Course conducted entirely in Italian

This course is for students who are already at an advanced level of competence in Italian.

Italian 102 has two purposes: to strengthen and refine your speaking skills, thus improving your language fluency in Italian, and to do so by taking you through an engaging investigation of Italian “arts” (theatre, music, cinema, history of art, architecture).

In Spring 2017, we will focus on the many interconnections among language, society and music in contemporary Italian culture. More specifically, we will look at songs with a deep social and political content and this will lead us to explore and to learn about crucial moments and events in recent Italian history. A wide array of topics will be covered, from politics to the environment, from migrations to social struggle, giving students a composite and rich overview of Italy in the 20^th and 21^st centuries and of the role played by music in representing social changes.

Class discussions, debates, role play will be the forms of interaction that we will regularly use in this course. You will thus have the opportunity not only to delve into the content of the songs and the cultural environment that produced them, but to improve your fluency and to hone your skills in discussing complex topics in Italian. In addition to listening to many songs, carefully reading and analyzing their lyrics and learning about the society that produced them, you will regularly collaborate with your classmates and give your feedback on their creative projects, while, in turn, receiving their input on your own work.

Course goals

During this course you will:

• Improve and perfect your speaking skills and fluency in Italian
• Learn about crucial aspects of contemporary Italian society and culture through music
• Debate in Italian about complex topics
• Acquire a richer and varied vocabulary
• Collaborate creatively with your peers in Italian
• Listen to many interesting songs from several different genres

Required texts:

A reader will be provided at the beginning of the semester.

All texts posted on bcourses.

Webster’s New World Italian Dictionary Concise edition ISBN 9780139536397

Prerequisites: Italian 4 at UCB or placement test. Please contact Dr. Perco if you have questions regarding placement in this course: gperco@berkeley.edu.

This course can be repeated for credit, provided the topic is different.