Academics
Faculty  Courses

Courses

Track I: Liberal Arts Studies

Students enroll in both of the following courses. Each course carries four Boston University credits. Students must enroll for a total of eight credits. Courses are taught in English.

CAS AH 354 Venetian Renaissance Art and Architecture
This course considers the painting, sculpture, and architecture produced in Renaissance Venice within the context of the unique political, social, and historical dimensions of the city. Topics include the role of antiquity and antiquarian studies, the Byzantine tradition, the social role of the artist, the introduction of oil painting, the competition between Venetian and Florentine painting, the practice of drawing, and the development of illusionistic ceiling painting. Visits are planned to coincide with classroom discussions and readings, and include examination of the principal architectural styles of Venetian palaces and churches, as well as museum tours to study the city’s most celebrated artists. Syllabus

CAS HI 324 The Venetian Republic: Politics and Culture of the Serenissima
Traces the rise of Venice from its scattered settlements to the height of its imperial glory. Regular classroom lectures, as well as detailed guided visits to sites in and around the city, illuminate the history of Venice through its rich cultural heritage. Topics include the origin of the city and its government, social classes, Venice in overseas trade, and war with the Ottoman Turks. Regular class visits to important cultural and historical sites and monuments contribute to the discussion of the “Myth of Venice.”

Track II: Language and Liberal Arts Studies
Students enroll in an Italian language course and one liberal arts course.

CAS LI 111 First-Semester Italian (required) syllabus
CAS AH 354 Venetian Renaissance Art and Architecture Syllabus
CAS HI 324 The Venetian Republic

Track III: Language Studies
In this intensive Italian-language track, students enroll in two intermediate-level language courses. Courses are taught in Italian.

CAS LI 211/212 Third-/Fourth-Semester Italian
Prerequisite: CAS LI 112, second-semester college-level Italian, or the equivalent.
LI 211 Syllabus
LI 212 Syllabus

Track IV: Advanced Language and Literature Studies
Students enroll in both of the following courses. Courses are taught in Italian.

CAS LI 303 Self-Expression in Italian
Prerequisite: CAS LI 212, fourth-semester college-level Italian, or the equivalent. Expand vocabulary through development of fluent discussion in Italian on topics of current interest. Grammar review, readings drawn from Italian literature and the media. Syllabus

CAS IT 343 Contemporary Italian Literature
A seminar which covers contemporary Italian literature from the turn of the twentieth century to the 1960s.

CAS IP 400 Petrarch's Itineraries
At the heart of Francesco Petrarca's poetry and prose are 'itineraries,' journeys that are both real and imagined. This course allows students to trace the movements, detours and circlings that this greatest of Italy's lyric poets fashioned into literary texts, particularly in his erotic poetry and in his letters. We shall take note of Petrarca's preoccupation with the experience of time and outline those elements in his works that gave rise to a new, 'humanist' point of view for Western culture.

The course includes several guided walks around Padova-to sites associated with the poet's long residency in the city and also with the humanist movement that he fostered. All the texts are available in bi-lingual editions, with English translation. Course offered in Italian.

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Faculty

Courses are taught by local Italian faculty and visiting Boston University faculty.

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