Italian was first offered as an optional course of study at Mount Holyoke College in the 1893/1894 academic year. In 1901, a permanent professor of Italian was brought to the College. Professor Mary Vance Young taught Italian at Mount Holyoke until 1928. The department was later established as the Department of Italian Language and Literature. This remained until the 1975/1976 academic year when it merged with the Spanish Department to become the Department of Spanish and Italian.
The Mount Holyoke College Italian Language and Literature Department Records consist of reports; press releases; performance programs; examinations; and photographs. The records contain the annual reports of the department to the President of the College. These reports include information regarding changes in courses; department programs at the College; faculty activities; enrollment trends; personnel changes; and laboratory work. Course records include examinations from various courses. Information regarding proposed courses in Italian is included in addition to information pertaining to the Dante Club. A statement regarding the need for students in Italian and Portuguese can also be found in the records. The records also contain programs, flyers, and press releases pertaining to the department's special events, such as lectures and performances. The photographs included in the records depict students, faculty, and staff in the classrooms.
Records restricted to use by office/department of origin for 25 years from date of record creation.
Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:
Italian Language and Literature Department, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, MA.