Italian Specialization
On this page:
- Required Coursework
- Current Course Offerings
- Critical Concentration Courses
- Current Critical Concentration Offerings
Other links:
Undergraduate Coordinator:
Dr. Deborah Amberson
355 Dauer Hall
dambers@ufl.edu
352-273-3763
Overview
The Italian specialization of the Foreign Languages and Literatures major offers a basis for a broad variety of careers including arts and culture, fashion, business, international law, education, diplomacy, international relations, and journalism. The program also constitutes a strong foundation for graduate work in Italian Studies or related fields, allowing students to develop strengths in fields such as film studies, medieval studies, Mafia studies, Modernism, detective fiction, theater studies, Dante studies, and Animal Studies. Participation in UF study-abroad programs or a UF approved program is highly encouraged.
Requirements for the Major
The Italian specialization in Foreign Languages and Literatures consists of preparatory language study at the lower division (1000 and 2000 level), and 33 credits of advanced language, theory, and culture study in the upper division (3000 level and above).
All coursework for the major must be completed with minimum grades of C.
Required Foundation Coursework
Total depends on placement in language courses
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| ITA 1130 | Beginning Italian 1 | 5 |
| ITA 1131 | Beginning Italian 2 | 5 |
| ITA 2220 | Intermediate Italian 1 | 4 |
| ITA 2221 | Intermediate Italian 2 | 4 |
| Total Credits | 18 | |
Required Major Coursework
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Italian Major Core Courses | ||
| Advanced Language and Culture | ||
| ITA 3420 | Grammar and Composition 1 | 3 |
| ITA 3243 | Italian Conversation | 3 |
| Advanced Major Elective Coursework | ||
| Select 18 credits with at least 6 credits at the 4000 level and no more than 6 credits of ITT prefix courses: | 18 | |
ITA 3224 | Italian Enhancement Section | |
ITA 3500 | Italian Civilization | |
ITA 3564 | Contemporary Italian Culture | |
ITA 3503 | Naples: Culture and History | |
ITA 4905 | Individual Work | |
ITA 4911 | Undergraduate Research in Language or History/Culture in Italian | |
ITT 3431 | Italy and Pilgrimages | |
ITT 3443 | Dante's Inferno (English) | |
ITT 3521 | Italian Cinema | |
ITT 3540 | Murder Italian Style: Crime Fiction and Film in Italy | |
ITT 3541 | Gangsters and Godfathers: Italian Mafia Movies | |
ITT 3700 | The Demolition of Man: Italian Perspectives on the Jewish Holocaust | |
ITT 3930 | Special Topics in Italian Literature and Culture | |
ITT 4911 | Undergraduate Research in Italian in English Translation | |
ITW 3100 | Introduction to Italian Literature 1 | |
ITW 3101 | Introduction to Italian Literature 2 | |
ITW 3310 | Italian Play | |
ITW 3460 | Italian Literary Beginnings | |
ITW 3500 | Boccaccio's Decameron | |
ITW 4026C | Representing the Humble Italy: Literature and Cinema of the Italian South | |
ITW 4253 | Delitto all'italiana: Crime Fiction and Film in Italy | |
ITW 4330 | Modern Italian Poetry | |
ITW 4484 | Modern Italian Novel | |
ITW 4491 | Italian Theater from the Renaissance to the Early Modern Era | |
ITW 4526 | Mad Love in Modern Italian Literature | |
ITW 4580 | Animals and Animality in Italian Culture | |
ITW 4600 | Dante's Inferno | |
ITW 4911 | Undergraduate Research in Literature in Italian | |
| Critical Concentration | ||
| Although courses may appear in more than one group, they may be counted toward only one group | ||
| Select 9 credits from one area: | 9 | |
Intensive Area Studies: Italian Studies (Recommended for those planning to pursue careers requiring advanced level skills in Italian or graduate work in Italian studies) | ||
Comparative Cultural Studies | ||
Film and Visual Culture | ||
Literary Studies | ||
Medieval and Early Modern Studies | ||
| Total Credits | 33 | |
Overseas Study
Students specializing in Italian are encouraged to participate in a study abroad for a summer or an entire semester. Students regularly participate in UF Programs in Rome or UF-approved study-abroad programs in other Italian cities or regions. Refer to UF International Center information and contact a department advisor for study abroad recommendations.
More Info
Placement
In all languages, students with either a native background in the language or prior study in that language might be eligible to place out of the preparatory language courses and should meet with the undergraduate coordinator to arrange for placement assessment.
Research
Students with an upper-division GPA of 3.5 are encouraged to write a thesis for high or highest honors at graduation.
Current Course Offerings (Fall 2025)
ITA1130 - Beginning Italian 1
ITA 1130 and its sequel, ITA 1131, constitute the basic sequence in Italian. Emphasis on the development of broad competence in the language. Oral-aural approach ensures competence in the four skills.
Class #12850
EEP Eligible
Instructor: Sherrie Nunn
Meet: Primary Classroom
Credits: 5
Department: Languages, Literatures & Cultures Italian
Final Exam: 12/10/2025 @ 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Class Dates: 08/21/2025 - 12/03/2025
Class #12851
EEP Eligible
Instructor: Sherrie Nunn
Meet: Primary Classroom
Credits: 5
Department: Languages, Literatures & Cultures Italian
Final Exam: 12/9/2025 @ 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Class Dates: 08/21/2025 - 12/03/2025
Class #12852
Class #12853
EEP Eligible
Instructor: Hiromi Kaneda
Meet: Primary Classroom
Credits: 5
Department: Languages, Literatures & Cultures Italian
Final Exam: 12/12/2025 @ 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Class Dates: 08/21/2025 - 12/03/2025
ITA 1130 and its sequel, ITA 1131, constitute the basic sequence in Italian. Emphasis on the development of broad competence in the language. Oral-aural approach ensures competence in the four skills.
ITA2220 - Intermediate Italian 1
Enhances knowledge of Italian in all four skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing. The goal is to create communicative competence that enables students to advance to third year study and to benefit from their visits to Italy. (N)
Prereq: ITA 1131 or the equivalent.
Class #12976
Enhances knowledge of Italian in all four skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing. The goal is to create communicative competence that enables students to advance to third year study and to benefit from their visits to Italy. (N)
Prereq: ITA 1131 or the equivalent.
ITA3420 - Grammar and Composition 1
Intensive language course designed to master grammatical principles, increase vocabulary and enhance writing and composition skills.
Prereq: ITA 2221 or equivalent.
Class #12978
EEP Eligible
Instructor: Gabriele Belletti
Meet: Primary Classroom
Credits: 3
Department: Languages, Literatures & Cultures Italian
Final Exam: 12/11/2025 @ 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Class Dates: 08/21/2025 - 12/03/2025
Intensive language course designed to master grammatical principles, increase vocabulary and enhance writing and composition skills.
Prereq: ITA 2221 or equivalent.
ITA3500 - Italian Civilization
Variable topics introduce Italian civilization in historical, artistic, and literary contexts.
Can be repeated with a change in content up to 9 credits. Prereq: ITA 2221 or the equivalent, or section coordinator or undergraduate advisor permission.
Class #19341
EEP EligibleGen Ed: International
Instructor: Gabriele Belletti
Meet: Primary Classroom
Credits: 3
Department: Languages, Literatures & Cultures Italian
Final Exam: 12/12/2025 @ 7:30 AM - 9:30 AM
Class Dates: 08/21/2025 - 12/03/2025
Variable topics introduce Italian civilization in historical, artistic, and literary contexts.
Can be repeated with a change in content up to 9 credits. Prereq: ITA 2221 or the equivalent, or section coordinator or undergraduate advisor permission.
ITA4905 - Individual Work
For advanced minors who seek independent work not offered in another course. Must be arranged individually with Italian faculty. Only three credits can count toward the minor.
Prereq: program coordinator permission.
Class #12979
---
Instructor: Gabriele Belletti
Meet: Primary Classroom
Credits: 1-4
Department: Languages, Literatures & Cultures Italian
Final Exam: TBA
Class Dates: 08/21/2025 - 12/03/2025
For advanced minors who seek independent work not offered in another course. Must be arranged individually with Italian faculty. Only three credits can count toward the minor.
Prereq: program coordinator permission.
ITA4911 - Undergraduate Research in Language or History/Culture in Italian: Ug RESEARCH ITALIAN LANG/CULT
Provides firsthand, supervised research. Projects may involve inquiry, design, investigation, scholarship, discovery, or application.
Class #18800
---
Instructor: Deborah Amberson
Meet: Primary Classroom
Credits: 0-3
Department: Languages, Literatures & Cultures Italian
Final Exam: TBA
Class Dates: 08/21/2025 - 12/03/2025
Provides firsthand, supervised research. Projects may involve inquiry, design, investigation, scholarship, discovery, or application.
ITT3540 - Murder Italian Style: Crime Fiction and Film in Italy
Explores Italian crime fiction and film. Analysis considers specificity of Italian tradition while placing texts and films in a broader cultural and historical context, enabling critically and politically informed reading of the many applications and subversions of the generic formula. Taught in English.
Prereq: sophomore standing or higher or instructor permission.
Class #25565
Explores Italian crime fiction and film. Analysis considers specificity of Italian tradition while placing texts and films in a broader cultural and historical context, enabling critically and politically informed reading of the many applications and subversions of the generic formula. Taught in English.
Prereq: sophomore standing or higher or instructor permission.
ITW4484 - Modern Italian Novel
Critical exploration of the modern Italian novel, focusing on representative texts of the long 20th century. Development of Italian novel is analyzed in context of technological modernity, war, fascism, economic boom. Issues of literary technique and formal innovation also considered. Novels may vary from semester to semester.
Prereq: A 3000- or 4000-level ITA or ITW course with a C or above.
Class #25444
Critical exploration of the modern Italian novel, focusing on representative texts of the long 20th century. Development of Italian novel is analyzed in context of technological modernity, war, fascism, economic boom. Issues of literary technique and formal innovation also considered. Novels may vary from semester to semester.
Prereq: A 3000- or 4000-level ITA or ITW course with a C or above.
ITW4911 - Undergraduate Research in Literature in Italian: Undergrad Research
Provides firsthand, supervised research in Literature in Italian. Projects may involve inquiry, design, investigation, scholarship, discovery or application in Literature in Italian.
Class #12980
---
Instructor: Gabriele Belletti
Meet: Primary Classroom
Credits: 0-3
Department: Languages, Literatures & Cultures Italian
Final Exam: TBA
Class Dates: 08/21/2025 - 12/03/2025
Provides firsthand, supervised research in Literature in Italian. Projects may involve inquiry, design, investigation, scholarship, discovery or application in Literature in Italian.
Concentration Courses
9 Credits from one Concentration
Although courses may appear in more than one group, they may be counted toward only one group.
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Intensive Area Studies: Italian | ||
| Recommended for those planning to pursue careers requiring advanced level skills in Italian or graduate work in Italian studies | ||
| ITA 3224 | Italian Enhancement Section | 1-5 |
| ITA 3500 | Italian Civilization | 3 |
| ITA 3503 | Naples: Culture and History | 3 |
| ITA 3564 | Contemporary Italian Culture | 3 |
| ITT 3431 | Italy and Pilgrimages | 3 |
| ITT 3443 | Dante's Inferno (English) | 3 |
| ITT 3521 | Italian Cinema | 4 |
| ITT 3540 | Murder Italian Style: Crime Fiction and Film in Italy | 3 |
| ITT 3541 | Gangsters and Godfathers: Italian Mafia Movies | 3 |
| ITT 3700 | The Demolition of Man: Italian Perspectives on the Jewish Holocaust | 3 |
| ITT 3930 | Special Topics in Italian Literature and Culture | 3 |
| ITW 3100 | Introduction to Italian Literature 1 | 3 |
| ITW 3101 | Introduction to Italian Literature 2 | 3 |
| ITW 3310 | Italian Play | 3 |
| ITW 3460 | Italian Literary Beginnings | 3 |
| ITW 3500 | Boccaccio's Decameron | 3 |
| ITW 4026C | Representing the Humble Italy: Literature and Cinema of the Italian South | 3 |
| ITW 4253 | Delitto all'italiana: Crime Fiction and Film in Italy | 3 |
| ITW 4330 | Modern Italian Poetry | 3 |
| ITW 4484 | Modern Italian Novel | 3 |
| ITW 4491 | Italian Theater from the Renaissance to the Early Modern Era | 3 |
| ITW 4526 | Mad Love in Modern Italian Literature | 3 |
| ITW 4580 | Animals and Animality in Italian Culture | 3 |
| ITW 4600 | Dante's Inferno | 3 |
| Comparative Cultural Studies | ||
| ABT 3500 | Arabic Culture | 3 |
| ABT 4131 | The Qur'an as Literature | 3 |
| ARA 3510 | The Arab Woman | 3 |
| CHI 3403 | Chinese Calligraphy | 3 |
| CHT 3500 | Chinese Culture | 3 |
| CHT 3510 | All the Tea in China | 3 |
| CHT 3513 | Taoism and Chinese Culture | 3 |
| CZT 3564 | Modern Czech Culture and Society | 3 |
| FRT 3004 | Monuments and Masterpieces of France | 3 |
| FRT 3561 | Women in French Literature and/or Cinema | 3-4 |
| FRT 4500 | East-West Encounters | 3 |
| GET 3003 | German Culture and Civilization 1 | 3 |
| GET 3004 | Modern German Culture and Civilization | 3 |
| GET 3200 | Medieval Literary Culture | 3 |
| GET 3201 | Early Modern Literary Culture | 3 |
| GET 3501 | History, Literature and Arts of Berlin | 3 |
| GET 3201 | Early Modern Literary Culture | 3 |
| GET 3501 | History, Literature and Arts of Berlin | 3 |
| GET 3580 | Representations of War in Literature and Visual Media | 3 |
| GET 3930 | Variable Topics in German Studies (German Fairy Tales) | 3 |
| GEW 4401 | Cities as Cultural Centers | 3 |
| HAI 3930 | Topics in Haitian Language and Culture | 3 |
| HAT 3503 | Haitian Culture and Literature in Translation | 3 |
| HAT 3564 | Haitian Culture and Society | 3 |
| HAT 3700 | Introduction to Haitian Creole Linguistics | 3 |
| ITT 3431 | Italy and Pilgrimages | 3 |
| ITT 3443 | Dante's Inferno (English) | 3 |
| ITT 3540 | Murder Italian Style: Crime Fiction and Film in Italy | 3 |
| ITT 3541 | Gangsters and Godfathers: Italian Mafia Movies | 3 |
| ITT 3700 | The Demolition of Man: Italian Perspectives on the Jewish Holocaust | 3 |
| ITT 3930 | Special Topics in Italian Literature and Culture | 3 |
| JMT 3500 | Jamaican Creole, Reggae, and Rastafari | 3 |
| JPT 3500 | Japanese Culture | 3 |
| JPT 3521 | Monsters and Horror in Japan | 3 |
| JPT 3702 | Japanese Visual Culture | 3 |
| JPT 4502 | Japanese Folklore | 3 |
| JPT 4510 | Representations of Japan's Modern Empire | 3 |
| RUT 3443 | War and Peace | 3 |
| RUT 3500 | Russian Cultural Heritage | 3 |
| RUT 3501 | Contemporary Russian Culture and Society | 3 |
| RUT 3503 | Violence and Terror in the Russian Experience | 3 |
| RUT 3504 | Russia Today | 3 |
| RUT 3506 | Creative Lives: Writers, Artists, and Extraordinary People | 3 |
| RUT 3514 | Russian Fairy Tales | 3 |
| RUT 3530 | Russia's Struggle with Nature: Legacies of Destruction and Preservation | 3 |
| RUT 3600 | The Twentieth Century through Slavic Eyes | 3 |
| RUT 3601 | The Culture of the Cold War | 3 |
| RUT 4450 | Russian Modernism | 3 |
| VTT 3500 | Vietnamese Culture | 3 |
| YOT 3500 | Yoruba Diaspora in the New World | 3 |
| Film and Visual Culture | ||
| CHI 4930 | Special Topics in Chinese Studies | 3 |
| CHT 3391 | Chinese Film and Media | 3 |
| CHT 3523 | Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the New Global Cinema | 3 |
| FRT 3520 | French Cinema | 4 |
| FRT 3561 | Women in French Literature and/or Cinema | 3-4 |
| FRT 4500 | East-West Encounters | 3 |
| FRT 4523 | European Identities, European Cinemas | 4 |
| GET 3520 | Early German Cinema to 1945 | 4 |
| GET 3580 | Representations of War in Literature and Visual Media | 3 |
| GET 4521 | Women and German Cinema | 4 |
| GET 4523 | New Cinema 1945 to the Present | 4 |
| GET 4930 | Variable Topics in German Studies | 3 |
| HBR 4930 | Special Topics | 3 |
| ITT 3521 | Italian Cinema | 4 |
| ITT 3540 | Murder Italian Style: Crime Fiction and Film in Italy | 3 |
| ITT 3541 | Gangsters and Godfathers: Italian Mafia Movies | 3 |
| ITT 3930 | Special Topics in Italian Literature and Culture | 3 |
| JPN 4930 | Special Topics in Japanese Studies | 3 |
| JPT 3391 | Introduction to Japanese Film | 4 |
| JPT 3521 | Monsters and Horror in Japan | 3 |
| JPT 3702 | Japanese Visual Culture | 3 |
| RUT 3524 | Russia through Film | 3 |
| RUT 3601 | The Culture of the Cold War | 3 |
| SSA 4930 | Special Topics in African Studies (African Film) | 3 |
| Literary Studies | ||
| ABT 3130 | Arabic Literary Heritage 1 | 3 |
| ABT 4131 | The Qur'an as Literature | 3 |
| CHI 4930 | Special Topics in Chinese Studies | 3 |
| CHT 3110 | Chinese Literary Heritage | 3 |
| CHT 3123 | Pre-Modern Chinese Fiction in Translation | 3 |
| CHT 3124 | Modern Chinese Fiction in Translation | 3 |
| CHT 3302 | Tales of the Strange in Medieval Chinese Literature | 3 |
| CHT 3511 | Chinese Martial Arts Fiction | 3 |
| CHT 4111 | Dream of the Red Chamber | 3 |
| CHT 4603 | Journey to the West | 3 |
| FRT 3004 | Monuments and Masterpieces of France | 3 |
| FRT 3561 | Women in French Literature and/or Cinema | 3-4 |
| GET 3200 | Medieval Literary Culture | 3 |
| GET 3201 | Early Modern Literary Culture | 3 |
| GET 3501 | History, Literature and Arts of Berlin | 3 |
| GET 3580 | Representations of War in Literature and Visual Media | 3 |
| GET 3930 | Variable Topics in German Studies (German Fairy Tales) | 3 |
| GET 4930 | Variable Topics in German Studies | 3 |
| HAT 3503 | Haitian Culture and Literature in Translation | 3 |
| HBR 4930 | Special Topics | 3 |
| HBT 3223 | Identity and Dissent in the Hebrew Short Story | 3 |
| ITT 3431 | Italy and Pilgrimages | 3 |
| ITT 3443 | Dante's Inferno (English) | 3 |
| ITT 3540 | Murder Italian Style: Crime Fiction and Film in Italy | 3 |
| ITT 3700 | The Demolition of Man: Italian Perspectives on the Jewish Holocaust | 3 |
| ITT 3930 | Special Topics in Italian Literature and Culture | 3 |
| JPT 3100 | Tales of Kyoto | 3 |
| JPT 3120 | Modern Japanese Fiction in Translation | 3 |
| JPT 3121 | Contemporary Japanese Literature: Postwar to Postmodern | 3 |
| JPT 3140 | Modern Women Writers | 3 |
| JPT 3150 | Classical Japanese Poetry | 3 |
| JPT 3300 | Samurai War Tales | 3 |
| JPT 3330 | Early Modern Japanese Literature | 3 |
| JPT 3521 | Monsters and Horror in Japan | 3 |
| JPT 4130 | The Tale of Genji | 3 |
| JPT 4502 | Japanese Folklore | 3 |
| JPT 4510 | Representations of Japan's Modern Empire | 3 |
| PLT 3930 | Special Topics in Polish Studies | 3 |
| RUT 3101 | Russian Masterpieces | 3 |
| RUT 3441 | Tolstoy and Dostoevsky | 3 |
| RUT 3442 | Themes from Russian Literature | 3 |
| RUT 3443 | War and Peace | 3 |
| RUT 3452 | Russian Literature of the Twentieth Century | 3 |
| RUT 3503 | Violence and Terror in the Russian Experience | 3 |
| RUT 3506 | Creative Lives: Writers, Artists, and Extraordinary People | 3 |
| RUT 3514 | Russian Fairy Tales | 3 |
| RUT 3530 | Russia's Struggle with Nature: Legacies of Destruction and Preservation | 3 |
| RUT 3600 | The Twentieth Century through Slavic Eyes | 3 |
| RUT 3601 | The Culture of the Cold War | 3 |
| RUT 3930 | Variable Topics in Russian Studies | 3 |
| RUT 4440 | Pushkin and Gogol | 3 |
| RUT 4450 | Russian Modernism | 3 |
| SST 4502 | African Oral Literature | 3 |
| SSW 3303 | Swahili Oral Literature | 3 |
| SSW 4713 | African Women Writers | 3 |
| VTN 4930 | Special Topics in Vietnamese Studies | 3 |
| Medieval and Early Modern Studies | ||
| ARA 3510 | The Arab Woman | 3 |
| CHT 3110 | Chinese Literary Heritage | 3 |
| CHT 3123 | Pre-Modern Chinese Fiction in Translation | 3 |
| CHT 3302 | Tales of the Strange in Medieval Chinese Literature | 3 |
| CHT 3511 | Chinese Martial Arts Fiction | 3 |
| CHT 3513 | Taoism and Chinese Culture | 3 |
| CHT 4111 | Dream of the Red Chamber | 3 |
| CHT 4603 | Journey to the West | 3 |
| GET 3200 | Medieval Literary Culture | 3 |
| GET 3201 | Early Modern Literary Culture | 3 |
| ITT 3431 | Italy and Pilgrimages | 3 |
| ITT 3443 | Dante's Inferno (English) | 3 |
| JPT 3300 | Samurai War Tales | 3 |
| JPT 3330 | Early Modern Japanese Literature | 3 |
| JPT 3521 | Monsters and Horror in Japan | 3 |
| MEM 3003 | Introduction to the Medieval World | 3 |
| MEM 3300 | Castles and Cloisters: An Introduction to Medieval Communities | 3 |
| MEM 3301 | Palaces and Cities: An Introduction to Early Modern Communities | 3 |
| MEM 3730 | Studies in the Holy Roman Empire | 3 |
| MEM 3931 | Variable Topics in Medieval and Early Modern Studies | 3 |