Introduction and brief history
The Program, which is the only one in Brazil dedicated exclusively to Italian Studies, gathers professors and students who investigate Italian language, literature and culture from a Brazilian point-of-view, considering the relation between the two countries and always searching for innovative perspectives in dialogue with the history and the classics of Linguistics and Literature.
The Undergraduate Program in Italian Language and Literature was established in 1934. Giuseppe Ungaretti stands out as one of its first professors (from 1937 to 1942). The tradition of great scholars has continued with professors such as Italo Bettarello, who succeeded Ungaretti in his position, and Alfredo Bosi who, in addition to teaching, also carried out studies in Italian Literature, a field in which he pursued his PhD, in 1964, and his livre-docência (full professorship) in 1970. Professor Antônio Lázaro de Almeida Prado also taught in the undergraduate courses before taking part in the foundation of UNESP in Assis, where he was awarded the title of Emeritus Professor. In the 1970s the course was coordinated by Prof. Edoardo Bizzarri, the renown translator of Guimarães Rosa to Italian, who was also responsible for organizing the Master Program in Italian Language and Literature in 1975. When the PhD course was approved, at the end of 2009, the Program was remodeled and became the Postgraduate Program in Italian Language, Literature and Culture.
The research projects of the Program cover the linguistic and literary branches of contemporary Italian Studies, preserving the Program’s concerns with the development of this Area and the Subareas of this specific field of study. For this reason, keeping constant academic relations with similar research groups within Brazil and abroad is a priority.
The Program is also dedicated to the translation of literary texts and to the study of their reception by Brazilian critics, so to investigate how Italian literature has affected the local scholars’ thinking and influenced Brazilian literature. The relevance of these cultural relations is also reflected in research both on the process of teaching and learning Italian and on the comparison between Italian and Brazilian Portuguese at different levels.
Research in Italian Studies carried out by our Program and other scholars is disseminated through the Revista de Italianística (ISSN: 2238-8281), an online open access publication that uses the Open Journal System (OJS) and is hosted by the “Portal de Periódicos da Universidade de São Paulo” (http://revistas.usp.br/italianistica). The journal is currently indexed in the following databases: (1) Latindex, (2) Diadorim, (3) MLA, (4) DOAJ.
Usually two issues of the journal are published every year, one dedicated to linguistic studies and the other to literary studies. The articles are published either in Portuguese or Italian.
Professors and selection process
Currently, the teaching staff is composed of 14 permanent professors and one collaborator, who are dedicated to linguistic, literary and translational studies.
The Program professors can supervise researchers at the Master's, Doctoral and Postdoctoral levels.
The tests for admission to Masters and PhD courses take place twice a year, with applications in February/March (beginning in the second semester) and July/August (beginning in the first semester of the following year). The postgraduate calendar can be found at the following link: http://pos.fflch.usp.br/calendario-2020
The following three qualifying stages are part of the selection process:
- a written proficiency test in Italian and in another modern foreign language for the doctorate degree (English, French, Spanish or German), if the candidate has already completed the proficiency test in Italian; for foreign students, in addition to the proficiency in Italian (from which candidates who have completed higher education studies in an Italian-speaking country are exempted), the proficiency in Portuguese is required and can be demonstrated through the presentation of the Certificate of Proficiency in Portuguese for Foreigners (CELPE-BRAS), intermediate or advanced levels, at the time of registration;
- a written exam about general concepts related to the research lines of the program. The test is eliminatory, collectively applied and blindly corrected by a committee designated by the Program coordination;
- curriculum analysis and argumentation of the research project, carried out by a committee composed of at least three professors, who assign a supervisor according to the approved project and the number of vacancies disclosed.
Foreign candidates and residents of other states may take the test at a distance if previously requested. Detailed information about the last selection process can be found at the following address: http://dlm.fflch.usp.br/sites/dlm.fflch.usp.br/files/inline-files/Edital%20Italiano%202-2020.pdf
RESEARCH LINES AND PROJECTS - POSTGRADUATE PROGRAM IN ITALIAN LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND CULTURE