News
French Alumni publish textbook for language & lit classes
May 30, 2018
Elizabeth Berglund Hall, Anne Theobald, and Mark Hall, all UW-Madison French Ph.D. alumni, are co-authors (with James Pfrehm, German) of TEXTURES, a new textbook for the transition from language to literature and culture-centered courses. The book just appeared with Yale University Press, and is available for purchase and use at https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300200324/textures.
“Language proficiency emerges not solely as mastery of discrete skills, but also through one’s ability to express ideas fully in a variety of cultural contexts. This innovative French-language textbook employs a holistic approach that integrates listening, reading, writing, and conversation—placing communication at the heart of the learning experience. It provides intermediate-level students with the interpretive tools necessary for literary and cultural studies. There are interactions with a variety of texts and media, including short stories, poems, essays, images, and podcasts.”
Italian Students Embody the Wisconsin Idea
May 2, 2018
Undergraduate and graduate students in this semester's ITALIAN 450 class took on an interesting project: translate Carlo Goldoni's comedic play La familia dell'antiquario, or The Antiquarian's Family, into English. Inspired by an article about the UW-Madison professor who founded the original Wisconsin Dramatic Society, which produces lesser known and foreign plays, Professor Stefania Buccini developed the course for advanced undergraduate students and native Italian graduate students. The class has spent the entire semester translating Goldoni's play, first from Venetian dialect to modern Italian, and then from Italian to English. The English-language translation will allow Goldoni's work to reach a larger Wisconsin audience - a great example of the Wisconsin Idea in action! Read the full article here.
Course on Machiavelli Reaches Across Departments & Programs
April 5, 2018
ITALIAN 365: Machiavelli and His World is a three credit course that introduces students to the major works of Machiavelli through the close reading of his writings in cultural and historical contexts. Offered jointly with Political Science, Integrated Liberal Studies, and Literature in Translation, the course aims to cultivate in students a broad understanding of Machiavelli's principal intellectual attitudes, a deeper understanding of his literary sensibility, and the ability to articulate controversies and complexities surrounding his thought. Offered Fall 2018, MW 4:30 - 5:45 PM. Instructor: Kristin Phillips-Court.