This program is open to students with all levels of Italian language skills. Students with no prior knowledge of Italian enroll in First Term Italian. All students will choose two or three elective courses in English or Italian from the variety offered at the BU Padua Center. Additionally, all students will enroll in a non-unit Hub co-curricular and an internship course which is comprised of class instruction and internship placement 15–20 hours a week for 12 weeks.
Please note that a minimum enrollment is necessary for a BU Padua course to be offered for the term, and availability is subject to change. All courses are taught by local faculty. Upon successful completion of the program, students earn 16 Boston University units.
Required Course
Students with no prior knowledge of Italian are required to enroll in First-Term Italian.
CAS LI 111 First-Semester Italian
This course for beginners offers intensive listening, oral, and written practice of Italian. Reading comprehension is also included. By the end of this course you will be able to greet others, exchange information about family, friends and acquaintances, home, classes, work experience, food, schedules, vacations, pastimes, and getting around an Italian city.
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Individual in Community
Internship Phase
The internship phase of the program starts after the 2-week Core phase. During this time, students will participate in an internship either in English or Italian with local organizations in the greater Padua area for about 15 hours a week Monday-Friday and will be enrolled in an internship course. The internship course focuses on the main cultural, historical, political and economic issues related to the Italian job market. Thanks to an intercultural perspective, the main internship-related topics will be discussed on both national and local levels in comparison with the US work environment. Special attention will be given to the greater Padua area and the Veneto region that host the internship program and placements. Internship placements are determined with the assistance of the BU Padua Internship Coordinator.
Internship Course
Study Abroad will enroll students in a non-unit Hub co-curricular and in a four-unit internship course, which includes a classroom component. The four-unit course number will depend on the area of specialization in which the student completes his or her internship. Placements are contingent upon students’ past experiences, language abilities, professional interests, and available opportunities in any given term, so flexibility is essential. Upon successful completion of the internship experience, students will receive a Hub requirement in the area Individual in Community from the co-curricular HUB SA 330.
HUB SA 330Study Abroad Internship
This course is a Non-unit Hub Co-curricular.
Units: 0
BU Hub areas:
Individual in Community
SHA HF 390 Field Placement in Hospitality Administration
Units: 4
Elective Courses
Students choose two or three courses from those offered at the BU Padua Center, taught in English or Italian.
Language Courses
CAS LI 211 Third-Semester Italian
Prerequisite: two terms of college-level Italian, or placement exam results.
Third semester Italian is for students who can already understand and use orally and in writing a variety of regular and irregular verbs in the present and past tense. The students will improve their knowledge of Italian in the areas of communication, cultures, connections and comparisons
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Individual in Community
Courses Taught in English
CAS AH 349 Between the Lily and the Lion: Art in Renaissance Padua
During the course students will learn to identify critical developments in art history in the city of Padua from the beginning of the 1300 to the end of the 1500 and how to draw relevant comparisons with contemporary work in Florence and Venice. In so doing students will be able to reconstruct the cultural and artistic exchanges that gave birth to the phenomenon called Renaissance.
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Aesthetic Exploration
Historical Consciousness
CAS HI 263 Modern Italian History
This course follows the history of Italy’s rapid transformation from agricultural economy to industrial and post-industrial country. Starting from Italy’s “liberal” period of 1870s through World War I, the course then introduces students to Fascism and the Mussolini era. From post-war republicanism, the course moves on to the 1970s, and traces the historical roots of current economic crises and issues. On-site classes are part of this course.
Units: 4
SHA HF 323/CAS SO 333 Italian Food Culture and Society: Foundations, Transitions and Representations
The course will introduce students to the peculiarities of the Italian food system from a cultural, social and economic perspective. Drawing from assumptions developed within Food Studies, and in particular within the Anthropology of Food, and Sociology of Food and Nutrition, students will acquire knowledge and literacy concerning identity, sustainability, globalization and socio-cultural change, as well as ethnographic, visual and qualitative methods which will help them understand and analyze our contemporary societies and, in particular, the Italian one.
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Social Inquiry I
Ethical Reasoning
CAS IR 334 European Politics and Policy Challenges: Italy and the United States
The course will explore how and why the European Union was born as well as the concept of Europeanization. Starting from this topic, students will learn how EU member states differentiate themselves in terms of institutional setting, party systems, politics and policies. By observing the current political and institutional development of the European member states, and drawing a comparison with the U.S., the course also aims at exploring a possible democratic deficit in the EU and the multi-level policymaking in the European Union.
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Individual in Community
Social Inquiry II
CFA MH 340 Italian Music: From Renaissance to 20th Century Avant-Garde
The course examines the history, evolution, and main aesthetic features of Italian music from the 16th century to the mid-20th century. Italy played a central role in the development of music, witnessing the birth of opera, the cantata, oratorio, sonata, concerto, and symphony, all of which were disseminated internationally, creating a cohesive, international musical style. The main aim of the course is to provide students with a comprehensive view on the making and developments of the main Italian music genres, from Renaissance to post-WWII Avant-gardes.
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Aesthetic Exploration
Historical Consciousness
Courses Taught in Italian
Please note: Some courses may carry language prerequisites as indicated in course syllabi.
CAS HI 260 The Venetian Republic: Rise and Fall of a Global Power
Founded around the 5th-6th century by former Roman fleeing the barbarian invasions, Venice has been for centuries one of the strongest and most powerful political entities. Venice was for centuries one of the most powerful political global powers until its fall in 1797.
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Historical Consciousness
Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
Research and Information Literacy
CAS LI 308 Venetian Landscapes: A Contemporary Grand Tour
Prerequisite: CAS LI 212, fourth-term college-level Italian, or the equivalent.
The Veneto region, where Padua always played and still plays a lively cultural role, has inspired artists, musicians, writers throughout the centuries. Johann W. Goethe, Lord Byron and Henry James, among others, wrote beautiful memories of their Italian journeys and left us extraordinary depictions of cities like Padua, Venice and Verona, surrounded by hills, mountains, lagoons and rural landscapes. Following the path of these famous travelers, the course aims to offer students the opportunity to discover the Veneto region through literary and cultural experiences. By means of on-site lessons, readings and field trips, students are able to recognize the local identity that deepens its roots into the landscape (natural and human), culture (progress and tradition), language (Italian and dialect), history and society.
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Global Citizenship & Intercultural Literacy
Oral and/or Signed Communication
CAS LI 355 Italian Migrant Literature
Prerequisite: 4 terms of college level Italian or the equivalent.
While at the end of the Nineteenth Century and the first half of the Twentieth Century, Italy was a country of emigration, recent history shows that it has become the country of destination for many people. This change concerns diverse aspects of life at various levels: social, anthropological, economic, but also linguistic and cultural. The course introduces students to different aspects of Italian migrant literature (e.g. history, style, topics) from its appearing in the late Eighties to today. Students will approach literary works written by authors with different intercultural backgrounds.
