25 September 2024

Updated content:

Course overview

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Italian Studies at Warwick provides the opportunity to explore the extraordinary breadth and depth of Italian language and culture in collaboration with recognised experts in the field. Intensive language work from advanced level opens up the richness of Italian language and cultural life.

Warwick’s Film Studies modules cover the foundations of film and television history, theory, analysis and interpretation. Building on this foundation, you will then develop your understanding of national, international and historic film and television cultures.

Combining Italian with film means you will graduate as a highly qualified linguist with a deep understanding of key issues and developments in Italy’s past and present, advanced intercultural skills and an excellent knowledge of visual aesthetics, cinematic culture and narrative forms.

On this degree you are able to specialise in Italian language and culture, while spending a quarter of your time on Film Studies.

New:

Explore the language, culture and society of Italy, complemented by a specialism in Film Studies that gives you the opportunity to familiarise yourself with the strong Italian cinematic tradition. You will spend a 75% of your time on Italian Studies and 25% of your time focusing on Film Studies.

An Italian with Film Studies degree will allow you to combine two specialisms. Firstly, you will be able to develop and refine your skills as a linguist through a programme of modules exploring the Italian language and the culture, history and politics of Italy. Alongside this, you will also have the opportunity to study Italian cinema, Hollywood cinema, and other European film cultures.

Italian Studies at Warwick provides the opportunity to explore the extraordinary breadth and depth of Italian language and culture in collaboration with recognised experts in the field. Intensive language work from Beginner to Advanced level opens up the richness of Italian language and cultural life.

Warwick’s Film Studies modules cover the foundations of film and television history, theory, analysis and interpretation. Building on this foundation, you will then develop your understanding of national, international and historic film and television cultures.

Your second or third year is normally spent abroad, either as a language assistant, working, or studying at one of our partner universities. This is an invaluable opportunity to immerse yourself in the linguistic and cultural contexts where Italian is spoken, enhance your language skills and build international connections.

You will have access to outstanding facilities and resources. This includes flexible collaborative and individual learning spaces, as well as a vast selection of print, digital and multimedia learning materials.

You will finish your degree as a proficient, internationally mobile linguist with a deep understanding of Italian-speaking cultures, and an advanced knowledge of film and cinema.

Core modules

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This course (25% Film Studies) has a strong focus on Italian components covering language, culture, and literature but it is also intended for those with an interest in film, both Hollywood and European, and normally includes a component on Italian film.

Throughout your degree you will study Italian language at an appropriate level. In addition, in each year, you will select culture modules from the range of specialist modules offered in Italian Studies and thematic modules offered across the School. In your first and intermediate years you will have core modules in Film Studies, which will introduce you to key concepts and landmarks from film history and develop your familiarity with methods for film analysis.

In your final year you will continue to spend a quarter of your time on Film Studies. You will be able to select from a range of optional modules that develop your own specialist interest in areas such as ‘Queer Cinema’, ‘The Art of Animation’, ‘Transnational Action Cinema’, and ‘Contemporary Latin American Cinema’. You can also choose to write a dissertation.

You will normally spend your second or third year in Italy, consolidating and enhancing your learning.

Year One

Modern Italian Language for Beginners

Would you like the challenge of learning a new language at university? This foundation module for absolute beginners combines the acquisition of core language skills with knowledge of broader aspects of Italian culture, equipping you with the tools to engage with a wide range of relevant, contemporary topics in Italian. Opportunities to practise your Italian vary from role play to quizzes, working both individually and in your group. Successful completion will mean you are able to hold a conversation in Italian, read newspapers and get the gist of TV and radio programmes in Italian.

Read more about Modern Italian Language for BeginnersLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

or

Modern Italian Language 1 (Intermediate)

Do you need to consolidate and expand your competence in Italian while enjoying talking about culture and society? If so, this is the module for you. You’ll be given opportunities to revise fundamental grammar and vocabulary before acquiring more complex grammatical constructions, including through translation. We will integrate cultural topics with your linguistic studies, so you have the chance to explore areas such as tourism, the arts, the environment and Italian traditions. You will have opportunities for individual and group presentations and to engage in activities that integrate the skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking. By the end of your course, you’ll be expected to be able to write competently in several registers, using appropriate styles and terminology, and to converse in Italian to a good standard.

Read more about Modern Italian Language 1 (Intermediate)Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

or

Modern Italian Language 1 (Advanced)

Would you like to use your Italian A level (or equivalent) language skills creatively? This module will develop your linguistic and intercultural competence in Italian by means of advanced activities, including creative writing, translation, debates, presentations and drama. You will explore linguistic structures using resources in a variety of media and engage with authentic and sophisticated texts to compare cultural systems and express your opinion critically and creatively. In translation, you will experiment with different genres, registers and styles to enhance your cultural appreciation of Italian. Finally, you will have opportunities to explore cultural subjects and lead group discussions.

Read more about Modern Italian Language 1 (Advanced)Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

Italian cultural module:

Introducing Italy: Local and Global Perspectives

How do we define Italy? What do we mean by Italian culture and identity? One of the defining features of Italy has been how it has engaged with other countries, powers and cultures throughout its history, even before it officially became a nation state in 1861.

This module examines how Italian identities have been formed through interaction with other cultures and how Italian thought and culture has shaped the world around us from medieval times to the present day. The module traces the development of a standard Italian language and its relationship with dialects and local identities. It examines the processes leading to the establishment of an Italian nation state. We will consider internal diversity within Italy (regional and linguistic diversity, ethnic diversity, gender and sexuality), before moving on to look at Italy's cultural influence globally, from anglophone receptions of Dante's Divine Comedy and the influence of Renaissance thought in Europe, to stardom in Italian film.

The last section of the module questions the impact of mobility on questions of belonging, examining Italian emigration, the colonial period, and contemporary immigration. The module aims to situate the study of Italy within a global perspective, whilst maintaining a focus on local specificities.

Read more about Introducing Italy: Local and Global Perspectives, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

Independent Project

This module enables students to spend some time developing their independent working and in particular to build research skills for the later stages of their undergraduate degree. The module comprises a series of skills sessions on undertaking undergraduate research, tutorials with the module leader, along with a set of supervisory meetings with the project supervisor. In addition to producing work in a range of formats in the course of the year, linked to an aspect of the culture of their chosen language and the study of modern languages at university level, students will be supported to produce an end product related to their specific area of interest and linked to the curriculum for their other first-year cultural module. The end product will be an appropriate piece of work such as a mini dissertation.

Read more about the Independent Project in Modern Languages moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

Two modules from Film Studies:

Film History and Methods

This module will focus on film and history, exploring the various ways film texts have been analysed as reflecting social and cultural historical moments, filmmaking movements of particular eras, and how films have historicised individuals and events. There are many ways to ‘do’ film history and this term will not be an exhaustive survey of the history of cinema. Instead, it will offer some key contexts, methodologies, and traditions that have formed the wide-ranging study of film and history.

Read more about the Film History and Methods moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

and

Film Analysis and Methods

This module is concerned with the close reading and interpretation of film texts through close textual analysis. Over the course of the module, you will acquire the skills and vocabulary necessary to analyse the ways in which meaning is conveyed through the formal properties of film. This module is also concerned with the broader applications of close textual analysis. By the end of the module and you should be confident in applying your skills of textual analysis in order to interrogate the political dimension of audio-visual texts.

Read more about the Film Analysis and Methods moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

Intermediate Year

Modern Italian Language 2

This module will extend and refine your competence in Italian. With an emphasis on the key skills of reading, listening, speaking and writing, you will consolidate your proficiency in both new and familiar grammatical and linguistic structures, and expand the range and sophistication of your vocabulary and use of register in spoken and written discourse. In addition to classroom exercises, advanced discursive written work and oral projects, you will also be directed to appropriate activities for self-study.

Read more about Modern Italian Language 2Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

or

Modern Italian Language 3

On this module, you will develop your translation, writing and oral communication skills to advanced level. You will engage in translation as a practical skill, working to produce translations of literary, journalistic and academic texts with a focus on conveying nuances of meaning and culturally specific terms. You will develop greater fluency in different writing styles and genres. Oral sessions will increase your familiarity with more sophisticated registers of spoken Italian and raise your awareness of recent developments in Italian society so that you can discuss aspects of contemporary Italy in relation to your personal experiences.

Read more about Modern Italian Language 3Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

Two Film Studies modules:

Hollywood Cinema: History, Theory, Industry

This core module will build on what students have learned about Hollywood in first year modules by expanding their knowledge about Hollywood in what has been deemed its ‘classic’ period. The module will illustrate important aspects about the industrial system that dominated Hollywood filmmaking from the late 1920s to the early 1960s, including style, genre, and stars. By first focusing on Hollywood as an industry, examining the practices and cultures of film production, the module will then consider its ideological influence by promoting specific American values and traditions through political issues, such as race and ethnicity.

Read more about the Hollywood Cinema: History, Theory, Industry moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

and

World Cinema

The category of ‘world cinema’ represents a point of convergence for both the flattening impulses of a universalizing neoliberalism and the more radical bents of internationalist coalition-building. In other words, such cinema figures large in affective negotiations of global culture, world community and international human rights. This module looks at the wide range of fictional feature films, including the work of Deepa Metha, Akira Kurosawa, Samira Makhmalbaf and Satyajit Ray, among others. This course addresses several specific topics, including: transnational marketing, the touristic gaze, the politics of dubbing/subtitling, and the slow cinema debates.

This module reassesses ‘world cinema’ in light of globalization and global crises. Since the term ‘world cinema’ has always simultaneously invoked industrial, generic and aesthetic categories, our reckoning of the field hopes to expose otherwise unseen geopolitical fault lines. We investigate the historical and current contexts for the widening distribution of non-Hollywood films. We also examine the renaissance of international art cinema practices in recent decades, including new waves from East Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

What you might watch? Run Lola Run (Tom Tykwer, 1998); Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Werner Herzog, 1972); Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974); Good Bye Lenin! (Wolfgang Becker, 2003); The Baader Meinhof Complex (Uli Edel, 2008); Stray Dog (Akira Kurosawa 1949); Sansho Dayu (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1954); Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953); Crazed Fruit (Ko Nakahira, 1956); Face of Another (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1966); Ring (Hideo Nakata, 1998); My Neighbour Totoro (Hiyao Miyazaki, 1988); Still Walking (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2008); Pather Panchali (Ray, 1955); Riso Amaro / Bitter Rice (Giuseppe De Santis, 1949); Rashomon (Kurosawa, 1950); De cierta manera / One Way or Another (Sara Gómez, 1977); The Apple (Samira Makhmalbaf, 1998); What Time Is It There? (Tsai, 2001); Fire (Deepa Metha, 1996); Lan Yu (Stanley Kwan, 2001); Peking Opera Blues (Tsui, 1986)

Read more about the World Cinema moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

Cultural modules in Italian Studies plus further optional modules from across the School of Modern Languages and Cultures or an approved outside option.

Final Year

Modern Italian Language 4

Building on Intermediate year language, you will deepen your writing, speaking and translation skills, paying particular attention to register and style and learning some of the underpinning translation theory. We approach translation not just as a linguistic exercise but as a practical skill, so you will work to produce translations of literary, journalistic and academic texts, and explore techniques for conveying semantic nuances, culturally specific terms and more sophisticated registers of spoken Italian. Both the writing and oral components of the course will raise your awareness of recent developments in Italian society and enable you to discuss relevant aspects of contemporary Italy in relation to your personal experience.

Read more about Modern Italian Language 4Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

A cultural module in Italian Studies

Optional modules in Film Studies

Further optional modules selected from the variety of thematic modules offered by the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, or an approved outside option.

New:

In your first year, you will take language classes to develop your knowledge and understanding of written and spoken Italian. You will also take the core module, ‘Introducing Italy: Local and Global Perspectives’. This module examines primary sources from major periods and events in Italian history, literature, and contemporary politics. You will also study two core Film Studies modules, which will introduce you to key concepts and landmarks from film history and develop your familiarity with methods for film analysis.

Having acquired fundamental skills in your first year, you will go on to develop your linguistic and cultural expertise the intermediate and final years. As well as taking core modules, you will be able to pursue your own interests beyond the language. In SMLC, our modules reflect the research specialisms of academics in the Italian department and cover a broad range of subjects in Italian culture, society, literature, politics, philosophy, film and history.

You will continue to spend a quarter of your time on Film Studies. Core modules in World Cinemas and Hollywood Cinemas in intermediate year will build on the foundations of the first year to help you apply theories and analysis methods to films from different national contexts. In final year, you will be able to select from a range of optional modules that develop your own specialist interest in areas such as ‘Queer Cinema’, ‘The Art of Animation’, ‘Transnational Action Cinema’, and ‘Contemporary Latin American Cinema’.

Year One

Modern Italian Language for Beginners

Would you like the challenge of learning a new language at university? This foundation module for absolute beginners combines the acquisition of core language skills with knowledge of broader aspects of Italian culture, equipping you with the tools to engage with a wide range of relevant, contemporary topics in Italian. Opportunities to practise your Italian vary from role play to quizzes, working both individually and in your group. Successful completion will mean you are able to hold a conversation in Italian, read newspapers and get the gist of TV and radio programmes in Italian.

Read more about Modern Italian Language for BeginnersLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

or

Modern Italian Language 1 (Intermediate)

Do you need to consolidate and expand your competence in Italian while enjoying talking about culture and society? If so, this is the module for you. You’ll be given opportunities to revise fundamental grammar and vocabulary before acquiring more complex grammatical constructions, including through translation. We will integrate cultural topics with your linguistic studies, so you have the chance to explore areas such as tourism, the arts, the environment and Italian traditions. You will have opportunities for individual and group presentations and to engage in activities that integrate the skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking. By the end of your course, you’ll be expected to be able to write competently in several registers, using appropriate styles and terminology, and to converse in Italian to a good standard.

Read more about Modern Italian Language 1 (Intermediate)Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

or

Modern Italian Language 1 (Advanced)

Would you like to use your Italian A level (or equivalent) language skills creatively? This module will develop your linguistic and intercultural competence in Italian by means of advanced activities, including creative writing, translation, debates, presentations and drama. You will explore linguistic structures using resources in a variety of media and engage with authentic and sophisticated texts to compare cultural systems and express your opinion critically and creatively. In translation, you will experiment with different genres, registers and styles to enhance your cultural appreciation of Italian. Finally, you will have opportunities to explore cultural subjects and lead group discussions.

Read more about Modern Italian Language 1 (Advanced)Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

Italian cultural module:

Introducing Italy: Local and Global Perspectives

How do we define Italy? What do we mean by Italian culture and identity? One of the defining features of Italy has been how it has engaged with other countries, powers and cultures throughout its history, even before it officially became a nation state in 1861.

This module examines how Italian identities have been formed through interaction with other cultures and how Italian thought and culture has shaped the world around us from medieval times to the present day. The module traces the development of a standard Italian language and its relationship with dialects and local identities. It examines the processes leading to the establishment of an Italian nation state. We will consider internal diversity within Italy (regional and linguistic diversity, ethnic diversity, gender and sexuality), before moving on to look at Italy's cultural influence globally, from anglophone receptions of Dante's Divine Comedy and the influence of Renaissance thought in Europe, to stardom in Italian film.

The last section of the module questions the impact of mobility on questions of belonging, examining Italian emigration, the colonial period, and contemporary immigration. The module aims to situate the study of Italy within a global perspective, whilst maintaining a focus on local specificities.

Read more about Introducing Italy: Local and Global Perspectives, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

Independent Project

This module enables students to spend some time developing their independent working and in particular to build research skills for the later stages of their undergraduate degree. The module comprises a series of skills sessions on undertaking undergraduate research, tutorials with the module leader, along with a set of supervisory meetings with the project supervisor. In addition to producing work in a range of formats in the course of the year, linked to an aspect of the culture of their chosen language and the study of modern languages at university level, students will be supported to produce an end product related to their specific area of interest and linked to the curriculum for their other first-year cultural module. The end product will be an appropriate piece of work such as a mini dissertation.

Read more about the Independent Project in Modern Languages moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2023/24 year of study).

Two modules from Film Studies:

Film History and Methods

This module will focus on film and history, exploring the various ways film texts have been analysed as reflecting social and cultural historical moments, filmmaking movements of particular eras, and how films have historicised individuals and events. There are many ways to ‘do’ film history and this term will not be an exhaustive survey of the history of cinema. Instead, it will offer some key contexts, methodologies, and traditions that have formed the wide-ranging study of film and history.

Read more about the Film History and Methods moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

and

Film Analysis and Methods

This module is concerned with the close reading and interpretation of film texts through close textual analysis. Over the course of the module, you will acquire the skills and vocabulary necessary to analyse the ways in which meaning is conveyed through the formal properties of film. This module is also concerned with the broader applications of close textual analysis. By the end of the module and you should be confident in applying your skills of textual analysis in order to interrogate the political dimension of audio-visual texts.

Read more about the Film Analysis and Methods moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

Intermediate Year

Modern Italian Language 2

This module will extend and refine your competence in Italian. With an emphasis on the key skills of reading, listening, speaking and writing, you will consolidate your proficiency in both new and familiar grammatical and linguistic structures, and expand the range and sophistication of your vocabulary and use of register in spoken and written discourse. In addition to classroom exercises, advanced discursive written work and oral projects, you will also be directed to appropriate activities for self-study.

Read more about Modern Italian Language 2Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

or

Modern Italian Language 3

On this module, you will develop your translation, writing and oral communication skills to advanced level. You will engage in translation as a practical skill, working to produce translations of literary, journalistic and academic texts with a focus on conveying nuances of meaning and culturally specific terms. You will develop greater fluency in different writing styles and genres. Oral sessions will increase your familiarity with more sophisticated registers of spoken Italian and raise your awareness of recent developments in Italian society so that you can discuss aspects of contemporary Italy in relation to your personal experiences.

Read more about Modern Italian Language 3Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

Two Film Studies modules:

Hollywood Cinema: History, Theory, Industry

This core module will build on what students have learned about Hollywood in first year modules by expanding their knowledge about Hollywood in what has been deemed its ‘classic’ period. The module will illustrate important aspects about the industrial system that dominated Hollywood filmmaking from the late 1920s to the early 1960s, including style, genre, and stars. By first focusing on Hollywood as an industry, examining the practices and cultures of film production, the module will then consider its ideological influence by promoting specific American values and traditions through political issues, such as race and ethnicity.

Read more about the Hollywood Cinema: History, Theory, Industry moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

and

World Cinema

The category of ‘world cinema’ represents a point of convergence for both the flattening impulses of a universalizing neoliberalism and the more radical bents of internationalist coalition-building. In other words, such cinema figures large in affective negotiations of global culture, world community and international human rights. This module looks at the wide range of fictional feature films, including the work of Deepa Metha, Akira Kurosawa, Samira Makhmalbaf and Satyajit Ray, among others. This course addresses several specific topics, including: transnational marketing, the touristic gaze, the politics of dubbing/subtitling, and the slow cinema debates.

This module reassesses ‘world cinema’ in light of globalization and global crises. Since the term ‘world cinema’ has always simultaneously invoked industrial, generic and aesthetic categories, our reckoning of the field hopes to expose otherwise unseen geopolitical fault lines. We investigate the historical and current contexts for the widening distribution of non-Hollywood films. We also examine the renaissance of international art cinema practices in recent decades, including new waves from East Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

What you might watch? Run Lola Run (Tom Tykwer, 1998); Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Werner Herzog, 1972); Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974); Good Bye Lenin! (Wolfgang Becker, 2003); The Baader Meinhof Complex (Uli Edel, 2008); Stray Dog (Akira Kurosawa 1949); Sansho Dayu (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1954); Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953); Crazed Fruit (Ko Nakahira, 1956); Face of Another (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1966); Ring (Hideo Nakata, 1998); My Neighbour Totoro (Hiyao Miyazaki, 1988); Still Walking (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2008); Pather Panchali (Ray, 1955); Riso Amaro / Bitter Rice (Giuseppe De Santis, 1949); Rashomon (Kurosawa, 1950); De cierta manera / One Way or Another (Sara Gómez, 1977); The Apple (Samira Makhmalbaf, 1998); What Time Is It There? (Tsai, 2001); Fire (Deepa Metha, 1996); Lan Yu (Stanley Kwan, 2001); Peking Opera Blues (Tsui, 1986)

Read more about the World Cinema moduleLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

Cultural modules in Italian Studies plus further optional modules from across the School of Modern Languages and Cultures or an approved outside option.

Final Year

Modern Italian Language 4

Building on Intermediate year language, you will deepen your writing, speaking and translation skills, paying particular attention to register and style and learning some of the underpinning translation theory. We approach translation not just as a linguistic exercise but as a practical skill, so you will work to produce translations of literary, journalistic and academic texts, and explore techniques for conveying semantic nuances, culturally specific terms and more sophisticated registers of spoken Italian. Both the writing and oral components of the course will raise your awareness of recent developments in Italian society and enable you to discuss relevant aspects of contemporary Italy in relation to your personal experience.

Read more about Modern Italian Language 4Link opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window, including the methods of teaching and assessment (content applies to 2024/25 year of study).

A cultural module in Italian Studies

Optional modules in Film Studies

Further optional modules selected from the variety of thematic modules offered by the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, or an approved outside option.