Eilis Kierans

This course (4 credits) is designed for students who have successfully completed Italian 001 and 002 at Penn State, or the equivalent level at another university, or who have taken four or more years of high school Italian. The purpose of the course is to continue the development of communication skills in written and spoken Italian at the intermediate level. The course offers students the opportunity to expand their vocabulary and to use more complex sentence structures in a variety of contexts to express more sophisticated concepts and opinions. Information is also presented regarding current issues in Italian society with the goal of developing intercultural competencies. Topics may include both traditional themes (e.g. cuisine, family and the arts) and contemporary themes (e.g. immigration, environmental issues and civil rights). The course will be conducted in Italian.

IT 301 serves as a bridge between intermediate language courses (IT 3/20) and 300- and 400-level Italian courses. This language course begins with a review of grammar basics and includes intermediate and advanced topics (subjunctive, hypothetical sentence, passive voice, etc.) that students need for success in upper-level courses. The grammar review is conducted in context of contemporary cultural materials, such as websites, music lyrics, newspapers, and magazine articles. Our readings will illuminate how 'italianità' is continuously reimagined as it embraces, or resists, movements towards greater inclusivity and diversity. More challenging speaking and writing tasks that students will encounter in advanced 300- and 400-level courses are here delivered in manageable pieces, and IT 301 helps students increase their comfort level with the language through reading and writing assignments, conversation, class discussions and presentations. By successfully completing this course, students will feel more confident in their study of Italian and have a smoother transition into upper-level courses.