Wildcats

Camden Roy '22

Classics and Italian Studies Majors

Camden Roy entered UNH as an English literature major because he loved to read (fun fact: he’s read at least one novel a week for the last four years). But after exploring more of COLA’s courses, he settled on a dual major in classics and Italian studies. “I ended up in these majors because of the...

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Wildcats

Camden Roy '22

Classics and Italian Studies Majors

Camden Roy entered UNH as an English literature major because he loved to read (fun fact: he’s read at least one novel a week for the last four years). But after exploring more of COLA’s courses, he settled on a dual major in classics and Italian studies. “I ended up in these majors because of the...

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Wildcats

Camryn Luby '20

Humanities and Italian Studies Majors

Camryn Luby has always had a passion for Italian studies, so when her high school didn’t offer it, she put together a plan: she would apply to UNH as a neuroscience major and later, if things worked out, add Italian as a second major or minor. Ah, sometimes the best laid plans . . . “In my freshman...

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Wildcats

Camryn Luby '20

Humanities and Italian Studies Majors

Camryn Luby has always had a passion for Italian studies, so when her high school didn’t offer it, she put together a plan: she would apply to UNH as a neuroscience major and later, if things worked out, add Italian as a second major or minor. Ah, sometimes the best laid plans . . . “In my freshman...

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Alumni

Caitlin Truesdale '17

Art History and Italian Studies Majors | Graduate Student

UNH was a place where I felt free to find what I was most passionate about. I also felt enormously supported by my professors, resident hall directors, bosses, and peers.

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Alumni

Caitlin Truesdale '17

Art History and Italian Studies Majors | Graduate Student

UNH was a place where I felt free to find what I was most passionate about. I also felt enormously supported by my professors, resident hall directors, bosses, and peers.

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Curriculum & Requirements

Program Description

The Italian studies program offers courses in Italian language, culture, literature, history and cinema, as well as courses on Italian American culture. Italian courses can also be used to fulfill Discovery Program requirements and the Bachelor of Arts foreign language proficiency requirement. The program provides opportunities both to achieve high competence in Italian language and culture and to apply these knowledge skills to other disciplines. The Italian studies program encourages independent and innovative thinking and research so that students may pursue and achieve individualized goals while they prepare for the challenges of thriving in the world community.

Requirements for the Program

The Italian studies major curriculum consists of 10 courses (40 credits) that include:

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Select 16 credits at 600-level or above		16
Select 24 credits in ITAL course electives (up to two courses in Classics (CLAS), Humanities (HUMA) or from the list of approved electives may substitute for two of these courses.)		24
Select one of the following Discovery capstone requirements:
Honors Thesis (ITAL 796)
Senior Thesis (ITAL 795)
ITAL course at the 700-level (ITAL 733 or ITAL 775)
Advisor approved 4-credit internship (ITAL 595)
Advisor approved semester immersion experience in Italy (INCO 685 or INCO 686)
Total Credits		40

Additional Requirements

The minimum grade for each major course is a C.
Once students declare the Italian studies major, they must maintain a 2.5 cumulative grade point average in order to fulfill the study abroad requirement.
Italian studies majors may use two major-required courses to satisfy two Discovery category requirements.

List of Elective Courses

All CLAS and HUMA courses are acceptable electives. Approved courses from other disciplines are listed below. Approval by the Italian studies advisor is required for courses not listed below.

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
ANTH 411	Global Perspectives on the Human Condition: An Introduction to Anthropology	4
ANTH 500	Peoples and Cultures of the World	4
ARTH 444	Mona Lisa to Much Ado About Nothing: An Introduction to Renaissance Culture	4
ARTH 474	Introduction to Architectural History	4
ARTH 480	Introduction to Art History	4
ARTH 583	Baroque Art: Realism, Caricature, Shock	4
ARTH 675	Roman Art and Architecture	4
ARTH 677	Early Medieval Art	4
ARTH 678	Romanesque and Gothic Art	4
ARTH 681	Early Renaissance Art	4
ARTH 682	The High Renaissance	4
ARTH 685	Graphic Art of the Renaissance and Baroque Periods	4
ECON 645	International Economics	4
EDUC 500	Exploring Teaching	4
ENGL 403W	Exploring Literature	4
ENGL 419	How to Read Anything	4
ENGL 510	Introduction to the Digital Humanities	4
ENGL 533	Introduction to Film Studies	4
ENGL 618	Film Theory	4
ENGL 714	Critical Skills	4
GEOG 401	World Regions: Europe and the Americas	4
GEOG 581	Society, Environment and Justice	4
HIST 435	Origins of European Society	4
HIST 436	Europe and the Modern World	4
HIST 500	Introduction to Historical Thinking	4
HIST 501	Medieval Military History	4
HIST 521	Origins of Modern Science	4
HIST 540	Foundations of Medieval History: 300-1300 CE	4
HIST 565	Women in Modern Europe	4
HIST 640	Holy War in the Holy Land: The Medieval Crusades	4
HIST 641	Europe after the Black Death	4
HIST 642	Saints, Sinners, and Heretics: Europe in the Age of Religious Reform	4
IA 401	International Perspectives	4
IA 501	Global Issues in International Affairs	4
LLC #551	Comparative Literature: Masterpieces of World Literature I	4
LLC 552	Comparative Literature: Masterpieces of World Literature II	4
LLC 791	Methods of Foreign Language Teaching	4
LING 405	Introduction to Linguistics	4
LING 605	Intermediate Linguistic Analysis	4
MKTG 756	International Franchising	4
MKTG 760	International Marketing	4
MUSI 501	The Western Musical Canon	3
MUSI 502	Musics in Context	3
MUSI #715	Survey of Opera	3
NUTR 595	Mediterranean Diet and Culture	4
PHIL 401	Introduction to Philosophy	4
PHIL 430	Ethics and Society	4
PHIL 560	Philosophy Through Fiction	4
PHIL 570	Ancient Philosophy	4
PHIL 580	Modern Philosophy from Descartes to Kant	4
PHIL #620	20th Century European Philosophy	4
POLT 520	Politics, Justice, and Morality	4
POLT 550	Comparative Government and Society	4
POLT 551	Ethnicity ,Violence, Democracy	4
POLT 552	Contemporary European Politics	4
POLT 560	World Politics	4
SUST 401	Exploring Sustainability	4
THDA 436	History of Theatre I	4
THDA 438	History of Theatre II	4

Student Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate speaking proficiency in Italian: Students speak Italian at the Advanced Level per standard guidelines established by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).
Demonstrate listening proficiency in Italian: Students’ aural comprehension is at the Advanced Level per standard guidelines established by ACTFL.
Demonstrate reading proficiency in Italian: Students' read at the Advanced Level per standard guidelines established by ACTFL.
Demonstrate writing proficiency in Italian: Students' write at the Advanced Level per standard guidelines established by ACTFL.
Exhibit contemporary cultural competency: Demonstrate knowledge of contemporary aspects of Italian culture and the ability to interact appropriately and effectively within diverse social and cultural contexts.
Exhibit historical cultural competency: Identify the major movements in Italian cultural history and analyze critically Italian cultural production from the 13th century to the present through close readings and audio and visual texts (e.g., literature, cinema, music, visual arts, traditional and social media) to provide critical insight on a range of topics in Italian culture.
Exhibit intercultural competency: Present a global perspective through the articulation of cultural differences as well as shared values between cultures, societies, and nations.
Exhibit research competency: Demonstrate ability to conduct research in both Italian and English: to produce coherent analyses utilizing primary and secondary sources, applying critical thinking and methodologies of argumentation, and integrating disparate areas of knowledge.

Explore Program Details

Why Study Italian Language & Culture

Italian is spoken by 61 million people in Italy and by 85 million people throughout the world. As a second language, Italian is spoken by 250 million and is the fourth most studied second language in the world.

While Italy’s artistic and culinary patrimony is internationally recognized, the country’s significant achievements in science, technology, engineering, manufacturing, and medicine are less well known. Italy is a major political and economic force in Europe and the world. It possesses the world’s seventh largest economy, and many employers are seeking people who speak both Italian and English. Italy is a world leader in the culinary arts, interior design, fashion, graphic design, furniture design, art restoration and preservation, machine tool manufacturing, robotics, electromechanical machinery, shipbuilding, space engineering, construction machinery, and transportation equipment. An estimated 7,500 American companies do business with Italy and more than 1,000 U.S. firms have offices in Italy, including Eli Lilly, Pfizer, IBM, General Electric, Motorola, Citibank, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. The iconic Chrysler Group LLC, one of the “Big Three” American automobile manufacturers is owned by Italian automaker FIAT as of 2014. Many Italian firms have offices in the U.S., especially in the Boston metropolitan area.

A major or minor in Italian Studies allows students to pursue careers in a variety of fields including though not limited to education, business, computer programming and web design, law, public relations, journalism, archaeology, telecommunications, arts administration, non-governmental organizations, hospitality management, publishing, library science, graduate studies, politics, or public and environmental affairs. In the public sector, government agencies and the military also offer many and diverse opportunities for individuals with international proficiency.