Italian Racism

"Corriere della Sera" publishes today a very interesting article by Antonio Stella. It describes some reactions to Mario Balotelli, a black Italian soccer-player.
A videochat with Stella is scheduled at 4:30 PM (Italian Time).
The last book by Stella is titled Negri, Froci, Giudei & Co. L’eterna guerra contro l'altro.

Federica e-Learning

* An overview: video
* Project: video
* Podcast
* Living Library: video
* campus 3D: video

OpenCourseWare on Dante and Boccaccio

Some day ago, "la Repubblica" published an article by Alessio Balbi about an imminent change in high-education. The article quoted prof. David Wiley who said that Universities "will be irrelevant in 2020" [Deseret News].
The Italian journalist mentioned as an example MIT OpenCourseWare (MIT OCW), an initiative of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to put all of the educational materials from its undergraduate- and graduate-level courses online, free and openly available to anyone and anywhere.
"As of August 2008, of the over 1800 courses available, only 26 included complete video lectures, and not all of these have complete lecture notes. The lack of lecture notes makes it difficult to follow some lectures, for example, when the lecturer is referring to slides being projected in the lecture hall. The selection of available courses is somewhat incomplete. For example, prerequisite classes for a given course are frequently not available. However, the quality of those courses which include complete materials is very high, and many of the lecturers are extremely compelling. The video is available in streaming mode, but may also be downloaded for viewing offline, though the procedure for downloading is not explicitly given. Many video and audio files are also available from iTunes U." [Wikipedia]
Among all 1800 courses, I found the course 'Medieval Literature: Dante, Boccaccio, Chaucer' - Spring 2005 - prof. James Cain
Other universities offering open courses can be found at OpenCourseWare Consortium.

Tu poeta!

Dante Alighieri Society presents a survey about Italian poetry. You are invited to chose the most representative lines. You could add other lines.

Language games

For some extra vocab drills, languagegames.org offers word searches, crosswords and hangman by category, from colors to animals to the weather. These games are effective for students of all ages to reinforce vocab.

Rick Steves's Naples

Why travel guide writer Rick Steves thinks of Naples as Italy in the extreme.

The Screening Room's top 10 Italian films

LESSON IDEA: Students, especially younger ones, tend to know relatively little about Italian cinema. When starting a thematic unit featuring film, brainstorming and google searches can be effective methods of creating a base of knowledge. This CNN.com article (and others like it) on the top 10 Italian films of all time according to a Rome-based film critic could be useful supplementary reading material to make students begin to put the history of Italian cinema into context.

Letteratour

An excellent resource for students of Italian literature, the website Letteratour provides a comprehensive foundation for all levels and areas of interest. Analyses of texts ranging from songs to poems to excerpts from larger works are featured, along with clear definitions and examples of the most prominent literary theories and narrative styles. It is, as the site notes, a "tour" into the world of literature and truly offers a wealth of pertinent information. Upcoming readings and literary discussions around Italy are also listed, and the site offers everything from children's reading activities to word games for the advanced adult.

Biblioteca della letteratura italiana

Biblioteca della letteratura italiana offers digitalized texts in Acrobat Reader format.

Italianistica online

Italianistica online is a project dedicated to the promotion of Italian Studies through "digital humanities", or informatica umanistica, using the Internet as the primary vehicle for research and publication. The site offers articles and critical essays pertinent to present day Italy.

Parola di Donna

The website Parola di Donna provides an open forum for aspiring writers and literary critics alike. Focusing specifically on, but not limited to, the works of women authors, the site seeks to promote a passion for writing and the sharing of ideas. Contributions of all types are encouraged, from poetry to critical essays to short stories.

I dialetti italiani

For those interested in the study of dialectology, this Genovese-Italiano dictionary offers an alphabetical, comprehensive listing of some of the more significant words and idiomatic expressions in both Genovese dialect and standard Italian. LESSON IDEA: As part of a unit on dialects in Italy, or the "questione della lingua" in general, have students write a short paragraph in standard Italian on their daily routine, using the present tense. Then have them use this dictionary (or other similar dictionaries in other dialects) to transform as much of the original text as they can into the dialect in question. If you have access to multiple dictionaries in multiple dialects, the assignment would be even more comprehensive as it would more clearly differentiate not only a particular dialect from the standard Italian, but also the dialect of a specific region from that of another. Students could then compare and contrast words and idiomatic expressions and discuss their origins. This would be appropriate for upper level students of Italian.

Shortcuts to Italian resources online

The University of Toronto's Italian at Erindale website offers shortcuts to a wide variety of Italian resources online. Websites for other universities as well as links to fashion, sport, newspapers, libraries and literature resources are just a click away.

The World of Dante

The University of Virginia's World of Dante website is a useful tool for students of the Divine Comedy. The site is user-friendly and offers a canto by canto breakdown in both English and Italian, as well as interactive maps detailing Dante's journey and the people of note he encounters along the way. Other options include a gallery of illustrations, music and resources for teachers.

La bruttezza e la bellezza di Umberto Eco

Umberto Eco's fascinating journey into the aesthetics of beauty and ugliness explores the ever-changing concept of the beautiful and the ugly from the ancient Greeks to the present day. These two illustrated books consider a range of concepts, including the human body, architectonic proportion, the symbolism of color and the continuing importance of ugliness, cruelty and even the demonic in art, poetry and literature.

What is poetry? by Valerio Magrelli

What is poetry? Listen to the Valerio Magrelli's answer [actually, the first part of a longer CD with 21 explanations /Autore, Barbarismo, Calligramma, Dramatis persona, Explicit, Figura retorica, Gnarus, Hapax, Impegno, Lettore, Musica, Non-sense, Onomatopea, Paronomasia, Quaesitio, Ritmo, Strofa, Tematica, Urgenza, Virgola, and Zeppa/ - The audio file consists of 5 word "autore", "barbarismo", "calligramma", "dramatis persona" and "explicit"].

Podcast Auditorium Parco della Musica

Podcast Auditorium Parco della Musica: journalism, music, literature, and more subjects.

Italian language forum

The Italian language forum allows users to participate in bilingual discussions on both linguistic and cultural issues.

Buon divertimento!

Italian jokes, riddles and puns Lesson idea: This would probably work better for older students, and students with a more advanced level of Italian. Organize a "comedy night" in class, in which each student has to bring in an Italian joke. This could even be a part of an oral exam. Tell students they have to practice timing and delivery of the joke, with emphasis on pronunciation and rhythm. The more props you bring in to make the classroom feel like a real comedy club, the more effective the exercise.

Italian word trivia

For more advanced students of Italian, here are some linguistic hints to improve your vocabulary through crossword puzzles, Scrabble and anagrams. See also the Devil's Italian Dictionary for more wordplay.