Italian/Middletown: Podcasting Middletown's Italian Treasures
ITAL 225
Fall 2025
| Section:
01
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| Course Cluster and Certificates: Community-Engaged Learning |
This class uncovers Italian Treasures in Middletown, both on and off campus. An advanced course in Italian that is as suited for fifth-semester students as it is for those returning from Bologna or who have already taken a course in Italian, we will explore Italian podcasts and podcasting in Italian before turning our attention to podcast production of our own. Our course begins with audio explorations of podcasts in Italian, which will allow us to examine a variety of themes and subjects (e.g., true crime, sports, health, politics, among others), conducting contextualized grammar review as we go. Alongside study of both the medium of podcasting and examples of Italian podcasts, we will learn about the history of Middletown's Italian community and conduct a hunt for Italian treasures to explore and study. How does Middletown's Italian past link to its present? And to Wesleyan? Where can we find Italian "treasures" on campus and off? Throughout the semester, students will produce several short audio assignments, for which they will prepare (and submit) scripts. In service to all audio assignments, students will work on their pronunciation and diction with the Foreign Language Teaching Assistant from the University of Bologna. In addition to the brief audio assignments and scripts, major assignments include one 5-min podcast episode at midterm and one 7-min episode by the end of November. In the last week of class, students will collaborate on editing and producing a 55-min podcast that folds together all their individual chapters and includes music and linking narrative. This final podcast will be broadcast on Wesleyan's WESU. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA RLAN |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: ITAL112 |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (College of Letters)(Italian Studies) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: 90% or above |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
BLU NOTTE Carlo Lucarelli
IL PODCAST DI LUCA SOFRI Luca Sofri
CLOSE-UP
LA ZANZARA Giuseppe Cruciani e David Parenzo
PODCASTING Emiliano Pintori
GRAMATICA AVANZATA DELLA LINGUA ITALIANA Susanna Nocchi
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Examinations and Assignments:
Daily discussion questions, brief writing assignments including in-class assignments, podcasting segments and production
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Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
The section with the FLTA will take place Wed after the class session, from 12:15 to 1:05 |
| Instructor(s): Nerenberg,Ellen Times: ...W.F. 10:50AM-12:10PM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 15 | | SR major: 2 | JR major: 2 | | |
| Seats Available: 11 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 3 | JR non-major: 3 | SO: 3 | FR: 2 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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