NABA’s visual arts program has been designed specifically for Study Abroad Italy students. Program participants will learn both theory and practice through workshops and collaboration with NABA instructors and professionals in the visual arts sector. The objective of “The Italian Kit” is to introduce students to Italian artistic production, with particular attention focused on contemporary creativity, whose core is found in the city of Milan. The culmination of the students’ experiences in Italy will result in a final project, which will communicate the students’ own interpretations of what they have learned in Italy according to their particular cultural codes.
During the program students will partake in a series of guided visits to museums, art galleries, and foundations in Milan and in the most important Italian artistic centers. These excursions will complement the classroom experience and provide further opportunities for cultural enrichment.

Program Components

Module 1: Visual Culture and Contemporary Art History

Credit Hours: 3.0 Contact Hours: 45

A theoretical discussion of visual culture and contemporary art history. Students will learn about the principle artistic movements of the second half of the twentieth century, as well as the new artistic languages created with the help of information technology.

Module 2: “Viaggio in Italia”

Credit Hours: 3.0 Contact Hours: 45

In this section of the program, students will learn both theory and practice as they are invited to create a photographic documentary or graphic drawings that they will then compare with the socio-cultural context in Italy.

Module 3: Expressive Languages

Credit Hours: 3.0 Contact Hours: 45

Theoretical and practical component in which students will explore the interrelations between various expressive languages. Examples of topics to be analyzed are the Alchimia group for design and the “Made in Italy” phenomenon for fashion and architecture.

Module 4: Guided Visits

Credit Hours: 3.0 Contact Hours: 45

Guided visits to the most significant centers of artistic production in and around Milan will form an important part of the Visual Arts program. Students will be taken to museums, galleries, and foundations in order to provide them with a deeper understanding of and direct experience with Italian artistic heritage.

Visits in Milan:
Triennale di Milano
Hangar Bicocca
PAC—Padiglione Arte Contemporanea
Fondazione Marconi

Visits outside Milan:
Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Castello di Rivoli (in Turin)
MART—Museo Arte Contemporaneo di Trento (in Trento)
Collezione Panza di Biumo (in Varese)
Temporary exhibitions in Venice

The 5th module of the semester program is the language course to be chosen, according to the admission requirement, between Italian 101 or Italian 102.

ITALIAN 101 LANGUAGE COURSE
Beginner/Elementary Level Course program

Objectives

After a 45 hours Italian language course students should be able to express themselves in the present and past tense, ask and answer questions about daily life, follow a simple conversation in common situations (in a train, in a café, in a shop, etc.), describe persons and places.

Methodology

In the direct method, the grammar and texts progress in such a way that the teacher can carry out his or her didactic approach directly in Italian, certain of being understood without the aid of translation. The course proceed through mostly communication activities, with conceptual and functional elements of the language gradually introduced. The themes used in the excerpts and reading are always selected in order to support and reflect the gradual learning of the morphosyntactic forms and structures.

Grammatical points covered

The verb to be (essere), this (questo), definite articles, there is and there are (c’è, ci sono)
The verb to have (avere), plural nouns and adjectives, the indefinite article
Regular present tense
Irregular present tense
Demonstrative pronouns and adjectives, comparative, buono, bello, invariable plurals
Simple prepositions
Present perfect (passato prossimo)
Interrogative, ci, superlatives, adverbs of quantity
Reflexive verbs in the present, progressive form
Conversation activities

Situations:
a) Greetings, introductions and identifying oneself
b) Description of common objects and places
c) Explanation of one’s profession, scholastic status, names of the main professions and trades
d) Dialogues and vocabulary relating to cafés and restaurants
e) Description of people and physical features
f) Dialogues and vocabulary relating to markets
g) Vocabulary relating to clothing
h) Street directions, describing the city
Listening comprehension, dictation, summarizing stories

ITALIAN 102 – LANGUAGE COURSE
ADMISSION REQUIREMENT: ITALIAN 101
Intermediate Level Course program

Objectives

After a 45 hours Italian language course students should be capable of using the main grammatical structures, the future tense, the imperfect tense, reflexive and passive forms. The students should be more accurate in the construction of sentences, able to use direct and indirect object pronouns, relative pronouns, impersonal forms … They are therefore able to conduct a conversation on common topics from everyday life (food, travel, sports, etc.) as well as confront more general topics, such as comparing the situation of employment, of education, of study, etc., in Italy with that of their own country.

Methodology

In the direct method, the grammar and texts progress in such a way that the teacher can carry out his or her didactic approach directly in Italian, certain of being understood without the aid of translation. The course proceed through mostly communication activities, with conceptual and functional elements of the language gradually introduced. The themes used in the excerpts and reading are always selected in order to support and reflect the gradual learning of the morphosyntactic forms and structures.

Grammatical points covered
Imperatives, irregular plurals
Simple future tense
Reflexive constructions
Relative pronouns with who (chi)
Imperfect indicative tense
Impersonal si, forms of courtesy, comparatives
Passive constructions
Partitive pronoun ne
Prepositions
Conversation activities

Situations:
a) Arrival in Italy
b) Hobbies and sports
c) Describing everyday activities
d) Trades and professions
e) Trips, vacations, visits
f) Italian cooking
g) Education in Italy
h) Shopping

Excerpts from newspapers and magazines, listening compehension, summarizing stories,dictation.