L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2014 www.italoamericano.com 6 Italian Educator Teaches Italian in Context Italian has become one of the world's fastest growing lan- guages, as well as its related fields of inquiry into cinema, popular culture and media stud- ies, according to the Department of European Studies, Italian S t u d i e s , a t S a n D i e g o S t a t e University. Its relevancy in arts and humanities, including litera- ture, theatre, history, art history and music, as well as the social and political sciences makes it a very popular, and sought after discipline. "We have to teach language in context," stated Professor C l a r i s s a C l o , A s s o c i a t e P r o f e s s o r o f L a n g u a g e a n d European Studies, and Director of its Italian Language Program. "We have to relate it to the stu- dents in the class, to their inter- ests in music, cinema and pop culture," added the educator whose list of published articles, interviews and translations in journals measure many, not to mention research into Italian culture, literature, film, music and popular culture. "Let us first look at the meaning of lyrics, politics and content, before we examine grammar analysis and c o n j u g a t i n g o f w o r d s , " s h e advocates. "It's not as if I go into the c l a s s w i t h a f o r m a l a g e n d a , rather it is the interweaving of the context that I want to have my students apply to learning t h e l a n g u a g e , " s h e m u s e d , adding that "my students get these weird expressions on their faces, as if thinking 'I'm here to l e a r n a n d s h e w a n t s m e t o sing?'" She and her students made a movie in the class in an attempt to mix music content w i t h l a n g u a g e . " Y o u c a n ' t expect to learn by sitting in the class and just mouthing Italian words and sentences." In addition to her academic work at SDSU, she collaborates with and serves on the board of t h e S a n D i e g o I t a l i a n F i l m F e s t i v a l , a n d t h e I t a l i a n A m e r i c a n A c a d e m y o f S a n Diego. "I received my Ph. D. in Literature from the University of California, San Diego in 2003 with a dissertation titled "Italy in the World, and the World in I t a l y ; T r a c i n g A l t e r n a t i v e Cultural Trajectories," which e x p l o r e d t h e r e g i o n a l a n d t r a n s n a t i o n a l d i m e n s i o n s o f I t a l i a n c u l t u r e i n I t a l y a n d abroad throughout the 20th cen- tury. Some of the cultural produc- tions she analyzed included nov- els and oral narratives such as Sibilla Aleramo's Una donna and Marie Hall Ets's Rosa: The ROBERT GALLO Life of an Immigrant Woman, theatrical representations by the Federal Theatre Project and the Italian anarchist and immigrant t h e a t r e , f i l m s b y G i l l o Pontecorvo, Giuliano Montaldo, D a v i d e F e r r a r i o , a n d G u i d o Chiesa, and music by alternative b a n d s l i k e C C C P / C S I , a n d Modena City Ramblers. Professor Clo is "big in edu- cating students," and states that "You have to invest in the stu- dents; motivate them to learn a relevant aspect of learning a language. You have to make them understand and to be pro- ducers of Italian culture." Her next semester will be teaching a Business Italian Course, where she stated her students will be l o o k i n g a t c a s e s t u d i e s , a n d building language concepts rela- tive to the business world. She excitedly discusses her plans for next semester by stat- ing a goal for the course. "We will be building and working on cultural management; hands on experiences that will help stu- dents build portfolios, not just simply writing business letters." She added that these assign- ments will look better on stu- dent resumes. "This presents a different profile of the student, r a t h e r t h a n j u s t s p e a k i n g Italian." Professor Clo's involvement with her students goes outside the classroom. In addition to her community involvement she explains her campus involve- ment. "At SDSU, I am particu- larly involved in student life. I am the Faculty Adviser of the Circolo Italiano and of the local c h a p t e r o f G K A , t h e I t a l i a n National Honor Society. I was also a Faculty-in-Residence in the Olmeca/Maya Residence Halls on campus (2009-2012), where I coordinated education programs for several living and learning communities. O r i g i n a l l y f r o m a v i l l a g e n e a r M o d e n a i n I t a l y , s h e attended the Università degli Studi of Bologna, where she studied foreign languages and p o s t c o l o n i a l l i t e r a t u r e s i n English. After writing a thesis on Olive Senior, a Jamaican author, and other Caribbean w o m e n w r i t e r s , s h e b e c a m e interested in Women's Studies. She received her MA from the University of Cincinnati, study- ing feminist theory and wrote a p a p e r o n t h e e x p e r i e n c e o f immigrant women in Emilia- Romagna, Italy. Professor Clarissa Clo San Diego State University where Professor Clo teaches Italian

• Cover