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Piano Course Brochure

International Course for Perfecting Piano Skills Application Form (MS Word)

*Undergraduate Requirements, which can be fulfilled by taking the courses:      A=Fine Arts and Literature    FC=Foreign Language/Cross Cultural Competence  D=Diversity       F=Foreign Language or Culture        EC=English Communication  S=Social Sciences   GE=General Education

ITALIAN A=ITL 101, 102:  Elementary Italian I & II (3 credits each, for a total of six credits) (FC)* [D]*

An elementary course for students without prior knowledge of Italian.  In this course, you will establish a solid base in the Italian language in the four areas of language skills: listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. At the successful completion of this course, you will be able to demonstrate proficiency in everyday spoken Italian. You will be able to read simple essays in Italian and write short paragraphs on familiar topics.  You will be able to greet people and introduce yourself, give directions, respond to and ask questions, describe your family and friends, order items in a café, discuss your life at school and your hobbies, express likes and dislikes, and recount what you have done in the recent past.  You will also have gained specific knowledge about contemporary Italy, including family life, student life, sports and pastimes, music, coffee culture, and regional differences. Students will practice the language in real-life environments such as the following: fruttivendolo (fruit vendor), ristorante (restaurant), panetteria (bakery), pasticceria (pastry shop-cafe`), edicola (newspaper and magazine stand), etc.  Students without prior knowledge of Italian will be able to understand and communicate after only 3 weeks (please see student evaluations).  Prerequisite: no prior Italian is required. (For URI students only: Will not count toward the language requirement if the student has studied Italian for more than one year within the last six years).
Book: Parliamo italiano! A Communicative Approach, 4th Edition. Suzanne Branciforte (Study in Italy, Genoa, Italy), Elvira Di Fabio (Harvard University). Wiley Edition. ISBN 978-0-470-52677-4 (do not buy Workbook/Lab Manual).
An Italian-English dictionary is recommended: For example, Dizionario Garzanti, or The concise Cambridge Italian Dictionary.

ITALIAN B=ITL 103, 104:  Intermediate Italian I & II (3 credits each, for a total of six credits) (FC)* [D]*

An intermediate course continuing grammar introduced in Beginning Italian 101-102 supplemented by further grammar, conversation, and composition.  Further development of facility in reading texts of moderate difficulty; selected readings are from 20-century authors.  In this course, you will establish a solid base in the Italian language in the four areas of language skills: listening comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. At the successful completion of this course, you will be able to demonstrate proficiency in everyday spoken Italian. You will be able to read simple essays in Italian and write short paragraphs on familiar topics.  You will be able to greet people and introduce yourself, give directions, respond to and ask questions, describe your family and friends, order items in a café, discuss your life at school and your hobbies, express likes and dislikes, and recount what you have done in the recent past.  You will also have gained specific knowledge about contemporary Italy, including family life, student life, sports and pastimes, music, coffee culture, and regional differences.

Students will practice the language in real-life environments such as the following: fruttivendolo (fruit vendor), ristorante (restaurant), panetteria (bakery), pasticceria (pastry shop-caffe`), edicola (newspaper and magazine stand), etc.  Students at this level will easily be able to understand and communicate in the target language after the first week. Prerequisites: 102 (for 103) and 103 (for 104), or equivalent.
Book: Parliamo italiano! A Communicative Approach, 4th Edition. Suzanne Branciforte (Study in Italy, Genoa, Italy), Elvira Di Fabio (Harvard University). Wiley Edition. ISBN 978-0-470-52677-4 (do not buy Workbook/Lab Manual).

An Italian-English dictionary is recommended: For example, Dizionario Garzanti, or The concise Cambridge Italian Dictionary.

ITALIAN C=ITL 205, 206:  Conversation and Composition (3 credits each, for a total of six credits) (FC)* [D]*

Ideal for students with previous knowledge of Italian grammar.  An intensive course in conversation and composition.  Promotes facility in speaking and understanding idiomatic Italian.  Students are introduced to contemporary Italian culture through notions of history, geography, art, music, and literature. The four basic communication skills are strengthened through vocabulary development and grammar reviews. Oral and written proficiency is developed through class presentations and critical essays.  Lessons and special guests provide students with the unique opportunity to improve their vocabulary and writing skills.  Students at this level will be able to speak and write with grammatical precision and fluency.  Prerequisite: 104 or permission of chairperson.

Books: Olson, Edwards, Foerster. In viaggio, McGraw Hill, 2002. + do not buy Workbook/Lab Manual. Reading: Carmine Abate, La festa del ritorno, Milano, Mondadori, 2004. An Italian-English dictionary is recommended: For example, Dizionario Garzanti, or The concise Cambridge Italian Dictionary.

ITALIAN CIV=ITL 301, 302: Civilization of Italy (3 credits each, a  for a total of six credits. Cross listed with ITL 305)

The most important aspects of Italian civilization.  301: From the Middle ages to the end of the Renaissance.  302: From the seventeenth century to the present. 

An advanced course for students with a solid grasp of the fundamentals of Italian grammar. The course aims at knowing Italian Civilization, History, Art, Literature, and Culture, and at achieving proficiency in speaking and writing through vocabulary development and extension of control of higher-level syntactical patterns.  Students will discover Italian culture through cuisine, fashion, regional traditions, economy, politics, Italian newspaper and magazine articles, feature films, literary works.  Practice is acquired through class presentations, compositions and discussions, educational trips, hands-on experiences, etc. Lessons and special guests provide students with the unique opportunity to improve their writing, oral skills and their knowledge of Italian language, civilization, and culture.  Prerequisite: 205 or 206 or permission of chairperson. Textbooks (you could buy them in Italy): Giovanni Boccaccio: Cinque Novelle, Roma, Bonacci Editore, 1995;  Francesco Petrarca: Il canzoniere, Roma, Bonacci Editore, 2003.  Maria Voltolina: L’italiano è servito, Guerra Edizioni Lucia Alessio – Andreina Sgaglione: Invito a teatro, Edizioni Edilingua

ITALIAN CC=ITL 305: Upper-Level Conversation and Composition (3 credits. Taught in Italian)

Intensive spoken and written Italian. Prerequisite: 205 or 206 or permission of chairperson.

Books: Lucia Cini, Stategie di scrittura;Umberto Eco (a cura di), Povero Pinocchio. 

ITALIAN CIN=ITL 315: Italian Cinema (3 credits. Taught in English)

This course surveys the development of Italian cinema from the fascist era of the Cinecitta to the present day.  The focus will be on Italian Neorealism and its influence on post-neorealist Italian auteurs and film genres. Films will be examined in a historical/aesthetic context.  The instructor will comment on both the ideological and stylistic aspects of the films.  Lectures by the instructor are designed to (1) give the students a basic understanding of film and the film-making process, (2) provide insights into the director and his work, and (3) offer social, political and cultural background information necessary for a better understanding of the film.

FMFE=Film 401: Film Media Field Experience (3 credits. Taught in English)/Cross listed with FMP=FILM 351: Topics in Film Media Production (4 credits. Taught in English)

Program participants will be involved in all aspects of pre-production and production, including screenwriting, filming and editing. Those who are interested can also participate as actors in the movie. For this activity students will earn 3 credits. 

Renato Guzzardi, independent filmmaker and Professor at the University of Calabria, will be directing the film Il ritorno di Norman based on the travelogue Old Calabria (1915) written by British writer and journalist Norman Douglas.

ITALIAN L=ITL 325, 326: Introduction to Italian Literature (3 credits each, for a total of six credits.  Cross listed with ITL 455) (A)*

Appreciation of literature: Representative texts of Italian narrative, drama, and lyric poetry, as well as Elements of the method of criticism.  Students explore the literature of the 19^th and 20th century through the works of major Italian writers and poets, such as Manzoni, Leopardi, Pirandello, Moravia, Montale, Pavese, Calvino, etc. Lessons and special guests provide students with a unique opportunity to improve their writing skills and their ability to analyze literary texts.  Prerequisite: one 300-level course or permission of instructor.

ITALIAN DC=ITL 395: Dante’s Divine Comedy (3 credits. General Education Course. Taught in English. Cross listed with ITL 481) (A)* (F)*

Reading in English translation of Dante’s chief work.  Analysis and interpretation of the Divine Comedy from the social, religious, philosophical, and political viewpoints of the Middle Ages.  Dante’s Divine Comedy is a masterpiece of the Western literary tradition and a great synthesis of Medieval culture and society.  Through textual and critical analysis, students will interpret the language and the cultural content of the Divine Comedy.  Secondary readings will be assigned for further interpretation of the most important passages of La Divina Commedia.  Prerequisite (for URI students only): one 300-level course or permission of instructor.

Books: Any edition of the Divine Comedy (which includes Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso) is welcomed, but the following are suggested: Dante Alighieri. The Divine Comedy. Inferno, Purgatorio, Paradiso. Trans. Allen Mandelbaum. New York: Bantam, 1981, 1984, 1986. 3 vols. (this edition of the Divine Comedy with English translation and parallel Italian text is the one used by the teacher in class and therefore is the one students should buy). Dante Alighieri. The Divine Comedy. Inferno, Text and Translation. Inferno, Commentary. Purgatorio, Text and Translation. Paradiso, Text and Translation. Trans. Charles S. Singleton. Princeton: University Press, 1970. Bollingen Series LXXX. 6 vols. Italian/English.; Dante. Inferno. Purgatorio. Paradiso. Trans. John  D. Sinclair. New York: Oxford University Press, 1974. 3 vols.; Robert Pinsky, trans. The Inferno of Dante: A New Verse Translation (New York: Noonday Press, 1996). 

Please note: Students taking the Dante class should read at least the first 10 cantos of Inferno before they start the class in Calabria. This will help them a lot in successfully completing the Dante's course.