Italian Language and Literature Commons^™

Oral History: Kathleen Iannello, Abigail M. Finan

Student Publications

This research essay captures the reality of what it means to assimilate into American culture as an Italian and how the dynamic of identifying with a certain heritage has changed throughout the years. For my project I interviewed Kathleen Iannello, the granddaughter of two Italian American immigrants. By talking with Kathleen I was able to a gain a sense of the hardships and sacrifices her family made and connect them to the information I had learned in class.

Beating The Odds: Teaching Italian Online In The Community College Environment, Giulia Guarnieri

Publications and Research

This study analyzes data collected from Italian language online classes during the course of four consecutive semesters at Bronx Community College in order to measure the impact that distance learning has on students’ retention and success rates in elementary courses. The results reveal that reconfiguring the online meetings to a lower percentage and implementing social pedagogies reduce course abandonment and favor the creation of strong learning communities. Furthermore, the data relative to the grade distribution shows no substantial difference between online courses and face-to-face instruction.

Male Feminists: Oxymoron Or The Next Step? An Exploration Of Attitudes Associated With Male Feminists, Abigail K. Slowik

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Although many studies have examined attitudes toward feminism and feminists, very few have been devoted to the study of attitudes toward male feminists. The existing body of literature has shown mixed results; with feminist men being rated more positively in some regards, and more negative in others. In the current study, Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 2004) is used as a framework for understanding factors associated with attitudes towards male feminists, male feminist identification, and gender-self-esteem. Attitudes associated with male feminists were examined in a sample of 466 male and female undergraduate students from Indiana State University. Participants were …

Lemonade, Scott Sheridan

IWU Authors Bookshelf

Translated from Italian into English, Sheridan said his greatest challenge may have been capturing the setting and tone of the novel. “It’s a period piece about early 19^th-century England and written by an Italian,” said Sheridan. “I wanted to give it just a hint of Jane Austen without sounding old fashioned or archaic. The book is daring in many ways, from some of the controversial content to the experimental nature of the psychological narrative.”

Lemonade by Nina Pennacchi was published in Italian in 2014. The translated version by Sheridan is now available at amazon.com.

The Influence Of Peer Educators In A First-Year Seminar On Freshman Preparation For Collegiate Challenges: A Qualitative Investigation Of Observational Learning, Sarah A. Forbes

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Most high school students have not spent deliberate time preparing for their transition to college. Knowing this, institutions have developed a first-year seminar geared toward transitional issues inherent to a specific institution. While the research on these programs illustrates their utility, there appears to be an opportunity to further their success by incorporating peers as educators in the classroom. Bandura (1986) saw the potential of observational learning through peer modeling, though few researchers have studied first-year seminars from this theoretical perspective. Through a postpositivistic philosophical paradigm, this exploratory qualitative study utilized a phenomenological design to investigate two research questions: what …

Gestures As Mimetic Forms Of Identity In Post-Secondary Italian As A Foreign Language Classrooms: A Sociocultural Perspective, Ilaria Nardotto Peltier

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study investigates the use of mimetic gestures of identity by foreign language teachers of Italian and their students in college classes as a form of meaning-making. All four of the teachers were found to use a variety of Italian gestures as a regular aspect of their teaching and presentation of self. Students and teachers also were found to mirror each other’s gestures. None of the teachers had been video-recorded before the study and all were surprised to see the degree to which they appeared to be Italian, although at the same time all believed this to be an important …

Lost In Translation? Found In Translation? Neither? Both?, Esther Allen, Mary Ann Caws, Peter Constantine, Edith Grossman, Nancy Kline, Burton Pike, Damion Searls, Karen Van Dyck, Alyson Waters, Roger Celestin, Charles Lebel

The Quiet Corner Interdisciplinary Journal

Translation specialists Esther Allen, Mary Ann Caws, Peter Constantine, Edith Grossman, Nancy Kline, Burton Pike, Damion Searls, Karen Van Dyck and Alyson Waters respond to the TQC question:

“Lost in translation”; “Found in translation”: Are these just useless commonplaces or are they indicative of something relevant to your own practice?

Il Fenomeno Dell’Apolide, Megan A. Fenrich

Student Publications

This paper examines the phenomenon of stateless persons, including the definition of what it means to be stateless and two types of statelessness, de jure and de facto. Although statelessness is internationally recognized, by both the U.N. and individual countries, little is actually done for those populations and groups that hang in such an ambiguous state. Often times the root problems, such as statelessness through birth or government actions, are not addressed, and the groups face much discrimination.

Auctor In Fabula: Umberto Eco And The Intentio Of Foucault's Pendulum, Douglas Stephens Iv

Senior Honors Theses

Umberto Eco’s 1988 novel Foucault’s Pendulum weaves together a wide range of philosophical and literary threads. Many of these threads find their other ends in Eco’s nonfiction works, which focus primarily on the question of interpretation and the source of meaning. The novel, which follows three distinctly overinterpretive characters as they descend into ruin, has been read by some as a retraction or parody of Eco’s own position. However, if Foucault’s Pendulum is indeed polemical, it must be taken as an argument against the mindset which Eco has termed the “hermetic”. Through an examination of his larger theoretical body, including …

Crossing The Atlantic: Emilio Pettoruti's Italian Immersion, Lauren A. Kaplan

Artl@s Bulletin

The painter Emilio Pettoruti (1892-1971) was born to Italian parents in the Argentine province of La Plata. In 1913, he sailed to Florence for artistic training and remained in Europe for eleven years. This article focuses on this formative stint, during which Pettoruti studied Quattrocento masters, conferred with Italian Futurists, and met French Cubists. Ultimately, the painter became a paragon of civiltá italiana, a cosmopolitan culture born in Italy but meant for global dissemination. Upon returning to Buenos Aires in 1924, he exposing the Argentine public to this culture, strengthening the already robust bond between the two countries.

Modernism And The Cult Of Mountains: Music, Opera, Cinema By Christopher Morris (Review), Harald Höbusch

Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Africa, Asia, And The History Of Philosophy: Racism In The Formation Of The Philosophical Canon, 1780–1830 By Peter K.J. Park (Review), Joseph D. O'Neil

Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Fantahistorical Vs. Fantafascist Epic: “Contemporary” Alternative Italian Colonial Histories, Simone Brioni Dr.

Department of English Faculty Publications

This article focuses on Enrico Brizzi’s L’inattesa piega degli eventi [The Unexpected Turn of Events, 2008], La nostra guerra [Our War, 2009], and Lorenzo Pellegrini e le donne [Lorenzo Pellegrini and the Women, 2012], a trilogy of alternative history novels that imagines what would have happened to the Italian empire if Italy had not allied with Germany during the Second World War. Drawing on Giorgio Agamben’s reflections on contemporaneity (2009), I analyze how this trilogy represents Fascism and its colonial legacy in relation to the history of politics and soccer in Italy. I also compare Brizzi’s trilogy to Mario Farneti’s …

The Final Pagan Generation By Edward J. Watts (Review), James A. Francis

Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Drawing Testimony, Coming To Writing: Ebe Cagli Seidenberg’S Le Sabbie Del Silenzio And Il Tempo Dei Dioscuri, Eveljn Ferraro

Modern Languages & Literature

This essay considers the question of how “coming to writing” describes the creative process, how mourning becomes language, and how the emptiness of silence turns into word, in relation to the life and literary work of Italian Jewish writer Ebe Cagli Seidenberg. In other words, how did Cagli’s exile to the U.S. facilitate her voice? And how did language become, for her, nothing less than a form of “country”? In examining her journey to testimonial writing, I contend that visual imagery—a combination of visual artifacts and visual memories—plays a major role in getting past the wall of silence, overcoming the …

«Tante Voci [. . .] Tra Quei Bronchi1»: Authorial Agency And Textual Borrowing In Inferno Xiii, Anne C. Leone

Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics - All Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Obstacles To And Solutions Of Female Characters' Speech: Beatrice In Dante's Vita Nuova And Purgatorio And Susan In J. M. Coetzee's Foe, Tamara Savage

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis analyzes the speaking and silencing of two female characters, Beatrice from Dante’s Vita Nuova and Purgatorio and Susan from J. M. Coetzee’s Foe. The texts are viewed through postcolonial and feminist lenses to show the problems with male characters speaking for female characters and the obstacles the female characters face when attempting to speak. Dante’s solution to this problem is to transform Beatrice from a silent and demure woman into a character who issues commands with a powerful voice. Coetzee’s solution is instead to refuse to provide a solution, since no one but Susan can speak for …

College Students’ Perceptions Of Barriers To Seeking Health Care, Harika Medavarapu

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Access to health care is important to obtain health equity and improve quality of life (Healthy People, 2012). Various factors such as religion, education, family income, geographic location, and travel constraints act as barriers to access health care (Celeya et al., 2010). On the other hand, the health behaviors of medical students vary from general population of same age (Clair, Wilson, & Clore, 2004). Consequently, the perceived barriers may also vary based on the majors of students. Therefore, the main purpose of this research was to identify the difference in perceived barriers between students with health-based majors and non-health based …

Libyan Graduate Students Encounter English-Writing Difficulties While Attending U.S. Universities, Abdelsalam A. Mustafa El Raggas

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the writing difficulties that Libyan graduate students encounter while attending universities in the United States. Libyan graduate students have difficulties in writing effective paragraphs and essays. Most of their academic writing tasks have numerous grammatical errors and their writing style appears elementary-like. The main purpose of this study was to diagnose writing issues such as grammar, unity, style, diction, and language interference that the students encounter and find solutions for existing problems. A mixed-methods approach was employed in this study. One hundred Libyan graduate students studying at U.S. universities were sought as participants. Data were collected by …

The Balanced Approach To Literacy Instruction In Middle Schools, Tenicia Rae Helmberger

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine if the frequency with which middle school teachers implement research-based literacy strategies serves as a predictor of success on the English/language arts portion of ISTEP+. The study looked at research-based strategies in fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. Teachers of English, language arts, social studies, science, and a combination of the above subjects were surveyed. Seven questions from each area were posed relating to the frequency of implementation per quarter. The study was split into two groups, high-poverty schools and low-poverty schools. Of those teachers surveyed, teachers in low-achieving, low-poverty schools reported using research-based …