MLIT 101 Discovering Italian I (3 credits)
The following course is closed to all students who have taken more than one year of Italian in high school or college. If you are not sure or have any questions, contact the instructor or the Chair of the Modern Languages Department.
This course is designed for students with no prior experience studying Italian or less than one year of high school study. Through a communicative-based approach, students in this class will learn to understand and participate in basic conversations on familiar and everyday topics. There will be an emphasis on practicing words, phrases and simple sentences using practical vocabulary and basic grammatical structures. Students will be exposed to basic cultural practices employed by native speakers in order to understand appropriate interpersonal behaviors and communicative practices unique to Italian culture. By the end of the course, students will be able to express basic needs and personal preferences and ask and answer simple questions both orally and also in writing.
Typically Offered: Fall
MLIT 102 Discovering Italian II (3 credits)
Context and Perspective: Globalization
This course is designed for students who have taken the Italian Placement Test and were placed in 102 and have discussed this placement with an Italian professor. Students that who have taken MLIT 101 in college are also allowed to take this course. Through a communicative-based approach, students will learn to understand and participate in conversations on familiar topics. There will be an emphasis on expanding vocabulary related to everyday topics and on how to speak about present and past events. By the end of the course, students will be able to express, ask about, and react to preferences, feelings, and opinions through a series of connected sentences both orally and also in writing. They will also be able to rehearse appropriate interpersonal behaviors and communicative practices unique to Italian culture.
Typically Offered: Spring
MLIT 201 Continuing Italian I (3 credits)
Context and Perspectives: Globalization
This course is designed to reactivate and build upon knowledge gained through previous language study. Students gain cultural competencies/competency while using the target language. They also analyze the role of language and how it reflects and shapes the culture(s) in which it is spoken. All four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) are emphasized. Special attention is given to grammatical structures and the inclusion of original reading and/or viewing materials in the target language.
Typically Offered: Fall
MLIT 202 Continuing Italian II (3 credits)
Context and Perspectives: Globalization
This course further develops student’s language proficiency introduced in 201. In addition to actively using the target language, students deepen their cultural awareness and understanding through the study of videos and authentic texts. The course focuses on enhancing listening comprehension and oral proficiency, improving proficiency in writing and reading comprehension, as well as providing a more complex insight into language customs and lifestyles.
Typically Offered: Spring
MLIT 205 Italian Language Immersion (3 credits)
With a theoretical and hands-on approach, this intermediate course offers the opportunity for students to increase all four language skills (aural-oral/reading/writing/grammar) while at the same experiencing the culture firsthand. Students will attend classes every day, and under the supervision of a Bentley Modern Language faculty member will visit various sites. These visits will offer students a chance to appreciate the history and culture of Italy. This course will fulfill the same requirements for the Modern Language intermediate course depending on language placement. Therefore, it can fulfill the Arts and Sciences language requirement, or LSM Global Perspective language courses, as well as Modern Language Italian minor requirements.
Typically Offered: Every two or more years
MLIT 302 Italian for Business (3 credits)
Context and Perspectives: Culture, Change, and Behavior
(Formerly ML 342)
MLIT 302 Italian for Business is a third-year course designed to introduce students to the language and culture of Italian business. Classes and homework are entirely in Italian. MLIT 302 uses commercial-economic situation and related cross-cultural exercises to continue to develop oral and written proficiency in Italian. Students will learn to discuss and conduct business transactions, write letters and read newspaper articles and commentaries on Italian commerce. Italian for Business introduces learners to the language of the Italian business world. We will deal with the ways in which business is conducted in Italy, but the primary focus of work is the language, terminology and culture of Italian business.
Typically Offered: Every two or more years
MLIT 304 Italy through Films (3 credits)
Context and Perspectives: Culture, Change, and Behavior
In this course, students will learn how Italy and Italian identity have been represented in films and documentaries from the fascist era to today. The course is divided into three modules, each exploring a specific “representation” of Italian culture and society. We will start with a reflection on major turning points in Italian history, continuing with a consideration on racism and the Italian colonial subconscious; finally, we will investigate a series of topics exemplifying Italian society and its diversity. Students are expected and encouraged to discuss these films from an historical, political, economic, and cultural perspective. Major themes considered are: Fascism, the "Southern Italian" question, migration to and from Italy, terrorism, gender roles and identities, race and racism, new idea of family, mafia, power, state, and the media.
Typically Offered: Every two or more years
MLIT 305 Migration in Italian Literature (3 credits)
Context and Perspectives: Culture, Change, and Behavior
This interdisciplinary course explores the topic of migration to and from Italy and how it intertwines with the idea of italianitá (Italian identity) from the late nineteenth century to our period. The first half of the course will focus on emigration from Italy to the United States (late 1900-1950’s), the socio-political situation that led to the Italian diaspora, the formation of Little Italies abroad and their living conditions, and the inner fight between Americanization and preservation of Italian values. The second part will explore a very diverse group of writers from the 1980’s to today, who described their personal experiences, struggles, and attitudes toward the culture of the “host” country. The course includes fictional, nonfictional, musical, and visual texts that recount the experience of migration as seen through the eyes of Italian American, Italian, and Italophone authors. The course readings are in both Italian and English.
Typically Offered: Once a year
MLIT 401 Directed Study in Italian (3 credits)
This course permits students to do special studies in language, literature or culture not offered as a departmental course.
Typically Offered: Every two or more years
MLIT 402 Seminar in Italian (3 credits)
This course brings together advanced and native speakers of the same language to engage in the study of a selected topic using a critical lens of analysis.
Typically Offered: Every two or more years