Course Syllabus

Instructor: Dr. Beatrice Arduini

Email: barduini@uw.edu

Class meeting: M W 12:30 - 2:20PM Thomson Hall (THO) 211

Office Hours: : MW 2:30 - 3:20PM Padelford Hall (PDL) C-249

Course Description:

The course engages closely with contemporary Italian culture, with the aim of enabling students to operate comfortably in an Italian university or professional context. To this end, we will study a wide variety of audio, audio-visual, and printed materials that cover many aspects of Italian life, learning to comment (in writing and speaking) on those materials. Reading, listening, and speaking assignments will gradually gain in complexity. Through small research projects, we will build both an awareness of cultural context, and the ability to synthesize and explain complex information.

Course goals:

Develop reading skills in authentic materials

Develop writing skills for business correspondence

Begin to develop writing skills for discussing literature

Begin to develop skills of critical analysis

Continue to develop listening skills

Continue to develop spoken Italian

Continue to develop an awareness of defining cultural questions

Review finer points of grammar and style

Textbook and Instructional Materials:

Required: Bozzone Costa, Piantoni, Ghezzi, Nuovo Contatto B2: Corso di lingua e civiltà italiana per stranieri (Loescher, 2017).

Audio-visual materials are online via www.imparosulweb.eu

TalkAbroad Section Code: Ardui2021-774604 (The price for 2 15-min and 2 30-min conversations is $45 per student.)

Tentative Syllabus and Course Calendar:

*No Final Exam*

*Calendar may change*