Reggio Emilia Courses – 2024 Summer Session II
Studying abroad can be a more meaningful and invigorating learning experience than at home—both inside and outside of the classroom. You may be more curious and alert than you usually are so use this heightened energy to enhance your studies as well as your cultural and geographical explorations. You may also encounter different teaching styles and course processes; be prepared to adapt and to learn.
Courses
You may take three to seven credits during Session I and Session II. At least one 3-credit course is required each session you are enrolled. Course availability is contingent upon student enrollment and is subject to change.
Click the course title to view course details, description, and availability.
Italian Language Studies
Summer language courses are intensive, with one to four credits of Italian taught in each session. Language courses generally have a maximum enrollment of 15 students each (varying upon level).
Session I
- Summer Session IItalian World Languages and Literatures 100-level 1 credit Taught in English and ItalianSummer Session IIItalian World Languages and Literatures 100-level 1 credit Taught in English and Italian
The course objective is to enhance the period of study in Italy for participants with little or no knowledge of the Italian language. A working basic knowledge is provided, including a general introduction to common vocabulary, grammar, and syntax. Emphasis is placed on oral communication and pronunciation. Class activities will include some role playing and dialogues. Additional activities such as language lab work and possible class visits to enhance the course topics may be scheduled.
This course is for students not taking intensive Italian language. It is designed to help students assimilate into the community.
- Summer Session IItalian World Languages and Literatures 100-level 4 credits Taught in Italian CancelledSummer Session IIItalian World Languages and Literatures 100-level 4 credits Taught in Italian
Introduction to the Italian language through the development of language skills and structural analysis. It includes an introduction to the Italian culture. This course is designed to develop students’ linguistic skills in communicating in Italian, learning, and using the basic structural patterns of the language. Intensive study will encourage students in a quicker immersion in Italian life and in a deeper understanding of it.
Education, Communications, Health, and Italian Studies
The following courses are designed to familiarize you with the region as well as provide a multi-disciplinary perspective to your studies.
Session I
- Summer Session IGeneral Education 400-level 3 credits Taught in English
The course will address education's role in society by examining some major philosophical and sociological foundations related to educational theory and practice. It will include the evolution of US education systems and practices and the role of society in shaping those systems. Topics may include issues such increasing global influences, multiculturalism, language, culture, geography, immigration, environment, and government as they connect to education in a changing world.
- Summer Session IGender, Race, and Identity 400-level 3 credits Taught in English
This course will analyze historical, cultural, and institutional constructions of identities by looking at intersections of class inequalities, race, and gender. Students will explore the nature and dynamics of social relations in the contemporary world. The course will also examine historical and modern social movements addressing gender, race, and other social identities in Italy and the United States and from a transnational perspective.
Prerequisite: one semester of college sociology, race, or gender studies
- Summer Session ISpeech Communications 300-level 3 credits Taught in English
The purpose of this course is to develop the skills necessary to build and maintain positive communication and relationships across cultures. Students will explore the definition, nature and manifestation of culture while examining their own values, traditions and beliefs. Through active in-class and out-of-class activities, students will learn about the similarities and differences in communication behaviors and explore language usage, nonverbal style, and perceptions in order to see how they influence face-to-face communication between individuals of different cultures in the United States, Europe and the rest of the world. Knowledge about diverse communication and observation practices will enhance the ability to work and to live in a global marketplace.
- Summer Session INutrition 200-level 1 credit Taught in EnglishSummer Session IINutrition 200-level 1 credit Taught in English
In each class meeting, after the lecture, discussion, and introduction to new material and topics of the day, we will start our food preparation and cooking. We will learn how to prepare Italian meals: antipasti, first courses, second courses with vegetable side dishes, and desserts. We will learn how to make a good espresso, as well as how to accompany each dish with the right wine. Attention to detail is of the utmost importance. Attention will also be given to traditional Italian tableware, setting of table, etiquette, and general eating behaviour. Having dinner together will be one of the pleasures of the class.
Not recommended for students on a gluten-free diet.
Maximum enrollment is 20 students.
This course has an additional fee
- Summer Session IItalian World Languages and Literatures 200-level 1 credit Taught in English
This course is an introduction to the basic features of contemporary Italian culture, particularly within the region of Emilia Romagna. Students are encouraged to take full advantage of their time in Italy as active, curious, non-judgmental observers and researchers. Through class discussions, lectures, and assignments, students will develop an understanding of Italian geography, demographics, commonly practiced norms and values, and important issues facing modern-day Italy. Students are asked to reflect on their own cultural knowledge and beliefs and to share their Italian cultural experiences in each class meeting.
- Summer Session IGeneral Education Human Development and Family Studies 400-level 3 credits Taught in EnglishSummer Session IIGeneral Education Human Development and Family Studies 400-level 1 credit Taught in English
The aim of the course is to discuss international education approaches with a focus on the two major ones related to childhood education (pre-K, K, elementary): Montessori and Reggio.
The course will include lectures, inquiry-based dialogues and discussions, audiovisual presentations, critical thinking activities, and projects. This course introduces participants to the experience of the city of Reggio Emilia, in northern Italy, in designing and sustaining infant-toddler centers and schools for children ages 3-6 that have astonished the world with the children’s competence. The high quality of the experience provided for children and families illuminates what it is possible for a culture to support and serves as an inspiration to many cultures to re-imagine education for young children in their own language and culture. We will study features of their experience closely, in particular the environment as a third teacher, documentation, materials as graphic languages of expression, inquiry as theory-building, and collaboration.
- Summer Session INutrition 300-level 3 credits Taught in English
This course addresses nutrition from both social and biological perspectives and will challenge students to conceptualize its effects at each stage of the human life cycle. Students will analyze how nutrition is influenced by cultural, environmental, psychosocial, physical, and economic factors. Students will also develop skills to identify the needs of people in in various age groups. This course is designed to engage unique perspectives to build upon theoretical concepts within the field and provide students with a unique experience to study how nutritional needs vary among people of different cultures.
Session II
- Summer Session IIAnthropology Nutrition 300-level 3 credits Taught in English
Food is a topic with which every student of every ethnicity has personal experience; it is so common that its cultural connotations tend to be overlooked. Food is often an area related to strong identity, whether positive or negative, of one’s ancestry. Cuisines are not just about sustenance, but also about cultural symbols that bind together people in ritual and as a community. How one participates in the act of eating (when/how) and why certain foods are to be prepared are learned and understood at the table.
Food is of wide-ranging anthropological interest because, in eating, humans incorporate into our bodies the products of nature transformed into culture. This course explores connections between what we eat and who we are through cross-cultural study of how personal identities and social groups are formed via food production, preparation, and consumption.
The course will initially explore the general topic of food and culture to present a background in which to discuss the specifics of identity and meaning. The role of food will be examined in several different communities. Several films will be used to discuss specific topics, such as festivals/rituals and food as family/community. Moreover, our topics and readings will be eclectic: food taboos; gender and kinship, voice and identity, symbolic and expressive culture, feasts, festivals, fasts, famine, religion and spirituality, race and ethnicity, nationalism, class and social stratification, politics of globalization, among others. Then, we will focus on foodways in Italy, using the tools of anthropology, history, geography, sociology, journalism, and marketing. Furthermore, we will use food as a lens through which to deepen understanding of your new home and neighbors for this term in Reggio Emilia.
An additional element of the course will look at food and culture through film. Films viewed in class represent different cultures and practices and give us a wider view of the complex and fascinating topic of food and culture. Students will reflect on films we watch together and in independent research for a class project.
- Summer Session IISpeech Communications 400-level 3 credits Taught in English
Students will approach issues of gender and communication, both verbal and non-verbal, through critical analysis of stereotypes, socialization, and male/female interactions using theoretical perspectives. Various social interaction environments such as workplaces, families, media, and friendships will be explored. A special look at the host culture will also be considered.
- Summer Session IIEducation 400-level 3 credits Taught in English
In this course, students will explore gender issues in K-12 and postsecondary education and analyze several significant events related to gender inequality in the contemporary world. Topics include gender-based stereotypes, the intersection among different social identities and how they affect education and opportunities, and suggestions on how to cope with gender issues in educational contexts. Examples will be drawn from various countries, focusing on the U.S. and Italy. In addition, students will develop the theoretical knowledge to evaluate gender issues' impact on society effectively.
- Summer Session IIGeneral Health Sciences Speech Communications 300-level 3 credits Taught in English
Students will explore the theory and practice of health communication and the areas where small group and organizational communication occurs. Students will also analyze how mass media influences engagement in these forms of communication. This course covers topics including the history of health communication, the complexity of patient-caregiver communication, social and cultural issues associated with health communication, and public health and its relationship with media. Students will develop skills in analytical and critical thinking through discussions and debates.
- Summer Session INutrition 200-level 1 credit Taught in EnglishSummer Session IINutrition 200-level 1 credit Taught in English
In each class meeting, after the lecture, discussion, and introduction to new material and topics of the day, we will start our food preparation and cooking. We will learn how to prepare Italian meals: antipasti, first courses, second courses with vegetable side dishes, and desserts. We will learn how to make a good espresso, as well as how to accompany each dish with the right wine. Attention to detail is of the utmost importance. Attention will also be given to traditional Italian tableware, setting of table, etiquette, and general eating behaviour. Having dinner together will be one of the pleasures of the class.
Not recommended for students on a gluten-free diet.
Maximum enrollment is 20 students.
This course has an additional fee
- Summer Session IGeneral Education Human Development and Family Studies 400-level 3 credits Taught in EnglishSummer Session IIGeneral Education Human Development and Family Studies 400-level 1 credit Taught in English
The aim of the course is to discuss international education approaches with a focus on the two major ones related to childhood education (pre-K, K, elementary): Montessori and Reggio.
The course will include lectures, inquiry-based dialogues and discussions, audiovisual presentations, critical thinking activities, and projects. This course introduces participants to the experience of the city of Reggio Emilia, in northern Italy, in designing and sustaining infant-toddler centers and schools for children ages 3-6 that have astonished the world with the children’s competence. The high quality of the experience provided for children and families illuminates what it is possible for a culture to support and serves as an inspiration to many cultures to re-imagine education for young children in their own language and culture. We will study features of their experience closely, in particular the environment as a third teacher, documentation, materials as graphic languages of expression, inquiry as theory-building, and collaboration.
- Summer Session IIGeneral Education 400-level 3 credits Taught in English
This course is the study of various models of instruction with an emphasis on application in classrooms. This course provides students with the theoretical and practical understandings of how to use models of teaching to both meet and exceed the growing expectations for instructional practices and student achievement. This course employs the use of the following teaching methods: in-class discussions, technology application, group work, and class presentations.
To request a course syllabus: syllabus@usac.edu
U.S. Visiting Professors
While most USAC courses are taught by local faculty, the following U.S. professor will also teach in this program:
Reggio Emilia Summer Session II, 2024
Course: Health and Wellness Communication
Meg Lagunas, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
Dr. Meg Lagunas is Associate Professor of Nursing and Director of Clinical Learning Center at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Dr. Lagunas teaches courses on critical care nursing, simulation, and interprofessional education.