Learning, Italian Style

Photo: Students interview Federico Materazzi at the Poltrona Frau showroom in Soho.

Students studying Italian at Montclair State are getting cross-disciplinary, hands-on opportunities to employ their language skills.

In the Business Italian course last year, students collaborated with the School of Communication and Media to link the study of Italian language and culture to Italian businesses based in New York and New Jersey in a unique “Business, Italian Style” media project.

Recently, other students participated in “Translating Voices Across Continents,” collaborating with Florence-based Prescott Studio to provide English language translations for live performances presented at the Piccolo Teatro di Milano during the Expo Milano 2015 season.

“These projects are relevant beyond the classroom. By helping to make students aware of Italy as both an artistic cradle of the past and a dynamic modern country, they offer a broad range of professional opportunities,” says Teresa Fiore, associate professor and Inserra Chair in Italian and Italian American Studies.

For the “Business, Italian Style” project, Fiore reached out to Maurita Cardone, deputy editor of the daily online Italian language newspaper, La Voce di New York, who agreed to publish the students’ video interviews and articles online.

“When my colleague Enza Antenos made her Business Italian class available to the project by introducing new technologies, and when filmmaker Giuseppe Malpasso agreed to provide feedback on filming, everything fell into place,” Fiore explains.

The students interviewed Italian design, fashion, food and art entrepreneurs and creators – ranging from renowned designer Gaetano Pesce to Alberto Milani, CEO of Buccellati Americas – to produce four subtitled video interviews and related articles. Since their publication during last spring, the articles have received more than 60,000 views.

News of the project has reached the wider Italian business and cultural community, and this past summer, Fiore and her colleagues presented at Italian National Day celebrations held at the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) in Manhattan. “We discussed future internships with Italian food companies, banks, newspapers and art centers for our students. We intend to continue this fruitful exchange with the ITA,” says Fiore.

Angelene Agresta, an Italian major who subtitled the videos, says, “When I entered this project, I knew nothing about Italian or American business, interviewing, film editing or journalism. I don’t know where it will lead me in the future, but I feel it’s definitely the start of something big.”

Agresta and fellow students Marta Russoniello and Emilia D’Albero are also working with Fiore, Associate Professor Marisa Trubiano and Mauro Conti, director of Prescott Studio, to make nine plays accessible to Expo 2015’s international audience through English surtitles that appear above the stage during performances through October.

“The project reflects the kind of effective interdisciplinary synergies that can prepare students for life after graduation,” says Fiore.

To see the videos and learn more about the project, visit montclair.edu/inserra.