After a long delay, the much-awaited Master of Arts degree in Italian Studies has been approved by the Academic Senate of the California State University, Long Beach.
Strongly supported by the George L. Graziadio Center for Italian Studies, represented by Chair Clorinda Donato, the new Program will be effective starting in Fall 2014.
The initial proposal was rejected in 2009 due to budget considerations, but a survey carried out throughout Southern California revealed that 90% of the interviewed students were sincerely interested in enhancing their academic career with a M.A. in Italian Studies. “I believe we will start with a student cohort of no less than 10, and possibly as many as 15 in the first year,” said Clorinda Donato.
Thanks to an intense fundraising and promotional activity, over the last decades the George L. Graziadio Center for Italian Studies – founded in 1998 by philanthropists George and Reva Graziadio – has been attracting an increasing number of students, with the opportunity to create different courses. In particular, CSULB is the only University in the State to offer a Single-Subject Credential in Teaching Italian Program, along with a Minor and a Bachelor of Arts in Italian Studies. The new M.A. degree adds up to them, certainly to benefit both the department of Romance, German, Russian Languages and Literatures, and the CSULB College of Liberal Arts.
“The goal of this Master of Arts degree is to provide professional-level coursework in the field of Italian Studies. Italian teachers who want to advance in their career need a Master’s degree, especially today with the demand for advanced placement courses in high school. And also people who work – or would like to work – in the field of arts as well as in international enterprises will find a M.A. in Italian language and culture essential,” underlines Professor Donato.
She also believes that the delayed approval has actually allowed to improve on the program’s structure, and the Center’s commitment and persistence are finally bearing fruit.
The offering of a higher level course in Italian Studies will contribute not only to enhance students’ future opportunities, but also to make CSULB a benchmark for advanced education in language and cultural studies on the West Coast. CSULB French and Italian for Spanish Speakers Initiative has been awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and also the Italian ambassador to the United States Claudio Bisogniero has praised the innovative approach of CSULB Italian Studies Program, as well as its close relationship with the local Italian American community.
The George L. Graziadio Center for Italian Studies, as well as the original Italian Programs, were established with the aim of fostering the knowledge of Italian language, literature and culture in Southern California. Since 2011, the Center has been working in conjunction with local Italian American institutions and associations to organize cultural events such as film screenings, lectures and conferences with the participation of Italian and American scholars. It also provides students with exchange programs and scholarships to study in Italy, in cities like Florence, Venice, Perugia or Siena, among others.
“This Center makes it possible to do things for both students and the College that might not be possible otherwise,” explained its Chair. Among the events recently co-sponsored with other departments were the conference on Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni, and the series of lectures on Language and Social Justice in Italy running from December 6 through Spring 2014.
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