The University of Washington Jackson School of International Studies is hosting a virtual event addressing the European response to COVID-19 with former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta, in conversation with Jackson School Director Reşat Kasaba.
Date, Time: May 28, 12:00 p.m.
Register HERE.
Ciao a tutti –
The Dante Alighieri Society of Washington will hold it’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) at 7:30 PM on Wednesday, May 13. It This will be an online meeting with both video and audio.
The Agenda for the meeting consists of the President’s, Treasurer’s and Language School reports. These will be sent out to members before the meeting. Members will have the opportunity during the meeting to ask questions and provide feedback about these reports and about the Society as a whole.
The other regular agenda item at the AGM is the election of officers for the 2020-2021 Program Year. The Nominating Committee – Carol DeMatteis, and Nancy MacDonald – have put forth this slate of Candidates for you to vote on during the meeting:
OFFICERS:
Joyce Ramee, President
Bruce Leone, Vice President
John Steedman, Secretary
Harry Reinert, Treasurer
CONSIGLIERI:
Domenico Minotti
Houghton Lee
Janet Lenart
Robert DeCicco
Christina McDonald
Andrea Aldrich
According to our bylaws, members can nominate additional candidates for the Board, including themselves. If you would like to do so, please send an email to the Nominating Committee at info@danteseattle.org.
There are several pieces of important business we would like to discuss at this meeting, besides the annual reports and the annual election of the slate of Board and Officers. These concern issues of ongoing communication by email, online voting and proposed future bylaws changes.
On the day before the meeting, we will send active members an email which will include a URL link to participate in the meeting. We will resend the link the day of the meeting. Just click on the link you will be able to join the meeting.
Please take care of yourself during these stressful days. Statemi bene!
I look forward to seeing many of you again, even if only virtually.
Dan DeMatteis,
President, Dante Alighieri Society of Washington
Ciao a tutti –
Following the recent announcement that Governor Inslee has extended the mandatory stay-at-home order through May 4, we will POSTPONE the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for April 15 to May 13 and CANCEL the Italian Meeting scheduled for April 29.
We will continue to monitor the situation and will make a decision about the May 13 AGM closer to that date. We are investigating the feasibility of having the AGM on May 13 using ZOOM (an online meeting software), including the election of new officers for our Program Year 2020-2021.
We understand that this is a developing situation and, as such, our policy will be responsive and in-line with the recommendations of Washington State and King County Public Health departments.
Please take care of yourself during these stressful days. Statemi bene!
“Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.” – John Lennon
Dan DeMatteis,
President, Dante Alighieri Society of Washington
Dal 25 marzo di quest’anno si celebra il Dantedì, la giornata dedicata a Dante Alighieri. A seguito delle emergenze sanitarie che costringe tutti a rimanere a casa, la Società Dante Alighieri ha promosso un flashmob invitando tutti con #stoacasacondante, a leggere in balcone il V Canto dell’Inferno della Divina Commedia, quello più popolare, che racconta dell’amore di Paolo e Francesca. L’Amore è un sentimento che aiuta a superare ogni male, persino quello oggi rappresentato dal Covid-19 e per questo mercoledì 25 marzo alle ore 18 italiane tanti cittadini nel mondo sono stati invitati a leggere i più celebri passi del poeta fiorentino. A Seattle saranno le 10:00 di mattina. Quindi subito dopo il caffè tutti a leggere e a registrare i versi di Dante!
Amor, ch’al cor gentil ratto s’apprende,
prese costui de la bella persona
che mi fu tolta; e ‘l modo ancor m’offende.
Amor, ch’a nullo amato amar perdona,
mi prese del costui piacer sì forte,
che, come vedi, ancor non m’ abbandona.
[Dante Alighieri, Divina Commedia, Inf., V canto]
Dear Italian Language Students,
The commitment of all of us at the Dante Alighieri Society of Washington’s Italian Language Program is to bring you one step closer to Italy with our Italian language lessons. That commitment couldn’t be stronger in this trying time, when unfortunately we must engage in social distancing that separates us from our Italian friends and each other.
For those students whose passion for the Italian language and all things Italian cannot and will not be stopped, we will be offering classes Spring Quarter, but are switching from in-person to online lessons. Although we know that an online classroom is not the same as an in-person lesson, all the teachers of the Italian Program are determined to do everything they can to make this new learning experience as exciting, inspiring, educative, fun and effective as our lessons have always been.
We will keep a close eye on the rapid evolution of the situation and adjust accordingly. We will continue to look into ways to improve our language classes throughout the quarter and into the future. The following is a description of how we anticipate the upcoming Spring Quarter classes will be conducted:
Students will interact with their instructor and peers through the video conferencing Zoom platform. The Zoom platform allows real time interactions between the students and the instructor. Instructors will present in real time the grammatical structures and vocabulary listed in the syllabus with the support of Zoom Whiteboard among other tools. Just as for in-person classes, students will be able to ask questions and interact with each other. Follow up exercises will be provided – some during the online connection and others to be completed offline. During each lesson, instructors will provide opportunities for conversation as a class and in groups with the aid of images, guided interviews and other aids.
At the beginning of each online session, the teacher will share the content of the lesson with the students. The duration of the live portion of each online lesson may vary from 60 to 90 minutes. Shorter online sessions will include additional offline activities for the remaining class period.
As always, we welcome your feedback. It is a vital factor in delivering the best learning experience possible. We look forward to hearing your opinions and recommendations for improvements.
Thank you for continuing to share your passion for the Italian language and the country we all love, especially during this challenging time.
Giuseppe Tassone
Language Program Director
tassone@danteseattle.org
Giuseppe Tassone moved to Seattle from Italy in 1993. He has been the director of the Italian Language Program of the Dante Alighieri Society of Washington since 1998 and the PLIDA coordinator since 2011. He is a language educator, coordinator, and advocate of Italian language and culture. He has a background in economics and finance (B.A. in Economics), but chooses to specialize in Italian language and culture (M.A. in Italian Studies). He has 20+ years of experience teaching, developing curricula, coordinating, testing, and assessing in public and non-profit organizations (e.g. Seattle University, University of Washington, Shoreline College). Giuseppe reviewed and/or contributed to several Italian language textbooks, such as Da Capo, Oggi in Italia, Avanti, Piazza and Sentieri. He is the author of Ricordati di me, Buongiorno Notte – Italian Films Series by Edizioni Farinelli and Un buon Affare – Italian for Business by Hackett Publishing Company available in print (2016) and e-book (2019). Giuseppe teaches at Seattle University and heads the Italian Section in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures. Personal interests are: reading, traveling, cinema, economics, politics, playing and listening to music, swimming, biking, gardening and cooking.
E-mail: tassone@danteseattle.org
Roberta was born in Salerno a city located in the region of Campania in Southern Italy where in the ninth century flourished the renowned Schola Medica Salernitana; the forerunner of the modern university medical schools. She holds a Master’s Degree in Economics and Management for Arts, Culture, Media and Entertainment from the Luigi Bocconi University, and a Master’s Degree in Piano from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Music in Milan. Roberta has been working in the field of arts management since 2008. She has served as a project manager, fundraiser and arts administrator in high-profile nonprofit organizations and music festivals in Italy. She has taught music and Italian language in middle schools, and has held lectures in performing arts management as a teaching assistant at the University of Milan and at the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala. She has performed many solo and chamber music recitals across Italy. She loves classical music, visual arts, reading, traveling, hiking and of course teaching Italian.
E-mail: roberta@danteseattle.org
Giorgio is a native Italian who grew up in the outskirts of Milan. He holds various university degrees including a doctorate in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He works on engineering research and development projects in the fields of aircraft performance and commercial aviation. He became passionate about teaching and sharing his knowledge of Italy in response to the welcoming and inspiring interest in the Italian language and culture he witnessed and experienced while living in the United States. Throughout the years, Giorgio has taught Italian courses as well as privately tutored business professionals and students from various age groups.
In his free time, Giorgio enjoys photography, hiking, history and mathematics, museums and fine arts, theatre performances, and traveling.
Email: giorgio@danteseattle.org
Gabriella Vagnoli was born in Pisa, Tuscany, home of the famous Leaning Tower. She grew up in a multicultural family thanks to her Brazilian mom and remembers teaching Italian for the first time as a child to her Brazilian cousins. She obtained a Laurea in English and Spanish Language and Literature at the Università degli Studi di Pisa and during her college years spent a year in the University of Reading, UK, studying mainly the works of Shakespeare. After obtaining a Certificate as a Teacher of Italian (DITALS II) at the Università per Stranieri di Siena, she has taught in a full immersion school in Florence, a children's full immersion program in Chicago and a Community College in Illinois.
Besides teaching Italian, she has obtained a BFA in Illustration at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design and is a published children's book illustrator.
Email: gabriella@danteseattle.org
Tiziana was born and raised in Sardinia, a beautiful Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea. She has always been passionate about foreign languages and cultures, and studied French and German at the Scuola Superiore Interpreti e Traduttori in Milan, where she obtained her first Foreign Languages and Interpreter BA degree. She then pursued her MA in English and German Language and Literature at IULM, one of the most prestigious universities in Milan, Italy for Language and Communication studies.
Tiziana moved to the US in 2000 and started working in the software industry, where she applied her linguistic skills and cultural knowledge to localization and testing projects. She also took on various leadership roles and managed teams of linguists and testers across different countries and time zones. Tiziana is passionate about teaching Italian and sharing her insights into the Italian culture and lifestyle. She has taught from beginner to advanced Italian courses for the most prestigious schools in the Pacific Northwest: The Dante Alighieri Society, Seattle Language Academy and Bellevue College. She also privately tutors American business professionals who want to learn or improve their Italian. She is currently working on her Spanish, as she enjoys learning new languages and cultures.
In her free time, Tiziana likes to read, hike. cook, travel, and spend time with her family and friends.
Email: tiziana@danteseattle.org
Laura was born in Palmanova, in Northern Italy, a star shaped fortress built by the Serenissima Republic of Venice to protect the territory from the invasions of the Hapsburg and the Ottoman Empires. She was raised speaking Italian, French and Friulano (her native Northern Italian dialect). Laura received a Laurea in Linguistics from the Università di Udine where she specialized in Spanish and English literature. Since then she has lived and worked in Holland, Switzerland, Spain, England, America, and Italy. In addition to teaching in our program, Laura is authorized to cover the role of intervistatrice in our PLIDA Examination Board.
E-mail: lauracbolan@danteseattle.org
Francesca is an Italian native, born in Cremona, northern Italy. She holds a laurea in Biology from the University of Padua and Masters of Biology from Eastern Michigan University. She left Italy in 1994 and has lived in New Zealand and the United States. She has a passion for teaching her native language, as a way of maintaining and exploring the Italian language and culture with different eyes. She has taught privately and in many institutions to students of different proficiency levels groups. Francesca is interested in literature, art and design, and in her free time, she likes reading, cooking, and making ceramics.
Email: francesca@danteseattle.org
Damiano is a native of a small countryside town in Northern Italy, about 17 miles away from Padua, a city famous among other things for its university, the fifth-oldest surviving in the world. He received his B.A. and M.A. Cum Laude in Japanese language and culture from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, while specializing in linguistics and translation. He lived in Japan for three and a half years, where he continued his studies and his sociolinguistic research on (im)politeness in language. While in Japan, he also started working as an Italian teacher, discovering his passion for conveying the beauty of the Italian language and culture abroad.
Email: damiano@danteseattle.org
Nicla is a native of Napoli, Italy. She has a Laurea in Materie Letterarie (degree in humanities) and a Laurea in Pedagogia (degree in Education) from the Università degli Studi di Cassino. She earned her M.A in Italian and her PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Washington. She has published articles and book chapters on gender and theater as well as politics and religion in Counter-Reformation Italy and in the last years, has been teaching Italian literature, language, and culture in different institutions. In addition to teaching in our program, Nicla is authorized to cover the role of esaminatrice and intervistatrice in our PLIDA Examination Board.
E-mail: nicla@danteseattle.org