The Italian Studies Department was founded in 1993. In its 25 years long activity has grown to be one of the leading institution in Hungary.
Education
The educational offer of our Department has grown over the years to cover all levels of university education: from BA to PhD.
The Bachelor's Degree in Italian Studies allows you to perfect your linguistic skills up to advanced levels, at the same time covering the many aspects of the rich and fascinating Italian culture, its history, literature, arts (cinema, music, theatre) and the mass media. Students enrolled in other courses can attend the Minor program in Italian Studies or the Specialization in Mediterranean Studies.
The MA in Translation and Interpretation allows to specialize in the many aspects of technical and literary translation "from" and "towards" the Hungarian language and another foreign language.
Our newest program is the 5 year course for the Training of High School Teachers of Italian language and culture. The plan allows students to improve their linguistic, literary and cultural skills, specializing in aspects of teaching foreign languages and pedagogy.
Research
The Department's research areas cover Literature, Linguistics, History and society, as well as Cultural Studies and Translation.
The historical and literary relations between Italy and Hungary have always been at the centre of our interests, and particular attention has always been dedicated to the periods of the Enlightenment and the Risorgimento. But the activity of our researchers today also focuses on more modern and contemporary aspects: from literature to language, from media to theater. The amount of approaches and research methods is extremely rich and includes highly original and up-to-date perspectives, such as post-colonial literary studies, corpus linguistics and the analysis of political and media languages.
Currently the two main research topics are:
The analysis of the Risorgimento and the “southern question” from the historical, literary and linguistic point of view
Migration studies both in Italy and Europe
Culture
Italy is one of the most beloved countries in the world, its culture, history, and language fascinate millions of people every year. Debrecen is no exception, there are many Italian students, culture enthusiasts and even Italians living in the city.
Thanks to the activity of the Circolo Monti, our Department is active in the urban context to promote more and more the Italian language and culture in our region.