Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science - Italian Studies Concentration

The degree of Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science is conferred on all students who complete this program. Students whose major concentration is applied mathematics, applied physics, astrophysics, biochemistry, biology, biopsychology, chemical physics, chemistry, cognitive and brain Sciences, computer science, engineering psychology, environmental studies (as second major only), geological sciences, geology, mathematics, and physics are eligible to receive a Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts degree. Those majoring in psychology, psychology/clinical and quantitative economics may choose to receive the degree of Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts at the time they complete their degree sheet. Students in all other majors will receive a Bachelor of Arts degree. Students whose multiple majors make them eligible for either a Bachelor of Arts degree or a Bachelor of Science degree may choose between the two when completing their degree sheet. The Italian Studies major requires ten courses distributed as follows, among Sections I, II, III, IV, and V. Section I: Two courses in Composition and Conversation, taught in Italian, in the Department of Romance Languages: Italian 21 and 22, or equivalent; Section II: Two survey courses of Literature, taught in Italian: Italian 31, and 32, or equivalent; Section III: One 100---level course of Advanced Italian Language, taught in Italian: Italian 121; Section IV: Two Literature or culture courses at the 100---level, taught in Italian; Section V: Three elective courses in Italian Literature, Culture, or related fields , taught in Italian or English (see Guidelines, attached to the Checklist for the Major, for acceptable courses). The Department of Romance Languages hosts four major international languages (French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish) and offers a wide range of courses in French, Francophone, Spanish, Latin American, Italian and Luso-speaking literatures, mainly in the target languages, but also in English. In addition, the Department offers courses in film, literary theory, cultural studies and creative writing related to the countries where these languages are used. All these courses open the door to a better understanding of a very important cultural tradition; the one derived from the old Roman Empire, transformed and expressed over centuries in vibrant and modern national and regional forms of discursive production. Moreover, with the appearance of colonial and postcolonial societies from the early-modern period on, many indigenous and local traditions have transformed and enriched each one of the Romance languages, giving them new vitality and world presence. Students take language courses in French, Spanish, Italian or Portuguese to communicate in the spoken and written language. This understanding allows them to read and appreciate a nation's culture more profoundly, and interpret the language's corresponding historical and social contexts in the literature courses and research of the Department. Students graduating with a major in a Romance language will have developed: a capacity for critical thinking through literary and cultural analysis; an understanding of the aesthetic and intellectual complexities of literary and cultural texts from one or more countries where a Romance language is spoken; an ability to engage in scholarly research and/or creative work, and to develop the necessary skills to carry out those tasks with rigor and originality;