I'm sorry for your unlucky staying here, but our *whole* shool system is
being redesigned in these years, and God only knows *what* will come out
from all these reforms. Instituition of new courses, cut of old ones...!
> "Anyway here in Italy we can't get a degree in Linguistics : ( You can get
a
> degree in Foreign Languages and Literatures + specialization in
Glottology,
> AFAIK."
>
> and Thomas Wier responded:
> "Doesn't the University of Bologna have a good program that approximates
> linguistics? I know Umberto Eco teaches there."
>
> The relevant program at Bologna *was* the Istituto di Glottologia on
Via
> Zamboni, which belonged to the Facolta' di Lettere e Filosofia. However,
no
> doubt, much has changed since I was there. At the end of my stay there
> (1996-97) the Istituto became a Dipartimento; then, subsequently, it
changed
> its name from Glottologia to Studi Linguistici Orientali (DSLO), I
believe -
> but I can't be sure (the head of that department has the same name as the
> head of the former Dipartimento di Glottologia - Franci Giorgio Renato).
> Certainly, there doesn't appear to be a Department of Glottology there
> anymore.
> Umberto Eco, IIRC, teaches Semiotica at Bologna, which is a horse of a
> different color.
> Unfortunately, the program at Bologna isn't so great. Glottologia is
> more philology than linguistics in the modern sense of the word; while I
(a
> philologist) certainly don't have any issues with the philological
approach,
> there is even less work for philologists these days than there is for
> linguists.
> Bologna *was* one of six universities in Italy which offered courses
in
> Hebrew. That changed the year I was there. In fact, they cancelled the
> program two weeks before the final exam, without telling any of the
students
> or even the professor! Despite all of the work we had done that year, the
> university was going to send us away without any recognition or credit.
> At first, we attempted to get the Jewish community of Bologna
involved.
> The instructor of the Modern Hebrew course, Miriam Chetrit, had some ties
> with this community - but they seemed to be uninterested in defending the
> study of Hebrew at Bologna.
> It was at that point that I had to play the "Ugly American," as I was
> the only American in either of the Hebrew courses. Bologna had signed a
> contract with my alma mater, according to which all students who studied
at
> Bologna would receive credit for the courses that they had taken.
> Therefore, they were obligated to give *me* (at the very least) a final
> exam. The people at Brown called the directors at the Department of
> Glottologia and demanded that they recognize our work (my work and the
work
> of my classmates) with a final exam - and exams were hastily set up for
the
> two Hebrew courses that had been taught that year. After that year, the
> Hebrew courses were phased out.
> As was the program in Iranistica. I was taking Antico Persiano that
> year with Dr. Antonio Panaino; he announced at the end of the year that
the
> entire program in Iranistica was being cut and that he was moving to
> Ravenna. Egyptian, Sumerian, Akkadian, Arabic, Sanskrit, Urdu/Hindi,
> Turkish, Chinese, and Japanese are still available in that program, AFAIK.
> Even though Iranian and NW Semitic languages are no longer available
there,
> I would go back in a second; the short time I spent at Bologna was one of
> the best times I spent in my life, and I learned much more in that one
year
> than I had before or have since. I would also take courses with Panaino
> again - he spends his time between Milan and Ravenna these days - in a
> second.
> -Chollie
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