* ITAL 0030a / HUMS 0204a, Six Global Perspectives on Knights  Alessandro Giammei

What do Batman (the Dark Knight) and Orlando (Charlemagne’s wise paladin) have in common? What is the thread that connects the Jedi knights of Star Wars and those that sat around king Arthur’s round table? How did medieval history and Renaissance poetry inform the expanded universes of superhero movies and fantasy literature, along with the inexhaustible fan-fiction that further extends and queers them? Chivalry, as a code of conduct and a network of symbols, inspired some of the most entertaining stories of the so-called Western canon, blurring the divide between high and popular culture. It offered storytellers (and nerds) of all ages a set of norms to question, bend, and break—especially in terms of gender. It challenged the very format of books, re-defining for good concepts like literary irony, seriality, and inter-mediality. This seminar proposes six pretty good trans-historical archetipes of fictional knights, combining iconic figures such as Marvel’s Iron Man and Italo Calvino’s Agilulfo, Ludovico Ariosto’s Bradamante and Game of Thrones’ Brienne of Tarth, Don Quixote and the Mandalorian. By analyzing together their oaths, weapons, armors, and destinies we aim to develop reading and writing skills to tackle any text, from epic and scholarship to TV-shows and comic-books. Enrollment limited to first-year students. Students enroll concurrently with HUMS 0299, Six Global Perspectives Lab.  WR, HU  0 Course cr
TTh 4pm-5:15pm

* ITAL 0040a / CPLT 0040a, Faithful or Traitor? Introduction to Translation Studies  Serena Bassi

This first-year seminar introduces key concepts in Translation Studies, an interdisciplinary area of study that thinks critically about the job of translating and interpreting; language and textual transformation; multilingualism and multiculturalism. While their essential work is rarely acknowledged, translators and interpreters make it possible for us to move, create, trade, consume, and communicate across languages and cultural borders. Throughout history, translators and interpreters have been represented as language nerds, reckless explorers, cultural diplomats, bridge-builders, war heroes, counterfeiters, traitors, spies and enemies within. But in a globalizing society, translation is not just a job for some; it can also name a diffused state of cultural hybridity, flux and permanent change. In this class, we look at translating as both a real-life job and a popular metaphor for negotiating for meaning; mediating between cultures; and co-existing through differences. You learn about debates in Translation Studies in a highly interdisciplinary way: by discussing some of the seminal texts in translation theory from the Middle Ages to today; by reading novels and watching films with translators and interpreters as characters; by engaging with the biographies of real-life cultural mediators throughout history; by learning to think about translation as an ubiquitous philosophical concept in our day and age; by leading creative translation workshops at Yale University Art Gallery; by asking topical questions about the critical role of translation and translators in spite of the rise of AI and in the war-torn world we live in. Enrollment is limited to first-year students. This class is ideal for students with an interest in global languages, world literature, and transnational cultural history.   HU
MW 4pm-5:15pm

* ITAL 1100a, Elementary Italian I  Staff

A beginning course with extensive practice in speaking, reading, writing, and listening and a thorough introduction to Italian grammar. Activities include group and pairs work, role-playing, and conversation. Introduction to Italian culture through readings and films. Conducted in Italian.  L1  1½ Course cr
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* ITAL 1300a, Intermediate Italian I  Staff

The first half of a two-term sequence designed to increase students' proficiency in the four language skills and advanced grammar concepts. Authentic readings paired with contemporary films. In-class group and pairs activities, role-playing, and conversation. Admits to ITAL 140. Conducted in Italian. ITAL 120 or equivalent.  L3  1½ Course cr
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ITAL 1310a / CPLT 1830a / HUMS 1800a, Dante in Translation  Heather Webb

This course offers an intensive dive into Dante’s Inferno in its English translation over the course of one semester. We will examine the poetry, the history, the philosophy, and the theology of this epic that has had such a profound influence on global literary and critical thought. In addition to our work with the text and its medieval contexts, we will emphasize how the poem is intertwined with visual imagery, both in its conception and its reception. Through close attention to Dante’s poetics and ethics, we will examine his conception of human personhood and the constitutive political structures of human society. This is a lecture course with discussion sections in English and (optionally) in Italian. No knowledge of Italian is required for this course.  HU  0 Course cr
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* ITAL 1321a / HSAR 355 / HSAR 4355a / HUMS 4167a / TDPS 3021a, Futurism: Reconstructing the Universe  Pierpaolo Antonello

This course explores Italian Futurism, one of the most dynamic and controversial avant-garde movements of the early 20th century. Launched in 1909 by the poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Futurism was not only an artistic and literary movement but also a radical cultural and political project. Futurists celebrated modernity, technology, speed, and violence, often rejecting traditional art and values in favor of innovation and disruption. Futurism called for a radical revitalization of aesthetic expression through “movement and aggression.”  Futurist painters, poets, writers, and musicians rejected Italy’s cultural heritage in favor of new technologies, media, and metaphors, celebrating the speed and exhilarating risks of the machine age. While Futurism borrowed stylistically from Cubism—using collage, painting, and sculpture to match its revolutionary fervor—it went beyond mere formal experimentation. Unlike other avant-garde movements, which focused on transforming artistic form, Futurism aimed to break down the boundaries between art and everyday life.  HU
TTh 11:35am-12:50pm

ITAL 1500a, Advanced Composition and Conversation:  Francesca Leonardi

Performing Grace: Premodern Bodies from Dante to Michelangelo and Beyond. What made a body beautiful in Italy before the modern age? Who defined grace – and what was considered ugly, excessive, or even dangerous? This course explores how bodies were imagined, admired, disciplined, and displayed in Italy from Dante to the eighteenth century. Moving between poetry and painting, we examine how love sonnets shaped ideals of beauty, how portraits fashioned identity, and how clothing and nudity expressed power, devotion, and desire.  We encounter Petrarch’s Laura, Michelangelo’s monumental nudes, Titian’s sensual figures, warrior women like Clorinda, and saints who punished their own bodies. Along the way, we consider how ideals of masculinity and femininity were performed and how art and literature together defined what counted as “grace.” Working closely with rare books at the Beinecke Library and paintings and drawings at the Yale University Art Gallery, we discover how premodern Italy created some of the most influential ideals of beauty in Western culture – ones that still shape how we see bodies today. Prerequisite: ITAL 140 or equivalent.  L5
TTh 9am-10:15am

* ITAL 3386a / HSAR 4405a / HUMS 3386a, The Dark Side of The Italian Renaissance: Sex, Scandals, and Secrets  Simona Lorenzini

The course explores the more controversial, hidden, and overlooked aspects of the Italian Renaissance. While this period is celebrated for its artistic, cultural, and intellectual achievements, it also had its fair share of intrigue, corruption, and moral complexities. Through love poems, secret letters, intricate networks, and political conspiracies, the course paints a vivid picture of the social and cultural landscape of Renaissance and early modern Italy. We look at the complex figure of Michelangelo, both as an artist and poet, focusing on his queer relationship with Tommaso de’ Cavalieri and his friendship with Vittoria Colonna. We then discuss how Renaissance art, often commissioned by powerful individuals–such as Isabella D’Este’s patronage of Leonardo da Vinci–was used to promote political or social agendas. We examine the alliances, betrayals, and murders that took place in Renaissance courts and how they shaped the political arena. Topics include the assassination of Lorenzo de’ Medici’s brother, Caterina de’ Medici’s agency, and Borgia’s rise to power as well as the use of poison as a political instrument in power struggles and schemes to eliminate rivals. The course highlights radical and sharp-witted women writers, such as Moderata Fonte and Arcangela Tarabotti, who protested against a patriarchal society, and gave voice to those who challenged gender norms. By uncovering these compelling narratives through the intersection of literature, religion, history, art, and sexuality, the course offers a more nuanced and critical view on this acclaimed era. This course counts as language across the curriculum (LxC).  HU
MW 1:05pm-2:20pm

* ITAL 4159a, History and Culture of Naples  Anna Iacovella

Historical phenomena and literary and cultural movements that have shaped the city of Naples, Italy, from antiquity to the present. The linguistic richness and diversity that characterizes Naples; political, social, and cultural change; differences between standard Italian and the Neapolitan dialect in literature, film, and everyday life.  Prerequisite: ITAL 140 or equivalent.  L5, HU
MW 11:35am-12:50pm

* ITAL 4162a, Introduction to Italian Literature: From the Duecento to the Renaissance  Simona Lorenzini

This is the first course in a sequence studying Italian Literature. The course aims to provide an introduction and a broad overview of Italian literature and culture from the Duecento to the Renaissance, specifically focusing on authors such as Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Machiavelli, Ariosto, and literary and artistic movements such as Humanism and Renaissance. These authors and their masterpieces are introduced through readings, works of art, listening materials, videos, and films. Great space is left for in-class discussion and suggestions from students who may take an interest in specific authors or subjects. This course is interactive and open, and the authors mentioned here are only indicative of the path that we follow. At the end of the course, students are able to analyze and critique literary works of different genres and time periods. The course is conducted in Italian. Prerequisite: ITAL 140 or equivalent.  L5, HU
MW 2:35pm-3:50pm

* ITAL 4470a, Special Studies in Italian Literature  Simona Lorenzini

A series of tutorials to direct students in special interests and requirements. Students meet regularly with a faculty member.
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* ITAL 4491a, The Senior Essay  Simona Lorenzini

A research essay on a subject selected by the student in consultation with the faculty adviser.
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