Italian

The Italian Department offers a variety of courses in Italian language, literature, cinema, and general culture. The study of a language is central to a liberal arts education and to the intercultural understanding required in an increasingly globalized world.

In addition to achieving fluency in spoken and written Italian, students explore the debates that have shaped Italy over the centuries and its important contribution to humanistic culture. Most courses in the curriculum, from introductory language instruction to advanced seminars, are taught in Italian.

Studying in Italy is an integral component of the Italian curriculum at Vassar. Students are encouraged to spend one or two semesters at our E.C.Co Program (Vassar-Wellesley-Wesleyan) in Bologna, where they can take classes at our Centro Studi or directly at the University of Bologna.

Students are encouraged to attend extra-curricular activities organized by the department and by the Italian Majors’ Committee, such as opera evenings at the Metropolitan Opera House, the Italian Cinema Club, card nights, cooking classes, and guest lectures by invited scholars.

To coordinate the different cultural activities, a native Italian Language Fellow is in residence.

In The News

Four CUNY Alumni on the Tenure Track at Vassar

Kathryn Pendoley, Alberto Gelmi, China Sajadian, and Kahdeidra Monét Martin describe their Graduate Center experiences and what helped them succeed on the academic job market.

Student and professor seated facing the camera with a playground in the background.

Vassar’s Ford Scholars Embrace a Summer of Critical Thinking

Every summer since 1988, Vassar students have been collaborating with faculty members in the humanities and social sciences on research projects under the auspices of the Ford Scholars Program. A typical project supports one faculty member and one student to engage in rigorous scholarship, teaching preparation, or course development.

Alberto Gelmi, Assistant Professor of Italian, co-edited a recently published volume entitled Rappresentare per includere. Metodi, strumenti e testi per un italiano plurale.

Alberto Gelmi, Assistant Professor of Italian, co-edited a recently published volume entitled Rappresentare per includere. Metodi, strumenti e testi per un italiano plurale. The publication was made possible by the generous support of Vassar’s Research Committee and the University of Arkansas, and it was launched on October 17 at the Italian Institute of Culture in New York City during the Settimana della Lingua Italiana nel mondo (the week of the Italian language in the world).