Elissa Tognozzi

Editor

Spring 2009

www.aati-online.org

Messaggio del Presidente

(con’t. on p. 3)

Cari soci:

I am writing to you within thirteen months of when the College Board announced to a small group of us that it was considering cancelingthe Advanced Placement Program in Italian if external funding were not made available. As of this past January 6, 2009, the CollegeBoard announced on its website that it was indeed going to discontinue Italian along with three other exams (“Four AP Courses and

Exams Discontinued After the 2009 Administration. 2008-09 will be the final year in which AP French Literature, AP Italian Languageand Culture, AP Latin Literature, and AP Computer Science AB courses and exams will be offered.”). We now find ourselves at thatjuncture.

My remarks in this venue will not discuss the merits of what has happened to date, nor engage in any detailed examination of theminutiae involved. There will be ample time to do so in the near future in constructive conversations with all involved. Here, instead, weneed to look within ourselves as Italian language teachers, parents, members of the Italian, Italian-American, and Italophile communities—those of us who, simply, love all things Italian! We need to be sure that we move forward and do everything we can in order to guaranteethat an Advanced Placement Program in Italian not only survives but, indeed, thrives for decades to come.We have now all had sometime to absorb the news that the College Board has definitively cancelled the Advanced Placement Program in Italian for the academicyear 2009-2010. It is now incumbent upon the larger Italian, Italian-American, and Italophile communities (teaching and non) to take onestep further, a giant one to be sure. We need to come together, assess what this past year has wrought in terms of the strategies adopted,hone those that have proved most beneficial, and develop further a new, more inclusive plan that will lead us to our end goals. Suchstrategies and goals should include, first and foremost:

(1) Raising greater awareness of the AP Program within the larger Italian, Italian-American, and Italophile communities nationwide. AsI write in mid-March, it is ever so clear that there is an awareness gap within our communities;

(2) Working with our Italian-American legislators at all levels of government. This is where our elected officials need to step up to theplate, in a manner similar to what the New York state legislators have done for the past thirty years with regard to Italian-Americanstudies and demographic issues within the City University of New York;

(3) Conducting a fund-raising campaign that, in addition to the grass-roots campaign of this past year, includes direct contact, throughexpert-informative discussions concerning the world of Italian pedagogy and its various aspects, with the numerous individuals,foundations, and companies that hold a deep interest in Italian culture and language here in the United States and who are also in thefinancial position to assist in the cause.

Especially with regard to numbers 1 and 3 above, The Italian Embassy in Washington, DC and its numerous Consulates, EducationalOffices, and Cultural Institutes throughout the United States can serve as sites for such encounters, as they constitute a ready-madenational network. Together with AATI representatives, members of the various Uffici Scolastici, the various “enti gestori” (e.g., theIACE in New York with whom I collaborate), and those such as NIAF, OSIA, UNICO, ILF, ILICA, the network becomes, to a certaindegree, fail-safe.

Newsletter Spring 20092

AATI Officers and Executive Council 2008-2009

Officers—AATIPresident:

Anthony Julian TamburriJohn D. Calandra Italian American Institute25 W. 43rd Street, 17th FloorNew York, N.Y. 10036Tel. (212) 642-2094Fax (212) 642-2008e-mail: anthony.tamburri@qc.cuny.edu

Vice President:

Antonio C. Vitti

Secretary and Treasurer:

Maria Rosaria Vitti-AlexanderNazareth College of Rochester4245 East AvenueRochester, NY 14618-3790Tel. (585) 389-2688Fax (585) 586-2452e-mail: mvittia@naz.edu

Past President:

Paolo GiordanoModern Languages and LiteraturesUniversity of Central Florida4000 Central Florida Blvd.Orlando, FL 32816Tel. (407) 823-2472Fax (407) 823-6261e-mail: pgiordan@mail.ucf.edu

New England (CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT)

Bruna Petrarca BoyleUniversity of Rhode IslandUpper College RoadKingston, RI 02881Tel. (401) 874-5911(o) (401) 738-8457 (h)e-mail: tennisadict@cox.net

New York StateLucrezia Lindia

Department of Foreign LanguagesEastchester Middle/High School580 White Plains RoadEastchester, NY 10707Tel. (914) 793-6130 (o) (203) 869-1314 (h)e-mail: Iglindia@hotmail.com

New York State (con’t.)Giuseppe Faustini

Department of Foreign Languages and LiteraturesSkidmore CollegeSaratoga Springs, NY 12866-1632Tel. (518) 580-5206e-mail: gfaustin@skidmore.edu

Southeast-Southern (NC, SC, VA,

WV, KY, TN, AL, FL, GA, LA, AR, MS, PR)

Mark PietralungaDepartment of Modern Languages and LinguisticsFlorida State UniversityTallahassee, FL 32306-1540e-mail: mpietral@mailer.fsu.edu

Midwest (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI, MN, IA)

Luciano F. FarinaDepartment of French and ItalianOhio State University3590 Grafton Ave.Columbus, OH 43220Tel. (614) 451-0541e-mail: Farina.1@osu.edu

Plains-Southwest (KS, MO, AZ, NE,

ND, SD, NM, OK, TX)

Juliann VitulloSchool of International Letters and CulturesArizona State UniversityTempe, AZ 85287-0202Tel. (480) 965-4624Fax (480) 965-0135e-mail: juliann.vitullo@asu.edu

Rocky Mountains-Far West (CO, ID,

MT, NV, UT, WY, AK, HI, OR, WA)

Madison U. SowellDepartment of French and ItalianBrigham Young University3134 JFSB, Brigham Young UniversityProvo, UT 84602-6706Tel. (801) 422-3220Fax (801) 422-0263e-mail: madison_sowell@byu.edu

CaliforniaAdriana Benvenuto

Granada Hills Charter High School10535 Zelzah AvenueGranada Hills, CA 91344Tel. (818) 360-2361Fax (818) 363-9504e-mail: abenvenuto@ghchs.com

Mid-Atlantic (NJ, PA, DE, MD, DC)

Laura SalsiniDepartment of Foreign Languages and LiteraturesUniversity of DelawareNewark, DE 19716Tel. (310) 831-2749e-mail: lsalsini@udel.edu

CanadaGabriella Colussi Arthur

Associate Lecturer-Italian StudiesDepartment of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics4700 Keele StreetToronto, ON, M3J 1P3, CanadaTel. (416) 736-2100 ext. 3337Fax (416) 736-5623e-mail: gcolussi@yorku.ca

ItalyRoberto Dolci

Dipartimento di scienze del linguaggioUniversità per Stranieri di PerugiaPiazza Fortebraccio 406123 Perugiae-mail: dolci.roberto@unistrapg.it

Ex-Officio MembersAndrea Ciccarelli, Editor Italica

Department of French and ItalianIndiana UniversityBallantine 642Bloomington, IN 47405Tel. (812) 855-6029Fax (812) 855-8877e-mail: aciccare@indiana.edu

Elissa Tognozzi, Editor AATI NewsletterDepartment of Italian, UCLA212 Royce HallLos Angeles, CA 90095-1535Tel. (310) 794-8910Fax (310) 825-9754e-mail: tognozzi@humnet.ucla.edu

Edoardo Lebano, Executive DirectorDept. of French and ItalianIndiana UniversityBallantime Hall 630Bloomington, IN 47405Tel. (812) 855-2508e-mail: elebano@hotmail.com

Salvatore Bancheri

Director of CommunicationDepartment of Language StudiesUniversity of Toronto MississaugaMississauga, Ontario L5L IC6 CanadaTel. (905) 858-5997e-mail: salvatore.bancheri@utoronto.ca

Indiana UniversityDepartment of French and ItalianBallantine Hall 6421020 E. Kirkwood AvenueBloomington, IN 47405e-mail: ancvitti@indiana.edu

3Newsletter Spring 2009

The future of the Advanced Placement Exam in Italian is now literally on the chopping block after only three years in existence. Nowis the time for our greater Italian and Italian-American communities to be candid about the actual status of the Advanced PlacementProgram in Italian and move forward as an integral force. As I had indicated last year, the loss of this program places at a cleardisadvantage those students who have opted for Italian over the so-called canonical languages: those languages that have morecurrency, we’ve been told, within the greater United States collective consciousness.

The College Board’s recent decision to move forward with their original considerations of last April 2008, to discontinue AP inItalian, reiterates the message that Italian is indeed in a category different than French, German, and Spanish, as implicit as thatmessage may be. While it is true that they have, in the words of their January 8, 2009 letter, “suspended” the AP in Italian for “the2009-10 academic year,” let us not gloss over the fact that their communiqué contains absolutely no guarantee that the Program willbe reinstated even if, as they say, “the funding partnerships needed to support an AP Italian program arise.” Their communiquécontinues, in fact, by stating that the “Board of Trustees will consider renewing work to develop and offer the AP Italian course andexam” (emphasis added). We fully understand their use of the verb “consider”; like any commitment of this magnitude, they need tobe cautious. We also fully understand that such caution on their part, in turn, only underscores the urgency for us to be sure thatwe do offer the best guarantee possible that will lead us to our overall mission of securing an Advanced Placement Program in Italian.

The upshot is that, by gathering together our respective professional talents and abilities, we all need to develop further strategies,as I mentioned above, that will lead us to our end goals. In order to expedite this process, as president of the AATI (similar, thoughon a smaller scale, to the April 19, 2008 meeting at the Calandra Institute), I shall urge administrative representatives of nationalassociations of Italian Studies, of Italian-American Culture and Heritage (e.g., NIAF, OSIA, UNICO, ILICA, COPILAS, ILF), and theItalian Embassy in Washington, DC, to come together in the near future, and engage in those necessary preliminary talks we needto have before we move forward and develop, una volta per tutte, a plan for a national campaign that will achieve the goals describedabove.

All of this inevitably speaks to an overall commitment on the part of the Italian and Italian-American lay and professional communitieswith regard to Italian culture and its many facets. As many of us have stated ad nauseam, first and foremost is our language. If wedo not know the language, we simply cannot access a greater part of that culture. Furthermore, for those of us who are children andgrandchildren of those who spent weeks in steerage, a greater knowledge of Italian affords us greater knowledge to the hows andwhys such immigration took place. Namely, we place ourselves in the advantageous position of being able to take possession of ourown history and, in the end, enhance our own self-history.

As both an association and a teaching community, we are at a crossroads of sorts, to be sure. We have the highest enrollmentnumbers ever at both the K-12 and college levels. We also are in greater need of support, moral and financial, to ensure that thesuccess of the last twenty years continues. Such support has numerous potential sources; we simply cannot look in one directiononly. Thus, to be sure, this constitutes one of our newer challenges as Italian Americans: cultural philanthropy. To date, we have notfared well in this regard.

The Italian-American community, especially, must now, more than ever, step up to the plate and support grand projects dedicated tothe imparting of knowledge of our history and culture; and here I have in mind entities such as centers, institutes, and/or museums.This brings us to other areas in dire need of cultural philanthropy: namely, the lack of Italian-American names on (a) college anduniversity libraries, (b) colleges of arts and humanities, and (c) named professorships, just to name a few areas. I cannot underscorethe humanities aspect of this message of mine because in very few places, indeed, do we find the names of our ethnic brethrenassociated with funding the arts, the humanities, named professorships, and Centers for Italian and/or Italian-American studies. Forexample, the funding of the Advanced Placement Program in Italian is as valid an investment as the various medical centers andbusiness schools that carry Italian names.

Such philanthropy geared toward the support of Italian language and culture must be a group effort that results in constructivedialogue among more people and organizations, governmental and not, now more than ever before. We need to embark on this newjourney in continued and congenial dialogue while eschewing any counterproductive politics of denigration and dismissal. As I saidbefore in a message to the AATI list-serve, you have all worked assiduously and selflessly over the years in your efforts to maintainan excellence in teaching and research at all levels and in all areas of Italian studies. The fruits of such labors simply must be broughtto harvest in the most expeditious of manners.

(con’t. on p. 4)

Newsletter Spring 20094

At the risk of repeating myself, I shall closethis piece as I did with a blog last year onthe portal i-Italy.org. Italian cultureextends beyond the realm of fashion andfood! In underscoring the significance ofItalian cultural artifacts throughout thecenturies, I point to France’s Musée duLouvre, one of that country’s mostgrandiose, prized possessions (one thatis chock full of art from every corner ofthe world), which is ubiquitouslyrepresented by the icon of an Italian oilpainting that measures 30 × 21 inches. Abig job for such a small painting!

Alla riscossa!

2008 AATI College Contest Winners

AATI is proud to announce the winners of the 2008 College Contest.

The Italian Essay winner is Jillian Leigh Schouten, a senior from NorthwesternUniversity under Professor Giulia Guidotti. The paper was written for her course304 Modern Italian Cultural Studies: The Scene of the Crime in Italian Cinema.The title of Ms. Schouten’s paper is: “ :eroma nu id acanorC ovvero: uno studio deltempo invertito e neorealista com’P visto in Cronaca di un amore di MichelangeloAntonioni: la sfida contro la cronologia e il rapporto causa-effetto.”

The winner of the English Essay is Maria Iuppa, a senior at the University of NotreDame du Lac under Professor John Welle. Her paper was written as a senior honorsthesis. The title of her paper is: “Damsels and Tyrants: ‘Social Impegno’ in PietroGermi’s Sedotta e abbandonata.”

Congratulations to both winners and many thanks to the selection committee:Giancarlo Lombardi (The College of Staten Island of CUNY), Colleen Ryan-Scheutz( Indiana University), Marisa Trubiano (Montclair State University).

5Newsletter Spring 2009

The Distinguished Teacher Award for 2008 was presented to BrunaPetrarca Boyle at the 2008 ACTFL Conference in Orlando, Florida.

Bruna was born in Fornelli, Italy, in the region of Molise where shecompleted her elementary school education before moving to the UnitedStates in 1965. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degreefrom the University of Rhode Island in Secondary Education with aconcentration in Italian, Spanish and French. She also received twoFulbright Scholarships for study at the UniversitB Italiana per Stranieridi Perugia in Perugia, Italy.

Bruna is Director of the AATI National Italian High School ContestExamination, author of the Teacher’s Guide for AP Italian, was a memberof the Task Force Committee for the AP Italian Language and CultureCourse, and is the author of four AP Workbooks and a reader, Mi

diverto con Gianluigi.

She was the chairperson of the Foreign Language Department atNarragansett High School in Rhode Island where she taught Italianand Spanish for 31 years. The Rhode Island Foreign LanguageAssociation selected her as “Foreign Language Teacher of the Year” in1993. She is now a lecturer in Italian at the University of Rhode Island.

In 2008, Bruna served as President of the Rhode Island Teachers ofItalian and Regional Representative of AATI (American Association ofTeachers of Italian). She also has organized and presented numerouspedagogical sessions at state and national conferences including theAmerican Association of Teachers of Italian (AATI), American Councilon the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), Northeast Conferenceof Teachers of Foreign Languages (NECTFL), Rhode Island ForeignLanguage Association (RIFLA), and the Rhode Island Teachers of Italian(RITI).

AATI Distinguished Teacher Award

Bruna Petrarca Boyle

AATI College Essay Contest 2009

Si comunica il bando di concorso per il miglior saggio redatto da studenti undergraduate nei college e nelle universitB del Nord America.Vorremmo invitare tutti i colleghi a presentare i migliori saggi dei loro studenti perché vengano considerati per questo prestigiosoriconoscimento.

* Gli argomenti dei saggi coprono questioni di lingua, letteratura, cinema e cultura italiana.* I saggi possono essere sia in inglese che in italiano poiché verranno consegnati due premi distinti di $500, uno per ciascuna lingua.* I saggi, di 6-10 cartelle (doppia interlinea), devono essere composti durante l’anno accademico e devono essere consegnatielettronicamente entro il 1 giugno 2009 (in Word, “formato MLA).* I saggi devono essere proposti direttamente da professori regolarmente iscritti all’AATI.* I saggi devono essere accompagnati dal Cover Sheet (www.aati-online.org/documents/high_school/cover_sheet.doc).

I risultati del concorso verranno comunicati entro il 15 settembre 2009 e la premiazione avrB luogo al convegno annuale AATI @ACTFL(San Diego, California, 20-22 novembre 2009)

Comitato di selezione: Giancarlo Lombardi (The College of Staten Island of CUNY), Colleen Ryan-Scheutz ( Indiana University), MarisaTrubiano (Montclair State University).

Per ulteriori informazioni e eventuali proposte contattare Giancarlo Lombardi at glombardi@gc.cuny.edu

Newsletter Spring 20096

RE-INSTATING THE AP

ITALIAN EXAMBy Ida L. Lanza

I am forwarding to you, the members ofAATI, the letter that I sent to my southernCalifornia colleagues when the CollegeBoard announced the suspension of theAP exam for 2009-2010.

By now we have all received the sad newsthat the AP Italian exam has beensuspended for the 2009-2010 academicyear.  We have all been working sodiligently to get our AP numbers up, butas we have all read in the AP news release,and in Margaret Cuomo’s letter to the TaskForce leaders, the present economicrecession has had a detrimental impact onthe amount of both private andgovernmental assistance the ItalianLanguage Foundation has received.  I justhave one thing to say: NOW IS NOT

THE TIME TO GIVE UP!! 

 

The letter has one important word in it“suspended” not “cancelled.”  We have

been given the gift of time:  time to rally

our troops, time to press for more fundsfrom foundations, governments and theprivate sector, time to prepare moreteachers to teach AP Italian, time toencourage more students to take Italian4/5 or AP in 2011.  We need to have a solidframework in place so that students whodo not have Italian in school, but whoknow Italian can easily take the test.  Theseminar we had at UCLA should berepeated around the country in every statewhen the test returns (yes, I said when

not if)! In the up coming academic year we needto focus on the following objectives: 1. We need to work together to get anInternet version of the test so that theoverhead costs for the exam areminimized.  (Chinese and Japanese haverelatively small numbers of test takers, yettheir tests were not cancelled because theirtests are already digitized.) 

2. The monies that have been donatedand will continue to be donated shouldbe targeted towards this goal along withteacher preparation

3. Professional development for APItalian teachers is extremely importantand should continue full-force, becausethere were many schools that did notoffer AP Italian either because theirprograms were too new or because theteachers did not feel up to the task ofteaching an AP class.  In other cases, APcould only be offered as a split class andI know from first-hand conversationswith many teachers that they haverefused to teach split classes. 

4. Rather than rejecting split classes, weneed to work together to create strategiesand techniques for effectively teachingsplit classes. 

5. As many Italian HS teachers aspossible need to attend the ACTFLconference in November in San Diego,so we can work together to come up withmore strategies for increasing the numberof students who reach level 4/5 of Italianby senior year of HS. Ida L. Lanza, Italian InstructorSan Pedro High School, San Pedro, CAHead of the Italian Language Task Forcefor Southern California 

Semester Programs in Taormina, Sicily

For more than 2500 years, Sicily has shared its spirit with travellers from many lands. Situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, Sicilyhas served as a meeting place and a bridge for three continents, each of which has contributed to Sicily’s unique history and culture.Our study abroad programs in Sicily reflect Sicily’s magnificently rich 2500 years of knowledge, poetry, art and traditions. We wouldlove to welcome you to our Italian language school in Taormina, Sicily for an unforgettable cultural and learning experience. For additional information or to enroll, please contact our Academic Advisor in U.S.:

Donnamarie Kelly PignoneU.S. tel/fax: (+1) 603-894-5552cell (+1) 978-828-3228studyabroad@studiareitaliano.com  - www.study-abroad-programs-italy.com

BABILONIA - Centro di lingua & cultura italianavia del Ginnasio, 20 - 98039 Taormina, Sicilia, ITALIA

tel/fax in Italy (+39) 0942.23441info@babilonia.it – www.babilonia.it

7Newsletter Spring 2009

SocietB Dantesca Italiana. From left to

right: Kleinhenz, Enrico Ghidetti,

President of the SocietB Dantesca

Italiana, Eugenio Giani, Assessore alla

Cultura of Florence.

Si P celebrato a Firenze il 120° anniversariodalla nascita del pij prestigioso centro distudi su Dante, la SocietB DantescaItaliana. Per l’occasione si sono tenute aPalazzo Vecchio il 20 e 21 novembre varieiniziative con i pij importanti dantisti delmondo.

L’appuntamento P stato nel Salone deiCinquecento: dopo i saluti del sindacoLeonardo Domenici e dell’assessore allacultura Eugenio Giani P stato consegnatoil Fiorino d’Oro ai professori Enrico Ghidetti(presidente della SocietB Dantesca),Chrtistopher Kleinhenz, François Livi,Karlheinz Stierle, Winfried Wehle.

Il Fiorino d’Oro awarded

to

Christopher Kleinhenz

L’Istituto Italiano di Cultura

di Napoli: cultura e civiltBBBBB

L’Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Napoli(www.istitalianodicultura.org; ici@istitalianodicultura.org) esiste dal 90, nellastorica sede de “la Cittadella”, ed Pattualmente diretto da Roberto Pasanisi.

Sin dall’inizio, in tempi non ancóra sospetti,l’Istituto ha concepito la cultura nel suosenso pij ampio, vivificata cioP daprofonde implicazioni civili e sociali. Esso,nel corso della sua attivitB, ha assuntosempre di pij, accanto a quella primaria(letteraria e culturale), una funzione civile,di luogo di dibattito e di aggregazione diquella che oggi viene chiamata la ‘societBcivile’; di laboratorio politico, nel sensoetimologico del termine (idest come ‘scienza

del cittadino’), ma sempre super partes

(anzi: contra partes).

L’Istituto P improntato ai criterî diun’autentica ed incondizionata democraziae vicino, sul piano ideologico, alla Scuolafilosofica di Francoforte (Adorno, Marcuse,Löwenthal, Fromm, Horkheimer).

Christopher Kleinhenz (ProfessorEmeritus d’Italiano all’UniversitB diWisconsin-Madison) ha ricevuto il premio“Fiorino d’Oro,” dato dalla SocietBDantesca Italiana e dalla cittB di Firenzeper aver dato un maggior contribuitonello studio delle opere del poetafiorentino nel mondo.

“La Dantesca oggi - ha spiegato Ghidetti,che ha presentato varie iniziative insiemeall’assessore comunale alla culturaEugenio Giani e al vicepresidenteGiancarlo Garfagnini - non P soloun’accademia per studiosi ma anche unasocietB che offre tante iniziative culturalirivolte a tutti. Ricordo, tra l’altro, unabiblioteca di oltre 24 mila volumi,manoscritti e documenti su Dante, sulmedioevo, la filologia e l’italianistica,aperta a tutti e consultabile anche online”.

È possibile leggere l’intero articolofacendo una ricerca per “Kleinhenz” al sitowww.ilreporter.it.

L’Istituto pubblica la rivistainternazionale di poesia e letteratura“Nuove Lettere”, la sua versionetelematica “Nuove Lettere Elettroniche”(NLE) e, nell’Bmbito delle ICI Edizioni,cinque collane editoriali (poesia,narrativa e saggistica); organizza ilPremio Internazionale di Poesia eLetteratura “Nuove Lettere” ed un Corsodi Scrittura Creativa, in sede (CSC) ed ADistanza (LESC). Comprende tre settori:il CISAT (Centro Italiano Studî Arte-

Terapia)

www.centrostudiarteterapia.org;cisat@centrostudiarteterapia.org), chesvolge attivitB di psicoterapia, di ricercae di Formazione nel campo dell’Arte-Terapia e della psicologia in genere,anche A Distanza (FAD), ed organizzaannualmente un Convegnointerdisciplinare; il Libero Istituto

Universitario Per Stranieri “Francesco

De Sanctis” (LIUPS), con Corsi ancheA Distanza (LIUPS-AD); e la Scuola di

Politica “Guido Dorso”, che pubblica larivista telematica “Politiké”. L’Istituto,talvolta in collaborazione con altri enticulturali, organizza per tutto il corsodell’anno, nell’Bmbito del proprio annoaccademico, una continuativa edaltamente qualitativa attivitB culturale,

esplicantesi in una serie di convegni,conferenze, incontri, lezioni, presentazionie tavole rotonde, su tematiche culturali epolitologiche.

Il Comitato scientifico dell’Istituto Pcomposto da: Constantin Frosin (Linguae Letteratura francese, UniversitB“Danubius”, Galati; scrittore), AntonioIlliano (emerito, Lingua e Letteraturaitaliana, University of North Carolina atChapel Hill), Roberto Pasanisi (Lingua eLetteratura italiana, UniversitB Statale perle Relazioni Internazionali MGIMO,Mosca; direttore, Istituto Italiano diCultura di Napoli; direttore, “NuoveLettere”; scrittore), Vittorio Pellegrino(neuropsichiatria emerito, giB Direttore delServizio d’Igiene Mentale, UniversitB diNapoli “Federico II”), Mario Susko(Letteratura americana, State University ofNew York, Nassau; scrittore), NásosVaghenás (Teoria e critica letteraria,UniversitB di Atene; scrittore) e NguyenVan Hoan (Letteratura italiana e Letteraturavietnamita, UniversitB di Hanoi). Ne hannofatto parte dall’inizio fino alla prematurascomparsa gli scrittori Dario Bellezza,Franco Fortini (giB ordinario di Storia dellacritica all’UniversitB di Siena) e GiorgioSaviane. Adriana Rivolta

Newsletter Spring 20098

ANTHONY TAMBURRI

PRESIDENT

Tamburri has published more than eighty articles and book chapters on Italian and Italian/American literature and film injournals such as American Journal of Semiotics, Campi immaginabili, Esperienze letterarie, Italica, L’Asino d’oro,Riscontri, and Segni e comprensione. His authored books, in turn, include: Of Saltimbanchi and Incendiari: Aldo

Palazzeschi and Avant-Gardism in Italy (1990); To Hyphenate or not to Hyphenate: the Italian/American Writer: Or, An

“Other” American? (1991); Per una lettura retrospettiva. Prose giovanili di Aldo Palazzeschi (1994); A Reconsideration

of Aldo Palazzeschi’s Poetry (1905-1974): Revisiting the “Saltimbanco” (1998); A Semiotic of Ethnicity: In (Re)cognition

of the Italian/American Writer (1998); A Semiotic of Re-reading: Italo Calvino’s “Snow Job” (1999); Italian/American

Short Films & Videos: A Semiotic Reading. (2002); Semiotics of Re-reading: Guido Gozzano, Aldo Palazzeschi, and

Italo Calvino (2003; in Italy as Una semiotica della ri-lettura: Guido Gozzano, Aldo Palazzeschi, e Italo Calvino

[2003]); Narrare altrove: ovvero diverse segnalature letterarie (2007); and Una semiotica dell’etnicità: nuove

segnalature per la scrittura italiano/americana (2009).

With Paolo A. Giordano and Fred L. Gardaphé he is contributing co-editor of From The Margin: Writings in Italian

Americana (1991; 2nd edition, 2000) and co-founder of Bordighera Press, publisher of Voices in Italian Americana,Italiana, and two book series, VIA FOLIOS and CROSSINGS, as well as THE BORDIGHERA POETRY PRIZE. Other edited volumesinclude: with Giordano, Beyond the Margin: Readings in Italian Americana (1998); with Anna Camaiti Hostert, Screening

Ethnicity: Cinematographic Representations of Italian Americans in the United States (2002; in Italy as Scene

italoamericane [2002]).

Born in Stamford, CT (1949) of Ciociaro and Faetano origins,ANTHONY JULIAN TAMBURRI is Dean of the John D. CalandraItalian American Institute and Professor of Italian andComparative Literature. He is past president of the AmericanItalian Historical Association and executive producer and hostof Italics. The Italian-American TV Magazine. He has servedas President of AATI since 2008.

Tamburri’s degrees are from Southern Connecticut StateUniversity (BS, Italian & Spanish), Middlebury College (MA,Italian), University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D., Italian &Spanish). He has taught both Italian and Spanish at the high-school level; Italian language and literature at Smith,Middlebury, and Auburn; and Italian and Italian/Americanstudies at Purdue, before moving to Florida Atlantic where heserved first as Chair of Languages & Linguistics, Dean forResearch, Graduate, and Interdisciplinary Studies, as well asDirector of the Ph.D. Program in Comparative Studies.

9Newsletter Spring 2009

.

REGIONAL NEWSNew York State

by Prof. Giuseppe Faustini Skidmore College

With more than 200 private and publicstate colleges and universities within theState of New York, the enrollments inItalian seem to be on the increase andnumerous post-secondary institutionshave established very active programsinvolving also the local Italian-Americancommunity. Among the several collegesand universities with very active and vitalprograms in Italian studies, we mustacknowledge and recognize The StateUniversity of New York at Stony Brookeunder the masterful direction of Prof.Mario Mignone, Columbia Universitywith its varied scholarly lectures at theItalian Academy, New York Universityand The Casa Zerillo-Marimb , andQueens College and its public culturalcenter at the Calandra Institute under theleadership of Prof. Anthony Tamburri. Iwould like to also single out a fewprograms where Italian has beenincreasing at a steady pace such as atNazareth College of Rochester, under thecapable direction of Prof. Maria RosariaAlexander-Vitti, where they enroll morethan 150 students per semester and haveestablished study abroad programs inFirenze and at Pescara. In conjunctionwith their Italian program, NazarethCollege enjoys a multitude of culturalactivities sponsored by their CasaItaliana. At Syracuse University, theItalian Major and Minor are very strongand they service more than 200 studentsjust in their first-year Italian course. After41 years as a dedicated scholar andteacher, Professor Augustus Pallottaretired in December of 2008. As a scholarof modern Italian literature, Pallottaserved as Editor of Symposium: A

Quarterly Journal in Modern

Literatures, and he recently published avoluminous study on Alessandro

Manzoni: A Critical Bibliography 1950-

2000 (Pisa: Serra, 2008). Professor StefanoGiannini has joined the Syracuse faculty

and he also has recently published a studyon Piero Chiara and Lucio Mastronardi:La musa sotto i portici (Pagliai Editore:Firenze, 2008).

Throughout New York state, Italianprograms at colleges and universitycontinue to prosper and expand theircourse offerings, particularly in Italiancinema and on women writers. At ColgateUniversity, Professor Luca Caminatiinforms us that they now serve more than80 students per semester, and they willsoon offer a Minor in Italian. The Italianenrollments at Skidmore College continueto increase and, for several years, we havemore than 230 students annually, taughtby three full-time faculty members. Similarincreases in Italian enrollments are takingplace at colleges across this state, atVassar, Marist, Bard, Ithaca, and at CornellUniversity, among others. At Buffalo State,more than 160 students study Italian eachsemester and they have established anactive Amici d’Italia Club, which hosts avariety of cultural activities: i.e., Prof.Andrea Guiati’s very popular SummerItalian Film Festival (Cinema sotto le

stelle), under the sponsorship of thecollege and local businesses. More than600 people are present at each filmshowing. This is an excellent way to bridgeItalian Departments with the localcommunity.

At the High School level, we often receiverequests for teachers of Italian due toretirements or an expanding program.There are numerous Italian communitiesthroughout the state, from Long Island tothe capital district to Syracuse and theRochester/Buffalo areas, but severalschool districts do not offer instruction inItalian. After extensive hard work byeducators and business people, theSaratoga Springs High School now offersinstruction in Italian. In addition toinstruction in Italian at the secondary andpost-secondary levels, there is constantrequest for teaching Italian for adults inevening and weekend classes. Colleaguesand friends throughout the Empire stateare somewhat pleased with the currentstate of Italian studies. Nevertheless,

there are Italian communities where Italianis still not taught, and there is always needfor aggiornamento courses as well asscholarships for students to study Italianin colleges/universities and for attendingprograms in Italy. In conclusion, we toocan say with padre Dante that we havereached the point where we can shout: “a

riveder le stelle.”

New Jersey

Chapter of AATIEvents of 2008-2009

by Cathy Vignale

The Primo Incontro Workshop was heldon September 13, 2008, at RutgersUniversity in collaboration with theDepartment of Italian. The openingremarks were made by Dr. Elizabeth Leake,professor of Italian at Rutgers and byCathy Vignale, President of ITANJ.

The morning session was presented byITANJ member Rina Miraglia on Italian

through Invention: Science and Art –

Leonardo da Vinci. Participants receivedProfession Development Hours. Theafternoon session was a presentation byDr. Margaret Cuomo of the ItalianLanguage Foundation, Inc. to kick off theRilancio dell’AP for educators andadvocates of the Italian language and thecreation of the AP Italian Task Force forNew Jersey. Task Force leaders and teamswere formed. Other invited guestsincluded Dr. Anthony Tamburri, AATIPresident and Dean of the CalandraInstitute, Dr. Mary Ann Re director of theCoccia Institute, Dr. Alfio Russo of theEducation Office of the Italian Consulatein New York City and Dr. Andrea Barbaria,of the then Vice Consulate which is nowa full-fledged Italian Consulate in Newark,New Jersey.

For 2009, ITANJ has been awarded a$1,000 grant from the American Society

of the Italian Legion of Merit (ASILM)to continue its promotion of the Italianlanguage and culture in the Garden State.The Chair of the Charities Board is theformer Ambassador to Italy “ Cav. di granCroce” Peter F. Secchia.

Newsletter Spring 200910

For the past three years, ITANJ has co-sponsored a series of three verysuccessful lectures at Caldwell College:Focus on Sicily. Participants receivedProfessional Development Hours. Thethird lecture on January 24, 2009 was onthe Sicilian Baroque: Lights andShadows, by Gaetano Salemi, Ph.D. Dr.Salemi creates specialized tours of Sicilyfor clients such as NIAF.

ITANJ’s ninth annual Giorno del retaggio

is scheduled for Friday, April 3, 2009. Thisyear’s theme is la Commedia dell’arte: le

maschere e i loro dialetti. This event willbe held at Montclair State University incollaboration with the Coccia Institute forthe Italian Experience in America and theAMICI Student Group. This is anopportunity for high school and middleschool students of Italian to showcasewhat they have learned.

The third annual Italian Essay Contest isin progress with a $500.00 prize for thewinner. Only seniors in Levels IV, V, or APItalian are eligible. The winner will beannounced at the Giorno del retaggio onApril 3, 2009.

There is also a Poetry Recitation in theworks for the month of May.

The Borsa di Studio to the UniversitB perStranieri di Siena for a six-week intensivesummer session for 2009 is also underway.High school Juniors and Seniors areeligible to participate and are selected onthe bases of an essay, grades in Italianand overall grades. We hope to be able tosend two students again this summer.

Montclair State University

Study Abroad

The Italian Program at Montclair StateUniversity is pleased to announce itsparticipation in a new study-abroadprogram in Florence, Italy, May 16 - June27, 2009. The program, Montclair inFlorence, will be run in conjunction withArizona State University, making itpossible to register for Italian languagecourses at various levels. Students fromany university may apply for the program.Please announce this program to yourstudents at all levels. Thank you.

David Del Principe(delprinciped@mail.montclair.edu)

The full program announcement andapplication packet can be found atwww.montclair.edu, searching for“International Summer Institutes”.

Societa’ Onoraria Italica

Annual Report 2007-2008

The SocietB Onoraria Italica, TheNational Honor Society for High SchoolStudents, is sponsored by the AmericanAssociation of Teachers of Italian. Thepurpose of this program is to giverecognition to achievements in Italianas well as to promote a greaterunderstanding and appreciation ofItalian culture and civilization.

During the school year 2007-2008, 3,078high school students from 176 schools in15 states across the country wereaccepted as members of the SocietB

Onoraria Italica.

Italian American History

Generates Awareness

and AcceptanceBy Janice Therese Mancuso

 The AATI website lists about 650 highschools in the United States with Italianlanguage programs.* In the Digest ofEducation Statistics, from the U.S.Department of Education, Table 96 shows19,252 regular secondary schools(averaging 819 students per school) for2005-2006 (latest data). Based on thesefigures, a little over 3 percent of secondaryschools in the United States offer an Italianlanguage program. Table 95 of the Digest of EducationStatistics, shows 65,163 regular elementaryschools (averaging 479 students perschool). Adding elementary and

secondary students totals almost 47million children in regular public schools.The potential for these children to learnabout Italian American history and gainan interest in Italian language and cultureis enormous. The lack of education in Italian Americanhistory in both elementary and secondaryschools should be a major cause forconcern. If children – Italian Americansand other nationalities – learn aboutItalian American history, they will have abetter understanding and respect forItalian American heritage. Later, as adults,they’ll be less likely to denigrate ItalianAmericans.

The best way to teach children aboutItalian American history is in school, andcurriculum can be developed so childrenmay use a variety of multimedia learningtools. Thirty-One Days of Italians, aneasily navigated website, providesnumerous resources for studentsinterested in learning about ItalianAmerican history. Teachers will find ideasfor lesson plans that correlate to gradesand time periods in history. For moreinformation visit http://home.earthlink.net/~31italians/ or contactJanice at 31italians@earthlink.net.

New Faculty Member at

Arizona State UniversitySchool of International Letters and

Cultures 

Siamo lieti di annunciare che dall’agostopassato la facoltB d’italiano P stataincrementata e rafforzata dall’arrivo delcollega Michelangelo Picone che si Ptrasferito qui dall’UniversitB di Zurigo.

Pier Raimondo Baldini

*(The list on the AATI website is notcomplete at all.)

11Newsletter Spring 2009

News from ITA-AATIby Lucrezia Lindia

This year staff development for teachersin our area focused on setting standardsas an important component betweenraising academic standards and studentassessment. In addition, with thegenerous help of the AmericanAssociation of Teachers of Italian (AATI),The Italian American Committee onEducation (IACE), The Italian LanguageFoundation, Inc. (ILF), and The EducationOffice of the Consulate General of Italy,we organized several workshops at theNew York City Consulate with the intentof saving the AP Italian exam. We aredeeply appreciative of all who contributed.The following workshops were held:1. September 20, 2008. A general overviewwas presented to the AP Task ForceVolunteers;2. November 15, 2008. Bruna Boyle, IreneMarchegiani, Samuel Ghelli, and VitoRecchia gave substantive presentationsincluding practical suggestions forpreparing students for the AP exam;3. December 3, 2008. Lucrezia Lindia, VitoRecchia and Josephine Maietta sharedwith all Principals and Foreign LanguageSupervisors of the New York City PublicSchools their classroom experiences onhow to launch a new Italian program intheir schools; and4. January 10, 2009. La Guardia HighSchool, held a workshop focused on“Technology in the Italian LanguageClassroom”.Despite the fact that the Italian AP Examwill be discontinued for 2010, we’ve madeexcellent progress in developing ourteaching skills, heightening awarenessabout Italian language and culture, andgrowing the number of students studyingla bella lingua. We will continue topromote our language and culture in ourschools and in our communities. We alsoknow that the major building block behindthis task is our teachers. Therefore, wewill continue to create a coordinatedprogram of teacher professionaldevelopment and seek to obtain fundingfor staff development. Nothing canhappen without the full involvement ofthe teacher. They are the “unsung heros.”For them: sempre avanti!

AAUSC Membership

Calling all coordinators - all involved in curriculum development, teaching training, andpedagogical or linguistic research for Italian Studies in North America and beyond!

Become a member of the Amercian Association of University Supervisors andCoordinators and reap the numerous benefits of membership (including an elegant anduseful volume published by Heinle each year on a different aspect of language programsupervision and coordination) for only $25.

Please visit www.aausc.org now and become a member. The AAUSC sponsors sessionsapplicable to Italian program coordination at all AATI, AAAL, and MLA conferences.

Newsletter Spring 200912

News from CaliforniaSpring 2009

by Adriana Benvenuto

California has enjoyed a recent wave ofinitiatives including teacher credentialing,presentations at conferences for foreignlanguage teachers, the formation of an APItalian task force and other cultural events.

Initiated by Prof. Teresa Fiore and Prof.Clorinda Donato among others, CaliforniaState University Long Beach haslaunched an Italian teacher credentialprogram which includes opportunities foronline classes. Teachers who are not inSouthern California can also completerequired credits online to earn a teachingcredential in Italian.

For the first time in at least six years,teachers of Italian in California united topresent six sessions and workshops atCLTA in Sacramento. A wide range oftopics was shared and teachers of Italianleft Sacramento with a full bag of resourcesto apply immediately in their Italianclasses. It is very encouraging to seeteachers sharing their common practicesand learning from one another. I am proudto say that this high number ofpresentations in Italian is the result of one-to-one dialogue to motivate others topresent. This helps to keep the Italianlanguage and culture alive and to fightsome stereotypes about Italian culture. Itis hoped that every teacher who attendedCLTA will present next year to keep ourcommunity growing.

Even though Italian programs in highschool are saddened by College Board’sdecision to discontinue the AP ItalianProgram, efforts are still being made toexpand Italian programs at the high schoollevel. Schools like Granada Hills CharterHigh School have proposed an ItalianFour Honors class to those students whowere planning to take AP Italian. That willbe added to a program that already haslevels one to three honors and regularcourses. Teachers who wish to writeproposals for honors classes and mayneed support are welcome to contact meat abenvenuto@ghchs.com.

In attempts to promote and expand thenumber of students taking AP Italian andin order to continue offering suchprograms, Margaret Cuomo motivated IdaLanza from San Pedro High School to takean active role in the AP Task Force. Therewere meetings held in person andaccessible as well by teleconference anda project was born in conjunction withFondazione Italia. As a result,  high schoolstudents from schools where Italian is notoffered have signed up to take the APItalian exam and Fondazione Italiaprovided them with an optional workshopto prepare them for the May 13, 2009 exam.

Students from several schools, San PedroHigh school, Venice High and GranadaHills Charter High School had theopportunity of participating in culturalprograms such as the Italian movie festivalheld in Hollywood and Santa Monica inOctober and February, an operaperformance live from Milano at a movietheatre in Beverly Hills and numerouspresentations at the Italian CulturalInstitute in Westwood.

Supporters of Italian programs continueto motivate our young students and forthe first time, the Department of Educationand the Italian Consulate launched anessay contest entitled Scrivo in Italiano.Adriana Koek from Granada Hills CharterHigh School received an award for heressay in October at a ceremony in whichrepresentatives from the consulate andfrom the state were present.

FONDAZIONE ITALIA

BREAKS NEW

GROUND IN 2008by Paolo Miliozzi, Ph.D., President

Last year the Fondazione Italia establishedItalian programs in fourteen elementaryand middle schools across SouthernCalifornia and Arizona. One of theprograms that received an Italiangovernment grant through FondazioneItalia that deserves particular attention isthe creation on of Italian dual-languageimmersion program at Franklin Elementaryto be launched in the fall. “An Italian-English bilingual education for our

children is a dream come true for the Italiancommunity in Southern California” saysDr. Simona Montanari, Professor ofLanguage Development and SecondLanguage Acquisition at California StateUniversity, Los Angeles, and member ofFondazione Italia’s Advisory Board. (Forinformation on how to enroll your child inthis program contact Dr. Montanari atsmontan2@calstatela.edu).

Another Fondazione Italia initiativebrought together twenty Italian-speakinghigh school students at UCLA for aWorkshop on the Advanced Placement inItalian (AP). The workshop was presentedby Prof. Elissa Tognozzi, Director ofLanguage Studies at the UCLA ItalianDepartment, Ida Lanza, Italian Instructorat San Pedro High School, and AdrianaBenvenuto, Italian Instructor at GranadaHills High School. Given these students’desire to take the AP Italian exam in May2009, a ten-week AP Review Course wasset up and began on February 14th at theItalian Institute of Culture.

The Education Office at the ConsulateGeneral of Italy in Los Angeles hopes thatsimilar initiatives will be duplicated acrossthe United States. In addition to Italiangovernment funds assigned toFondazione Italia each year severalorganizations sustained our mission andprograms throughout 2008 withdonations. We would like to thank Diller-Von Furstenberg Foundation, NIAF, theSan Gennaro Foundation, PinnacleCommunications, the Orange CountyAmerican Italian RenaissanceFoundation, the Marisa AntoniniFoundation, the Associazione Pugliese delSud, Federated Italo-Americans ofSouthern California, St. Robert BellarmineItalian Club, Com.It.Es. of Los Angeles,and the Orange County Italian CulturalAssociation. Despite the currenteconomic crisis, the local community hasstepped up to ensure continuity of ourprograms and support of our beautifullanguage and heritage. Thanks as well to“L’Italo-Americano” and “Il Corriere diLos Angeles” for their continuoussupport and for allowing us to reach thelocal communities by publishing ourarticles and promoting our mission.

13Newsletter Spring 2009

PUBLICATIONS

The Films of Gianni Amelioby Antonio Vitti

Antonio Carlo Vitti, studioso e docente diCinema italiano all’Indiana University,dedica questo ampio saggio al cinema diGianni Amelio, uno dei registi pijrappresentativi e affermati del cinemaitaliano contemporaneo. L’autore indagacriticamente tutta l’opera di Amelio,ripercorrendone l’evoluzione e tracciandoun percorso molto stimolante non solo nellaricerca tematica del regista ma anche nellemodalitB espressive della sua produzionefilmica. Una sezione ospita numeroseimmagini tratte dai film di Amelio, cui segueuna lunga intervista con il regista. Ilvolume P corredato da una serie di schedefilmografiche molto accurate e da un’ampiabibliografia. Si prevede nei prossimi mesil’uscita di una edizione in lingua italianadell’opera.

ISBN 978-88-6156-021-5

Rewriting the Journey in

Contemporary Italian

Literatureby Cinzia Sartini Blum

The mobility of women is a central issuein feminist analysis of literary works andhistorical periods. Rewriting the Journey

in Contemporary Italian Literature (TheUniversity of Toronto Press, 2008)

explores the concept of the journey fromfeminist, psychoanalytic, andpostcolonial perspectives, in order to offeran alternative understanding of ‘moving.’Cinzia Sartini Blum examines the newliterature of migration in Italian andjourneys in the works of BiancamariaFrabotta, Dacia Maraini, Toni Maraini, andMaria Pace Ottieri, to demonstrate thatwomen writers and migrant authors incontemporary Italy present journeys asevents that are beyond heroic modernexploration and postmodernfragmentation.

Using the mythical figure of Gradiva, Blumshows how contemporary Italian womenwriters have reinvented Gradiva to revealsubjectivities that challenge andovercome the postmodern melancholiaand nihilism prevalent in contemporarymale writers and thinkers. She alsoconsiders the connection betweenmetaphorical and literal mobility, the roleof the intellectual as cultural intermediary,the roles of women in cultural encounterswithin mass migrations, and how migrancyis a way of being in the postcolonial world.

EF Film Study Program

Edizione Farinelli

Caterina va in cittB, directed by PaoloVirzX and starring Sergio Castellitto, wasreleased in 2003. It portrays a family’srelocation from a small town to Rome. Thefocus is on daughter Caterina who findsherself in a new public school whichreflects a microcosm of Italian society andits cultural and political divisions.   The EF Film Study Program: Caterina

va in cittB was written by Nicoletta Villa-Sella who teaches at the Linsly School inWest Virginia and also serves as anadjunct professor at local area colleges.Ms. Villa-Sella has adroitly captured theessence of the Italian cultural and politicaldivisions in “Spunti culturali” insertedthroughout the text: “Politica in classe,”“La sinistra in Italia,” “Scioperi,manifestazioni e girotondi,” and more. The64-page text is geared toward upperintermediate and advanced-levelstudents. It covers seven sequences ofthe film as well as units on the plot,the director and a special concluding unitcontaining essay topics and additionalvocabulary builders. There are also classdiscussion exercises throughout thetext. This film study text is $32.95. TheDVD for the film is available separatelyfor $29.95. 

The EF Film Study series also includestexts and DVDs for La meglio gioventj,Io non ho paura, Pane e tulipani, Cinema

Paradiso, L’ultimo bacio and Ciao,

Professore!

Newsletter Spring 200914

PUBLICATIONS

Mi diverto con Gianluigi

Edizioni Farinelli has published a newItalian reader Mi diverto con Gianluigi!

for beginning-level students. Theillustrated, 62-page text tells the story of adelightful southern Italian boy through theeyes of an American Italian teacher whovisited his town, Fornelli (Molise), duringsummers. The reader has 10 units eachwith a dialogue or narrative, ac-companying exercises for comprehension,speaking and conversation and avocabulary chart.

 Mi diverto con Gianluigi! was written by

Bruna Petrarca Boyle, a lecturer in

Italian at the University of Rhode Island.

Ms. Boyle also authored the Ace the AP

Italian Track series to help students, read,

write and speak more effectively and

improve their performance on

standardized examsfor Italian.

 Mi diverto con Gianluigi! is $16.95. A

separate answer key is available to

teachers for $6.00 Other readers

available from Edizioni Farinelli include

Diario della studentessa Jean (Levels 1-

2); Jean e Roscoe vanno a Perugia (Level

2); Uffa! (Level 3), and Non soltanto unbaule (Level 4-5).

For more informationand to order visitwww.edizionifarinelli.com  

Leone Ebreo’s Dialogues of Love is oneof the fundamental texts of the EuropeanRenaissance, not only for itsphilosophical content, but as matter ofinspiration for painters, courtesans andliterate noblewomen, poets, and manyintellectuals. Its popularity is confirmedby its printing: between 1541 and 1607 itwas republished no less than twenty-fourtimes, and between 1551 and 1660 it wastranslated into French, Latin, Spanish, andHebrew. More than just a bestseller, itexerted a deep influence over the futurecenturies on the work of figures as diverseas Giordano Bruno, John Donne, Miguelde Cervantes and Baruch Spinoza. TheDialogues consists of three conversationsthat take place over a period of threesubsequent days. They are organized in adialogic format, which is not a philosophicdispute but rather more like a theatricalrepresentation, ‘under the guise of acourtship’ between a man, Philo, whoplays the role of the lover and teacher,and a woman, Sophia, beloved and pupil.Through a “love” scenario the dynamicmysticism of the Kabbalah is inserted intothe Italian Neoplatonic philosophicalstructure, thereby realizing a perfect unionof different cultural heritages in a newmetaphysical articulation where the iconiclanguage of the myth shapes a particularepistemology.Translated by Cosmos Damian Bacich andRossella Pescatori(The Lorenzo Da Ponte Italian Library)ISBN: 978-0-8020-9910-5

Bartolomeo Scappi (c. 1500-77) wasarguably the most famous Italian chef ofthe Renaissance. He oversaw thepreparation of meals for several Cardinalsand was such a master of his professionthat he became the personal cook for twopopes. At the culmination of his prolificcareer he compiled the largest cookerytreatise of the period to instruct hisapprentice on the full craft of fine cuisine,its methods, ingredients and recipes.Accompanying his book – and exquisitelyreproduced in this volume – was a set ofunique and precious engravings that showthe ideal kitchen of his day, its operations,and myriad utensils.

Scappi’s Opera presents more than onethousand recipes along with menus thatcomprise up to a hundred dishes, whilealso commenting on a cook’sresponsibilities. Scappi also included afascinating account of a pope’s funeraland the complex procedures for feedingthe cardinals during the ensuing conclave.His recipes inherit medieval culinarycustoms, but also anticipate modern Italiancookery with a segment of 230 recipes.

Terence Scully presents the first Englishtranslation of the work. His aim is to makethe recipes and the broad experience ofthis sophisticated papal cook accessibleto a modern English audience interestedin the culinary expertise and gastronomicrefinement within the most civilized nicheof Renaissance society.

Opera by

Bartolomeo Scappi

(The Lorenzo Da Ponte Italian Library)ISBN: 978-0-8020-9624-1

Dialogues of Love

by Leone Ebreo

In This Issue

Messaggio del Presidente 1

Messaggio (con’t.) 3

2008 AATI Contest Winners 4

AATI Distinguished Teacher 5

2009 AATI Essay Contest 5

Reinstating the AP Exam 6

Fiorino d’oro 7

IIC di Napoli 7

Profile of AATI President 8

Regional News 9-12

AAUSC Membership 11

Publications 13-14

ACTFL 15

The AATI Newsletter publishes information about new publications, forthcomingconferences, events, contests and awards. It also provides a forum for discussionon pedagogy and teaching strategies. Short articles or brief notes (one-twoparagraphs) dealing with direct classroom experience, teaching tips and successfulapplication of linguistic theories are welcome.

Information about your school or local organization and other items of interest,should be sent to the Editor by September 15, 2009, for inclusion in the Fall issue.

AATI Newsletter: Elissa Tognozzi, Editor

Department of Italian, UCLA 212 Royce Hall Los Angeles, CA 90095-1535 Tel. (310) 794-8910 e-mail: tognozzi@humnet.ucla.edu

15Newsletter Fall 2008