Italian Studies Minor

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Program Director: Dr. Daniel Leisawitz, Associate Professor of Italian
Professors: Cragin, FitzPatrick Sifford, Gambino, Hartford
Lecturer: Viale

Italian Studies is an interdisciplinary minor in a wide-ranging field with deep connections to ancient and modern Italy, as well as to our own society and ways of understanding and experiencing the world. Students acquire a solid knowledge of the Italian language and delve into the study of Italian culture and history, exploring the literary, cinematic, artistic, theatrical, religious, and culinary traditions of Italy. A minor in Italian Studies can help prepare students for graduate work and for careers in art, banking, business, diplomacy, journalism, law, medicine, music, publishing, theatre, and many other fields. See more information about studying Italian at www.muhlenberg.edu/academics/llc/languages/italian.

Program Requirements

The minor in Italian Studies consists of six courses: ITC 102 Elementary Italian II , ITC 203 Intermediate Italian I , ITC 204 Intermediate Italian II , and ITC 305 Advanced Italian: The Power of Language (or the equivalent taken at another institution, upon approval) plus two elective courses. Students with prior knowledge of Italian can place out of Elementary Italian II, Intermediate Italian I, and/or Intermediate Italian II, in which case they are exempted from taking them. Students who place out of Elementary Italian II would take Intermediate Italian I, Intermediate Italian II, and Advanced Italian, plus three electives. Students who place out of Intermediate Italian I would take Intermediate Italian II and Advanced Italian plus four electives. Those rare students who place out of Intermediate Italian II would complete the minor with Advanced Italian plus four electives.

The elective courses include: any 200- or 300-level course with the Italian Studies prefix (ITL); courses on the list of pre-approved non-ITL courses (see below); courses approved by the program director on an ad hoc basis. If offered, students must participate in the “Italian section” of an ITL course for the course to count toward the minor. Only one elective that is not taught in Italian and does not have an “Italian section” can count toward the minor.

The following is a list of the non-ITL courses that have been pre-approved to count toward the Italian Studies minor. This list is not exhaustive, is in constant evolution, and does not include recent Special Topic courses, which are not yet listed in the catalog. Some of the courses listed below have prerequisites, so students should read the individual course descriptions carefully.

Pre-approved Non-ITL Courses

ARH 207, 208 - Baroque Art Course unit(s): 1
ARH 301 - Italian Renaissance Art Course unit(s): 1
ENG 313, 314 - Medieval Literature Course unit(s): 1
HST 247, 248 - Civil War, Holocaust, Crisis: Europe 1900-1945 Course unit(s): 1
HST 335 - Modern Italy Course unit(s): 1
MUS 219 - Opera Course unit(s): 1
MUS 221 - Western Music History I: Medieval to 1750 Course unit(s): 1

Italian Studies Abroad

Opportunities to explore Italian Studies and many other areas of study are available through various semester-long and summer programs in cities throughout Italy. Study abroad is not a requirement for the Italian Studies minor, though it is strongly encouraged. If a student chooses to study in Italy, up to two courses taken while abroad can be counted toward the minor upon approval of the program director. Students minoring in Italian who study abroad are strongly encouraged to take at least one ITL course after their return to Muhlenberg.