In addition to our undergraduate news below, graduate news and accomplishments can be found in this section.
Italian
Our Italian language program organized the third annual Week of Italian Culture in October. During the week, students engaged with Italian culture through various activities—from playing soccer and bocce with instructors to learning how to impersonate the masks of Commedia dell’Arte. The highlight of this year’s Italian Culture Week was a performance by the Boston-based Commedia dell'Arte company Pazzi Lazzi Troupe. “In Isabella Unmasked, Chiara Durazzini showcased her virtuosity as a Commedia dell’Arte performer by portraying both Isabella, the stock character, and Isabella Andreini, a pioneering actress and poet of the Italian Renaissance. Performed in English and accompanied by richly textured Renaissance music by Dan Meyers—who fluidly transitioned between instruments such as recorders, bagpipes, and harp—the original play honored the vibrant tradition of Commedia dell’Arte with its iconic stock characters and distinctive humor.” (https://www.pazzilazzitroupe.com/)
Students also enjoyed a hands-on cooking workshop and participated in a concert of Italian music. Italian Culture Week has become an integral part of our fall programming, helping us share Italian culture with both students and the wider community.
During the past academic year, our language teaching faculty made the decision to phase out our previous textbook in favor of free, open-source materials to reduce costs for students. As a result, we are currently developing supplemental materials that will serve as our online workbook. Thanks to the generous support of the College of Arts and Sciences and our Department, we are able to devote this summer to this creative and pedagogically valuable endeavor. We are confident that these new resources will greatly benefit our students.
Our undergraduate students have been actively involved in the Italian Club. Special thanks go to Ivy Walker, Matteo De Maso, Levi Pearson, and Lorenzo Tommasi for organizing successful cultural events and helping to promote Italian culture across campus. We also had several outstanding Italian Ambassadors who assisted the DUS with classroom visits and course outreach: Julia Blad, Ivy Walker, and Alexa Messina. Many others—including Maddie Thoennes and Olivia Arzano—contributed to our highly successful Career Night, co-organized with the French Program during the spring semester. During this event the students were able to meet our faculty, discuss their possible future careers, and listen to the panel of French and Italian alumni. The Italian Program invited Alexa Blanton, Indiana University alumna who is currently the Chief of Staff at Climate Clock, and Cody Devin, University of Notre Dame alumnus, a senior manager at Deloitte.
This year has been marked by meaningful collaboration and enthusiastic student involvement, both graduate and undergraduate. Thanks to everyone’s efforts, we have nearly doubled the number of Italian majors—an extraordinary achievement for a language not taught at the high school level in Indiana. We also secured approval for updates to our degree program that will make it easier for students to pursue a double major.
Overall, this has been an incredible year, filled with community, creativity, and cultural engagement. We are deeply grateful for everyone’s support and energy!
The College of Arts