Students will enroll in both a language course and a culture-based content course, each offering one Duke credit. No pass/fail option or auditing is permitted for either course. 

ITALIAN 213A
Accelerated Intermediate Italian
(FL, CZ) 1.0 Credit

Pre-requisite: Italian 102 or 112 (the equivalent of two semesters of college-level Italian).

This course is the equivalent of Italian 203 and 204 together. The course is project-based and fosters students’ speaking, reading, and writing abilities through immersion and exploration of the city. Bologna will be used as a classroom with which students engage to develop their linguistic and intercultural competencies.
 

CONTENT COURSE

CULANTH 390SA / ICS 390SA / ITALIAN 390SA / SOCIOL 390SA
Food for Thought - Understanding Italian Society and Culture through its Food 
(CZ, CCI) 1.0 Credit

Food is an important source of cultural information and social meaning. The production, preparation and consumption of food play a particularly important role in Italian society and culture and can be a revealing lens through which to study them. From the excesses of the Roman table, and the “bread propaganda” of the Fascist era, to the revival of poor peasant cuisine and today’s “Slow Food” movement, it is often through food that Italians have asserted their cultural heritage. In recent years, Italy has witnessed what the Wall Street Journal has dubbed “gastronomic nationalism” and under the guise of defending local identity some Italian municipalities have attempted to ban ‘ethnic foods’ from their city centers. Food production, distribution, and consumption generate a nexus of social, political and economic interests, which raise ethical questions concerning issues such as food waste and food accessibility, environmental impact, economic protectionism and even gastronomic racism.

In this course we will examine food stuffs (products) and food ways (practices and rituals revolving around food) to understand their cultural significance, to gain insight into culturally specific ways of thinking symbolically about food, and to explore the political consequences engendered by food production distribution and consumption. We will read about the cultural similarities and differences of Italian cuisines as well as their histories, we will visit places where local food is grown and processed, and we will gain insight to Italian culture through experiencing its food ways, that is, by actually selecting, preparing and eating food. Bologna is renowned world wide for its cuisine, it considered the food capital of Italy, and by some, the most exquisite food market in Europe.  We will take advantage of this strategic setting to explore foodstuffs, food ways and politics of food experientially. The course includes excursions to local farms, vineyards, cheese producers, pasta laboratories as well as cooking classes, and guest lectures by experts in food safety and EU and FDA policies, food and labor and food socialization among other topics.

Past activities have included:

• Excursions to Verona, Venice, or Florence
• Museum visits
• Opera performances

Students reside in fully-furnished apartments in Central Bologna, with two or three students per apartment. Students have access to Wi-Fi and laundry facilities. Students will be responsible for their own meals, either purchasing food at grocery stores and markets and cooking in the apartment kitchens or frequenting restaurants and cafés.

Attendance is required at all classes, excursions, and group events. Given the intense nature of this program, late arrival and/or early departure is not permitted.

• Arrival: May 14, 2024
• Departure: June 22, 2024

Flights

You will make your own travel arrangements to and from the program site. You are expected to arrive on the arrival date cited above, which usually means departing the U.S. one day prior. Once you have a flight itinerary, log in to MyExperientialEd to update your travel registry.

Housing Before/After

You will need to make your own housing arrangements if you will be arriving before the program start date or leaving later than the program end date.