威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校

In most academic years, a wide array of courses and seminars is offered each semester to provide an even distribution across various literary periods. Courses typically meet two or three times a week and are broad in focus, generally exploring well-defined periods or genres. Seminars are held once a week for two hours and take up narrower topics in greater depth. Typical course offerings over a two- to three-year period cover all centuries of Italian literature and a wide variety of topics, including Italian culture, cinema, civilization, and linguistics. Strong emphasis is placed on the practice of the language; Italian is the usual language of instruction in graduate courses and seminars.

Graduate students gain a solid foundation not only in scholarship and criticism, but also in teaching. Most students have guarantees of support. The standard offer to an incoming teaching assistant provides a guarantee of three or four years of support, depending on whether the student has already done graduate work elsewhere. Study abroad programs and exchange agreements with individual universities provide opportunities for study and research in Italy. The department offers regular workshops designed to give students an overview of the job market and how to best prepare for it, making its placement record outstanding. As one of the largest Italian programs in North America, the department offers an unparalleled opportunity to study Italian literature, linguistics, and culture.

Learning outcomes

• Demonstrate critical understanding of the major works of Italian literature and culture from the middle Ages up to the present.
• Lead a well-informed discussion of literature and culture utilizing an adequate proficiency of Italian.
• Master methods of literary and cultural analysis in their specific areas of interest
• Examine literary texts of various genres and write competent critical and analytical essays
• Lead a well-informed discussion of literature and culture utilizing an adequate proficiency of Italian.
• Identify, select, and retrieve primary and secondary sources pertaining to questions in Italian literature and culture.
• Recognizes and applies principles of ethical and professional conduct.
• Create level- and course-appropriate instructional objectives, activities, and assessments for teaching language, literature, and culture.
• Use instructional technologies appropriately to enhance the teaching of language, literature, and culture.
• Incorporate insights from second language acquisition theory and current best practices in foreign language teaching into instruction.