Overview

Participating students will experience a placed-based and interdisciplinary approach to understand the importance and evolution of Italian culture, food, politics, society, and language. While the program is based in beautiful Tuscany, students will explore regional differences through day and overnight excursions.

Courses

In addition to Italian-language instruction offered by the Accademia dell’Arte, students will take two interdisciplinary courses offered by Hendrix College professors. Each course is designed for students of any major. The learning experience will consist of traditional classroom lectures, community interaction, and trips to Florence, Rome, and other parts of Italy.

ANTH 385: Writing Italy: Anthropology, Place, and Creative Writing, Dr. Anne Goldberg

Using anthropological and creative writing practices, this course seeks to deepen and complicate our understanding of Italian landscapes and communities. Engaging with literature, class visitors, and local places, we will explore the role of place, especially with respect to food cultures. We will consider how culture and nature interact, and how to engage with that through the practice of non-fiction writing.

POLI 290: The Politics of Italy (From Maximus to Machiavelli, from Mussolini to Meloni), Dr. Pete Gess

Around 100 CE, the Roman poet and activist Juvenal coined the phrase, “Panem et Circenses” (Bread and Circuses), to describe the superficial appeasement of societal needs through provision of food and entertainment. Juvenal and others were critical of a state politics generating public approval not through excellent service but rather through diversion and distraction. Through a historical lens, this course will examine to what extent this metaphor stands up over time.

Language Skills

Courses are taught in English; no prior knowledge of Italian is needed.