Italian Studies Minor

Students interested in an interdisciplinary approach to Italian culture through the combined study of language, literature, history, and art history may pursue a minor in Italian studies. A detailed checklist for the minor is available on the Italian studies program web site.

Staff advisers for the Italian studies minor are available in the Literature Department office, located in Humanities 1, room 303. The Italian studies program is administered by the Literature Department. Declaring a minor in Italian studies is a three-step process:

1. Complete the Petition for Major/Minor Declaration and submit it to litdept@ucsc.edu. Be sure to indicate your expected graduation term (EGT) on the petition. Your EGT is visible in your Student Advising Summary or on your MyUCSC Student Portal.

2. Make an appointment with the Italian studies program director to discuss your plans and fill out an Italian Studies Minor Checklist.

3. Make an appointment with an Italian studies advisor in the Literature Department in order to review and complete your declaration form. To schedule an advising appointment, visit ucsc.campus.eab.com, send an email to litdept@ucsc.edu, or leave a message at 831-459-4778.

Course Requirements

Lower-Division Courses

Each student must complete the lower-division language sequence (ITAL 1ITAL 6), or equivalent.

ITAL 1First-Year Italian

5

ITAL 2First-Year Italian

5

ITAL 3First-Year Italian

5

ITAL 4Second-Year Italian

5

ITAL 5Second-Year Italian

5

ITAL 6Second-Year Italian

5

Italian has an accelerated language track of ITAL 1A and ITAL 1B. These two courses taken together equate to ITAL 1-ITAL 3.

Upper-Division Courses

Students must complete five upper-division courses in Italian studies as follows.

One of the following courses:

ITAL 101Italian Culture through Food

5

ITAL 106Italian Culture Through Film

5

Plus

Students complete four courses as follows. Consult the course lists below for options.

  • Two Italian literature courses (Each student should complete the lower-division language sequence (ITAL 1ITAL 6), or equivalent prior to taking the Italian literature courses).
  • One course in Italian history
  • One course in Italian art history.

A course featuring the work of Dante is recommended. Three of the five upper-division courses must be completed at UC Santa Cruz; three must be taught substantially in Italian. A maximum of two courses may be transferred from EAP.

Students can consult Italian studies course offerings for each of the above categories.

Italian Literature Courses

Any course in the LIT 185 series or from the following list:

LIT 102Translation Theory

5

LIT 114AOrlando Furioso

5

LIT 114CDante's Divine Comedy

5

LIT 114EOne Way Ticket to Hell … and Back: Exploring Dante’s Inferno

5

LIT 114FFinding Dante: A Reader’s Guide to Getting Out of Hell

5

LIT 121GThe Idea of Poetry

5

LIT 130DThe Global Middle Ages

5

LIT 141AEarly Mediterranean Cultures

5

LIT 155DItalian Cinema and Literature

5

LIT 164GLiterature and the Holocaust

5

LIT 166CEarly Modern Italian Women Writers

5

LIT 190ATopics in Pre- and Early Modern Studies

5

Italian History Courses

SOCY 117EMigrant Europe

5

Italian History of Art and Visual Culture Courses

HAVC 154Byzantine Visual Culture: Politics and Religion in the Empire of Constantinople, 330-1453 A. C

5

HAVC 155Constructing Cleopatra: Power, Sexuality, and Femininity Across the Ages

5

HAVC 157BItalian Renaissance: Art and Architecture

5

HAVC 157CHigh Renaissance

5

HAVC 157DArt of the Venetian Renaissance

5

HAVC 191NTopics in Renaissance Art and Visual Culture

5

Courses Taught Substantially in Italian

LIT 185BLetteratura e cultura italiana

5

LIT 185JPoesia moderna

5

LIT 185LLa novella italiana

5

LIT 185PBoccaccio: Decameron

5

LIT 185QDante: Divina Commedia

5

LIT 185SPetrarca

5

ITAL 100Advanced Italian Composition and Conversation

5

ITAL 106Italian Culture Through Film

5

Courses Featuring the Work of Dante

LIT 185QDante: Divina Commedia

5

LIT 114CDante's Divine Comedy

5

Courses Featuring Italy in a European or Global Context

HAVC 152Roman Eyes: Visual Culture and Power in the Ancient Roman World

5