This course is intended for students at the intermediate level as it will afford the opportunity to expand conversation, writing, and reading skills while consolidating knowledge of the more difficult points of grammar. The contextual focus of the course is modern Italian culture including history, current events, and literature among other things. Two Italian films, short stories and essays, will enhance and complete the learning experience. Since the Italian School will propose the viewing of the operatic work La Ciociara at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, some fragments from the book La Ciociara (by Alberto Moravia) will be read and discussed during the course. Experts from the faculty and guest artists, such as the journalist and writer Giuseppe Catozzella, will be invited in class to discuss some of the special topics that we will study. Students are also required to participate in the Diction & Pronunciation course and to enroll in the afternoon conversation course.

*Required Texts:
Nuovo Progetto italiano 1 Corso multimediale di lingua e civiltà italiana. Edilingua. Roma. ISBN 978-960-6632-24-2
N/uovo Progetto italiano 2 Corso multimediale di lingua e civiltà italiana/. Edilingua. Roma. ISBN 978-960-6632-76-1

Two Required Films:
La meglio gioventù/(2003). Director: Marco Tullio Giordana.
/Tutta la vita davanti (2008). Director: Paolo Virzì.

Additional material for the course will be provided by the Instructor.