Self and Other Course Pairing
Introductory Italian I (IT 101)
A thorough grounding in the four language skills: reading, understanding, writing, and speaking, as well as an understanding of the structure of the language and the literature and culture of the country. For students with no previous knowledge of the language. Cannot be taken for credit by students who have taken three years of Italian during high school.
Faculty Biography
Dr. Alyssa Falcone was born and raised in West Chester, PA. She moved to Baltimore in 2011, where she attended graduate school at Johns Hopkins and where she now lives permanently with her husband, son, and two cats. She holds a doctorate in early modern Italian literature, with a concentration on the works of Giovanni Boccaccio. Prior to working at Loyola, she taught at George Mason University, the University of Alabama, and Youngstown State University. She enjoys teaching Italian, cooking, traveling, and spending time with her family.
Encountering the Past: Introduction to U.S. Disability History (HS 100)
Rather than approaching history as a list of dates, names, and historical events, this introductory course instead explores how historians have defined and practiced their craft, approached key themes in their scholarship, and deployed a vast array of evidence in support of historical interpretations. In other words, we will study how historians make their histories. In doing so, we will approach the discipline as a field full of debate and conflict where ideas do battle. Unlike many other disciplines, history has no set canon, nor does it have a narrowly defined set of practices or theoretical approaches. This course sets out to introduce students to some of the methods used by historians, while bearing in mind that historical knowledge changes with time and insight, and it is complex. Along the way, students will develop the skills necessary for understanding and producing histories, which include the critical evaluation of sources and the ability to write cogently and persuasively about events in the past. Finally, this course also asks students to think about why the study of history is important to our lives today. Indeed, our introduction to the discipline of history aims to answer a deceptively simple question: why does history matter? We will engage these topics and questions by exploring the history of disability in the United States. Disability is a fundamental part of human history, yet it has often been overlooked in traditional historical narratives. Through readings, primary sources, and personal narratives, we will examine how disabled people have shaped and been shaped by American society from the pre-colonial period to the present. Key themes include changing medical and legal definitions of disability, slavery, the rise of institutions and special education, the impact of wars and industrialization, immigration policies, the eugenics movement, and the emergence of the disability rights movement.
Faculty Biography
Dr. Sara Scalenghe is a historian of the social and cultural history of the early modern and modern Middle East. She holds a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern and North African History from Georgetown University. Her research interests include disability history and gender history. She has been teaching at Loyola happily since 2009.
Mentor Biography
Dr. Kelly Keenan is the director of the Language Learning Center. In this role, she oversees the day-to-day operations of the LLC, which serves as a resource hub and great study spot for students studying language. She also teaches French courses at Loyola. Kelly received her undergraduate degree here at Loyola and her M.A. and PhD at Boston University in French Literature.
Virtual Advisor
IT 101 is an introductory language course. It satisfies an elective for all students, and is a prerequisite for completing the World Language core requirement in Italian. HS 100 satisfies the History core requirement for all students.
