Teaching Arrangements

... and what to do if problems arise

The Italian language is taught at Cambridge through a mixture of language classes and small-group teaching (supervisions). The literary and cultural components of the course are taught through lectures, seminars, and supervisions. While language classes and lectures are organised by the Department, supervisions are nominally the responsibility of the Colleges, and will be arranged and monitored by the Director of Studies in Modern Languages in your college. However, the Italian Department takes a pro-active role in arranging supervisions (with the consent of Directors of Studies), and generally does so in meetings held at the beginning of the academic year.

Supervisions

The supervision system is employed both for language teaching (especially oral work and essay writing) and for the so-called scheduled (i.e. non-language) papers. It is a crucial component of Cambridge teaching and hence it is very important that new students should make themselves familiar with how the system works. The Faculty guidelines on supervision are reproduced later on in this handbook and should explain everything you need to know; please read them carefully before beginning your course. 

Lectures

Details of lectures can be found in the online timetable, and a copy of the Italian timetable is posted on the Italian noticeboard. 

Advice on academic matters

Your College Director of Studies should be your first port of call on all academic matters. But you are welcome to consult the members of the Italian Department responsible for particular areas of the syllabus:

Language classes

Questions concerning the organisation of language classes and supervisions, or student progress in language work, should be addressed to Dott. Domenici.

Scheduled papers in Italian

Questions concerning any aspect of the teaching for these papers should be addressed to the following: 

• Linguistics and Philology, including the Structures and Varieties of Italian paper: Prof Adam Ledgeway
• Early Italian literature: Dr Helena Phillips-Robins
• Renaissance Italian literature and culture: Dr Jessica Maratsos or Professor Helena Sanson
• Modern Italian literature and culture: Prof. Robert Gordon or Dr Erica Bellia
• Dante: Dr Helena Phillips-Robins
• Italian Cinema: Professor JD Rhodes

Comparative papers at Part II

Questions concerning the following courses should be addressed to: 

• Paper CS 1: Romance Languages: See paper convenor here
• Paper CS 5: The Body: See paper convenor here
• Paper CS 6: Modern European Film: Professor JD Rhodes

If your enquiries do not concern individual areas of the syllabus but relate to the overall balance of your studies or to year-specific experiences such as the dissertation and year abroad, you may wish to consult the members of the Department who teach the various papers. The name of the paper coordinator appears on each 'Paper' page. For ALL language-related matters please consult Dr Domenici.

Student feedback and representation

The Italian Department welcomes feedback from students, which plays an important role in our decisions about course structure and organisation. See the Student feedback and representation section.