About Italian Studies
Introduction
Italian language, literature and culture have circulated in Italy and abroad long before the national unification of the country in 1861, but they have often acquired different meanings to different people according to their geographical location and position in society. The cultural heritage of Italy is in large part linked to such historical periods as the Middles Ages and the Renaissance and to well recognizable names like Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio, Ariosto, Machiavelli, Leonardo, and Michelangelo. Our understanding of contemporary Italy is enriched by the study of these authors as their works continue to inform Italian and world culture. Likewise, the legacy of antiquity in Italy is evident to anyone walking in an Italian city and has long characterized the country as an ideal place for art and architecture lovers. While these are legitimate aspects of Italian heritage, many more come to the fore when we recognize that Italian culture is constituted and shaped not only by high art and the established canon, which today also include fashion and design, but also by the way these interact with popular culture and the everyday lived experience of Italians within and without the country and its growing diverse population. Thus Italian culture and Italian language, like all others, are ever-changing as they move toward the future and draw from practices rooted in the past that include, to quote from a famous Italian film, the good, the bad and the ugly.
As Italian has become one of the fastest growing languages and interest in Italy continues to rise, Italian Studies represents a recent and exciting interdisciplinary field of inquiry that purports to explore the many and complex facets of culture, from literature to cinema, popular culture and media studies, history and art, politics and philosophy, music and folklore, anthropology and sociology, theatre and performance. Research approaches include feminist, postcolonial and critical theory and cultural studies.
At San Diego State University students have the opportunity to learn Italian language and culture within this innovative framework and earn a minor by taking courses at the lower and upper division levels, taught entirely in Italian, in which they are exposed to a variety of Italian topics and traditions ranging from literature and film to migration and contemporary youth subcultures. Students may also focus on Italian while completing the European Studies major in the Department.
Why Study Italian
The study of Italian, like that of any language, reveals not just another means of communication, but another world and another culture. It offers an opportunity to compare practices and habits, to challenge, question or reinforce one’s opinions and to appreciate and respect other views.
- Italian is relevant for students specializing in arts and humanities, including literature, theatre, history, art history and music, as well as the social and political sciences, education, business and international relations.
- Knowledge of Italian is also beneficial to people studying design – industrial, fashion, interior, graphic – advanced and innovative technologies, tourism and hospitality and all those seeking culinary expertise for work and pleasure.
- Italian is spoken as much in Italy as around the world. Italians have migrated to all corners of the globe and Italian is the heritage language of many people in the US and abroad. Indeed, it is also spoken in Switzerland, parts of Africa, Latin America, Asia, Australia, the Balkans, and around the Mediterranean. Interestingly, it is the fourth language most spoken in US homes, according to the US Census Bureau, which makes its study in the US even more relevant and useful.
Finally, the study of Italian is an open journey: BUON VIAGGIO!
Italian at SDSU: An Overview |
