DEPT. MODERN LANGUAGES, LITERATURE AND CULTURE

English Proficiency Courses

Rhetoric and Compostion Studies Courses

Literature in English Courses

Comparative Literature Courses

Italian Language, Literature and Culture Courses

Spanish Language, Literature and Culture Courses

French Languages, Literature and Culture Courses

German Language, Literature and Culture Courses

English Proficiency Courses

SJIU offers Degree students with insufficient English language skills, the opportunity to participate in intensive English language courses. These courses have been designed specifically for students who already have a basic knowledge of the language but who want to improve their skills.

This course has been designed specifically for students who already have a basic knowledge of the language but who want their skills.
Prerequisite: None
Credits: None

The course is designed to offer entry-level skills in the field of rhetoric and composition studies. The goal is to identify, develop, and mobilize, the elementary resources needed to produce adequate, college-level papers and presentations.
Prerequisite: None.
Credits: None

The course is designed to offer intermediate-level skills in the field of rhetoric and composition studies. Banking on the resources mobilized by English Composition I, or assessed through placement, English Composition II focuses on the refinement of the skills necessary to produce above-average papers and presentations.
Prerequisite: Placement or DML-ENG/1010 English Composition I.
Credits: None

Rhetoric and Composition Studies Courses

The course is designed to offer advanced instruction in the field of rhetoric and composition studies. Its goal is to develop the more subtle skills necessary to convey critical thinking and fine-tuned analysis across a variety of academic formats, from the simple position paragraph to the more articulate research paper.
Prerequisite: DML-ENG/1020 English Composition II.

This course is designed to offer the necessary writing skills needed to approach both abstract economic theory and concrete business practice. Students will acquaintance themselves with the most basic ways of conveying analysis through exercises in reporting technical information. More practical-oriented skills will be mobilized through adequate exercises on how to conduct the every-day tasks required to operate in the modern corporate working environment.
Prerequisite: None.

An examination of the various types of writing about art, from essays in visual analysis to art journalism, exhibition reviews, and research papers. Students study the critical characteristics of these different writing formats and learn to write their own reviews, essays, and papers.
Prerequisite: Lower level Art History survey at least One other Art History course at the 2000-level or above and 90 credits.

Literature In English Courses

This course discusses the main literary movements, authors, works, and genres from the Anglo-Saxon period to the 18th century, such as "Beowulf", "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight", Chaucer, Spenser, Sidney, Shakespeare, Donne, Milton, Dryden, Pope, Swift, Fielding, Johnson, and Boswell.
Prerequisite: DM-ENG/1020 English Composition II

A survey of the most influential British literary movements, figures, and genres from the Romantic Age to the present. Writers studied may include: Austen, the Romantics, Tennyson, Browning, Arnold, Dickens, the Brontes, George Eliot, Hardy, Yeats, Joyce, D.H. Lawrence, Forster, Woolf, T. S. Eliot, Auden, Beckett.
Prerequisite: DML-ENG/1020 English Composition II and DML-ENG 2500 British Literature I

An introduction to William Shakespeare conducted through some of his landmark plays and through his poetry.
Prerequisite: DML-ENG/1020 English Composition II

This course approaches early-modern ideas on the natural world through the refraction offered by William Shakespeare's theatre. Particular emphasis will be put on the way Shakespeare 'played out' some of the themes that have since become hallmarks of the modern age.
Prerequisite: None

An overview of the most significant works of American literature. This course focuses on the most important literary movements and writers and includes the literary works and genres of ethnic minorities (African Americans, Native Americans, etc.).
Prerequisite: DML-ENG/1020 English Composition II

The course focuses on the image of Italy developed by authors like Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Henry James, among others. After a brief historical introduction on the American perception of Italy during the 19th century, the course will concentrate on the reading of a select body of work spanning the literary production of the second half of the century.
Prerequisite: Permission of the Instructor

This course will provide a survey of literature produced in the first half of the twentieth century and will focus on the aesthetics and politics of modernism. Students will read works written during the apex of the British Empire and complete the quarter examining the aftermath of WWII. The numerous and profound political, social, and cultural changes that occurred during this period will be considered as we seek to understand what impact such transformations made upon British literary conventions. We will read works by Joseph Conrad, W.B. Yeats, James' Joyce, Wyndham Lewis, Rebecca West, D.H. Lawrence, T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, Flann O'Brien, and Samuel Beckett.
Prerequisite: DML-ENG/1020 English Composition II

This course provides a critical introduction to American literature of the nineteenth century. It addresses the characteristic preoccupations and concerns of American writing, the relation of writing and culture to the sustenance of nation and community, the morality of culture, and the culture of morality, the development of new literary perspectives, styles and techniques, the formation of distinctive literary traditions, the historicity of literary movements, and the relation of criticism to literary canons and culture through the nineteenth century.
Prerequisite: DML-ENG/1020 English Composition II

Focusing on U.S. literature of the 20th century, this course traces the development of realism, naturalism, and modernism in their literary, social, and historical contexts. Particular attention is given to shifting notions of nationhood, war, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, culture, and modernity.
Prerequisite: DML-ENG/1020 English Composition II

British Romanticism is arguably One of the greatest achievements in British literature. This was a brilliant foretelling of the styles and philosophic preoccupations not only of Britain, but also of other countries. Wordsworth, Coleridge, Burns, Keats, Byron, P.B. Shelley and Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein) formed a core of immeasurable artistic power.
Prerequisite: DML-ENG/1020 English Composition II

Comparative Literature Courses

The course approaches twentieth-century American focusing on a wide range of historical, sociological and cultural issues from a multidisciplinary perspective. It explores key themes in contemporary American society such as race, identity, gender, social class, and religion, including their representation in literature and the other arts. (Designated Writing Intensive Course)
Prerequisite: None

Students will examine the development of Italian culture through the study of cultural materials such as literature, political texts and theatre. Main themes are the relationship between politics and culture within their historical context. In addition, many aspects of Italian society such as family, education, sports, economics, immigration and politics will be examined. (Designated Writing Intensive Course)
Prerequisite: None

A study of the texts that constitute the oldest myths of Western culture: the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid and the Metamorphoses. These works are examined in their historical context as well as in relation to modern thought. (Designated Writing Intensive Course)
Prerequisite: None

Cesare Pavese, Primo Levi, Carlo Levi, Natalia Ginzburg, Italo Calvino, Umberto Eco and Alessandro Baricco are some the major Italian writers of the twentieth century who have achieved world recognition. All of them also grew up in, lived in, and wrote about the Piemonte Region. This course provides a survey of their work in English translation, with selections from their novels, short stories, and poems with a focus on Piemonte and Turin. The course will also include the showing of some English-language film adaptations of their novels: Christ Stopped at Eboli, The Name of the Rose, and Silk.
Prerequisite: None

This course focuses on Dante's visionary poem The Divine Comedy, examining the social, cultural, political, and moral concerns that shape this work, considered One of the great monuments of world literature. We will read selected "cantos" in English translation and follow Dante's journey: his descent into the "Inferno", home of all human depravity, his meeting of the redeemed souls in the "Purgatorio", and finally his ascent to the mystical realm of the blessed, the "Paradiso".
Prerequisite: None

Italy's Classical, Renaissance and Baroque heritage attracted many British authors and artists throughout the ineteenth century, and such a journey became an extended "study abroad" experience for aristocratic youth, known as the Grand Tour tradition. P.B. Shelley, Lord Byron, Henry James, E. M. Forster, Oscar Wilde, John Ruskin, D. H. Lawrence, T.S. Eliot, Ann Radcliffe and George Eliot, among others, wrote about their travel experiences in Italy. In this course we will read selections from their novels, essays, journals, and poetry as well as watch a film adaptation of A Room with a View (by E. M. Forster) to appreciate these authors' romantic fascination with Italy.
Prerequisite: None

This comparative course surveys the literary works produced by the cultures that surround the Mediterranean. The selection includes classical Greek and Latin authors like Homer and Virgil as well as contemporary writers from Italy (Calvino), France (Camus), Spain (Goytisolo), Morocco (Ben Jelloun), and Egypt (Mahfouz).
Prerequisite: None

This course examines Four major European novels chosen from Spanish, Italian, French and German literature. Major themes include national obsessions and contrasting historical contexts. The texts will be read in conjunction with historical background material.
Prerequisite: None

This course examines how the European novel has changed since World War II. Some of the authors studied will be Duras, Morante, Simon, Woolf, Goytisolo, Handke and Sarraute. (Designated Writing Intensive Course)
Prerequisite: None

Italian Language, Literature and Culture Courses

The Italian Enogastronomy and Culture Course is designed for students interested in deepening their knowledge of the history and culture of Italy and the Piemonte region which, in addition to being a hotbed of ideas and innovation, continues to be a leader in tourism and gastronomy in Italy. Students will examine particular aspects of regional gastronomic history and culture through the contextualization of its various historic periods. Typical recipes, dishes and wines will be examined. Theoretic and practical lessons will be coupled with visits throughout the region, including the locations of important gastronomic developments of the 17th and 20th centuries. This course will be held in English.
Prerequisite: None
Credits: 3

The course is designed as an introduction to Italian language and culture for beginners. It provides the essential grammatical structures of the language and focuses on the development of the basic language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) from a communicative perspective. Language practice will include the use of audio, video, and web-based materials. The course will be conducted in Italian.
Prerequisite: None
Credits: 4

This second course in the Italian language sequence further develops the basic skills acquired in Beginning Italian I. Language practice and understanding of Italian culture is enhanced by reading simple texts taken from real life, writing paragraph-long compositions, and engaging in audio, video, and web-based activities. The course will be conducted in Italian.
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/1010 Beginning Italian I
Credits: 4

This intensive language course is designed to introduce students to Italian language and culture. Meeting seven hours per week, it combines the material normally covered in Two semesters (Beginning Italian I and II). The emphasis is on the language of everyday situations to enable students to communicate and function in an Italian environment. The course will be conducted in Italian.
Prerequisite: None
Credits: 7

The course is designed for students who have completed Two semesters of Italian language instruction or its equivalent. It aims at expanding the knowledge already acquired by focusing on improving the fluency of conversation skills, reading short articles from newspapers and magazines, writing page-long compositions, and watching videos on various aspects of Italian culture. The course will be conducted in Italian.
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/1020 Beginning Italian II or DML-ITA/1030 Intensive Italian I

This course aims at consolidating the language skills acquired in previous Italian courses and broadening the understanding of Italian culture. The course revisits all grammatical structures using selected readings from works of literary and cultural interest, followed by the writing of short essays. Aural practice includes watching cultural videos and class discussions. The course will be conducted in Italian.
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/2010 Intermediate Italian I

This intensive language course is designed for students who have completed the equivalent of Two semesters of Italian. Meeting seven hours per week, it combines the material normally covered in Intermediate Italian I and II, in order to reach a level of competency that will allow students to attend courses in Italian literature, poetry, current events and business Italian. The course will be conducted in Italian.
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/1020 Beginning Italian II or DML-ITA/1030 Intensive Italian I
Credits: 7

This course follows the Intermediate Italian I and II sequence and offers the opportunity to practice the grammatical structures already learned while increasing understanding of contemporary events in Italian society. Articles from newspapers and magazines, videos and discussions of current events will cover topics that range from politics and economics to the arts. The course will be held in Italian.
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/2020 Intermediate Italian II

This course is the first of Two survey courses in Italian Literature and covers the period from the Middle Ages to the eighteenth century. Beginning with Dante and ending with Goldoni the course explores the evolution of the major literary movements, with particular attention to the historical background and the growth of Italian as a literary language. This course will be held in Italian.
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/2020 Intermediate Italian II or DML-ITA/2030 Intensive Italian II

This course is the second of Two survey courses in Italian Literature and covers the period from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. Lectures and readings will focus on the works of major writers such as Foscolo, Manzoni, Verga, Pirandello, Montale, Pavese, Moravia and Tabucchi. The course will be held in Italian.
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/2020 Intermediate Italian II or DML-ITA/2030 Intensive Italian II

The course focuses on developing a nuanced grasp of Italian structures and idioms through the student's own writing. Students are introduced to a variety of writing styles in Italian, including descriptive narrative, journalistic prose, fiction, and the short essay.
Prerequisite: Two 2000-level Italian Literature courses above DML-ITA 2020 Intermediate Italian II or DML-ITA/2030 Intensive Italian II

This course outlines the development of Italian 20th-century lyrical poetry from the "Crepuscolare" school to examples of avant-garde poetry of the 1970s. Many different texts will be compared in order to highlight the differences in style and content among the authors. This course will be held in Italian.
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/2020 Intermediate Italian II or DML-ITA/2030 Intensive Italian II

Centering on the poetic production of Leopardi, Foscolo, and Manzoni, the course explores the main literary, artistic and socio-political issues that characterize Italy's cultural contribution within the context of the romantic movements in Europe. This course will be held in Italian.
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/2020 Intermediate Italian II or DML-ITA/2030 Intensive Italian II

This course is intended for students who have completed Four semesters of Italian language or its equivalent. Revision of grammatical structures will be accompanied by an emphasis on learning idioms and vocabulary through the reading of texts covering a wide variety of specialized topics, the presentation of oral reports, and essay writing. This course will be held in Italian.
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/2020 Intermediate Italian II or DML-ITA/2030 Intensive Italian II

Practice in oral and written expression at the advanced level. Through frequent oral presentations, essays, readings on Italian culture and the study of audio and videotapes, students develop the ability to use idiomatic Italian comfortably in various situations. This course will be held in Italian.
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/2020 Intermediate Italian II or DML-ITA/2030 Intensive Italian II

Emphasis on linguistic and cultural competence for functioning in the Italian business world. Includes study of the Italian corporate structure, personnel management, marketing (along with related vocabulary), and the European Union. Includes work on writing resumes, business correspondence, and interviewing. Both in English and in Italian
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/2020 Intermediate Italian II, DML-ITA/2030 Intensive Italian II or Permission of Instructor

This course is designed to increase the students' language proficiency by participating in theatrical performances. Sketches from well-known plays or movies, as well as poems and songs, will be adapted by the students with the instructor's help in order to be performed in class. No acting experience is required. This course will be conducted in Italian.
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/3200 Advanced Italian

This course is an introduction to twentieth-century Italian poetry. Lectures and readings will focus on the works of major poets such as Saba, Ungaretti, Quasimodo, Montale, Pavese and Pasolini. This course will be held in Italian.
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/2020 Intermediate Italian II or DML-ITA/2030 Intensive Italian II

This course covers the development of Italian theater from the Renaissance to the present. Topics will include the Commedia Dell'Arte tradition; Goldoni's reform of the Italian theater; the political role of opera in the Risorgimento; and the crisis of bourgeois realism in Pirandello.
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/2020 Intermediate Italian II or DML-ITA/2030 Intensive Italian II

This course provides an introduction to Dante's Divine Comedy in Italian. Students will read excerpts of the work in the original language under the guidance of the instructor, who will also provide explanatory lectures on the historical and philosophical background of the work. This course will be held in Italian.
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/2020 Intermediate Italian II or DML-ITA/2030 Intensive Italian II

This course analyzes the evolution of the Alessandro Manzoni's novels from "Fermo and Lucia" to the last edition of the "Promessi Sposi". Many linguistic and historical aspects will be examined through the reconstruction of the literary personality of the writer. This course will be held in Italian and is offered every other year alternating with DML-ITA/3470 Leopardi's Canti
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/2020 Intermediate Italian II or DML-ITA/2030 Intensive Italian II

This course explores the production in prose of the Zibaldone and the relationship to 19th-century culture in Leopardi's Canti. The course will be held in Italian and is offered every other year alternating with DML-ITA/3730 The Novels of Manzioni.
Prerequisite: DML-ITA/2020 Intermediate Italian II or DML-ITA/2030 Intensive Italian II

The Independent Study course allows students to pursue a particular interest in Italian language, literature or culture if the topic is not offered by a formal course. The student undertakes readings, reports or other assignments established by a faculty member who supervises the course. Independent study courses cannot be substituted for courses required by the Degree program.
Prerequisite: Two 2000-level Italian Literature courses above DML-ITA 2020 Intermediate Italian II, DML-ITA/2030 Intensive Italian II or permission of instructor

An in-depth study of an area of concern within the field of Italian literature and culture. Topics may vary. This course will be held in Italian.
Prerequisite: Two 2000-level Italian Literature courses above DML-ITA 2020 Intermediate Italian II, DML-ITA/2030 Intensive Italian II or permission of instructor

Spanish Language, Literuatrue and Culture Courses

The course is designed as an introduction to Spanish language and the cultures of Spanish speaking peoples. It provides the essential grammatical structures of the language and focuses on the development of the basic language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) from a communicative perspective. Language practice will include the use of video, audio, and web-based materials. The course will be conducted in Spanish.
Prerequisite: None
Credits: 4

This second course in the Spanish language sequence further develops the basic skills acquired in Beginning Spanish I. Language practice and understanding of Spanish speaking cultures is enhanced by reading simple texts taken from real life, writing paragraph-long compositions, and engaging in audio, video, and web-based activities. The course will be conducted in Spanish.
Prerequisite: DML-SPA/1010 Beginning Spanish I
Credits: 4

The course is designed for students who have completed Two semesters of Spanish language instruction or its equivalent. It aims at expanding the knowledge already acquired by focusing on improving the fluency of conversation skills, reading short articles from newspapers and magazines, writing page-long compositions, and watching videos on various aspects of Spanish speaking cultures. The course will be conducted in Spanish.
Prerequisite: DML-SPA/1020 Beginning Spanish II or DML-SPA/1030 Intensive Spanish I

This course aims at consolidating the language skills acquired in previous Spanish courses and broadening the understanding of Spanish speaking cultures. The course revisits all grammatical structures using selected readings from works of literary and cultural interest, followed by the writing of short essays. Aural practice includes watching cultural videos and class discussions. The course will be conducted in Spanish.
Prerequisite: DML-SPA/2010 Intermediate Spanish I

French Language, Literature and Culture Courses

The course is designed as an introduction to French language and culture for beginners. It provides the essential grammatical structures of the language and focuses on the development of the basic language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) from a communicative perspective. Language practice will include the use of audio, video, and web-based materials. The course will be conducted in French.
Prerequisite: None
Credits: 4

This second course in the French language sequence further develops the basic skills acquired in Beginning French I. Language practice and understanding of French culture is enhanced by reading simple texts taken from real life, writing paragraph-long compositions, and engaging in audio, video, and web-based activities. The course will be conducted in French.
Prerequisite: DML-FRE/1010 Beginning French I
Credits: 4

The course is designed for students who have completed Two semesters of French language instruction or its equivalent. It aims at expanding the knowledge already acquired by focusing on improving the fluency of conversation skills, reading short articles from newspapers and magazines, writing page-long compositions, and watching videos on various aspects of French culture. The course will be conducted in French.
Prerequisite: DML-FRE/1020 Beginning French II or DML-FRE/1030 Intensive French I

This course aims at consolidating the language skills acquired in previous French courses and broadening the understanding of French culture. The course revisits all grammatical structures using selected readings from works of literary and cultural interest, followed by the writing of short essays. Aural practice includes watching cultural videos and class discussions. The course will be conducted in French.
Prerequisite: DML-FRE/2010 Intermediate French I

German Language, Literature and Culture Courses

The course is designed as an introduction to German language and culture for beginners. It provides the essential grammatical structures of the language and focuses on the development of the basic language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) from a communicative perspective. Language practice will include the use of audio, video, and web-based materials. The course will be conducted in German.
Prerequisite: None
Credits: 4

This second course in the German language sequence further develops the basic skills acquired in Beginning German I. Language practice and understanding of German culture is enhanced by reading simp