Ital 203: Intermediate Italian [Hybrid for students on campus]
Monday: synchronous class on Zoom (entire class)
Wednesday: small groups f2f outdoors/on Zoom for students not on campus
Thursday: small groups f2f outdoors/on Zoom for students not on campus
Friday: synchronous class on Zoom (entire class)
Synchronous Zoom classes: I will structure this classes to be as close as possible to our in-person language classes, using technology to uphold the course’s emphasis on communicating in Italian (in oral and written form). During these classes, I will introduce new grammatical structures and vocabulary and we will practice them together, as we would do in the classrooms, with a variety of individual and group activities (in break-out rooms). The entire class will participate in these sessions.
Small groups (f2f/zoom): for those on campus, I plan to meet outside in small groups to practice vocabulary and explore cultural topics. Depending on the lesson for the week, we will use different outdoor spots on campus to practice new vocabulary (i.e. giving directions to specific places, describing the landscape, etc.). We will also have small groups discussions on different aspects of Italian culture (i.e. Italian art and music). Students who will take the class remotely will have these small groups meetings on Zoom.
All students will have many opportunities to work in pairs or groups not only during class, but also outside of class in order to complete group projects (i.e. video projects on Italian art, audio project on giving directions in Italian, multimedia project on environmental issues, etc.).
Office Hours
On Zoom:
Monday: 3:30-5:00 pm
Friday: 9:00-10:00 am
By appointment (in person* or on Zoom)
Wednesday afternoon
Thursday morning
*I will not meet students in my office but I am available meet outdoors on campus
ITAL 350: Italian Cinema [Remote]
Monday: synchronous class on Zoom (entire class)
Wednesday: synchronous class on Zoom (in groups)
On Monday, I will introduce the film assigned for that week and we will discuss it together. Each class discussion is intended to be interactive and fully democratic. I will depend on all of the students to take the initiative to bring up points and ask questions that are relevant for their understanding of the class material, and also to share their personal opinions. Every Monday, two students will work in pairs to give a presentation to the class on the film’s director. We will also work in groups (break out rooms) to practice film analysis (i.e. analyze the mise-en-scene in screen shots from the movie, analyze the use of camera movements and editing in a scene from the movie) as well as contextual analysis (what are we learning about Italian history/culture from this movie sequence?).
Group activity example: screen shot analysis
- Each group has a screen shot from the movie.
- In break out rooms, the groups will identify the different elements of the mise-en-scene in that shot: props and costumes, setting, lighting, camera angles, frames, special effects, choreography, music, color values, depth, placement of characters, etc.
- Then, they will focus on explaining the significance behind them: What effects are created in a scene, and what is their purpose? How does the film attempt to achieve its goal by the way it looks, and does it succeed?
- Students will use a google doc to share notes.
- Then, each group will report to the entire class. The other students will be responsible to comment on the work of the groups, to add to the presentation or make corrections if needed.
On Wednesday, we will continue our discussion on the weekly movie and readings in small groups, focusing more on the contextual analysis of the movie and its relevance in the history of Italian cinema. Students will take turns to bring questions to class and to lead the group discussions. We will also use the discussion board feature on Bright Space to interact across different groups and share note/questions from the small group sessions. Students will also work in groups for a multimedia final project.
Although this course is taught fully on Zoom, I am available to meet with students individually or in small groups face-to-face on campus (outdoors) to answer questions, review course materials, discuss assignments, etc.
