To say it, is cliche, but if I had a dollar for every time someone asked me what I was going to be studying in Italy, I’d be a millionaire. Therefore, let me give y’all some insight as to what I’ll be learning, seeing, and doing while I’m in Europe!
Taken directly from our course syllabus:
Purpose and Goals:
As early as the 16th century it became fashionable for young noble men, and later women, to embark on a tour of Europe as a culmination of their educational experience. This experience, known as the Grand Tour, typically lasted from a few months to as many as eight years. Italy, with its ancient heritage, became one of the most popular destinations on the Grand Tour as these young men and women visited Rome, Florence, Venice, and Naples and immersed themselves in all facets of the foreign culture including, language, art, architecture, history, literature, food, clothing, and local customs. While abroad, travelers were expected to represent their home county, develop relationships with the people in the host county, and maintain these relationships through correspondence after their return home. Most young adults who participated in the Grand Tour kept diaries or journals describing their experiences and interactions with the local culture. There are many books describing the grand tour including, Jeremy Black’s Italy and the Grand Tour and Mark Twain’s The Innocents Abroad, as well as movies such as A Room With a View by E.M. Forster and Daisy Miller by Henry James.Today, in the College of Human Sciences at Auburn University, you have the unique opportunity to participate in a 21st century Grand Tour through the Joseph S. Bruno Auburn Abroad in Italy program. This semester-long program begins in the small town of Ariccia located approximately 20 miles from Rome and offers more than a dozen excursions to a variety of cities including, Rome, the neighboring towns of the Castelli Romani, Tivoli, Siena, Florence, Naples, and Milan. Optional travel opportunities also are available to Venice, Cinque Terre, the Amalfi Coast, and other interesting cities and sites visited by the Grand Tourists.
Following the path of the Grand Tour, students earn 16 credits (2 on campus and 14 in Italy) and the International Minor while immersing themselves in the art, architecture, history, language, philosophy, literature and film of Italy through the competent guidance of notable Italian lecturers who are experts in these areas. Additionally, they receive academic preparation in their areas of specialization in the College of Human Sciences–Consumer Affairs, Human Development and Family Studies, and Nutrition and Food Sciences through field trips, experiential learning activities, and academic research projects. Like their predecessors on the original Grand Tour, Joseph S. Bruno Auburn Abroad in Italy students maintain a journal of their experiences, albeit in the digital age format of the BLOG, and make long lasting friendships, both with their Human Sciences peers and with Italian partners, that will last a lifetime.
This interdisciplinary experience offered by the Joseph S. Bruno Auburn Abroad in Italy program is designed to help students:broaden their world views, increase their awareness and appreciation of cultures different from their own, deepen their understanding of quality of life issues worldwide, develop their abilities to function effectively in a global community.
In keeping with the above goals, students enrolled in this study abroad experience are expected to be flexible, keep an open mind, respect cultural differences, and embrace inevitable changes in the schedule that reflect the cultural milieu.
What I Will Learn:
•Conversational Italian •Art and architectural history
•European history
•Philosophical underpinning of Italian culture
•Italian educational system
•Italian family and child development trends
•Italian cinema
•Interior design and fashion industries
•Mediterranean diet
•Italian wine and olive oil industries
•Regional food
•Italian tourism
What I Will See:
Between 15 - 20 field trips, some that change seasonally to take advantage of weather conditions and special events, are planned to enhance the value of the lectures and discussions. These trips may include visits to: •Milan and the fashion and interior design industries
•Florence/Siena and other Tuscan towns
•Rome neighborhoods, art museums, fountains and sculptures,
churches, and ancient archeological sites
churches, and ancient archeological sites
•Castelli Romani towns of Frascati, Nemi, and Castel Gandolfo
• Pompeii
•Anzio landing site and American World War II cemetery
•Assisi and other Umbrian hill towns
•Villas of Tivoli, Frascati and/or Rome
•Etruscan sites and/or museums in Latium
•Wineries and olive oil production facilities
•Italian elementary and high schools
•World Food Programme Headquarters in Rome
The program also has ample time is built into the schedule to allow us to travel on our own. Having Friday thru Sunday off every week I’m planning on taking trips to Paris, London, Prague, the Alps (anywhere will do!), Athens, Barcelona, Switzerland, and anywhere else I can get too! I want to make this trip worth every penny. Who knows the next time I’ll be given the opportunity to travel Europe not on my dollar, grazie mom and dad! I hope in the future when I have children of my own that I will be able to give them the same opportunities my parents have been able to give me.
References:http://www.niceguy-dave.com/index.php?/professional/title1/http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Travel-Poster-London-TWA-Airlines-David-Klein-/160519275521
http://www.humsci.auburn.edu/italy/files/italy_syllabus.pdf
http://www.humsci.auburn.edu/italy/files/handbook.pdf
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