French and Italian in Translation

The following courses are taught in English. Students taking FRIT courses for major or minor credit must attend a weekly x-hour in the target language to discuss the assigned materials and do readings and all written work in the target language.

FRIT 31: Foreign Language Teaching Methods: Theory and Practice

The course will provide a historical overview of approaches to foreign language (FL) teaching and learning and the theoretical notions underlying current pedagogical trends and classroom practices. Some of the topics that will be covered during the class discussion include: The National Standards for Foreign Language Learning; the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages; language learning and critical thinking; multiple intelligence in language learning; the integration of literature and culture in FL teaching; and digital pedagogy in the 21st century language classroom. Students will have the opportunity to apply course content through micro-teaching sessions, class-troubleshooting situations, class observations and the development of tasks and assessments. The course will also offer students the opportunity to reflect on language learning on a personal level, to find out how they think as language learners and how they can empower themselves to learn languages in an active and engaged manner. Open to all students. Text, lectures and discussion in English. Students taking the course for major or minor credit in Italian will attend a weekly x-hour and do all written work in Italian.

Distributive and/or World Culture

SOC

FRIT 33.01: Dante's "Divine" Comedy

Is there an afterlife? What is it like? Who may describe the hereafter in this world and shape my behavior? These are the ever-present questions that Dante’s Comedy poses. The course’s central themes will be exile and paradise: Exile means both Dante’s own banishment and the universal pilgrimage of life; paradise is the unattainable homecoming of true happiness. Students will explore the poem, its sources, and reception, developing a rigorous yet personal response to Dante’s Comedy.

Open to all students. Text, lectures and discussion in English. Students taking the course for major or minor credit in Italian will attend a weekly x-hour and do all written work in Italian.

Cross Listed Courses

REL 32.02

Distributive and/or World Culture

LIT; WCult: W.

FRIT 34: Renaissance Studies in Translation

An examination of Italian Renaissance masterpieces in translation, which will explore the centrality of Italian ideas and ideals to the development of literary and cultural norms in Italy and Europe. Topics will vary according to the focus established by each instructor.

Open to all students. Text, lectures and discussion in English. Students taking the course for major or minor credit in Italian will attend a weekly x-hour and do all written work in Italian. 

In 15S, Sex and Gender in the Italian Renaissance. This interdisciplinary course explores conceptions of sex and gender in Italian Renaissance literature and visual art.  We’ll trace a social history of love and sex in Renaissance Italy, examine how sex and sexual bodies were represented in literature and in images, and look at how governments and the Church attempted to manage and punish sexual transgression.  Themes we will investigate include representations of male and female bodies, gender roles for both men and women, sexual violence, same-sex desire, and cross-dressing.

Cross Listed Courses

WGST 48.07

Distributive and/or World Culture

LIT; WCult: W

FRIT 35: Modern Italian Culture and Society

According to the interests of the instructor, a major topic, art form, literary genre, or historical theme that concerns modern Italy will be approached in relation to Italian culture and society as a whole. The focus of the course will thus be interdisciplinary, emphasizing the interplay of the fine arts, literature, film, music, history, and philosophy. Possible themes include Literature and Politics in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century, The History of Italian Opera, The Culture of Italian Fascism, Italian Film (specific directors such as Fellini, De Sica, Bertolucci and Antonioni).

Open to all students. Text, lectures and discussion in English. Students taking the course for major or minor credit in Italian will attend a weekly x-hour and do all written work in Italian.

Distributive and/or World Culture

LIT; WCult: CI

FRIT 37: Topics in Literature and Culture

Offerings of this course will consist of various topics in Literature and Culture.  Open to all students. Text, lectures and discussion in English: Students taking the course for major or minor credit in French or Italian will attend a weekly x-hour and do all written work in the target language.
 

Cross Listed Courses:

FRIT 37.03 Black Feminisms in the French Atlantic is cross listed with AAAS 88.18

Dist:INT; WCult:CI