This is essentially a course of Italian literature in trans-
lation.  Students who successfully complete the course will
have demonstrated their knowledge of the literary works both
analytically and synthetically; they will demonstrate the
ability to write a coherent and persuasive literary critical
essay, and the ability to actively participate in class
discussions.  The two main objectives of the course are to
provide students with the intellectual, cultural, and hist-
orical background needed to understand the literary and 
cultural works they will study in ITAL 4030/6030; and to train
students to analyze critically these works so that they can
interpret the subtle nuances of meaning encoded by the authors.

While course topics vary, they will always include a historical
background of the era in question and a study of the 
appropriate rhetorical, linguistic, and literary critical
terminology.  When students critically analyze the texts they
study in class, they are expected to engage in a close reading
of them, and to show how each author uses basic literary
techniques to articulate the messages s/he wishes to convey
to the reader.

Topics would vary, depending on who is teaching what.  A list of
possible topics are:  the intellectual history of Italy; Dante's
"Divine Comedy"; Italian Lyric Poetry; Italian theater; the
Nineteenth Century Italian Novel; Boccaccio's "Decameron" and its
influence on European narrative prose fiction; Petrarch and
Petarchism; Contemporary Italian Writers; Italian Women Writers;
etc.
The following questions (or situations) will be addressed for
each work:  linguistic and geographical context; historical
importance; the author's bio-bibliography; thematic and
stylistic analysis of the work.  The following outcomes are 
expected:  students will demonstrate an ability to articulate,
in prose and in discussion, the complex interrelationships
that exist between issues of language, literature and the arts,
and the social sciences, as manifest in the works in question.
Students' writing skills will be measurable in terms of 
organization, content and style.  Tests and exams will quantify
the acquisition of the knowledge mentioned above.  Class
participation will be measured in terms of accuracy of recall,
cogency and general responsiveness and collaboration in 
discussions and other activities.

The most recent Academic Honesty Policy at UGA will apply to 
this course and will be mentioned in the syllabus for this
course.