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The major in Italian is an interdisciplinary program focusing on the study of the Italian language, its manifestations in history, and its usage in the current cultural and social context: the literary and artistic aspects of Italian culture in the past and the present; the major historical events and developments in Italy; and the current political institutions and dynamics in Italy within the broader European framework.

Â鶹ÒùÔº are required to structure their curriculum according to the departmental checklist for majors in close consultation with a departmental advisor.

The following areas of knowledge are central to the undergraduate degree in Italian:

• Understanding of the grammatical structure of modern standard Italian;
• Familiarity with significant works of Italian literature and awareness of the contribution to world literature of Italian letters;
• Familiarity with the historical context in which particular works were written;
• Awareness of a range of literary genres, their development and reception, as well as relevant critical methodologies.
• Awareness of the fundamental outlines of the history of Italian literature from the Middle Ages to the present.
• Awareness of contemporary Italian culture, politics and current events.

In addition, students completing the degree in Italian are expected to acquire the ability to:

• speak and understand modern, spoken, standard Italian sufficient for all purposes of daily life and for intellectual discussion in academic settings;
• read and write modern, standard Italian with sufficient fluency and correctness that literary or linguistic analysis of Italian texts can be performed successfully;
• analyze and interpret literary texts in terms of style, plot, structure, characters, themes, and the use of literary devices;
• communicate such analyses and interpretations simply in Italian or at a more sophisticated level in English, and to discuss a wide range of topics concerning Italian culture, civilization and current events;
• follow with reasonable comprehension authentic Italian broadcasts or film.

In addition to completing the College of Arts and Sciences' core curriculum requirements, Italian majors must complete a minimum of 32 credit hours in Italian at the 2000 level and above. They must maintain an overall Italian grade point average of at least a 2.00 (C), and complete all Italian courses with a C- or better.