The University of British Columbia

French, Hispanic and Italian Studies, Faculty of Arts

ITST: Italian Studies

All Italian Studies courses are conducted in English.

ITST 110 (3) Made in Italy

Where do Italy's glamour, lifestyle, traditions come from? This course introduces Italy's multifaceted ways of being and the cultural creations of the peninsula in their context.

ITST 231 (3) Introduction to Italian Culture I: From the Middle Ages to the Early Modern Period

The shift from the Medieval to the Early Modern worldview, explored through some of the major representatives of the verbal and visual arts, from Dante to Machiavelli, from Giotto to Leonardo.

ITST 232 (3) Introduction to Italian Culture II: From the Modern to the Post-Colonial Age

The debate around nation vs. empire vs. republic, from the Napoleonic age to our days, as captured in Italy's microcosm, condensing and often anticipating issues that have later become global.

ITST 234 (3) Introduction to Italian Cinema

A thematic course surveying major classics of Italian cinema, emphasizing their historical, political, social, philosophical and technical contexts.

ITST 333 (3) Masterpieces of the Novella in Italian Literature

A study of the genre of the novella as an expression of social and political contexts within and across cultures from its inception in feudal times to the post-modern age.

ITST 345 (3) Italian Fascism in Interdisciplinary Perspective

The cultural, literary, philosophical roots of Fascism and its evolution: its policies in literature, sports, cinema, architecture, racial legislation, and colonial adventures.

ITST 377 (3) Cultural Exchange between Modern Italy and China

Key moments and texts about intercultural exchange between Italy and China since the beginning of the twentieth century in their social, historical, and political contexts.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing or higher.

ITST 378 (3) Colonial and Postcolonial Italy

Italian colonialism in the twentieth century and postcolonial legacy in recent decades through media, literary, and cinematic texts.
Prerequisite: Second-year standing or higher.

ITST 385 (3) Italian Cinema: Neorealism

A survey of the major classics of post-WWII Italian Neorealism in cinema emphasizing their historical, political, social, philosophical and technical contexts.

ITST 413 (3) Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy in Translation

A close reading of Dante's masterpiece, along with excerpts from some of his other works: Vita Nuova, Convivio, Monarchia, Epistles. Precludes credit for ITAL 403.

ITST 414 (3) Topics in the Italian Literature and Culture of the Middle Ages in Translation

Italian literature of the Middle Ages in its intellectual, socio-political and cultural context. Dante and his contemporaries and/or immediate followers (may include Petrarch and Boccaccio). Precludes credit for ITAL 404.

ITST 415 (3) Topics in the Italian Literature and Culture of the Renaissance in Translation

Masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance in literature and the other arts. Authors and artists studied range from Pico to Ariosto and Machiavelli, from Botticelli to Leonardo and Michelangelo. Precludes credit for ITAL 405.

ITST 416 (3) Classics of Seventeenth-Century Italian Literature and Culture

Classics of the Italian literature of the Mannerist and Baroque age in their intellectual, socio-political, and cultural context. Credit will be granted for only one of ITST 416 or ITAL 406.
Equivalency: ITAL 406.

ITST 417 (3) Classics of Eighteenth-Century Italian Literature and Culture

Classics of the Italian literature of the age of the Enlightenment in its intellectual, socio-political, and cultural context. Credit will be granted for only one of ITST 417 or ITAL 407.
Equivalency: ITAL 407.

ITST 418 (3) Topics in Nineteenth-century Italian Literature and Culture in Translation

Italian literature of the 19th century in its intellectual, socio-political, and cultural context. Precludes credit for ITAL 408.

ITST 419 (3) Topics in Modern and Contemporary Italian Literature and Culture in Translation

Italian literature of the 20th century in its intellectual, socio-political and cultural context. Precludes credit for ITAL 409.

ITST 421 (3) Special Topics in Italian Studies

Course content will vary. May be taken twice for a total of 6 credits.

ITST 432 (3) Italian Cinema and Its Cultural Background

Films with English subtitles. Precludes credit for ITAL 430. Course content will vary. May be taken twice for a total of 6 credits.

ITST 495 (3) Research Intensive Seminar in Italian Literature and Culture

Credit will be granted for only one of ITAL 495 or ITST 495.