Italian Language and Literature Major
The Italian language and literature major prepares students to achieve an advanced proficiency in the language in all four fundamental skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—while they develop their analytical and critical abilities. Students acquire an in-depth knowledge of the historical development of Italian literature and culture over the centuries, from the Middle Ages to the present, and in all their diverse but often intersecting expressions and manifestations—from literature to cinema, from the fine arts to theatre, from political and economic theory to philosophical and religious thinking.
CIP COde
16.0902 - Italian Language and Literature.
You can use the CIP code to learn more about career paths associated with this field of study and, for international students, possible post-graduation visa extensions. Learn more about CIP codes and other information resources.
Majors in Italian language and literature will take a minimum of ten courses numbered ITAL 1501 Intermediate Italian I and higher, to be selected in consultation with the assigned departmental Italian major advisor. (Courses numbered lower than 1501 will not count toward the major.)
The 10 courses required for the major, to be completed all in Italian, will normally include:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ITAL 1501 | Intermediate Italian I | 3 |
| ITAL 1502 | Intermediate Italian II | 3 |
| ITAL 2001 | Italian Language and Literature 1 | 3 |
| or ITAL 2201 | Italian Community Engaged Learning: Art and Society | |
| At least one course in The Middle Ages | 4 | |
| At least one course in The Renaissance and Baroque | 4 | |
| At least one course in Modern and/or Contemporary Literature and Culture | 4 | |
| Select any four electives 2 | 16 | |
- 1
Either course serves as the prerequisite for all 3000-level and above courses.
- 2
Any course with the ITAL subject code numbered above 2201 may fulfill this requirement. One 2000-level course (above ITAL 2001/ITAL 2201) is suggested. Courses with the ITAL attribute may also apply with the Italian advisor's permission.
Students who place out of ITAL 1501, ITAL 1502, or ITAL 2001/ITAL 2201 will replace them with upper-level elective courses (see footnote 2 above).
AB and IB Credit
All courses counting towards the core language requirement and the major or the minor in a modern foreign language, literature and culture must be taken for credit and a letter grade. When AP or IB credits are awarded as equivalent to the 1502 level in a language, these credits will be applied toward the core language requirement and, as elective credits, toward graduation, but they will not be applied toward the major or the minor in that language.
Courses in the Middle Ages
Courses in this group have the ITMA attribute.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ITAL 2800 | Italy and the Arts: Politics, Religion, and Imagination in Medieval and Renaissance Italy | 4 |
| ITAL 3012 | Medieval Storytelling | 4 |
| ITAL 3021 | Vice and Virtue in Medieval Italian Literature | 4 |
| ITAL 3050 | Arts and Politics in Italian Humanism | 4 |
| ITAL 3062 | Ethics and Economic Value in Medieval Literature | 4 |
| MLAL 2755 | Performing Dante | 4 |
| MLAL 3012 | Medieval Storytelling | 4 |
| MLAL 3535 | Building the Ideal City: Ethics and Economics Foundations of Realizable Utopias | 4 |
| MVST 4006 | Dante's Cosmos: Science, Theology, and Literature | 4 |
| MVST 4007 | The Medieval Foundations of Modernity: Petrarch and the Origins of Modern Consciousness | 4 |
| THEA 2755 | Performing Dante | 4 |
Courses in the Renaissance and Baroque
Courses in this group have the ITRE attribute.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| COLI 3200 | Machiavelli's Utopia | 4 |
| ITAL 2802 | Lorenzo de’ Medici (The Magnificent) and the Invention of Modernity | 4 |
| ITAL 3020 | Renaissance and Baroque Novella | 4 |
| ITAL 3050 | Arts and Politics in Italian Humanism | 4 |
| ITAL 3065 | Lies and Liars in Medieval and Renaissance Italian Literature | 4 |
| ITAL 3120 | Renaissance Literature | 4 |
| ITAL 3123 | Fantastic Beasts, Fantastic Renaissance: Matteo Maria Boiardo’s "Orlando in Love" | 4 |
| ITAL 3125 | Magnificence and Power: The Medici and Renaissance Florence | 4 |
| ITAL 3215 | Love and Honor in the Renaissance Courts | 4 |
| ITAL 3280 | The Italian Short Story | 4 |
| MLAL 3535 | Building the Ideal City: Ethics and Economics Foundations of Realizable Utopias | 4 |
Courses in Modern and/or Contemporary Literature and Culture
Courses in this group have the ITMO attribute.
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| COLI 3112 | Italian Neorealist Cinema | 4 |
| COLI 4016 | Rewriting the Mediterranean (20th and 21st Centuries) | 4 |
| ITAL 2700 | Filming the City Inside and Out: A Cinematic Journey Through Italy | 4 |
| ITAL 2705 | The Souths of Italy: Words, Images, and Sounds | 4 |
| ITAL 2910 | Emigration in Literature and Film 1850-Present | 4 |
| ITAL 3030 | Criminal Tales | 4 |
| ITAL 3452 | Italophone Migrant Literature From Africa and Beyond | 4 |
| ITAL 3550 | Italian Unification: Film/Literature | 4 |
| ITAL 3625 | The Modern Italian Theater | 4 |
| ITAL 3650 | Italy at War | 4 |
| ITAL 3701 | Italian Women Writers | 4 |
| ITAL 3901 | Narrative and Film | 4 |
| ITAL 3910 | Italy Today | 4 |
| ITAL 3920 | Words on Fire: Contemporary Italian Poetry and Society | 4 |
| MLAL 3116 | Social Issues in Italian Literature and Film | 4 |
| MLAL 3250 | Culture and Society in Italian Cinema | 4 |
| MLAL 4011 | Anni Di Piombo/Years of Lead: Culture, Politics, and Violence | 4 |
Study Abroad
The department encourages students to study abroad for one or two semesters. Students who opt to apply study abroad credits toward their major must have these courses approved by the Italian major advisor prior to their going abroad. Students studying abroad for one year may apply up to four study abroad courses toward their major. Students studying abroad for one semester may apply up to three study abroad courses toward their major. Additional study abroad credits accepted by Fordham University may be applied as elective credits toward graduation, but not toward the Italian major.
Honors
Honors in Italian will be awarded to students who have a GPA in the major of 3.67 or higher, and who complete an outstanding senior thesis under the direction of an Italian faculty member. Students should consult their Italian major advisor for advice and guidelines on this option early in their junior year.
Availability
The Italian language and literature major is available at Fordham College at Rose Hill and Fordham College at Lincoln Center. Students in Fordham's School of Professional and Continuing Studies may major in Italian language and literature only if they receive the approval of their advising dean and/or department, and their schedules are sufficiently flexible to permit them to take day courses at the Rose Hill or Lincoln Center campuses.
Fordham College at Rose Hill students: The requirements above are in addition to those of the Core Curriculum.
Fordham College at Lincoln Center students: The requirements above are in addition to those of the Core Curriculum.
Professional and Continuing Studies students: The requirements above are in addition to those of the PCS Core Curriculum and any additional electives that may be required to earn a minimum of 124 credits.