayals and perceptions of perceived “Others” in Europe – such as Jews, Muslims, “gypsies” and refugees - and how they have contributed to European identities in the past and today. Looking at literature, film, philosophy, music, food and popular culture, the subject will seek to understand how Europe’s Others are essential to the formation and maintenance of national, ethnic and religious identities in many European countries. It will examine the role of Others “within” (such as the Jews) and Others “without” (such as colonial subjects) and consider kinds of European “Othering” that position the Other as either appealing and attractive or threatening and repulsive. From colonial-era exoticisation to present day xenophobia, European views of the Other have been central to definitions of the self and shaped the continent’s history, politics, culture and languages. Students will gain an appreciation of nation and national identity in Europe as a discursive and comparative process, and an understanding of the distinct national stories of a number of European countries.
- European Modernism 12.5 pts
European modernism refers to a wide range of experimental and avant-garde trends in literature and arts at the end of the 19th and early 20th century and has proven a major influence on current (Western) literature, film and the arts. This course introduces students to key themes of modernist literature, theatre, and film in Europe. The course familiarizes students with key writers and thinkers of this period and will address the ways in which they provoked their readers/viewers through new and complex forms and styles. Major themes comprise the crisis of representation, the representation of cosmopolitanism and urban cultural dislocation, consciousness and memory, and sexuality. (Students undertaking this subject will be expected to regularly access an internet-enabled computer).
- Memory & Memoirs of 20th Century Europe 12.5 pts
The eye-witness account and the personal memoir offer powerful ways of exploring the human legacy of overwhelming historical events on individual lives. But how do literary genres like the memoir and autobiography manage to speak about unspeakable topics, how do they represent the unrepresentable and write about trauma? What is the function, and what the effect, of writing memory for the victim, for the reader, and for the perpetrator? How do the offspring of the victims and perpetrators "remember" their parents" traumas and shape memories of events they have only experienced second-hand? What is the relationship between fiction and memory in memoir writing and how do we read a testimonial of a Holocaust survivor that has been faked? This subject will introduce students to a selection of testimonial writing and films that tell individual stories of a shameful national past. It explores the effect of generic convention on the relation of history and memory, and the need for generic invention to speak trauma and tell the un-tellable. Its focus will be on the Holocaust, the Algerian War, and life under Eastern bloc communist regimes. This subject will focus on writing from France, Germany, and Italy in the first instance, but may from time to time include writing from other parts of Europe.
- Language and Society in Europe 12.5 pts
This subject examines the relationship between language and society in Europe. It focuses on issues of relevance in an increasingly integrated Europe in which European and other languages are in contact through migration, travel, business, and mass media, and in which English is taking on an important role as a lingua franca. The topics to be covered include: the relationship between majority and minority languages, dialects and the standard language; bilingualism and multilingualism; semi-communication; language planning at state and European levels; politeness and forms of address; and the status and influence of English.
- Screening Europe: Image and Identity 12.5 pts
A team-taught study of European cinema during a period of intense political and social change. Students who complete this subject should be familiar with some of the major developments in cinematic representation in Europe from the early 20th century to the present. They should be able to relate the films studied to their national and European cultural and historical context.
Note: This subject is taught in English.
- Experiencing Foodscapes: Italy & Spain 12.5 pts
Italy and Spain are undoubtedly the culinary epicentres of the Mediterranean with food cultures that have intersected repeatedly since Ancient times. In this 18-day intensive in-country subject students will learn about the centrality of eating to Italian and Spanish ways of life and consider the relationship between identity, place and food. Through a series of programmed food activities, including hands-on experiences, students will explore different facets of Italian and Spanish culinary culture, experiencing first-hand two of the most important food trends in Italy and Spain: slow food in Italy and haute cuisine in Spain. Students will critique also the role of gender in relation to the food cultures of Italy and Spain, in particular the gendering of authority in the high-end kitchen Students will critique their own participation in food tourism and this subject will equip students with the conceptual and practical tools for developing intercultural sensitivity and adaptability.
Students will spend approximately 9 days in each country. Accommodation will be shared. Enrolment is by application and a quota will be applied. While there is no need to speak Spanish or Italian to complete this subject, special arrangements can be made for languages students.
- Introduction to Language Translation 12.5 pts
Translation is not a simple language replacement exercise; it is one of the main ways in which cultures shape political thought, literature, and science. This subject will offer answers to basic questions about how this happens. What are the main solutions available to translators? What goes on in the translating brain? How can technologies help translators? How does translation change in accordance with different languages and text genres? Students will also gain hands-on experience with the practical skills of post-editing, translation memories and subtitling.
- Languages at Work 12.5 pts
Learning a language culminates not only in linguistic and cultural proficiency but also in the development of advanced skills in areas valued by industry: intercultural competence, communication and lateral thinking. This subject offers students the opportunity to recognise and extend these skills by engaging with an industry collaborator in target-language communities in Australia. Students will work in teams to develop solutions, either to progress an existing project or to initiate a project, in consultation with the industry partner and in line with the rigour of workplace knowledge and processes. The subject brings together students from a mix of language majors and is taught in English, but will result in assessable outcomes in a target language.
The subject comprises three phases: 1) three initial weeks of seminars (delivered in English to students in all language streams) which introduce students to team- and project-work strategies, workplace culture, career pathways, as well as the industry partner’s multi-dimensional real-world challenge ; 2) eight weeks of collaborative work in a target language in response to a project brief, under close supervision and to a schedule of reporting deadlines; and 3) the presentation of project outcomes in the target language to an audience of industry specialists, community members and peers.
Compulsory
- Italian 3 12.5 pts
Students will consolidate and develop their ability to communicate in Italian while improving their understanding of Italian culture. A range of authentic media will be used to explore key themes in modern Italian society. This subject is designed for students with some prior knowledge, or experience, of the language, spoken and written. By the end of the semester, students should have attained a moderate level of complexity in speaking, listening, reading and writing of Italian, allowing them to expand their ability to engage in discussion, as well as to read, understand and produce a range of texts.
- Italian 4 12.5 pts
Students will further develop their communicative abilities in Italian and their understanding of Italian culture by engaging with authentic texts, written, spoken and audiovisual. A range of media and activities will be used to explore key themes in modern Italian society. The acquisition of structures such as the subjunctive and the passive will significantly extend students’ ability to understand and discuss information and views in Italian in both spoken and written form.
Compulsory
- Italian 5 12.5 pts
Students continue intensive revision and further development of the major areas of contemporary Italian language and culture. Through the analysis of language structures with a practical focus, students will extend their linguistic capacities in reading, writing, listening, speaking and describing the Italian language. Students also explore aspects of contemporary Italian literature, society and history through a programmatic study of post-war Italy. Students develop a critical capacity enabling them to understand and analyse a variety of text types (film, music, mass media, literature, etc.). Communication skills will also be developed through online and face-to-face collaboration in a range of in- and out-of-class activities, including a work-integrated learning group project which involves practical application of Italian language in a school setting.
- Italian 6 12.5 pts
Students in this subject intensively revise and further develop their knowledge of contemporary Italian language and culture. The subject combines analysis of language structures with a practical focus, all designed to extend students’ linguistic capacities in reading, writing, listening, speaking and describing the Italian language. Students also explore aspects of contemporary Italian literature, society and history through themes such as young people in contemporary society, and changing views on marriage and relationships. This subject assists students to develop a critical capacity enabling them to understand and analyse a variety of text types (film, music, mass media, literature, etc.).
- Italian Cultural Studies A 12.5 pts
In this subject, taught either as a winter overseas intensive or on campus in semester 2, students will study key aspects of Italian culture, through the analysis of literary texts and other materials. Students will also have the opportunity to study the development of Italian society. By the end of the subject, students will have been introduced to a number of themes and texts in order to gain some understanding of the process of cultural analysis. They should also have acquired the ability to examine critically various aspects of Italian history and culture. Please note the winter overseas intensive is not available in 2021.
Compulsory
Complete this subject.
- Italian 7 12.5 pts
This subject focuses on the spoken and written language and culture of present day Italy. Students will undertake regular activities in order to improve their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian. Students will explore aspects of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics of a general nature.
Group A electives
Complete at least one of these subjects.
- To Hell with Dante 12.5 pts
This subject concentrates on selected cantos of Dante's Inferno. Students will develop techniques which will enable them to analyse the poetic language of the Inferno. Guided readings in secondary material will give students an understanding of some of the key medieval concepts of the Inferno. The subject is designed so that students will be in a position to appreciate and analyse one of the most impressive poems in western literature. By the end of the subject, students should have acquired some understanding of the basic theological, philosophical and literary concepts of the Inferno and have developed critical strategies for interpreting its poetry.
- Imaging Italy 12.5 pts
This subject is designed to allow students to explore representations of Italy through creative texts with a particular focus on visual narratives. It may include a study of aspects of Italian film, theatre, and visual art in their social and political contexts, and the relationship between those texts and the most relevant Italian cultural issues. Students will gain a better understanding of Italian cultural products and will improve their ability to analyse visual and written texts in Italian.
- Italian 8 12.5 pts
This subject continues its focus on the spoken and written language and culture of present day Italy. Students will undertake regular activities in order to further develop their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian to a higher standard. Students will expand their knowledge of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have further improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics.
- Languages of Venice: Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This intensive four-week study abroad subject will be taught in Venice between the end of November and December and focuses on the social and cultural spaces of Venice (real, imaginary, or interpreted): how these spaces were used, represented, and understood in early modern Venice. The subject will also explore how these private and public spaces were used in the early modern production of communication, information, and culture. Field trips to several sites and museums will provide students with the basic skills needed to work on fifteenth-century primary sources. On completion of this subject, students should have acquired an understanding of the use of languages and places in early modern Venice. Students will also be able to gain a basic knowledge of production and reception of culture and communication in early modern Venice and Europe.
- Italian Language in Focus 12.5 pts
This subject is designed to provide students with an analytical and comprehensive understanding of Italian usage. Topics will vary, and may include contrastive analysis of English and Italian, varieties of Italian, dialects, geographical variation, history of the Italian language, topics in applied linguistics. This subject is both descriptive and practical and is intended to give students a better understanding of Italian in its many contexts.
- Italian Fictions 12.5 pts
This subject will introduce students to the study of significant literary and/or visual and written texts, and may include the study of particular genres, authors, critical methodologies, literary and cultural schools or movements, cultural and/or literary developments in a particular century. Topics will vary according to current research and teaching interests of academic staff and various approaches and methodologies will be proposed.
- Contemporary Italy Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This subject provides students with a four-week intensive language and culture experience in Italy. Beginning in Milan, students will stay in a number of Italian cities/regions including Pavia, Parma, Prato/Florence, Sorrento and Rome. The focus of the subject will be an exploration of aspects of contemporary Italy including language, culture, society and the Arts. Students will be involved in a range of collaborative activities with local Italians, be exposed to Italian language and culture as it unfolds in everyday life in the 21st century and visit first hand a series of iconic Italian locations.
Group B electives
- A Taste of Europe: Melbourne Intensive 12.5 pts
In this course students learn about a selection of European cuisines and how they have been plated up for consumption in Melbourne. Food and wine are often used to support national and regional identity. In the first part of this course, students will consider the relationship between gastronomy and identity. Students will be introduced to a range of key culinary concepts and practices and the way we talk about them. Through analysis of some of the key features of French, Italian and Spanish cuisines, students will consider how these countries’ culinary profiles speak to wider socio-political issues such as authenticity, food and space, cultural practices and the history of food and wine.
In the second part of this course, students will consider issues of “authenticity” in the way cuisines are plated up for consumption in Melbourne. This will require students to interrogate their assumptions and expectations about European foods and wines and to reflect on their personal experience of the “taste” of Europe.
This subject will be offered on campus and online.
- Europe and its Others 12.5 pts
This subject explores portrayals and perceptions of perceived “Others” in Europe – such as Jews, Muslims, “gypsies” and refugees - and how they have contributed to European identities in the past and today. Looking at literature, film, philosophy, music, food and popular culture, the subject will seek to understand how Europe’s Others are essential to the formation and maintenance of national, ethnic and religious identities in many European countries. It will examine the role of Others “within” (such as the Jews) and Others “without” (such as colonial subjects) and consider kinds of European “Othering” that position the Other as either appealing and attractive or threatening and repulsive. From colonial-era exoticisation to present day xenophobia, European views of the Other have been central to definitions of the self and shaped the continent’s history, politics, culture and languages. Students will gain an appreciation of nation and national identity in Europe as a discursive and comparative process, and an understanding of the distinct national stories of a number of European countries.
- European Modernism 12.5 pts
European modernism refers to a wide range of experimental and avant-garde trends in literature and arts at the end of the 19th and early 20th century and has proven a major influence on current (Western) literature, film and the arts. This course introduces students to key themes of modernist literature, theatre, and film in Europe. The course familiarizes students with key writers and thinkers of this period and will address the ways in which they provoked their readers/viewers through new and complex forms and styles. Major themes comprise the crisis of representation, the representation of cosmopolitanism and urban cultural dislocation, consciousness and memory, and sexuality. (Students undertaking this subject will be expected to regularly access an internet-enabled computer).
- Memory & Memoirs of 20th Century Europe 12.5 pts
The eye-witness account and the personal memoir offer powerful ways of exploring the human legacy of overwhelming historical events on individual lives. But how do literary genres like the memoir and autobiography manage to speak about unspeakable topics, how do they represent the unrepresentable and write about trauma? What is the function, and what the effect, of writing memory for the victim, for the reader, and for the perpetrator? How do the offspring of the victims and perpetrators "remember" their parents" traumas and shape memories of events they have only experienced second-hand? What is the relationship between fiction and memory in memoir writing and how do we read a testimonial of a Holocaust survivor that has been faked? This subject will introduce students to a selection of testimonial writing and films that tell individual stories of a shameful national past. It explores the effect of generic convention on the relation of history and memory, and the need for generic invention to speak trauma and tell the un-tellable. Its focus will be on the Holocaust, the Algerian War, and life under Eastern bloc communist regimes. This subject will focus on writing from France, Germany, and Italy in the first instance, but may from time to time include writing from other parts of Europe.
- Language and Society in Europe 12.5 pts
This subject examines the relationship between language and society in Europe. It focuses on issues of relevance in an increasingly integrated Europe in which European and other languages are in contact through migration, travel, business, and mass media, and in which English is taking on an important role as a lingua franca. The topics to be covered include: the relationship between majority and minority languages, dialects and the standard language; bilingualism and multilingualism; semi-communication; language planning at state and European levels; politeness and forms of address; and the status and influence of English.
- Screening Europe: Image and Identity 12.5 pts
A team-taught study of European cinema during a period of intense political and social change. Students who complete this subject should be familiar with some of the major developments in cinematic representation in Europe from the early 20th century to the present. They should be able to relate the films studied to their national and European cultural and historical context.
Note: This subject is taught in English.
- Experiencing Foodscapes: Italy & Spain 12.5 pts
Italy and Spain are undoubtedly the culinary epicentres of the Mediterranean with food cultures that have intersected repeatedly since Ancient times. In this 18-day intensive in-country subject students will learn about the centrality of eating to Italian and Spanish ways of life and consider the relationship between identity, place and food. Through a series of programmed food activities, including hands-on experiences, students will explore different facets of Italian and Spanish culinary culture, experiencing first-hand two of the most important food trends in Italy and Spain: slow food in Italy and haute cuisine in Spain. Students will critique also the role of gender in relation to the food cultures of Italy and Spain, in particular the gendering of authority in the high-end kitchen Students will critique their own participation in food tourism and this subject will equip students with the conceptual and practical tools for developing intercultural sensitivity and adaptability.
Students will spend approximately 9 days in each country. Accommodation will be shared. Enrolment is by application and a quota will be applied. While there is no need to speak Spanish or Italian to complete this subject, special arrangements can be made for languages students.
- Introduction to Language Translation 12.5 pts
Translation is not a simple language replacement exercise; it is one of the main ways in which cultures shape political thought, literature, and science. This subject will offer answers to basic questions about how this happens. What are the main solutions available to translators? What goes on in the translating brain? How can technologies help translators? How does translation change in accordance with different languages and text genres? Students will also gain hands-on experience with the practical skills of post-editing, translation memories and subtitling.
- Languages at Work 12.5 pts
Learning a language culminates not only in linguistic and cultural proficiency but also in the development of advanced skills in areas valued by industry: intercultural competence, communication and lateral thinking. This subject offers students the opportunity to recognise and extend these skills by engaging with an industry collaborator in target-language communities in Australia. Students will work in teams to develop solutions, either to progress an existing project or to initiate a project, in consultation with the industry partner and in line with the rigour of workplace knowledge and processes. The subject brings together students from a mix of language majors and is taught in English, but will result in assessable outcomes in a target language.
The subject comprises three phases: 1) three initial weeks of seminars (delivered in English to students in all language streams) which introduce students to team- and project-work strategies, workplace culture, career pathways, as well as the industry partner’s multi-dimensional real-world challenge ; 2) eight weeks of collaborative work in a target language in response to a project brief, under close supervision and to a schedule of reporting deadlines; and 3) the presentation of project outcomes in the target language to an audience of industry specialists, community members and peers.
- 12.5 pts
Students continue intensive revision and further development of the major areas of contemporary Italian language and culture. Through the analysis of language structures with a practical focus, students will extend their linguistic capacities in reading, writing, listening, speaking and describing the Italian language. Students also explore aspects of contemporary Italian literature, society and history through a programmatic study of post-war Italy. Students develop a critical capacity enabling them to understand and analyse a variety of text types (film, music, mass media, literature, etc.). Communication skills will also be developed through online and face-to-face collaboration in a range of in- and out-of-class activities, including a work-integrated learning group project which involves practical application of Italian language in a school setting.
- 12.5 pts
Students in this subject intensively revise and further develop their knowledge of contemporary Italian language and culture. The subject combines analysis of language structures with a practical focus, all designed to extend students’ linguistic capacities in reading, writing, listening, speaking and describing the Italian language. Students also explore aspects of contemporary Italian literature, society and history through themes such as young people in contemporary society, and changing views on marriage and relationships. This subject assists students to develop a critical capacity enabling them to understand and analyse a variety of text types (film, music, mass media, literature, etc.).
- 12.5 pts
This subject focuses on the spoken and written language and culture of present dayItaly. Students will undertake regular activities in order to improve their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian. Students will explore aspects of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics of a general nature.
- 12.5 pts
This subject continues its focus on the spoken and written language and culture of present day Italy. Students will undertake regular activities in order to further develop their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian to a higher standard. Students will expand their knowledge of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have further improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics.
- 12.5 pts
This subject, taught either as a winter overseas intensive or on campus in semester 2, allows students to study key aspects of Italian culture, primarily through the analysis of specific literary texts and/or films. Students will also have the opportunity to study the development of Italian society. By the end of the subject, students should have been introduced to a number of literary texts and/or films in order to improve their standard of comprehension and to gain some understanding of the process of literary/cultural criticism. They should also have acquired the ability to examine critically various aspects of Italian history and culture. Please note the winter overseas intensive is not available in 2021.
Compulsory
Complete this subject.
- Italian 9 12.5 pts
This subject involves a detailed analysis of a number of Italian texts, literary and non-literary, for the purpose of familiarising students with various registers and styles. There are regular oral and written practical exercises. The literature section provides an opportunity for students to practise their spoken Italian through the study of literary texts. By the end of the semester, students should have further developed their written and oral production skills and should have acquired the ability to competently discuss texts in Italian.
Group A electives
Complete at least one of these subjects.
- To Hell with Dante 12.5 pts
This subject concentrates on selected cantos of Dante's Inferno. Students will develop techniques which will enable them to analyse the poetic language of the Inferno. Guided readings in secondary material will give students an understanding of some of the key medieval concepts of the Inferno. The subject is designed so that students will be in a position to appreciate and analyse one of the most impressive poems in western literature. By the end of the subject, students should have acquired some understanding of the basic theological, philosophical and literary concepts of the Inferno and have developed critical strategies for interpreting its poetry.
- Imaging Italy 12.5 pts
This subject is designed to allow students to explore representations of Italy through creative texts with a particular focus on visual narratives. It may include a study of aspects of Italian film, theatre, and visual art in their social and political contexts, and the relationship between those texts and the most relevant Italian cultural issues. Students will gain a better understanding of Italian cultural products and will improve their ability to analyse visual and written texts in Italian.
- Italian 8 12.5 pts
This subject continues its focus on the spoken and written language and culture of present day Italy. Students will undertake regular activities in order to further develop their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian to a higher standard. Students will expand their knowledge of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have further improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics.
- Languages of Venice: Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This intensive four-week study abroad subject will be taught in Venice between the end of November and December and focuses on the social and cultural spaces of Venice (real, imaginary, or interpreted): how these spaces were used, represented, and understood in early modern Venice. The subject will also explore how these private and public spaces were used in the early modern production of communication, information, and culture. Field trips to several sites and museums will provide students with the basic skills needed to work on fifteenth-century primary sources. On completion of this subject, students should have acquired an understanding of the use of languages and places in early modern Venice. Students will also be able to gain a basic knowledge of production and reception of culture and communication in early modern Venice and Europe.
- Italian Language in Focus 12.5 pts
This subject is designed to provide students with an analytical and comprehensive understanding of Italian usage. Topics will vary, and may include contrastive analysis of English and Italian, varieties of Italian, dialects, geographical variation, history of the Italian language, topics in applied linguistics. This subject is both descriptive and practical and is intended to give students a better understanding of Italian in its many contexts.
- Italian Fictions 12.5 pts
This subject will introduce students to the study of significant literary and/or visual and written texts, and may include the study of particular genres, authors, critical methodologies, literary and cultural schools or movements, cultural and/or literary developments in a particular century. Topics will vary according to current research and teaching interests of academic staff and various approaches and methodologies will be proposed.
- Contemporary Italy Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This subject provides students with a four-week intensive language and culture experience in Italy. Beginning in Milan, students will stay in a number of Italian cities/regions including Pavia, Parma, Prato/Florence, Sorrento and Rome. The focus of the subject will be an exploration of aspects of contemporary Italy including language, culture, society and the Arts. Students will be involved in a range of collaborative activities with local Italians, be exposed to Italian language and culture as it unfolds in everyday life in the 21st century and visit first hand a series of iconic Italian locations.
Group B electives
- A Taste of Europe: Melbourne Intensive 12.5 pts
In this course students learn about a selection of European cuisines and how they have been plated up for consumption in Melbourne. Food and wine are often used to support national and regional identity. In the first part of this course, students will consider the relationship between gastronomy and identity. Students will be introduced to a range of key culinary concepts and practices and the way we talk about them. Through analysis of some of the key features of French, Italian and Spanish cuisines, students will consider how these countries’ culinary profiles speak to wider socio-political issues such as authenticity, food and space, cultural practices and the history of food and wine.
In the second part of this course, students will consider issues of “authenticity” in the way cuisines are plated up for consumption in Melbourne. This will require students to interrogate their assumptions and expectations about European foods and wines and to reflect on their personal experience of the “taste” of Europe.
This subject will be offered on campus and online.
- Europe and its Others 12.5 pts
This subject explores portrayals and perceptions of perceived “Others” in Europe – such as Jews, Muslims, “gypsies” and refugees - and how they have contributed to European identities in the past and today. Looking at literature, film, philosophy, music, food and popular culture, the subject will seek to understand how Europe’s Others are essential to the formation and maintenance of national, ethnic and religious identities in many European countries. It will examine the role of Others “within” (such as the Jews) and Others “without” (such as colonial subjects) and consider kinds of European “Othering” that position the Other as either appealing and attractive or threatening and repulsive. From colonial-era exoticisation to present day xenophobia, European views of the Other have been central to definitions of the self and shaped the continent’s history, politics, culture and languages. Students will gain an appreciation of nation and national identity in Europe as a discursive and comparative process, and an understanding of the distinct national stories of a number of European countries.
- European Modernism 12.5 pts
European modernism refers to a wide range of experimental and avant-garde trends in literature and arts at the end of the 19th and early 20th century and has proven a major influence on current (Western) literature, film and the arts. This course introduces students to key themes of modernist literature, theatre, and film in Europe. The course familiarizes students with key writers and thinkers of this period and will address the ways in which they provoked their readers/viewers through new and complex forms and styles. Major themes comprise the crisis of representation, the representation of cosmopolitanism and urban cultural dislocation, consciousness and memory, and sexuality. (Students undertaking this subject will be expected to regularly access an internet-enabled computer).
- Memory & Memoirs of 20th Century Europe 12.5 pts
The eye-witness account and the personal memoir offer powerful ways of exploring the human legacy of overwhelming historical events on individual lives. But how do literary genres like the memoir and autobiography manage to speak about unspeakable topics, how do they represent the unrepresentable and write about trauma? What is the function, and what the effect, of writing memory for the victim, for the reader, and for the perpetrator? How do the offspring of the victims and perpetrators "remember" their parents" traumas and shape memories of events they have only experienced second-hand? What is the relationship between fiction and memory in memoir writing and how do we read a testimonial of a Holocaust survivor that has been faked? This subject will introduce students to a selection of testimonial writing and films that tell individual stories of a shameful national past. It explores the effect of generic convention on the relation of history and memory, and the need for generic invention to speak trauma and tell the un-tellable. Its focus will be on the Holocaust, the Algerian War, and life under Eastern bloc communist regimes. This subject will focus on writing from France, Germany, and Italy in the first instance, but may from time to time include writing from other parts of Europe.
- Language and Society in Europe 12.5 pts
This subject examines the relationship between language and society in Europe. It focuses on issues of relevance in an increasingly integrated Europe in which European and other languages are in contact through migration, travel, business, and mass media, and in which English is taking on an important role as a lingua franca. The topics to be covered include: the relationship between majority and minority languages, dialects and the standard language; bilingualism and multilingualism; semi-communication; language planning at state and European levels; politeness and forms of address; and the status and influence of English.
- Screening Europe: Image and Identity 12.5 pts
A team-taught study of European cinema during a period of intense political and social change. Students who complete this subject should be familiar with some of the major developments in cinematic representation in Europe from the early 20th century to the present. They should be able to relate the films studied to their national and European cultural and historical context.
Note: This subject is taught in English.
- Experiencing Foodscapes: Italy & Spain 12.5 pts
Italy and Spain are undoubtedly the culinary epicentres of the Mediterranean with food cultures that have intersected repeatedly since Ancient times. In this 18-day intensive in-country subject students will learn about the centrality of eating to Italian and Spanish ways of life and consider the relationship between identity, place and food. Through a series of programmed food activities, including hands-on experiences, students will explore different facets of Italian and Spanish culinary culture, experiencing first-hand two of the most important food trends in Italy and Spain: slow food in Italy and haute cuisine in Spain. Students will critique also the role of gender in relation to the food cultures of Italy and Spain, in particular the gendering of authority in the high-end kitchen Students will critique their own participation in food tourism and this subject will equip students with the conceptual and practical tools for developing intercultural sensitivity and adaptability.
Students will spend approximately 9 days in each country. Accommodation will be shared. Enrolment is by application and a quota will be applied. While there is no need to speak Spanish or Italian to complete this subject, special arrangements can be made for languages students.
- Introduction to Language Translation 12.5 pts
Translation is not a simple language replacement exercise; it is one of the main ways in which cultures shape political thought, literature, and science. This subject will offer answers to basic questions about how this happens. What are the main solutions available to translators? What goes on in the translating brain? How can technologies help translators? How does translation change in accordance with different languages and text genres? Students will also gain hands-on experience with the practical skills of post-editing, translation memories and subtitling.
- Languages at Work 12.5 pts
Learning a language culminates not only in linguistic and cultural proficiency but also in the development of advanced skills in areas valued by industry: intercultural competence, communication and lateral thinking. This subject offers students the opportunity to recognise and extend these skills by engaging with an industry collaborator in target-language communities in Australia. Students will work in teams to develop solutions, either to progress an existing project or to initiate a project, in consultation with the industry partner and in line with the rigour of workplace knowledge and processes. The subject brings together students from a mix of language majors and is taught in English, but will result in assessable outcomes in a target language.
The subject comprises three phases: 1) three initial weeks of seminars (delivered in English to students in all language streams) which introduce students to team- and project-work strategies, workplace culture, career pathways, as well as the industry partner’s multi-dimensional real-world challenge ; 2) eight weeks of collaborative work in a target language in response to a project brief, under close supervision and to a schedule of reporting deadlines; and 3) the presentation of project outcomes in the target language to an audience of industry specialists, community members and peers.
- 12.5 pts
This subject focuses on the spoken and written language and culture of present day Italy. Students will undertake regular activities in order to improve their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian. Students will explore aspects of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics of a general nature.
- 12.5 pts
This subject continues its focus on the spoken and written language and culture of present day Italy. Students will undertake regular activities in order to further develop their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian to a higher standard. Students will expand their knowledge of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have further improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics.
Compulsory
Complete these subjects.
- Italian 9 12.5 pts
This subject involves a detailed analysis of a number of Italian texts, literary and non-literary, for the purpose of familiarising students with various registers and styles. There are regular oral and written practical exercises. By the end of the semester, students should have further developed their written and oral production skills and should have acquired the ability to competently discuss literary and non-literary texts in Italian.
- Italian Cultural Studies B 12.5 pts
This subject, taught either as a winter overseas intensive or on campus in semester 2, allows students to study key aspects of Italian culture, primarily through the analysis of specific literary texts and/or films. Students will also have the opportunity to study the development of Italian society. By the end of the subject, students should have been introduced to a number of literary texts and/or films in order to improve their standard of comprehension and to gain some understanding of the process of literary/cultural criticism. They should also have acquired the ability to examine critically various aspects of Italian history and culture. Please note the winter overseas intensive is not available in 2021.
Electives
Complete one of these subjects.
- Languages of Venice: Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This intensive four-week study abroad subject will be taught in Venice between the end of November and December and focuses on the social and cultural spaces of Venice (real, imaginary, or interpreted): how these spaces were used, represented, and understood in early modern Venice.
The subject will also explore how these private and public spaces were used in the early modern production of communication, information, and culture.
Field trips to several sites and museums will provide students with the basic skills needed to work on fifteenth-century primary sources. On completion of this subject, students should have acquired an understanding of the use of languages and places in early modern Venice. Students will also be able to gain a basic knowledge of production and reception of culture and communication in early modern Venice and Europe.
- Contemporary Italy Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This subject provides students with a four-week intensive language and culture experience in Italy. Beginning in Milan, students will stay in a number of Italian cities/regions including Pavia, Parma, Prato/Florence, Sorrento and Rome. The focus of the subject will be an exploration of aspects of contemporary Italy including language, culture, society and the Arts. Students will be involved in a range of collaborative activities with local Italians, be exposed to Italian language and culture as it unfolds in everyday life in the 21st century and visit first hand a series of iconic Italian locations.
- A Taste of Europe: Melbourne Intensive 12.5 pts
In this course students learn about a selection of European cuisines and how they have been plated up for consumption in Melbourne. Food and wine are often used to support national and regional identity. In the first part of this course, students will consider the relationship between gastronomy and identity. Students will be introduced to a range of key culinary concepts and practices and the way we talk about them. Through analysis of some of the key features of French, Italian and Spanish cuisines, students will consider how these countries' culinary profiles speak to wider socio-political issues such as authenticity, food and space, cultural practices and the history of food and wine.
In the second part of this course, students will consider issues of "authenticity" in the way cuisines are plated up for consumption in Melbourne. This will require students to interrogate their assumptions and expectations about European foods and wines and to reflect on their personal experience of the "taste" of Europe.
This subject will be offered on campus and online.
- Europe and its Others 12.5 pts
This subject explores portrayals and perceptions of perceived “Others” in Europe – such as Jews, Muslims, “gypsies” and refugees - and how they have contributed to European identities in the past and today. Looking at literature, film, philosophy, music, food and popular culture, the subject will seek to understand how Europe’s Others are essential to the formation and maintenance of national, ethnic and religious identities in many European countries. It will examine the role of Others “within” (such as the Jews) and Others “without” (such as colonial subjects) and consider kinds of European “Othering” that position the Other as either appealing and attractive or threatening and repulsive. From colonial-era exoticisation to present day xenophobia, European views of the Other have been central to definitions of the self and shaped the continent’s history, politics, culture and languages. Students will gain an appreciation of nation and national identity in Europe as a discursive and comparative process, and an understanding of the distinct national stories of a number of European countries.
- European Modernism 12.5 pts
European modernism refers to a wide range of experimental and avant-garde trends in literature and arts at the end of the 19th and early 20th century and has proven a major influence on current (Western) literature, film and the arts. This course introduces students to key themes of modernist literature, theatre, and film in Europe. The course familiarizes students with key writers and thinkers of this period and will address the ways in which they provoked their readers/viewers through new and complex forms and styles. Major themes comprise the crisis of representation, the representation of cosmopolitanism and urban cultural dislocation, consciousness and memory, and sexuality. (Students undertaking this subject will be expected to regularly access an internet-enabled computer).
- Memory & Memoirs of 20th Century Europe 12.5 pts
The eye-witness account and the personal memoir offer powerful ways of exploring the human legacy of overwhelming historical events on individual lives. But how do literary genres like the memoir and autobiography manage to speak about unspeakable topics, how do they represent the unrepresentable and write about trauma? What is the function, and what the effect, of writing memory for the victim, for the reader, and for the perpetrator? How do the offspring of the victims and perpetrators "remember" their parents" traumas and shape memories of events they have only experienced second-hand? What is the relationship between fiction and memory in memoir writing and how do we read a testimonial of a Holocaust survivor that has been faked? This subject will introduce students to a selection of testimonial writing and films that tell individual stories of a shameful national past. It explores the effect of generic convention on the relation of history and memory, and the need for generic invention to speak trauma and tell the un-tellable. Its focus will be on the Holocaust, the Algerian War, and life under Eastern bloc communist regimes. This subject will focus on writing from France, Germany, and Italy in the first instance, but may from time to time include writing from other parts of Europe.
- Language and Society in Europe 12.5 pts
This subject examines the relationship between language and society in Europe. It focuses on issues of relevance in an increasingly integrated Europe in which European and other languages are in contact through migration, travel, business, and mass media, and in which English is taking on an important role as a lingua franca. The topics to be covered include: the relationship between majority and minority languages, dialects and the standard language. bilingualism and multilingualism. semi-communication. language planning at state and European levels. politeness and forms of address. and the status and influence of English.
- Screening Europe: Image and Identity 12.5 pts
A team-taught study of European cinema during a period of intense political and social change. Students who complete this subject should be familiar with some of the major developments in cinematic representation in Europe from the early 20th century to the present. They should be able to relate the films studied to their national and European cultural and historical context.
Note: This subject is taught in English.
- Experiencing Foodscapes: Italy & Spain 12.5 pts
Italy and Spain are undoubtedly the culinary epicentres of the Mediterranean with food cultures that have intersected repeatedly since Ancient times. In this 18-day intensive in-country subject students will learn about the centrality of eating to Italian and Spanish ways of life and consider the relationship between identity, place and food. Through a series of programmed food activities, including hands-on experiences, students will explore different facets of Italian and Spanish culinary culture, experiencing first-hand two of the most important food trends in Italy and Spain: slow food in Italy and haute cuisine in Spain. Students will critique also the role of gender in relation to the food cultures of Italy and Spain, in particular the gendering of authority in the high-end kitchen Students will critique their own participation in food tourism and this subject will equip students with the conceptual and practical tools for developing intercultural sensitivity and adaptability.
Students will spend approximately 9 days in each country. Accommodation will be shared. Enrolment is by application and a quota will be applied. While there is no need to speak Spanish or Italian to complete this subject, special arrangements can be made for languages students.
Group A electives
Complete at least two of these subjects.
- To Hell with Dante 12.5 pts
This subject concentrates on selected cantos of Dante's Inferno. Students will develop techniques which will enable them to analyse the poetic language of the Inferno. Guided readings in secondary material will give students an understanding of some of the key medieval concepts of the Inferno. The subject is designed so that students will be in a position to appreciate and analyse one of the most impressive poems in western literature. By the end of the subject, students should have acquired some understanding of the basic theological, philosophical and literary concepts of the Inferno and have developed critical strategies for interpreting its poetry.
- Imaging Italy 12.5 pts
This subject is designed to allow students to explore representations of Italy through creative texts with a particular focus on visual narratives. It may include a study of aspects of Italian film, theatre, and visual art in their social and political contexts, and the relationship between those texts and the most relevant Italian cultural issues. Students will gain a better understanding of Italian cultural products and will improve their ability to analyse visual and written texts in Italian.
- Italian 8 12.5 pts
This subject continues its focus on the spoken and written language and culture of present day Italy. Students will undertake regular activities in order to further develop their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian to a higher standard. Students will expand their knowledge of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have further improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics.
- Languages of Venice: Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This intensive four-week study abroad subject will be taught in Venice between the end of November and December and focuses on the social and cultural spaces of Venice (real, imaginary, or interpreted): how these spaces were used, represented, and understood in early modern Venice. The subject will also explore how these private and public spaces were used in the early modern production of communication, information, and culture. Field trips to several sites and museums will provide students with the basic skills needed to work on fifteenth-century primary sources. On completion of this subject, students should have acquired an understanding of the use of languages and places in early modern Venice. Students will also be able to gain a basic knowledge of production and reception of culture and communication in early modern Venice and Europe.
- Italian Language in Focus 12.5 pts
This subject is designed to provide students with an analytical and comprehensive understanding of Italian usage. Topics will vary, and may include contrastive analysis of English and Italian, varieties of Italian, dialects, geographical variation, history of the Italian language, topics in applied linguistics. This subject is both descriptive and practical and is intended to give students a better understanding of Italian in its many contexts.
- Italian Fictions 12.5 pts
This subject will introduce students to the study of significant literary and/or visual and written texts, and may include the study of particular genres, authors, critical methodologies, literary and cultural schools or movements, cultural and/or literary developments in a particular century. Topics will vary according to current research and teaching interests of academic staff and various approaches and methodologies will be proposed.
- Contemporary Italy Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This subject provides students with a four-week intensive language and culture experience in Italy. Beginning in Milan, students will stay in a number of Italian cities/regions including Pavia, Parma, Prato/Florence, Sorrento and Rome. The focus of the subject will be an exploration of aspects of contemporary Italy including language, culture, society and the Arts. Students will be involved in a range of collaborative activities with local Italians, be exposed to Italian language and culture as it unfolds in everyday life in the 21st century and visit first hand a series of iconic Italian locations.
Group B electives
- A Taste of Europe: Melbourne Intensive 12.5 pts
In this course students learn about a selection of European cuisines and how they have been plated up for consumption in Melbourne. Food and wine are often used to support national and regional identity. In the first part of this course, students will consider the relationship between gastronomy and identity. Students will be introduced to a range of key culinary concepts and practices and the way we talk about them. Through analysis of some of the key features of French, Italian and Spanish cuisines, students will consider how these countries’ culinary profiles speak to wider socio-political issues such as authenticity, food and space, cultural practices and the history of food and wine.
In the second part of this course, students will consider issues of “authenticity” in the way cuisines are plated up for consumption in Melbourne. This will require students to interrogate their assumptions and expectations about European foods and wines and to reflect on their personal experience of the “taste” of Europe.
This subject will be offered on campus and online.
- Europe and its Others 12.5 pts
This subject explores portrayals and perceptions of perceived “Others” in Europe – such as Jews, Muslims, “gypsies” and refugees - and how they have contributed to European identities in the past and today. Looking at literature, film, philosophy, music, food and popular culture, the subject will seek to understand how Europe’s Others are essential to the formation and maintenance of national, ethnic and religious identities in many European countries. It will examine the role of Others “within” (such as the Jews) and Others “without” (such as colonial subjects) and consider kinds of European “Othering” that position the Other as either appealing and attractive or threatening and repulsive. From colonial-era exoticisation to present day xenophobia, European views of the Other have been central to definitions of the self and shaped the continent’s history, politics, culture and languages. Students will gain an appreciation of nation and national identity in Europe as a discursive and comparative process, and an understanding of the distinct national stories of a number of European countries.
- European Modernism 12.5 pts
European modernism refers to a wide range of experimental and avant-garde trends in literature and arts at the end of the 19th and early 20th century and has proven a major influence on current (Western) literature, film and the arts. This course introduces students to key themes of modernist literature, theatre, and film in Europe. The course familiarizes students with key writers and thinkers of this period and will address the ways in which they provoked their readers/viewers through new and complex forms and styles. Major themes comprise the crisis of representation, the representation of cosmopolitanism and urban cultural dislocation, consciousness and memory, and sexuality. (Students undertaking this subject will be expected to regularly access an internet-enabled computer).
- Memory & Memoirs of 20th Century Europe 12.5 pts
The eye-witness account and the personal memoir offer powerful ways of exploring the human legacy of overwhelming historical events on individual lives. But how do literary genres like the memoir and autobiography manage to speak about unspeakable topics, how do they represent the unrepresentable and write about trauma? What is the function, and what the effect, of writing memory for the victim, for the reader, and for the perpetrator? How do the offspring of the victims and perpetrators "remember" their parents" traumas and shape memories of events they have only experienced second-hand? What is the relationship between fiction and memory in memoir writing and how do we read a testimonial of a Holocaust survivor that has been faked? This subject will introduce students to a selection of testimonial writing and films that tell individual stories of a shameful national past. It explores the effect of generic convention on the relation of history and memory, and the need for generic invention to speak trauma and tell the un-tellable. Its focus will be on the Holocaust, the Algerian War, and life under Eastern bloc communist regimes. This subject will focus on writing from France, Germany, and Italy in the first instance, but may from time to time include writing from other parts of Europe.
- Language and Society in Europe 12.5 pts
This subject examines the relationship between language and society in Europe. It focuses on issues of relevance in an increasingly integrated Europe in which European and other languages are in contact through migration, travel, business, and mass media, and in which English is taking on an important role as a lingua franca. The topics to be covered include: the relationship between majority and minority languages, dialects and the standard language; bilingualism and multilingualism; semi-communication; language planning at state and European levels; politeness and forms of address; and the status and influence of English.
- Screening Europe: Image and Identity 12.5 pts
A team-taught study of European cinema during a period of intense political and social change. Students who complete this subject should be familiar with some of the major developments in cinematic representation in Europe from the early 20th century to the present. They should be able to relate the films studied to their national and European cultural and historical context.
Note: This subject is taught in English.
- Experiencing Foodscapes: Italy & Spain 12.5 pts
Italy and Spain are undoubtedly the culinary epicentres of the Mediterranean with food cultures that have intersected repeatedly since Ancient times. In this 18-day intensive in-country subject students will learn about the centrality of eating to Italian and Spanish ways of life and consider the relationship between identity, place and food. Through a series of programmed food activities, including hands-on experiences, students will explore different facets of Italian and Spanish culinary culture, experiencing first-hand two of the most important food trends in Italy and Spain: slow food in Italy and haute cuisine in Spain. Students will critique also the role of gender in relation to the food cultures of Italy and Spain, in particular the gendering of authority in the high-end kitchen Students will critique their own participation in food tourism and this subject will equip students with the conceptual and practical tools for developing intercultural sensitivity and adaptability.
Students will spend approximately 9 days in each country. Accommodation will be shared. Enrolment is by application and a quota will be applied. While there is no need to speak Spanish or Italian to complete this subject, special arrangements can be made for languages students.
- Introduction to Language Translation 12.5 pts
Translation is not a simple language replacement exercise; it is one of the main ways in which cultures shape political thought, literature, and science. This subject will offer answers to basic questions about how this happens. What are the main solutions available to translators? What goes on in the translating brain? How can technologies help translators? How does translation change in accordance with different languages and text genres? Students will also gain hands-on experience with the practical skills of post-editing, translation memories and subtitling.
- Languages at Work 12.5 pts
Learning a language culminates not only in linguistic and cultural proficiency but also in the development of advanced skills in areas valued by industry: intercultural competence, communication and lateral thinking. This subject offers students the opportunity to recognise and extend these skills by engaging with an industry collaborator in target-language communities in Australia. Students will work in teams to develop solutions, either to progress an existing project or to initiate a project, in consultation with the industry partner and in line with the rigour of workplace knowledge and processes. The subject brings together students from a mix of language majors and is taught in English, but will result in assessable outcomes in a target language.
The subject comprises three phases: 1) three initial weeks of seminars (delivered in English to students in all language streams) which introduce students to team- and project-work strategies, workplace culture, career pathways, as well as the industry partner’s multi-dimensional real-world challenge ; 2) eight weeks of collaborative work in a target language in response to a project brief, under close supervision and to a schedule of reporting deadlines; and 3) the presentation of project outcomes in the target language to an audience of industry specialists, community members and peers.
Electives
- Italian 1 12.5 pts
This subject provides a comprehensive introduction to contemporary Italian. Language classes will gradually familiarise the students with the structures, rules and skills necessary to communicate in Italian. Continuous assessment (through tests, exercises and other activities) is fundamental to evaluating the students’ progress in the acquisition of Italian. By the end of the semester, students should have developed oral and written competency in Italian and acquired the skills necessary to read and discuss simple literary texts.
- Italian 2 12.5 pts
This subject is a continuation of Italian 1 and / or Italian 1 (Mid Year Intensive). Students will extend their knowledge of the basic structures of the Italian language and will also widen their range of Italian vocabulary to further develop their ability to communicate through Italian. Students will be introduced to new aspects of contemporary Italian society through the programmatic study of topics ranging from Italian society, history, politics and cinema.
- Italian 1 (Intensive) 12.5 pts
This subject provides in intensive mode a comprehensive introduction to contemporary Italian. Language classes will gradually familiarise the students with the structures, rules and skills necessary to communicate in Italian. Continuous assessment (through tests, exercises and other activities) is fundamental to evaluating the students’ progress in the acquisition of Italian. By the end of the semester, students should have developed oral and written competency in Italian and acquired the skills necessary to read and discuss simple literary texts.
Compulsory
- Italian 3 12.5 pts
Students will consolidate and develop their ability to communicate in Italian while improving their understanding of Italian culture. A range of authentic media will be used to explore key themes in modern Italian society. This subject is designed for students with some prior knowledge, or experience, of the language, spoken and written. By the end of the semester, students should have attained a moderate level of complexity in speaking, listening, reading and writing of Italian, allowing them to expand their ability to engage in discussion, as well as to read, understand and produce a range of texts.
- Italian 4 12.5 pts
Students will further develop their communicative abilities in Italian and their understanding of Italian culture by engaging with authentic texts, written, spoken and audiovisual. A range of media and activities will be used to explore key themes in modern Italian society. The acquisition of structures such as the subjunctive and the passive will significantly extend students’ ability to understand and discuss information and views in Italian in both spoken and written form.
Compulsory
Complete this subject.
- Italian 5A 12.5 pts
In this subject students will be exposed to, and will work through, a number of different styles and registers. Students will undertake the study of selected literary and non-literary texts for the purpose of extending vocabulary and practising Italian conversation. By the end of the semester, students should have learnt to identify, and correctly use, the main registers of Italian, spoken and written. Students should also have improved their composition skills, and acquired the ability to discuss in Italian, both orally and in writing, extended prose texts.
Electives
Complete one of these subjects.
- To Hell with Dante 12.5 pts
This subject concentrates on selected cantos of Dante's Inferno. Students will develop techniques which will enable them to analyse the poetic language of the Inferno. Guided readings in secondary material will give students an understanding of some of the key medieval concepts of the Inferno. The subject is designed so that students will be in a position to appreciate and analyse one of the most impressive poems in western literature. By the end of the subject, students should have acquired some understanding of the basic theological, philosophical and literary concepts of the Inferno and have developed critical strategies for interpreting its poetry.
- Imaging Italy 12.5 pts
This subject is designed to allow students to explore representations of Italy through creative texts with a particular focus on visual narratives. It may include a study of aspects of Italian film, theatre, and visual art in their social and political contexts, and the relationship between those texts and the most relevant Italian cultural issues. Students will gain a better understanding of Italian cultural products and will improve their ability to analyse visual and written texts in Italian.
- Italian 8 12.5 pts
This subject continues its focus on the spoken and written language and culture of present day Italy. Students will undertake regular activities in order to further develop their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian to a higher standard. Students will expand their knowledge of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have further improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics.
- Languages of Venice: Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This intensive four-week study abroad subject will be taught in Venice between the end of November and December and focuses on the social and cultural spaces of Venice (real, imaginary, or interpreted): how these spaces were used, represented, and understood in early modern Venice. The subject will also explore how these private and public spaces were used in the early modern production of communication, information, and culture. Field trips to several sites and museums will provide students with the basic skills needed to work on fifteenth-century primary sources. On completion of this subject, students should have acquired an understanding of the use of languages and places in early modern Venice. Students will also be able to gain a basic knowledge of production and reception of culture and communication in early modern Venice and Europe.
- Italian Language in Focus 12.5 pts
This subject is designed to provide students with an analytical and comprehensive understanding of Italian usage. Topics will vary, and may include contrastive analysis of English and Italian, varieties of Italian, dialects, geographical variation, history of the Italian language, topics in applied linguistics. This subject is both descriptive and practical and is intended to give students a better understanding of Italian in its many contexts.
- Italian Fictions 12.5 pts
This subject will introduce students to the study of significant literary and/or visual and written texts, and may include the study of particular genres, authors, critical methodologies, literary and cultural schools or movements, cultural and/or literary developments in a particular century. Topics will vary according to current research and teaching interests of academic staff and various approaches and methodologies will be proposed.
- Contemporary Italy Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This subject provides students with a four-week intensive language and culture experience in Italy. Beginning in Milan, students will stay in a number of Italian cities/regions including Pavia, Parma, Prato/Florence, Sorrento and Rome. The focus of the subject will be an exploration of aspects of contemporary Italy including language, culture, society and the Arts. Students will be involved in a range of collaborative activities with local Italians, be exposed to Italian language and culture as it unfolds in everyday life in the 21st century and visit first hand a series of iconic Italian locations.
Compulsory
- Italian 3 12.5 pts
Students will consolidate and develop their ability to communicate in Italian while improving their understanding of Italian culture. A range of authentic media will be used to explore key themes in modern Italian society. This subject is designed for students with some prior knowledge, or experience, of the language, spoken and written. By the end of the semester, students should have attained a moderate level of complexity in speaking, listening, reading and writing of Italian, allowing them to expand their ability to engage in discussion, as well as to read, understand and produce a range of texts.
- Italian 4 12.5 pts
Students will further develop their communicative abilities in Italian and their understanding of Italian culture by engaging with authentic texts, written, spoken and audiovisual. A range of media and activities will be used to explore key themes in modern Italian society. The acquisition of structures such as the subjunctive and the passive will significantly extend students’ ability to understand and discuss information and views in Italian in both spoken and written form.
Compulsory
- Italian 5 12.5 pts
Students continue intensive revision and further development of the major areas of contemporary Italian language and culture. Through the analysis of language structures with a practical focus, students will extend their linguistic capacities in reading, writing, listening, speaking and describing the Italian language. Students also explore aspects of contemporary Italian literature, society and history through a programmatic study of post-war Italy. Students develop a critical capacity enabling them to understand and analyse a variety of text types (film, music, mass media, literature, etc.). Communication skills will also be developed through online and face-to-face collaboration in a range of in- and out-of-class activities, including a work-integrated learning group project which involves practical application of Italian language in a school setting.
- Italian 6 12.5 pts
Students in this subject intensively revise and further develop their knowledge of contemporary Italian language and culture. The subject combines analysis of language structures with a practical focus, all designed to extend students’ linguistic capacities in reading, writing, listening, speaking and describing the Italian language. Students also explore aspects of contemporary Italian literature, society and history through themes such as young people in contemporary society, and changing views on marriage and relationships. This subject assists students to develop a critical capacity enabling them to understand and analyse a variety of text types (film, music, mass media, literature, etc.).
Compulsory
Complete this subject.
- Italian 7 12.5 pts
This subject focuses on the spoken and written language and culture of present day Italy. Students will undertake regular activities in order to improve their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian. Students will explore aspects of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics of a general nature.
Electives
Complete one of these subjects.
- To Hell with Dante 12.5 pts
This subject concentrates on selected cantos of Dante's Inferno. Students will develop techniques which will enable them to analyse the poetic language of the Inferno. Guided readings in secondary material will give students an understanding of some of the key medieval concepts of the Inferno. The subject is designed so that students will be in a position to appreciate and analyse one of the most impressive poems in western literature. By the end of the subject, students should have acquired some understanding of the basic theological, philosophical and literary concepts of the Inferno and have developed critical strategies for interpreting its poetry.
- Imaging Italy 12.5 pts
This subject is designed to allow students to explore representations of Italy through creative texts with a particular focus on visual narratives. It may include a study of aspects of Italian film, theatre, and visual art in their social and political contexts, and the relationship between those texts and the most relevant Italian cultural issues. Students will gain a better understanding of Italian cultural products and will improve their ability to analyse visual and written texts in Italian.
- Italian 8 12.5 pts
This subject continues its focus on the spoken and written language and culture of present day Italy. Students will undertake regular activities in order to further develop their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian to a higher standard. Students will expand their knowledge of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have further improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics.
- Languages of Venice: Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This intensive four-week study abroad subject will be taught in Venice between the end of November and December and focuses on the social and cultural spaces of Venice (real, imaginary, or interpreted): how these spaces were used, represented, and understood in early modern Venice. The subject will also explore how these private and public spaces were used in the early modern production of communication, information, and culture. Field trips to several sites and museums will provide students with the basic skills needed to work on fifteenth-century primary sources. On completion of this subject, students should have acquired an understanding of the use of languages and places in early modern Venice. Students will also be able to gain a basic knowledge of production and reception of culture and communication in early modern Venice and Europe.
- Italian Language in Focus 12.5 pts
This subject is designed to provide students with an analytical and comprehensive understanding of Italian usage. Topics will vary, and may include contrastive analysis of English and Italian, varieties of Italian, dialects, geographical variation, history of the Italian language, topics in applied linguistics. This subject is both descriptive and practical and is intended to give students a better understanding of Italian in its many contexts.
- Italian Fictions 12.5 pts
This subject will introduce students to the study of significant literary and/or visual and written texts, and may include the study of particular genres, authors, critical methodologies, literary and cultural schools or movements, cultural and/or literary developments in a particular century. Topics will vary according to current research and teaching interests of academic staff and various approaches and methodologies will be proposed.
- Contemporary Italy Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This subject provides students with a four-week intensive language and culture experience in Italy. Beginning in Milan, students will stay in a number of Italian cities/regions including Pavia, Parma, Prato/Florence, Sorrento and Rome. The focus of the subject will be an exploration of aspects of contemporary Italy including language, culture, society and the Arts. Students will be involved in a range of collaborative activities with local Italians, be exposed to Italian language and culture as it unfolds in everyday life in the 21st century and visit first hand a series of iconic Italian locations.
Compulsory
- Italian 5 12.5 pts
Students continue intensive revision and further development of the major areas of contemporary Italian language and culture. Through the analysis of language structures with a practical focus, students will extend their linguistic capacities in reading, writing, listening, speaking and describing the Italian language. Students also explore aspects of contemporary Italian literature, society and history through a programmatic study of post-war Italy. Students develop a critical capacity enabling them to understand and analyse a variety of text types (film, music, mass media, literature, etc.). Communication skills will also be developed through online and face-to-face collaboration in a range of in- and out-of-class activities, including a work-integrated learning group project which involves practical application of Italian language in a school setting.
- Italian 6 12.5 pts
Students in this subject intensively revise and further develop their knowledge of contemporary Italian language and culture. The subject combines analysis of language structures with a practical focus, all designed to extend students’ linguistic capacities in reading, writing, listening, speaking and describing the Italian language. Students also explore aspects of contemporary Italian literature, society and history through themes such as young people in contemporary society, and changing views on marriage and relationships. This subject assists students to develop a critical capacity enabling them to understand and analyse a variety of text types (film, music, mass media, literature, etc.).
Compulsory
- Italian 7 12.5 pts
This subject focuses on the spoken and written language and culture of present dayItaly. Students will undertake regular activities in order to improve their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian. Students will explore aspects of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics of a general nature.
- Italian 8 12.5 pts
This subject continues its focus on the spoken and written language and culture of present day Italy. Students will undertake regular activities in order to further develop their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian to a higher standard. Students will expand their knowledge of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have further improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics.
Compulsory
Complete this subject.
- Italian 9 12.5 pts
This subject involves a detailed analysis of a number of Italian texts, literary and non-literary, for the purpose of familiarising students with various registers and styles. There are regular oral and written practical exercises. The literature section provides an opportunity for students to practise their spoken Italian through the study of literary texts. By the end of the semester, students should have further developed their written and oral production skills and should have acquired the ability to competently discuss texts in Italian.
Electives
Complete one of these subjects.
- To Hell with Dante 12.5 pts
This subject concentrates on selected cantos of Dante's Inferno. Students will develop techniques which will enable them to analyse the poetic language of the Inferno. Guided readings in secondary material will give students an understanding of some of the key medieval concepts of the Inferno. The subject is designed so that students will be in a position to appreciate and analyse one of the most impressive poems in western literature. By the end of the subject, students should have acquired some understanding of the basic theological, philosophical and literary concepts of the Inferno and have developed critical strategies for interpreting its poetry.
- Imaging Italy 12.5 pts
This subject is designed to allow students to explore representations of Italy through creative texts with a particular focus on visual narratives. It may include a study of aspects of Italian film, theatre, and visual art in their social and political contexts, and the relationship between those texts and the most relevant Italian cultural issues. Students will gain a better understanding of Italian cultural products and will improve their ability to analyse visual and written texts in Italian.
- Italian 8 12.5 pts
This subject continues its focus on the spoken and written language and culture of present day Italy. Students will undertake regular activities in order to further develop their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian to a higher standard. Students will expand their knowledge of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have further improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics.
- Languages of Venice: Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This intensive four-week study abroad subject will be taught in Venice between the end of November and December and focuses on the social and cultural spaces of Venice (real, imaginary, or interpreted): how these spaces were used, represented, and understood in early modern Venice. The subject will also explore how these private and public spaces were used in the early modern production of communication, information, and culture. Field trips to several sites and museums will provide students with the basic skills needed to work on fifteenth-century primary sources. On completion of this subject, students should have acquired an understanding of the use of languages and places in early modern Venice. Students will also be able to gain a basic knowledge of production and reception of culture and communication in early modern Venice and Europe.
- Italian Language in Focus 12.5 pts
This subject is designed to provide students with an analytical and comprehensive understanding of Italian usage. Topics will vary, and may include contrastive analysis of English and Italian, varieties of Italian, dialects, geographical variation, history of the Italian language, topics in applied linguistics. This subject is both descriptive and practical and is intended to give students a better understanding of Italian in its many contexts.
- Italian Fictions 12.5 pts
This subject will introduce students to the study of significant literary and/or visual and written texts, and may include the study of particular genres, authors, critical methodologies, literary and cultural schools or movements, cultural and/or literary developments in a particular century. Topics will vary according to current research and teaching interests of academic staff and various approaches and methodologies will be proposed.
- Contemporary Italy Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This subject provides students with a four-week intensive language and culture experience in Italy. Beginning in Milan, students will stay in a number of Italian cities/regions including Pavia, Parma, Prato/Florence, Sorrento and Rome. The focus of the subject will be an exploration of aspects of contemporary Italy including language, culture, society and the Arts. Students will be involved in a range of collaborative activities with local Italians, be exposed to Italian language and culture as it unfolds in everyday life in the 21st century and visit first hand a series of iconic Italian locations.
Compulsory
- Italian 7 12.5 pts
This subject focuses on the spoken and written language and culture of present day Italy. Students will undertake regular activities in order to improve their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian. Students will explore aspects of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics of a general nature.
- Italian 8 12.5 pts
This subject continues its focus on the spoken and written language and culture of present day Italy. Students will undertake regular activities in order to further develop their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian to a higher standard. Students will expand their knowledge of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have further improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics.
Compulsory
- Italian 9 12.5 pts
This subject involves a detailed analysis of a number of Italian texts, literary and non-literary, for the purpose of familiarising students with various registers and styles. There are regular oral and written practical exercises. By the end of the semester, students should have further developed their written and oral production skills and should have acquired the ability to competently discuss literary and non-literary texts in Italian.
- Italian Cultural Studies B 12.5 pts
This subject, taught either as a winter overseas intensive or on campus in semester 2, allows students to study key aspects of Italian culture, primarily through the analysis of specific literary texts and/or films. Students will also have the opportunity to study the development of Italian society. By the end of the subject, students should have been introduced to a number of literary texts and/or films in order to improve their standard of comprehension and to gain some understanding of the process of literary/cultural criticism. They should also have acquired the ability to examine critically various aspects of Italian history and culture. Please note the winter overseas intensive is not available in 2021.
Electives
- To Hell with Dante 12.5 pts
This subject concentrates on selected cantos of Dante's Inferno. Students will develop techniques which will enable them to analyse the poetic language of the Inferno. Guided readings in secondary material will give students an understanding of some of the key medieval concepts of the Inferno. The subject is designed so that students will be in a position to appreciate and analyse one of the most impressive poems in western literature. By the end of the subject, students should have acquired some understanding of the basic theological, philosophical and literary concepts of the Inferno and have developed critical strategies for interpreting its poetry.
- Imaging Italy 12.5 pts
This subject is designed to allow students to explore representations of Italy through creative texts with a particular focus on visual narratives. It may include a study of aspects of Italian film, theatre, and visual art in their social and political contexts, and the relationship between those texts and the most relevant Italian cultural issues. Students will gain a better understanding of Italian cultural products and will improve their ability to analyse visual and written texts in Italian.
- Italian 8 12.5 pts
This subject continues its focus on the spoken and written language and culture of present day Italy. Students will undertake regular activities in order to further develop their linguistic and cultural skills. They will also participate in regular conversation practice for the purpose of reinforcing their command of current idiomatic Italian to a higher standard. Students will expand their knowledge of contemporary Italian culture and language, through a critical analysis of a variety of texts and documents (including films, music, mass media and literature). By the end of the subject, students should have further improved their written production skills and should be able to express themselves with fluency on most topics.
- Languages of Venice: Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This intensive four-week study abroad subject will be taught in Venice between the end of November and December and focuses on the social and cultural spaces of Venice (real, imaginary, or interpreted): how these spaces were used, represented, and understood in early modern Venice. The subject will also explore how these private and public spaces were used in the early modern production of communication, information, and culture. Field trips to several sites and museums will provide students with the basic skills needed to work on fifteenth-century primary sources. On completion of this subject, students should have acquired an understanding of the use of languages and places in early modern Venice. Students will also be able to gain a basic knowledge of production and reception of culture and communication in early modern Venice and Europe.
- Italian Language in Focus 12.5 pts
This subject is designed to provide students with an analytical and comprehensive understanding of Italian usage. Topics will vary, and may include contrastive analysis of English and Italian, varieties of Italian, dialects, geographical variation, history of the Italian language, topics in applied linguistics. This subject is both descriptive and practical and is intended to give students a better understanding of Italian in its many contexts.
- Italian Fictions 12.5 pts
This subject will introduce students to the study of significant literary and/or visual and written texts, and may include the study of particular genres, authors, critical methodologies, literary and cultural schools or movements, cultural and/or literary developments in a particular century. Topics will vary according to current research and teaching interests of academic staff and various approaches and methodologies will be proposed.
- Contemporary Italy Study Abroad 12.5 pts
This subject provides students with a four-week intensive language and culture experience in Italy. Beginning in Milan, students will stay in a number of Italian cities/regions including Pavia, Parma, Prato/Florence, Sorrento and Rome. The focus of the subject will be an exploration of aspects of contemporary Italy including language, culture, society and the Arts. Students will be involved in a range of collaborative activities with local Italians, be exposed to Italian language and culture as it unfolds in everyday life in the 21st century and visit first hand a series of iconic Italian locations.