UCL CENTRE FOR LANGUAGES
& INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
Course Units 2015-2016
Italian for Art Historians
Prerequisite for entry
Successful completion of Italian Syllabus B at the UCL CLIE or a similar course and have experience of dealing with
relevant authentic material. The course is open to all students who are interested in reading Italian texts related to art
history.
Course duration
20 x 2-hour classes.
Self-Study
80 hours in total.
Course codes
LCIA6801.
Aims and Objectives
The aim of the course is to increase the student’s confidence and speed in reading Italian texts related to History of Art
through reading of authentic material and to help them acquire the necessary skills for this specific use of the language.
Students will be expected to extract subject related information from a variety of authentic Italian sources to
complement their existing knowledge (using a dictionary as required). Students will also be encouraged to develop their
listening abilities.
Language learning skills, including autonomous learning and how to approach authentic material, will be enhanced.
Some transferable skills will also be covered.
Functions
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reading different types of art history sources for main ideas and details;
familiarizing with the stylistic conventions and registers used in this field;
distinguishing information from opinions;
viewing art related programs for in depth and gist, to be able to follow a lecture or guided tour;
evaluating different opinions;
making comparisons;
summarising texts;
evaluating differences.
Course Content
Main topics/themes to be covered
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familiarization of Italian vocabulary used to describe works of art and techniques;
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major Italian cathedrals and basilicas;
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The life and works of major Italian artists: Giotto, Botticelli, Michelangelo and Caravaggio etc.
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Michelangelo sculptor and architect;
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Architecture of 16 and 17 Centuries;
the language used in a catalogue used for an exhibition;
excerpts from Italian art magazines;
reviews of current art exhibitions;
reading primary sources: Vasari Le Vite.
Linguistic Structures
Grammar
Revision throughout the year of all basic Italian grammar with particular emphasis on:
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syntactic functions and terms (e.g. subject, direct object etc);
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the verb tenses most commonly found in writing texts related to Art Historian;
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conjunctions and link words;
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subordinate clauses;
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word order;
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prefixes and suffixes of nouns and adjectives;
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impersonal verb forms ;
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negative forms;
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adjective, comparative and superlative forms;
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adverbs;
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punctuation;
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style and register.
Skills
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Reading for gist and in depth the various primary sources;
Recognize and identify different stylistic registers;
Scanning information in reading and listening;
Summarising;
Translation;
Listening for gist and in depth;
Presentation and short reports.
Learning Resources
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L'italiano attraverso la storia dell'arte, Angelino, M. and Barrain, E. (2006) Guerra Edizioni –
ISBN: 9788877159304
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Il Ragazzini 2015, Dizionario Inglese-Italiano/Italiano-Inglese (Zanichelli) – for reference – ISBN: 9780199564255
– please check with tutor first.
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A selection of authentic material will also be used.
In addition there is a wide range of language learning materials available for self-study in the Self-Access Centre.