Course Descriptions

Core Courses

Three-Week Intensive Italian

All students, whether beginners, intermediate or advanced, begin their Arts & Humanities Semester in Tuscany experience with our Three Week Intensive Italian Language Course. After an entrance exam, students are placed in appropriate levels and participate every day in classes and activities designed to develop all linguistic abilities, from the basic (listening, reading, writing, speaking) to the integrated (responding to questions, note-taking, trans-codification). A wide variety of teaching materials is used, including the program’s own textbook, Dimmi Tutto!, to allow each student to best identify and develop his or her abilities. Students also interact with the city environment and help create their own Italian language study materials. Once a week, students and teachers discuss the dynamics of language learning and the teaching methods used.

Music, Politics, and Greed in the Cradle of the Renaissance

With music at its core, this course examines the economic, cultural, and artistic mechanisms that brought on Renaissance culture in Tuscany, and on the rhetoric of power and politics in the economy and in the arts, both then and today. We will make comparisons between the financial climate of the Renaissance and Baroque eras on the one hand, and the economic crisis of our time on the other. We will look at how painting, literature, and music were affected by the economic climate hundreds of year ago, and how the same economic forces may be shaping the artistic climate in modern times.

Cinema italiano

This course focuses on the most important Italian cinematic movement, Neo-realism, and includes discussion of the practical aspects of filmmaking. In the first part of the course, we watch and discuss the principle neo-realist films, presenting the historical period and overviews of each director’s production while analyzing structure, storyline, protagonists, etc. The second part concentrates on the masterpieces of one of the great Italian directors, Luchino Visconti. After learning about the main characteristics of his work and comparing him to other important Italian directors, such as Fellini and Antonioni, we analyze, compare and contrast his most significant films. During the course, we discuss themes relating to the planning and realization of films, including screenwriting, acting and cinematography. In addition, students may participate in seminars offered by Italian directors currently working in the film industry in Rome. Students are asked to write two short papers during the course. Films are shown in Italian and accompanied by the instructor’s explanations.

Elective Courses

These are courses that may be offered (based on demand and contingent on sufficient enrollment) at an additional cost per student, and may be taught by local instructors or by visiting/guest teachers from US colleges and universities.

Topics in Art History

This course offers on rotation a series of different topics of Italian Art History. Based not only on specific time periods but also on themes that tie various historical or cultural eras together, each semester offers an opportunity to explore topics ranging from a brief but exhaustive panorama of Italian art from Romanesque Medieval through Romanticism, to a specific theme-based topic such as the use of the portrait in the Renaissance. For each historical and cultural era or topic, we examine major themes and artists, thus opening windows onto the cultural and historical worlds of each topic or period.

Topics in Music History and Literature

Under this heading, we will offer courses in Music History, Literature, and/or Appreciation on a rotational basis, depending on demand. Whether the course in any given semester be an in-depth look at a particular period in the history of Western music, intended for those who have a background in music, or a lighter course, suited for all students, including those who are not comfortable reading music, the focus will always be on Italian music from one or several of the stylistic periods from the 14th Century to modern times. Readings, lectures, and listening examples will illustrate the development of musical style, and concurrent events in political, social, and intellectual history will be discussed in order to create a better understanding of the composers, their music, and the world in which they lived.

Socio-linguistic Studies

After briefly touching on the history of the formation of Italian as a national language, this course will analyze the movements, changes and the many dramatic transformations in the language during the course of the 20th Century. We compare geographical variations (standard Italian, dialects, regionalisms, ethno-linguistic minorities, Italian outside Italy and the Italian spoken by immigrants in Italy), as well as variations within society (popular vs. cultured Italian, jargon/slang, juvenile language, gender-specific Italian, specialized language), context-based variations (registers, functional/contextual variations) and variations found in different forms of the language (written, spoken and transmitted language). Students participate in fieldwork projects based on their areas of interest.

History of Italian Literature

This course begins by tracing the literary, historical and cultural outlines of the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries, thus creating a background of the Medieval and Humanist periods against which to explore the works of individual authors. We also touch on the historical development of the Italian language in its passage from Latin to vernacular to full maturity. Particular emphasis is given to the works of Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarca, authors of undisputable importance in the world of 'patrie lettere.’ We also look at the poems of Cecco Angiolieri and the writings of Saint Catherine, both citizens of Siena and representatives of the Italian Medieval literary panorama. Each student is asked to read two works from the period and to present written and verbal commentary on them.

Modern Italian History

On March 17, 1861 the Italian Parliament convened for the first time. That date, symbolic of Italy’s unification, could also be taken as the beginning of the long process that ended with the creation of a government and a nation. By looking at the most significant periods of 19th and 20th century Italian history (Unification, birth of the Sovereignty, the Great War, Fascism, the Second World War, the Resistance, the constitution of the Republic), we will trace the profound social, political, and economic transformations that changed the face of the population and its sense of national identity through more than 150 years of history.

History of the European Union

In 1951, with the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, the first nucleus of the future European Union—a complex and still 'evolving' institution that escapes precise classification according to traditional parameters—took shape. Retracing the steps from the 'Europe of markets' to the 'Europe of rights,' we will try to determine whether there exists today a political subject called Europe that is capable of acting on the world scene with an identity and a single voice of its own. Topics covered will include the history from EEC (Euroepan Economic market) to EU (European Union); the treaties establishing the European Coal and Steel Community and the treaties of Rome and Maasticht; free circulation of people, goods and assets; and the origin of the Euro and the Enlargement of EU and the Euro zone.

Italian Opera

This course illustrates the principal aspects of Italian melodrama from the 16th to the 20th century. The term 'opera' comprises a wide range of musical and theatrical genres, and involves various art forms such as poetry, music, set building, acting and dance. This course focuses not only on the source text of the opera, but also on its relationship with the libretto and the dramatic-scenic structure. We will analyze literary texts, musical scores, and the psychological portrayal of characters in opera from an historiographic viewpoint. A variety of materials are used, including librettos, musical scores, critical reviews, composer biographies, and CD, video and film recordings of operas. Students will also see live, in-class presentations and, whenever possible, attend a live opera performance.

Landscape Painting

This course focuses on the theory and technique of landscape painting. Participants of the course will paint in open air, as commonly practiced by the Impressionists, exploring the various parts of the Sienese countryside with canvas and brush. The course will cover the basics of landscape painting: sketching, color drafts, and oil techniques. Principle themes include perspective, the study of spatial planes, the colors of sky and earth, chromatic contrasts (light and shade), the use of complementary colors, transparency, warm and cool hues and overlapping layers (colored backgrounds and finishing touches).

Italian Cooking over the Centuries and Today

This course looks at the development of Italian cooking from the Etruscan era to today, highlighting aspects relevant to changes in tastes and ways of eating in Italy. We focus on Italian cooking during the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the 20th century. The final phase of the course deals with regional variations and the latest trends in Italian cooking. Particular emphasis is given to the history and characteristics of Tuscan cooking. During the course, students may participate in visits and tastings at various farms in Tuscany, and visit relevant museums. Readings for this course include historic, contemporary and regional cookbooks, as well as historical and sociological texts and articles. Students are asked to complete written exams and oral presentations.

Moda italiana

This course looks at the economic, social, artistic, and communicative aspects of fashion, in Italy. Fashion is viewed not only as an aesthetic response, but also as a component of Italian artistic creativity over the centuries, and as an engine for creative invention and for the development of increasingly advanced forms of industry and craftsmanship, from textiles to accessories and jewelry. The first half of the course will be dedicated to the history of fashion in Italy, with examples from major works of art from the classical Roman world to the Futurist oddities of the 20th century, bringing together art, history, culture and fashion. The second half of the course will focus on the industrial development of Italian fashion, studying the production of current fashion houses (such as Armani, Versace, Valentino, and Gucci) and identifying elements of historical continuity. Students visit museums such as the Textiles Museum in Prato, the Costume Gallery and Ferragamo Museum in Florence, and when possible, exhibitions in Milan, Florence or Rome.