Brian Tholl
Assistant Teaching Professor of Italian
Director of Undergraduate Studies
- 33 Burrowes Building
Biography
Brian Tholl received his doctoral degree in Italian and a certificate in cinema studies from Rutgers University in 2020, where he focused on literary and filmic representations of antifascist exiles under Mussolini’s regime. His other research interests include biopolitics, political philosophy, and dystopia. At Penn State, he has taught both language courses and literature/culture courses. In the past, he served as the Director of the Penn State summer study abroad program in Todi, Italy.
Recent Publications:
- “Il mondo è meglio non vederlo che vederlo: Naples as Urban Dystopia in “Un paio di occhiali.” Interpreting Urban Spaces in Italian Culture, edited by Andrea Scapolo and Angela Porcarelli, Amsterdam University Press, 2022.
- “Italy Must Be Defended: Surveillance and Biopolitics in Una giornata particolare.” The Cinema of Ettore Scola, edited by Edward Bowen and Remi Lanzoni, Wayne State University Press, 2020.
Education
Ph.D., Italian, Rutgers University
Courses Regularly Taught
0-99 Level
4 Credits
Fall 2025 Semester
Italian
IT 003 Intermediate Italian
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.
Prerequisite
IT 002
Bachelor of Arts
World Language (All), World Lang (12th Unit), Humanities
400 Level
3 Credits
Spring 2026 Semester
Italian
IT 460 Resistance, Revolution, and the (Re)birth of the Italian Nation
Italy of the 20th century underwent great changes, constantly reshaping itself against the backdrop of technological innovation and a series of violent and tragic political conflicts. This course examines the Italian prose, poetry, and drama of this tumultuous period and considers how the Italian nation was represented and constructed through literature. Topics studied may include (but are not limited to) war, revolution, politics and political violence, economics, immigration, gender and sexuality, and the role of the family in Italian society. This class is taught in Italian.
Prerequisite
any 300-level IT course
Class Times
Tuesdays, Thursdays from 12:05 p.m.-1:20 p.m.
