Italian Studies

University of California, Berkeley

This is an archived copy of the 2014-15 guide. To access the most recent version of the guide, please visit http://guide.berkeley.edu/.

About the Program

The graduate program offers in-depth training in the field of Italian Studies, leading to the PhD degree. Beginning with a strong foundation in the critical analysis and historical understanding of Italian literature, the program encourages exploration of a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary areas, including, but not limited to, film studies; comparative literature; literary, rhetorical, and cultural theory; gender studies; history; anthropology; history of art and music; architecture; classics; political science; medieval and early modern studies; Romance languages and literature; and so on.

The Department of Italian Studies offers an integrated MA/PhD program, in which the MA constitutes the first phase in a trajectory leading to the PhD. Applications are not accepted for the MA degree alone. Students holding a master’s degree or the equivalent in Italian Studies and related fields from other institutions may be admitted directly to the second phase of the program.

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Admissions

Admission to the University

Uniform minimum requirements for admission

The following minimum requirements apply to all programs and will be verified by the Graduate Division:

  1. A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
  2. A minimum grade-point average of B or better (3.0);
  3. If the applicant comes from a country or political entity (e.g. Quebec) where English is not the official language, adequate proficiency in English to do graduate work, as evidenced by a TOEFL score of at least 570 on the paper-and-pencil test, 230 on the computer-based test, 90 on the iBT test, or an IELTS Band score of at least 7 (note that individual programs may set higher levels for any of these); and
  4. Enough undergraduate training to do graduate work in the given field.

Applicants who already hold a graduate degree

The Graduate Council views academic degrees as evidence of broad research training, not as vocational training certificates; therefore, applicants who already have academic graduate degrees should be able to take up new subject matter on a serious level without undertaking a graduate program, unless the fields are completely dissimilar.

Programs may consider students for an additional academic master’s or professional master’s degree if the additional degree is in a distinctly different field.

Applicants admitted to a doctoral program that requires a master’s degree to be earned at Berkeley as a prerequisite (even though the applicant already has a master’s degree from another institution in the same or a closely allied field of study) will be permitted to undertake the second master’s degree, despite the overlap in field.

The Graduate Division will admit students for a second doctoral degree only if they meet the following guidelines:

  1. Applicants with doctoral degrees may be admitted for an additional doctoral degree only if that degree program is in a general area of knowledge distinctly different from the field in which they earned their original degree. For example, a physics PhD could be admitted to a doctoral degree program in music or history; however, a student with a doctoral degree in mathematics would not be permitted to add a PhD in statistics.
  2. Applicants who hold the PhD degree may be admitted to a professional doctorate or professional master’s degree program if there is no duplication of training involved.

Applicants may only apply to one single degree program or one concurrent degree program per admission cycle.

Any applicant who was previously registered at Berkeley as a graduate student, no matter how briefly, must apply for readmission, not admission, even if the new application is to a different program.

Required documents for admissions applications

  1. Transcripts:  Upload unofficial transcripts with the application for the departmental initial review. Official transcripts of all college-level work will be required if admitted. Official transcripts must be in sealed envelopes as issued by the school(s) you have attended. Request a current transcript from every post-secondary school that you have attended, including community colleges, summer sessions, and extension programs.
    If you have attended Berkeley, upload unofficial transcript with the application for the departmental initial review. Official transcript with evidence of degree conferral will not be required if admitted.
  2. Letters of recommendation: Applicants can request online letters of recommendation through the online application system. Hard copies of recommendation letters must be sent directly to the program, not the Graduate Division.
  3. Evidence of English language proficiency: All applicants from countries in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency. This requirement applies to applicants from Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and most European countries. However, applicants who, at the time of application, have already completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with grades of B or better at a U.S. university may submit an official transcript from the U.S. university to fulfill this requirement. The following courses will not fulfill this requirement: 1) courses in English as a Second Language, 2) courses conducted in a language other than English, 3) courses that will be completed after the application is submitted, and 4) courses of a non-academic nature. If applicants have previously been denied admission to Berkeley on the basis of their English language proficiency, they must submit new test scores that meet the current minimum from one of the standardized tests.

Admission to the Program

We select our graduate students on the basis of their record of academic achievement in the past, and their promise of future success in scholarship and teaching. A bachelor's degree in Italian is preferred but not absolutely required for admission; however, applicants with degrees in other fields must have already undertaken significant coursework in Italian Studies.

We accept applications from students holding a Bachelor’s degree from Berkeley or elsewhere, and from those who hold a Master’s degree or Italian Laurea.  Applicants from Italy should also be aware of the significant differences between the Phd degree and the dottorato di ricerca. 

Doctoral Degree Requirements

Normative Time Requirements

Total Normative Time

Total Normative Time is six years.

Curriculum

ITALIAN 205Proseminar I: Italian Literary Studies2,4
ITALIAN 290A
  & ITALIAN 290B		Graduate Colloquium in Italian Studies
   and Graduate Colloquium in Italian Studies		4
Select three ITALIAN graduate courses from the following historical periods:
13th-14th Centuries
15th-16th Centuries
17th-18th Centuries
19th-20th Centuries
ITALIAN 282Prospectus Tutorial4
ITALIAN 302Practicum in College Teaching of Italian2-4
ITALIAN 303Practicum in the Teaching of Italian Literature, History, and Culture2-4
ITALIAN 375Seminar in Language Pedagogy4

Courses

Italian Studies

ITALIAN C201 Linguistic History of the Romance Language 4 Units

Linguistic development of the major Romance languages (French, Italian, and Spanish) from the common Latin origin. Comparative perspective, combining historical grammar and external history.

ITALIAN C203 Comparative Studies in Romance Literatures and Cultures 4 Units

Topics will vary. Comparative studies in literary, cultural, or historical issues that cut across the literatures of the Romance languages.

ITALIAN 204 Contemporary Trends in Critical Theory 2 or 4 Units

This course is designed to provide the student with a general view of the major developments in contemporary criticism and an opportunity to apply critical methods to literary texts. One oral report and a final paper.

ITALIAN 205 Proseminar I: Italian Literary Studies 2 or 4 Units

This course introduces the study of Italian literature in its historical scope, while presenting the range of research interests represented on the Italian Studies faculty. Required of all Master of Arts candidates.

ITALIAN 212 Seminar on Dante 2 or 4 Units

Studies in the and other works.

ITALIAN 215 Seminar in Renaissance Literature and Culture 2 or 4 Units

Investigation of major topics, genres, and authors in Italian literature and culture of the 15th and 16th centuries.

ITALIAN 230 Seminar in 19th Century Literature and Culture 2 or 4 Units

Investigation of major topics, genres, and figures in Italian literature and culture of the 19th century.

ITALIAN 235 Seminar in 20th Century Literature and Culture 2 or 4 Units

Investigation of major topics, genres, and authors in Italian literature and culture of the 20th century.

ITALIAN 244 Special Topics in Genre and Mode 2 or 4 Units

Investigation of significant genres and modes of writing as they recur in the course of Italian cultural history.

ITALIAN 248 Special Topics in Interdisciplinary Italian Studies 2 or 4 Units

Investigation of topics in Italian cultural history from a multidisciplinary perspective.

ITALIAN 260 Directed Readings in Italian Literature and Culture 2 Units

Directed readings undertaken under the direction of a faculty member of the department of Italian Studies in conjunction with an audit of a 100-series seminar.

ITALIAN 270 Seminar Research Course 1 Unit

Directed research leading to the writing of a term paper under the direction of an Italian Studies department faculty member. Requires concurrent enrollment in a 100-series seminar.

ITALIAN 282 Prospectus Tutorial 4 Units

Directed reading course leading to the production of a formal dissertation prospectus with detailed bibliography. Course is required for all Doctor of Philosophy candidates.

ITALIAN 290A Graduate Colloquium in Italian Studies 2 Units

Reports on current scholarly work by faculty and graduate students.

ITALIAN 290B Graduate Colloquium in Italian Studies 2 Units

Reports on current scholarly work by faculty and graduate students.

ITALIAN 298 Special Study 1 - 4 Units

Designed to allow students to do research in areas not covered by other courses. Requires regular discussions with the instructor and a final written report.

ITALIAN 299 Directed Research 6 - 12 Units

Limited to students engaged in research for the doctoral dissertation.

ITALIAN N299 Directed Research 3 - 6 Units

Limited to students engaged in research for the doctoral dissertation.

ITALIAN 302 Practicum in College Teaching of Italian 2 - 4 Units

ITALIAN 303 Practicum in the Teaching of Italian Literature, History, and Culture 2 - 4 Units

Three hours of classroom teaching per week with regular faculty supervision; attendance at faculty lectures where appropriate; routine meetings to discuss and evaluate teaching methods, including lecturing, discussion, classroom activities, grading and testing, design of syllabi and course materials.

ITALIAN 375 Seminar in Language Pedagogy 4 Units

Required of all graduate student instructors in their first semester of teaching. This course provides instruction on the theory and practice of foreign language teaching and learning with lectures on methodology, testing, grading, class preparation, textbook selection and evaluation, course design and development, and the use of audio-visual and computer aids to instruction. A final research paper is required. It also includes supervised classroom practice.

ITALIAN 601 Individual Studies for M.A. Candidates 1 - 8 Units

Individual study in consultation with faculty member with a view to the M.A. comprehensive examination. May be taken only in the semester of the comprehensive examination.

ITALIAN 602 Individual Studies for Doctoral Students 1 - 8 Units

Individual study in consultation with a faculty adviser. Intended to provide an opportunity for qualified students to prepare for the Ph.D. qualifying examination. May be taken only in the semester of the qualifying examination.

Faculty

Professors

Albert R. Ascoli, Professor. Italy, national identity, literature and history, Dante, authorship and authority, Ariosto, Machiavelli, Petrarch, Boccaccio, epic and romance, Renaissance, early modern, Middle Ages.
Research Profile

Barbara Spackman, Professor. Feminist theory, psychoanalysis, culture, fascism, gender studies, comparative literature, Italian studies, narrative, European decadence, travel writing.
Research Profile

Associate Professors

Steven N. Botterill, Associate Professor. Italian literature, Italian culture, Dante, the Middle Ages, nineteenth-century Italian poetry, twentieth-century Italian poetry, medieval religion, spirituality.
Research Profile

Mia Fuller, Associate Professor. Anthropology, Italy, fascism, urban design, architecture, Italian colonialism.
Research Profile

Gavriel Moses, Associate Professor. Violence, body, comparative literature, Italian studies, film studies, English literatures, philology, film making, Italian cinema history & genres, auteur effects in Antonioni Kieslowski & Rohmer, cultural objects in cinema, novels on film, love.
Research Profile

Assistant Professors

Diego Pirillo, Assistant Professor.

Lecturers

Anna M. Bellezza, Lecturer.

Mara Mauri Jacobsen, Lecturer.

Contact Information

Department of Italian Studies

6303 Dwinelle Hall

Berkeley, CA 94720-2620

Phone: 510-642-2704

Fax: 510-642.6220

issa@berkeley.edu

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Department Chair

Albert Russell Ascoli, PhD

6325 Dwinelle Hall

ascoli@berkeley.edu

Head Graduate Adviser

Barbara Spackman, PhD

6323 Dwinelle Hall

spackman@berkeley.edu

Graduate Admission

Sandy Jones

italianadmit@berkeley.edu

Graduate Student Services Adviser

Sandy Jones

6313 Dwinelle Hall

issag@berkeley.edu

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