ITL
Majors
| Courses
| Skills Assessment
| Ethical Issues
WHAT
SHOULD ITALIAN MAJORS KNOW?
By
the time of their graduation all majors
in Italian language and literature should understand how literary
scholars conduct research and how they then communicate the results
of their work to colleagues. One way of describing this process is “information
literacy” – i.e., the ability to conceptualize what literary
information is needed combined with the skills necessary to locate,
evaluate, and effectively and ethically use this information (please
refer to the final section of this page).
Writing
Intensive Classes
Students
who have taken writing intensive classes should already have learned
the following skills:
-
to define and articulate the need for information and identify a variety
of types and formats of potential sources for information beyond the
web search engine
[AT THE VERY LEAST – students will be able to identify and locate
the two most appropriate types of information needed to complete their
assignment.]
- to
articulate and apply initial criteria for evaluating both the information
and its sources
[AT THE VERY LEAST – students will be able to distinguish between
popular and scholarly materials in a variety of formats such as books,
periodical literature, and websites.]
- to
acknowledge and cite the sources used in conducting research for an
assignment using an acceptable style guide
[AT THE VERY LEAST – students will be able to locate the appropriate
style guide and emergency online help.]
These
skills may be regarded by all students as a base for further study.
Help is available through the Neilson Library Reference Department's
Ask a Librarian options.
Beginning
Italian majors
Students
should build upon this base by applying and expanding their information
skills:
- Apprentice
scholars in Italian language and literature cannot rely solely upon
their own knowledge; they must back up what they say by citing both
the primary text and reliable secondary sources.
- To
understand the historical context of a topic in Italian students must
learn the appropriate use of basic scholarly reference sources such
as the following:
| Source |
Call
Number in Neilson |
| Dictionary
of Literary Biography |
ref
PN 451 .D53 |
| Dizionario
biografico degli Italiani |
ref
CT 1123 .D5 |
| Johns
Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory & Criticism |
ref
PN 81 .J55 2005 |
| Oxford
Companion to Italian Literature |
ref
PQ 4006 .O84 2002 |
| La
Piccola Treccani (12 volumes) |
ref
AE 35 .P53 1995 |
| LIZ
(Letteratura Italiana Zanichelli) CD-ROM database of
primary sources for Italian literature |
reserve
PQ 4201 .L47 2001
+ PQ 4201 .L47 2001 guide |
| Standard
scholarly contemporary and historical Italian language
dictionaries |
-
It is also recommended students learn the use of rhetorical and stylistic
manuals, such as: Bice Mortara Garavelli, Manuale
di retorica (ref PN 183 .G37 2003).
- To
locate scholarly literary sources students need to become skilled
users of standard databases such as (but not limited to) the following:
- Students
should be able to identify the credentials of an author whose work
they are citing.
- Apprentice
literary scholars need to maintain a flexible vocabulary which will
allow them both to alter initial search strategies which prove unsuccessful,
while they are researching, and to understand, support, or refute
an argument, while they are writing.
Seminars
Advanced Italian
majors at the seminar level should be able to:
- Students
should know how to identify the standard scholarly editions of major
writers and to distinguish these from less reliable print or online
sources.
- Students
should be able to trace the development of a literary debate from
its beginnings to the present day.
- Through
the use of book reviews, review articles, and citation databases Italian
majors should be able to defend their use of scholarly materials by
evaluating the reception of such works by others in the profession.
- Advanced
students should be able to apply their skills in using literary databases
such as MLAIB to those resources in other related disciplines such
as Philosophy, Religion, History, Film, the Performing Arts, etc.
IN WHICH CLASSES SHOULD STUDENTS LEARN THESE SKILLS?
| Level |
Appropriate
courses |
| Beginning
|
By
“beginning Italian majors” we mean students enrolled
in Italian 250, a Survey class on Medieval and Renaissance literature,
and in La Dolce Vita, a class looking at different aspects of Italian
cultural tradition. |
| Advanced |
By "advanced Italian majors" we mean students enrolled
in ITL 331/332 (the year-long course on the Divine Comedy), or in
senior seminars and the cinema course. |
IN
WHAT WAYS WILL STUDENT SKILLS BE ASSESSED?
Students
completing work on a paper at the 200 level should submit a bibliography
in which primary and secondary sources listed reflect the use of the
online catalog, at least some scholarly journals through the use of
MLA International Bibliography. Students should be prepared to defend
the credentials of authors cited if asked.
In
300 level seminars in Italian students should routinely cite both
supportive and oppositional arguments from primary and secondary sources
in papers including book reviews or other articles found through the
use of footnotes or citation indexes. The seminar paper might include
an annotated bibliography in which students are asked to indicate
the source of their citation and its relative value to the argument
within the paper.
ETHICAL ISSUES
An
'ethical use of information' means to make a clear distinction between
received knowledge and the production of new knowledge. The incorporation
of the work of others into his or her own must comply with such distinction.
Therefore, every written and/or oral work in the discipline must clearly
state its source, if it has any.
February
10, 2006
Alternate
format available: MS Word file
