Mon. Oct. 15 at 6:30-8:30pm
Lecture Hall 101, Feliciano School of Business

For more information see the and flyer about the event.

Please feel free to circulate this announcement.

Organized and sponsored by the Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies at ����vlog. In collaboration with the Italian and the French Programs (Modern Language and Literatures)

Officially presented in connection with the (Theme: “Italian and the Web: Social Networks for the Italian Language”)

This second edition of the summer course hosted an ethnically diverse group of HS students from all over NJ. Importantly, many Hispanic students were able to capitalize on the similarities with Spanish to hone their skills in Italian. They will be even more equipped to take the AP Italian course and exam, thus increasing their presence among AP takers at a time in which the school system calls for more diversity in the AP endeavors (). The summer course students; interests in Italian culture as an integral part of their future plans range from studying physical therapy in Italy to becoming an international interpreter, using Italian in the musical profession, and pursuing a career in fashion design. What unites them within their diversity is a love of Italian and the desire to become fluent in the language.

By focusing on a variety of contemporary issues ranging from the use of technology (social media) to food practices (slow vs. fast food), art movements (contemporary artists challenging traditional notions of Italy), and family habits (aging family members and grown-up children living at home), they honed their conversational skills, as well as reading and writing abilities, via engaging audio-visual and written materials chosen by the instructor, Matilde Fogliani.

The class experience was enhanced by dynamic lunch talks given by professors from ����vlog and high school teachers, a contributor to the Corriere della Sera, Italian store managers, and experts active in architecture preservation in the local area. The talks provided a rich background to the off-campus tours, which constituted the high point of this course according to the participants.

Students made fresh pasta at Eataly, NY; learned about the values of beauty and creativity inspiring Made in Italy brands at the Scavolini, Gucci, and Dolce & Gabbana stores in Soho; and visited the unique Arte Povera collection on display at Magazzino in Cold Spring, NY. In the course of these visits they were led by young, enthusiastic guides who explained how learning Italian as college students has not only opened a new exciting culture for them, but ultimately careers in art, gastronomy, and fashion.

Designed to prepare students for an advanced or AP class in an interactive environment that allows for individualized attention through both traditional and high-tech tools, this highly affordable course provides students with three college credits that have already been fruitfully expended by incoming college students. Thanks to a steady fundraising campaign, scholarships were assigned to half of the enrolled students. After two years of steady dedication to this innovative project, co-organizers Teresa Fiore (Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies, MSU), Patti Grunther (Watchung Hills High School teacher), and Marisa Trubiano (Associate Professor of Italian, MSU) observed: “This is a galvanizing collaborative effort across educational systems in the U.S. as well as Italian and American institutions, from and the to the . Its continued success rests on the involvement of a larger pool of high schools from NJ and the Tri-State area, beyond the current consortium, as well as on the broader support of the Italian community of donors. We hope that what continues to be the only Italian course for high school students offered on a university campus for college credit in the U.S. can further grow in the future as part of an expanding synergy.”

To learn more about the course see and . For information, please contact inserra@montclair.edu

For partial access to the volume, see .
For more information about Teresa Fiore and her research agenda on migration, culture and trans-nationalism, see profile page.

What did Sicilians eat during the last part of Fascism during WWII, and what did the Allies bring to their diet? Was locals’ access to food extremely challenging across the board or did the anti-Fascist narrative of a deprived Sicily (and Italy by extension) serve the interest of the Allied landing in 1943 with its distribution of packaged and canned foods? Finally, was the perceived and self-perceived condition of destitution a reflection of an exaggerated image of the U.S. as the Land of Abundance that decades of migration from Italy had already created in the minds of the locals?

These are the questions tackled by this in-progress research project about food practices, military operations, and human mobility in Sicily before and after 1943, in part inspired by Leonardo Sciascia’s brilliant novella “The American Aunt” (1958). The project has entailed video-interviews with��ten 90-to-100 year-old residents of Valledolmo, Licata, Gela and Agrigento, who have direct memories of that period, as well as local historians who have published on the subject. The interviews have so far revealed very different perspectives and experiences about food consumption and reaction to the arrival of the Allies and their foods, based on the local residents’ different socio-economic backgrounds, political leanings, and geographical locations, somewhat confirming Sciascia’s adage about truth being always the result of many truths.

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Image credit: Antonino Mazzerbo, painter of “Lo sbarco alleato a Licata” (The Allied landing in Licata, 2016).

Supported by the Angelo and Marie Cali Fund for Italian Studies with matching funds from the Inserra Endowment, the project revolves around a study of food availability and practices in Sicily, at the time of the U.S. troops arrival during WWII, to assess their impact on local mores. The 10-day stay in Sicily includes interviews with senior residents of Valledolmo, Licata, Gela, and Agrigento, who have memories of that period, a visit to a research foundation and an art exhibit, as well as some cooking classes at Case Vecchie (featured above) as part of the background and context for the project. See the full description of the project.

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Kenneth Browne is pursuing the post-BA Certification in Italian through the Adult Learning Program. He holds an MA in Italian from Yale University and has an established record in professional video-making based on interviews and research. As a non-traditional student interested in starting a new career in teaching, Kenneth will bring a wide array of expertise to the project.

Prof. Fiore added that “cultural issues related to Sicily have gradually become a focus of the Italian activities on campus from the performances of playwright Emma Dante and the musicians Fratelli Mancuso to the cooking master class of chef Fabrizia Lanza (Case Vecchie). This focus embraces research in more evident forms at this point, with the publication of an article and possibly videos as the final objectives. And, all of this is possible thanks to our generous donors on campus.”