Professor Joseph Farbrook. In this course, students will examine photographic history, theory, and practice. Students will learn to apply the viewpoint of an artist to analyze image-based creative expressions, explore diverse perspectives, and investigate challenges faced by local, national, and online communities. Students will put this perspective into practice through the thoughtful creation of digital photographs, written reflections, and peer critique. This course will be tailored to the unique perspective of the Orvieto, Italy summer program.

Professor Joseph Farbrook. This course examines issues, principles, methodologies, theories and visual language of graphic design, illustration and new media. Students will be required to keep a journal, create and write a study, create visual responses to design prompts, and participate in discussions. This course will be tailored to the unique perspective of the Orvieto, Italy summer program.

Dr. Richard Poss. This course uses our Italian setting to explore the pivotal role of Galileo in the history of science. We’ll begin with the clash of world-systems in the Presocratics and Aristotle through the Middle Ages, and the character of early theories and experiments. We will examine the Copernican Revolution and its impact on modern culture, the shock waves radiating out from the invention of the telescope, and the “Many Worlds” hypothesis and how it affected our sense of our role in the universe. Further topics for debate include national policy towards orbital debris and “killer asteroids,” human vs. robotic exploration of space, and the ethics of terraforming. There will be writing prompts, an essay exam, and a final project.

Dr. Richard Poss. This course examines the intersection of astronomy and the arts by studying astronomical ideas as they occur in works of literature, art, and music. From frescoes in ancient Rome to YouTube videos, we will examine the artifacts for what they reveal about both the poetic and the scientific worlds. Our location in Orvieto will allow us to engage especially with the currents of the Italian Renaissance and early modern period. Classroom sessions will be a combination of lecture and discussion. There will be short writing prompts, a final project, and students will keep a notebook. Fulfills course requirements for Astronomical Studies Minors.

Dr. Nathaniel Katz. In this course, we will explore the towns, museums, and galleries of Italy to learn how Greek and Roman myths have inspired artists, thinkers, and ordinary people over the centuries. Religious Studies majors/minors may enroll in this course for RELI credit, please contact nathanielkatz@arizona.edu for more information.

Dr. Nathaniel Katz. This course explores the Roman empire from the perspectives both of the ruling Romans, and of the non-Roman peoples they ruled in Italy and beyond. Religious Studies majors/minors may enroll in this course for RELI credit, please contact nathanielkatz@arizona.edu for more information.

Dr. D.R. Ransdell. This course aims to explore the nature of human identity and values, particularly in relation to the “Other.” Not only do “monsters” include ghosts and other supernatural beings, but they also include the symbolic monster that puts society at risk, the evil “other” that threatens a society’s best intentions. Students will consider their own role as “other” while living in a small Italian village. Then they’ll study current views on the paranormal before graduating to a study of famous haunted houses and archaeological sites within Italy. They’ll also consider societal evils such as technology and the fast pace of modern life—both of which are often at odds with traditional Italian values. Finally, students will compare political figures such as Berlusconi to other adversarial politicians within Europe, thus providing students with a new international perspective.

Dr. D.R. Ransdell. Business Writing provides applied, hands-on experiences with professional business writing. The course explores how to address ethics of communication and how to navigate opportunities and challenges presented when writing business correspondence. Students engage in rhetorical analysis, research, persuasion, reflection, and revision in professional contexts. Students write a variety of workplace genres, including emails, memos, proposals, resumes, cover letters, white papers, and digital web spaces.
In Orvieto, this course will include an European Union (EU) focus. Students will investigate small local companies, learn about finances throughout Italy as well as Europe, and analyze aspects of EU life. Final portfolios will showcase a combination of documents they might use to apply for jobs, grants, or graduate schools in the U.S. with an added international perspective that highlights a richer understanding of their place within the world community. *Prerequisite: English 101 & 102, English 109, or comparable sequence

Prof. Michael McKisson. Through the lens of international travel in Italy, this course will act as a gateway to understanding how social media sites influence and are impacted by ourselves, as well as the role of social media in our relationships. With a focus on both theory and practical applications, this course gives learners opportunities to delve into how mobile technologies and being online impact daily living, personal health, individual success and interpersonal relationships.

Prof. Michael McKisson. This course will lay a foundation for understanding how stories shape communities, identities and memories while immersing ourselves in the Italian culture and international travel. Students will be required to call on their own intellectual, emotional and imaginative processes to develop their own skills in digital storytelling, interviewing, oral history collection and use of relevant digital storytelling tools to tell the stories of their time in Italy.

Dr. Claudio Bizzarri. Social, political and cultural changes in Italy since the first millennium B.C. have shaped the multi-faceted Italy of today. In a global landscape dominated by tendencies towards cultural sameness, the course aims to identify what constitutes Italian cultural specificity, "Italian flair" emerging as a prominent element of Italian culture, lifestyle and identity. Among the topics that will be discussed are the aspects connected with food, wine production and the idea of Made in Italy, connecting the differences with the material culture aspects, i.e. tradition and everyday life in Italian regions. We will be able to understand what is real inappropriate to do when meeting an Italian grandma or how to avoid being spotted as a foreigner along the main street of an Italian city. DOP, DOC and IGT will mean something to you at the end of the course and you will not pour wine in your glass as if it was Coke. This course is taught in English and counts towards the minor and major in Italian.
*Course may be repeated for a maximum of 12 units or unlimited completions*

Professor Pate McMichael. This course will explore how the news media acts as an influential institution shapes political, social and cultural conversations in a global society and acts as a democratic check on government power. The course will give you a behind-the-scenes look at how journalists do their job, the clash between First Amendment rights and government control.

Professor Pate McMichael. Learn the craft of feature writing with a special emphasis on travel writing. Students will create multimedia feature stories based on their experiences abroad and immerse themselves in great journalism writing.