Department of Italian Studies (NYU)

Department of Italian Studies (NYU)
Name	Department of Italian Studies (NYU)
Parent institution	New York University
Established	19th century
Location	New York City

Department of Italian Studies (NYU) The Department of Italian Studies at New York University is an academic unit within New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science and New York University College of Arts and Science focused on Italian language, literature, culture, and interdisciplinary studies. The department engages with Italianate scholarship across historical periods, connecting to institutions such as Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Columbia University, Princeton University, and Harvard University through collaborations, exchanges, and conferences.

History

The department traces antecedents to 19th-century language instruction influenced by figures associated with Giuseppe Verdi, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Alighieri Dante, and the legacy of Risorgimento cultural mobilizations, and later developed institutional ties to Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, Italian Republic, Kingdom of Italy, Italian American communities in New York City and patrons linked to Agostino Gemelli and Francesco De Sanctis. During the interwar and postwar periods the program expanded under influences comparable to scholars associated with Benedetto Croce, Antonio Gramsci, Umberto Eco, and connections with archives such as Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze and collections related to Michelangelo Buonarroti and Leonardo da Vinci. In the late 20th century the department formalized graduate offerings and forged faculty exchanges with Sapienza University of Rome, Università degli Studi di Bologna, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, and research networks tied to European Research Council grants and partnerships with cultural institutions like Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art.

Academic Programs

The department offers undergraduate majors and minors, graduate programs including M.A. and Ph.D. degrees, and study-abroad options with partner institutions such as Università degli Studi di Padova, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, and programs administered through NYU Florence and NYU Rome. Curriculum spans medieval to contemporary periods covering authors and works connected to Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, Giovanni Boccaccio, Niccolò Machiavelli, Torquato Tasso, Alessandro Manzoni, Cesare Pavese, Italo Calvino, Natalia Ginzburg, Elsa Morante, Umberto Saba, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Primo Levi, Elena Ferrante, and criticism rooted in traditions associated with Formalism, Structuralism, Deconstruction, and commentators like Ernesto Grassi and Guglielmo Ferrero. Courses engage with texts such as Divine Comedy, Decameron, The Leopard, If on a winter's night a traveler, and film histories linked to Neorealism, Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti, Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica, alongside seminars on translation studies referencing translators connected to Edmund Whittemore and critics associated with Cleanth Brooks. Professional paths include museum careers at Guggenheim Museum, publishing with houses akin to Einaudi, cultural diplomacy with United Nations, and archival work with institutions like Archivio di Stato di Roma.

Faculty and Research

Faculty profiles reflect expertise comparable to scholars associated with Benedetto Croce, Umberto Eco, Tullio De Mauro, Giampaolo Bianchi, and cross-appointments linked to departments at Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, School of Law, and Silver School of Social Work. Research clusters investigate medieval studies grounded in manuscripts from Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Renaissance studies tied to Pazzi Chapel, Baroque literature connected to Caravaggio, modernity and fascism-era studies relating to Benito Mussolini, film and media studies in conversation with Venice Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival, and contemporary Italian politics and migration studies linked to European Union policies and diasporic communities like Little Italy (Manhattan). Grants and fellowships include support modeled on Fulbright Program, Guggenheim Fellowship, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and collaborations with archival partners such as Harvard Theatre Collection and New York Public Library.

Facilities and Resources

Physical and digital resources center around Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò located near Washington Square Park and research facilities in Bobst Library, with holdings comparable to special collections like Rare Book Room and access to periodicals such as Il Giornale, Corriere della Sera, and journals tied to Accademia della Crusca. Multimedia classrooms support film screenings of works by Federico Fellini, Roberto Rossellini, and Luchino Visconti, and language labs provide software used in partnerships with digital humanities projects at Institute for the Study of the Ancient World and NYU Digital Library Technology Services. The department participates in exchange libraries and consortia including Interlibrary Loan, collections at Biblioteca Ambrosiana, and manuscript digitization initiatives akin to Europeana.

Student Life and Organizations

Student-run groups and activities connect to campus organizations such as NYU Dramatic Club, Italian Language Association, Italian Cultural Society, and collaborations with cultural events at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Italian Film Festival USA. Extracurriculars include volunteer programs with Italian Benevolent Society, internships at Italian Cultural Institute, student publications modeled after The Washington Square News and study abroad cohorts visiting Florence, Rome, Venice, with community engagement in neighborhoods like Greenwich Village and Little Italy (Manhattan). Annual events feature lectures referencing figures like Italo Calvino, Primo Levi, Elsa Morante, and visiting scholars from Università di Torino and Università degli Studi di Milano.

Notable Alumni and Contributions

Alumni have pursued careers in academia at institutions such as Columbia University, Harvard University, Yale University, and University of California, Berkeley; publishing with houses like Einaudi and Mondadori; film and media work connected to Cinecittà; and public service roles in entities such as United Nations and cultural diplomacy with Istituto Italiano di Cultura. Graduates have contributed scholarship on authors including Dante Alighieri, Giovanni Boccaccio, Italo Calvino, Elena Ferrante, and have curated exhibitions drawing on collections from Metropolitan Museum of Art, Guggenheim Museum, and archival discoveries in Archivio Storico Capitolino.

Category:New York University