Italian Studies Concentration

Virginia A. Picchietti, Ph.D., Director

The Italian Studies Concentration is designed to advance students’ understanding of diverse aspects of Italian culture and society. The concentration is open to all majors and consists of both interdisciplinary and single-discipline courses drawn from various academic departments at the University. It encourages both breadth and depth in the study of Italian culture and society; its goal is to cultivate a broadly based knowledge of Italian civilization and its contributions to the specific fields comprising the concentration. At the same time, courses in the concentration will fulfill general education requirements with an emphasis on cultural diversity and on a writing-intensive curriculum.

The curriculum is designed to accomplish the following: provide a focused study of Italian culture and society; develop oral and written skills; and develop practical skills applicable to trips to Italy and in career fields. The concentration requires the successful completion of seven courses, three of which are required courses and four of which are to be chosen from an approved list of electives. Students will be required to complete successfully two courses of Italian language as well as the Italian Studies Seminar. Students will enter the language level they can master (determined in consultation with the directors and the language department), and will fulfill the language requirement by successfully completing two of the approved language courses.