Arrivederci, Italian Program
Sunday, October 14, 2007
By Greg Boguslavsky
I came to Dartmouth with a completed language requirement, but I wanted to experience the Rassias method. I decided to take Italian 1 and 2 in order to qualify for the Rome LSA. The first day of class was inauspicious. A man walked in wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and sporting a buzzed hairdo and a bemused expression. Anyone who has taken a class with Beppe Cavatorta can imagine the scene. That first term of introductory Italian was enjoyable and rewarding, even with an early morning drill section. The next step in the sequence was Italian 2, which I had the pleasure of taking with Beppe’s wife, Anna Minardi. My adventures continued with both Anna and Beppe on the LSA in the winter of 2007, an experience which profoundly changed my views on the study of language. They immersed the group in Italian life and culture; among other things we went to an AS Roma soccer game, a play in a Roman theater, a class trip to the town (and baths) of Viterbo, and were welcomed by Anna and Beppe’s parents at her mother’s home in Parma. Though I admittedly wasn’t always the cheeriest member of the group, I now look back on that program with true fondness. The time I spent walking the streets of Rome, participating in class excursions, and learning from Anna and Beppe convinced me to pursue a minor in Italian.
The prospect of studying Italian after the LSA quickly began to lose its luster. I was interested in taking Italian 10 the summer after the LSA, but Beppe seemed strangely vague about his teaching the course or the material that would be covered. The reason for his hesitance became clear at the end of the program. After our final session of the LSA, Beppe informed us that we had just taken part in his last class at Dartmouth. The sound of the air rushing out of the room was tangible, and my stomach just sank. What a betrayal! The College, an institution that prides itself on fostering relationships between students and faculty, had just ripped such a relationship out from under me. Surely this was some sort of joke. Surely the College wouldn’t allow such a beloved and engaging professor to simply leave.
The reaction was immediate. There were tears and sighs, looks of confusion and bewilderment, tenuous questions and more than a few expletives. Though we had already spent a long day in the classroom, we decided to stay on in order to compose a letter of protest to the administration. It quickly went through several drafts with input from all of the students present, and several copies were printed for signatures to be affixed. All eighteen of us on the LSA signed that letter with enthusiasm. When spring term arrived, the signed copies were hand-delivered to the offices of the Provost, the Dean of Faculty, the Chair of the French & Italian Department, the Director of Off Campus Programs, and the Associate Dean for International and Interdisciplinary Programs. The hope was that someone in that bureaucratic jumble would understand our sentiments.
Nobody did. We received two responses, a blitz from Provost Barry Scherr and a joint blitz from Associate Dean for the Humanities Kate Conley and Associate Dean for International and Interdisciplinary Programs (a seven-word title!) Lindsay Whaley on behalf of the Dean of the Faculty Office. Provost Scherr was pleased “that many of you have been inspired by him to do further work in Italian,” and claimed that it was his understanding “that the department here worked energetically to make it possible for him to stay.” He did not substantiate what these vigorous efforts entailed. Finally, he wrote “that the department is committed to offering a strong program in Italian Language and Literature, and that they will soon begin the process of replacing Professors Cavatorta and Minardi. Perhaps in the future there will be a tenure-track position at Dartmouth in Italian literature, and at that time Professor Cavatorta would be encouraged to reply.” The response of Deans Conley and Whaley was similarly disconcerting in its disregard for the point of the complaint. They began by applauding Professor Cavatorta for doing “a wonderful job at Dartmouth,” which “has been very much appreciated by his colleagues.” They also commented on the tenure-track position in Italian literature that Beppe accepted at the University of Arizona, noting that “it is a mark of his qualities that he was offered this job.” It seems that the Dartmouth bureaucracy can at least recognize talent among the faculty, though it sits on its hands when the need arises to retain it. The blitz ended with: “The Department of French and Italian is committed to offering strong courses in Italian language and literature. We hope that in the future if there is a tenure-track position in Professor Cavatorta’s field he might consider returning to Dartmouth. In the meantime, the Department will be looking actively to replace Professors Cavatorta and Minardi.” This echoes the Provost’s conclusion in eerily similar words. Perhaps both were written by the same monstrous brain residing somewhere deep inside Parkhurst or Wentworth Hall. Perhaps, the administration really does have a Ministry of Truth under its auspices.
A brief examination of the ORC quickly dispels the department’s claimed commitment to the Italian program. As an ever more discouraged minor in Italian, I would be interested in taking Italian 11: The Power of Language, a course focusing on “historically significant and emblematic cultural texts.” This would contribute to my understanding of the cultural patrimony inherited by modern Italians. Unfortunately, Italian 11 is “not offered in the period from 07F through 09S.” Too bad. Perhaps instead I could take Italian 55: Humanism and Renaissance. This period of Italian preeminence should no doubt be part of the curriculum undertaken by a student of Italian language and literature. But again, this course is “not offered in the period from 07F through 09S.” Should I decide to return to Italy on another and more advanced study abroad program, I would find myself taking Italian 29, 30, and 31. These high level courses would be an excellent culmination of my studies that would cement my knowledge of Italian, focusing as they do on research, broad cultural understanding, and advanced composition. This option is off the table, however, as the courses are “not offered in the period from 07F through 09S.”
Let’s suppose that I decide to be practical, and rather than lamenting unavailable courses I actually chart my path toward completing the Italian minor before graduation. When I return next spring from an off term, I actually have two classes to choose from, one on cinema (Italian 15) and one on 17th and 18th century literature (Italian 57). Both seem interesting, and I will certainly be taking one of them. Next summer I will be gone, as can be expected. However, when I come back for senior fall, I will take…well, there does not seem to be any non-introductory course offered that term. Fulfilling requirements is a struggle, and cross-listed classes taught in English, one of which I have taken, are not really conducive to improving Italian skills.
These sentiments are not mine alone. Other students who wanted to pursue Italian past the study abroad phase have been discouraged. An ’08 comparative literature major was disappointed when his LSA+ was unexpectedly cancelled, and he has had trouble getting in enough credits. The departure of Beppe, and the forthcoming departure of Anna, also weighed heavily on him. He sums up his experience this way: “It just sucks. I thought the scarce opportunities in Italian would be over after high school, but I feel like I’ve run into a lot of walls here in the past few years.” Another student, an ’09 planning on majoring in Italian, “was extremely upset to find out that it wasn’t even possible on the account that Dartmouth doesn’t offer enough classes for me in two years to complete the major.” She was “shocked” to hear of Anna and Beppe’s departure, but cautioned that this is not a reflection on the rest of the department. Rather, it is an expression of the profound loss that the department has suffered. She described Anna and Beppe as “great language professors who really encouraged us to learn more about the culture and made us feel part of a little Italian family here at Dartmouth.” A ’10 I spoke with shares the concern over restricted course offerings: “The limited number of courses the department offers each term is extremely frustrating. I finished Italian 2 my freshman spring only to discover that Italian 3 would not be offered at Dartmouth until the following spring. I was considering an Italian minor, but having to wait a full year between Italian 2 and 3 makes satisfying all of the requirements nearly impossible.”
I am not sure who bears the responsibility for these developments. It is not my goal to lay blame, but rather to implore whoever has the ability to change the situation to listen. I have been encouraged by many students to put these words to paper in the hope that something good will come of it. Here it becomes difficult to remain calm and clear-headed, to maintain an objective argument while fending off anger, frustration, disappointment, and disillusionment. How can this great College be so oblivious to an important program crumbling away? How can an administration that continues to claim an emphasis on the undergraduate liberal arts ignore the requests of students for more resources? With its handling of the situation in the Italian program, the College is doing a great disservice to its students, its faculty, and its reputation. We can continue telling prospective students that they will get the best undergraduate education in the world here at Dartmouth and the most unfettered access to outstanding faculty, unless that is they want to study speech, Italian, or whatever else comes next. n
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