Introducing CEA's Spring 2012 MOJOs!

They've blogged, they've photographed, they've filmed, and now, their efforts have paid off! The first official Spring 2012 MOJOs have been chosen and they are eager to introduce themselves to you. So without further ado, we give you the seven MOJOs of Spring 2012.

 

Kenneth Wallach - CEA MOJO in Barcelona
A junior at the University of Delaware, my interests have led me to pursue a degree in English while minoring in both Jewish Studies and Pyschology.







  
Adam Joseph - CEA MOJO in Paris
I am currently a junior at the University of Virginia studying Global Development and French. In Paris, I'm taking an intensive French course at the Sorbonne, along with an elective for my major at the CEA Global Campus. I'm looking forward to exploring my new city, country and continent throughout the semester, and taking the next step towards becoming a truly global citizen.








Yelitza Rodriguez - CEA MOJO in Granada
Hola! My name is Yelitza. I'm a college student from Pennsylvania, a Spanish major and I'm currently studying in Granada, España. I look forward to sharing my journey with you guys!








Katie Buckleitner - CEA MOJO in London
Hi! I'm Katie Buckleitner, a Graphic Design student at DePaul University in Chicago. I'm originally from Michigan and yes, I use my hand as a map. At school, I'm the captain of the Women's Club soccer team and the marketing coordinator for Unicef DePaul. I love animals, beaches and bananas, and have socks for every major holiday.









Caitlin Smith - CEA MOJO in Rome
Ciao! My name is Cate. I'm a junior at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County majoring in Anthropology and Ancient Studies. I am so excited to be spending the semester at the CEA Global Campus in Roma and I can't wait to share the Eternal City with you.












 Loren Benton - CEA MOJO in Florence
Hi! My name is Loren Benton and I'm a student at Northwestern Pennsylvania. I'm currently attending Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence, Italy and I'm loving every minute of it!













Anna Walsh -  CEA MOJO in Prague
Hi! I'm a junior at Carnegie Mellon University studying professional writing and history. I enjoy baking, reading and finding unique places to hang out in Prague.






Starting next week, keep an eye out for CEA MOJO posts on our blog, Facebook page and Twitter feed!

Florence Faculty Q&A: Dr. Ian Bickerton

We recently sat down with Dr. Ian Bickerton, who teaches The American Idea of Italy: the 1880s to the Present at the CEA Global Campus in Florence, to discuss his background and scholarship, and what it's like for an Australian to teach American students in Italy.    

CEA Florence: Who are you and what do you do? 

Ian Bickerton: I was born in Perth, Western Australia, and educated at the University of Adelaide in South Australia, where I gained my B.A. with Honors in History. I received my M.A. at Kansas State University before completing my Ph.D. at the Claremont Graduate School in California.

I have been a member of the School of History at the University of New South Wales for the past forty years. I have taught history of the modern U.S.A., U.S. diplomatic history, and the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict. I have also taught at the University of California Santa Barbara, the University of Missouri at Kansas City, and have lectured in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and Israel. In 1982 I participated in the Salzburg Seminar in American Studies run by Harvard.  I have been twice a Visiting Scholar at the Oxford Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies and The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. 

My most recent publications include A History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (6th ed with Carla Klausner), Unintended Consequences: The United States at War (with Kenneth Hagan), The Illusion of Victory: The True Costs of War, and The Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Guide for the Perplexed.

CEA: What do you think is most special about the course you teach at the GC?

IB: It places the Italy that Americans have imagined, visited, written about, painted, and made movies about over the past 150 years in an Italian and American historical context.  Because I am not American or Italian, my students gain a somewhat different if not unique, and at times challenging, perspective on both histories.
  
The course provides my students an opportunity to glimpse—however briefly—the landscape that Henry James, John Singer Sargent, Bernard Berenson and many others walked, and they can experience first-hand the wonder and joy of seeing the great works of the Renaissance that have captured the imagination of Americans over time. Through their exposure to a brief exploration of the history of Italy and the United States through the twentieth century in a small, interactive, classroom environment while they are here in Florence, my students will hopefully sense more profoundly the two differing ways of viewing the world, and see how they have created an ongoing indissoluble link between the two countries and their cultures. Hopefully, my course will assist them to locate themselves within that process.

CEA: What do you hope students will say about your course at the end of the semester?

IB: I have no idea of what my students will say about my course at this stage; they and I are still getting to know each other!  But I hope at the end of the course they will say that I have opened their minds to new ways of seeing, and thinking about, the world—especially about Italy and the way Americans perceive this country.  I hope they will say that they now understand and appreciate how Americans have seen and experienced Italy and Italians over the past century and a half, and that they feel they are in a position to make their own informed assessment not only of Italy, but of those Americans who have rushed to judgement before them.  That is to say, I hope they will say that they have learned to think critically and historically about why and how Americans have viewed Italy and its culture and history in the way they have. 

It would be good if they also added that they enjoyed the process, because unless I have engaged and enthused them to use their own experiences here as students abroad to explore Italy and Italians beyond the provincial, popular, stereotypes held by the majority of non-Italian Americans in the US, I will have failed. Above all, what I would most like my students to say is that I cared about them, their education and their futures.

CEA: What book are you currently reading?

IB: I am currently reading Whoops; Why Everyone Owes Everyone and No One Can Pay by John Lanchester.  This is a brilliant, very accessible, and highly amusing explanation of the world-wide current financial crisis, and should be read by everyone who owes anybody anything—especially the current generation of students who will be paying for their debts, and that of their parents, for the rest of the their lives!!!  I have already worked out a tremendously exciting and brilliant way to avoid paying my own debts while reading this book—trouble is, no one will go along with my idea! 

I am also reading a wonderfully evocative and beautifully written book about the American occupation of Naples during World War II titled, Naples 44 by Norman Lewis.  I was unaware of this book until it was suggested to me by my CEA Florence colleague Martino Traxler and I am finding it an absolutely fascinating read.

CEA: What is your favorite restaurant in Florence and what is the best dish there?

IB:  My favorite eating place in Florence is Trattoria Mario, or simply, Mario’s, near the central market. You do have to wait outside as there are no advance bookings, and you sit wherever Fabio places you in communal tables. The conversations that follow are frequently memorable!  I have no favorite dish as each day has its own more-or-less set menu. What remains constant is that the food is delicious, traditional and fresh, the price is right, and the desert is biscotti and vin santo.  Who could ask for more?









By Kevin J.F. Murphy, Italy Academic Dean & Campus Director        

That's exactly what I hoped to find out a month ago when I travelled to the US for a three-day Experiential Education Academy held by the National Society for Experiential Education (NSEE). The Academy was hosted by CEA’s university of record, the University of New Haven in Connecticut. UNH is recognized as a national leader in experiential education and requires every undergraduate student to complete an internship, an academic service learning experience, international study or a faculty-mentored research project before graduation. 

The Academy was made up of workshops facilitated by well-known pioneers and experts in the field of experiential education: Pam Brumbaugh, Dwight Giles, Jim Walters, Eric Fink and Al Cabral ranged across theory and practice, strategic planning, legal aspects, assessment and evaluation. 

The first workshops, presented by Pam Brumbaugh from Elon University, covered "Fundamentals of Theory and Best Practices
in Experiential Education" and "Principles of Best
Practices in Experiential Learning".

Dwight Giles, of the University of Massachusetts, Boston,
ran the workshop "Reflection: Making the Experience Educative"
 James Walters, Montgomery College, Takoma Park,
facilitated the workshop
"Identifying, Understanding and Applying
Outcomes Assessment in Experiential Learning"

Our kind host, Dr.Jeremy Geller,
Associate Provost for International & Experiential Learning,
University of New Haven

But what exactly is experiential education? To anyone who hasn't attended the Academy I suggest a quick look at the NSEE's 'eight principles of good practice for all experiential education activities'.
At first glance, seven of them appear to be relatively straightforward:  
  • ·         Intention: all parties know why the activity is taking place.
  • ·         Preparedness: all parties subscribe to a clear, flexible plan.
  • ·         Authenticity: the activity is a real-world experience.
  • ·         Orientation & Training: for all parties involved.
  • ·         Monitoring & Continuous Improvement: feedback essential.
  • ·         Assessment & Evaluation: goals, objectives and outcomes.
  • ·         Acknowledgment: brings closure and sustainability.

But the one principle that stands out is reflection. And here I'll quote the NSEE principle in full:

"Reflection is the element that transforms simple experience to a 
learning experience. For knowledge to be discovered and internalized 
the learner must test assumptions and hypotheses about the outcomes of decisions and actions taken, then weigh the outcomes against past learning and future implications. This reflective process is integral to all phases of experiential learning, from identifying intention and choosing the experience, to considering preconceptions and observing how they change as the experience unfolds. Reflection is also an essential tool for adjusting the experience and measuring outcomes."

Parts of that definition may sound obvious. But having gone through the NSEE workshops I can now see how many great experiences might not necessarily result in great learning unless married with reflection. The NSEE provides such a rich theoretical backdrop and so many practical examples of reflective exercises developed and evaluated by our colleagues in the field, that we could all benefit from a closer look. 

The Kolb Cycle - made up of four stages (see text description below)
Adapted from Clara Davies, University of Leeds
The act of reflection is usually described with relation to a process known as the experiential learning cycle (pictured right). In the 1980s the American educational theorist David Kolb developed a theory of experiential learning that can give us a model by which to develop our practice. This is called The Kolb Cycle, The Learning Cycle or The Experiential Learning Cycle. The cycle, which can be entered at any point, comprises four different stages of learning from experience. All 4 stages must be followed in sequence for successful learning to take place. The Learning Cycle suggests that it is not enough to just have an experience in order to learn. Rather, it is necessary to reflect on the experience to make generalisations and formulate concepts which can then be applied to new situations. This learning must then be tested out in new situations. The learner must make the link between the theory and action by planning, acting out, reflecting and relating it back to the theory.

Getting this cycle to 'happen' in and out of the classroom, in onsite classes at historical siteschurches, and voluntary activities in the local community surely offers great benefits not only to students but also to instructors and staff, who can learn from their own experiences to develop more effective methods of creating great learning opportunities for our study abroad students. In my case, the NSEE Experiential Education Academy provided me not just with my NSEE certification, but also with key take-aways and substantive resources that are already helping me better integrate experiential education into day-to-day practice and long-term development of our Italy programs.

For more information on future NSEE academies and workshops, see the website of the National Society for Experiential Education

Considering Seville or Buenos Aires for your study abroad adventure in the approaching semesters? Get to know both of these destinations in a more personalized way as you page through our newest CEA City Guides, chalk-full of recommendations, city facts, academic hot topics, a map and more.

Flourishing with authentic Spanish food, flamenco and a fiery culture, Seville promises adventurous experience around every city corner. Live like the Sevillanos do and allow CEA's Personal City Guide to lead you through the pulsating streets of this Andalusian city.


Encounter Buenos Aires' vivacious personality in a setting more intimate than the average tourist experiences. CEA's Personal Guide to Buenos Aires reveals this Argentine capital in more ways than one, and introduces students to the thriving local flavor living in the city streets. Take a look and flip through the pages!

La Vie Etudiante - Where In the World Were CEA Paris Students?!

Despite Le Grand Froid of 2012, CEA Paris students were raring to go on Saturday, 04 February for the Mystery Tour of Spring semester!

Myster Tour Stats:
Rendez-vous: Gard du Nord train station
Time: 7:00am (yowza!)
Who: 70 CEA Paris students + Hélène and Elisabeth from the Paris Student Services team.
Where: ??????????????

Perhaps a few clues will help you discover their final destination...


There were gaufres (waffles!) with enormous spoonfuls of whipped cream...
(Here's Hélène eating hers, with Elisabeth's gaufre just under the camera's nose :-) )


For CEA students who had never experienced snow before, snow angels were de rigeur...


Chocolate was a must-have for tout le monde...this town is the Chocolate Capital of the World!


And bien sur, il faisait HYPER froid!!! (It was super cold!) Check out one of the frozen canals.

Waffles, chocolate, canals, snow...



Bienvenue à Bruges ladies and gents! 
Yes, that's that quaint little town in Belgium, known as the "Venice of the North" due to the many canals that run through the city. After a short train ride, students had some time to explore the beautiful city of Bruges, which is the largest city in the province of West Flanders, located in the Flemish region of Belgium.  A new language was ringing in our CEA Paris students' ears - Flemish!  Exploration of the medieval architecture in the city's center, as well as all of the amazingly delicious Belgian specialties were on the agenda. A piping hot lunch was served at one of the last breweries of Bruges, De Halve Mann (the half moon), where students thawed out over local fare. While it was too cold for the horse and buggy tours that generally clippity-clop through the town, that didn't stop CEA students from getting to know this unique UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Their food-filled day in the cold of Bruges ended with a crash course in How To Manage Winter Transportation Challenges 101 - but they made it back to Paris (phew!), safe and sound, with some astuces for their future study abroad travel adventures...and some tasty Belgian chocolate for the rest of the week.

Studying Art History's 'Secrets' Up Close

The mosaic vault inside the Florence Baptistery.
Before coming to study in Florence, I knew that a large part of my studies here as a history major would focus on the art, architecture, and the history of Florence.  What came as an exciting surprise to me is how these topics are introduced to us in our everyday classes. In my art history class, Iconography: The Secret Language of Italian Renaissance Art, taught by Dr. Angela Oberer, we take weekly trips outside of the classroom to on site locations, where we  see and experience firsthand the artworks we are studying. One particular visit to the Battistero di San Giovanni, or Florence Baptistery, reinforced what an amazing experience studying in Florence is.


The Baptistery is located directly in front of the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (more commonly known as the Duomo) and is one of the oldest and most important monuments in Florence. Built around 1059, this Romanesque style structure was where, up until the 19th century, all Catholic Florentines were baptized, including members of the Medici family and Dante Alighieri. It is famous not only for its beautiful exterior, including Lorenzo Ghiberti's bronze doors, but for its breathtaking interior as well.


During our class we sat on benches inside the Baptistery and listened to our professor explain the history of the building and the significance of the mosaic ceiling, which portrays several scenes from the Bible in vivid detail. As we listened to our lecture, we could look up to the ceiling and see exactly what we were learning about (which, as you can imagine, is so much more fulfilling than reading and viewing images in a text book). These experiences are what make studying abroad in Florence so special and rewarding to me. Not only are we living in a beautiful city; we are living among beautiful art and fascinating history, among buildings and monuments that many can only dream of seeing. Being able to take advantage of these opportunities is what will make my experience here so memorable.



By Melissa L. Smith, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

Exploring Catalonia with CEA Barcelona: Montserrat, Calçotada and Sitges day trip.


This past Friday, CEA Barcelona took our students to the beautiful Monastery of Montserrat, located on a rugged mountain not far from Barcelona. The Monastery is an emblematic enclave of Catalan culture and home to one of the most popular pilgrimage and tourist destinations in Spain.

Montserrat Mountain is not only for devotees, but also for nature-lovers, as well. It is an immense rocky mass, crowned by sharp peaks and crests of rocks. In itself it represents a unique feature in the landscape, and in its setting, no other or graphic phenomenon can detract from it. In terms of landscape it is exceptionally stunning, geologically unique, and has a notable wealth of fauna. Here, history, nature, art and culture come together as in few other places.


In addition, the Monastery of Montserrat, located near the top of the 4.000-foot mountain, is home to about 80 monks, who welcome visitors and invite them to participate in their daily celebrations of mass and recitations. The basilica also holds a highlight attraction: the 50-member “Escolanía,” one of the oldest and most renowned boys' choirs in Europe, dating from the 13th century. Every day you can hear them sing the Montserrat’s hymn in the basilica.

After visiting the Monastery, we had a fantastic experience eating calçots and learning what a calçotada is first hand!


”Calçot” is the name given to a local variety of spring onion, which is cultivated in a very unique way, in the Tarragona region.
The “calçotada,” which originates in Valls, a town in the province of Tarragona, is made by cooking “calçots” over an open flame. When cooked, the spring onions char on the outer layer, known as ‘camiseta’ or ‘sumarreta,’  which blackens while the inside remains tender.
They are eaten by removing the outer layer of ash and dipping the vegetable into “romesco” sauce, a spicy sauce made from peppers, crushed almonds, olive oil, tomato, parsley, vinegar, salt and pepper and spices. Calçots are eaten as a preamble to a ‘parrillada´of meat. Generally eaten standing up, the calçots are held with the left hand in order to remove the ´sumarreta´with the right. Once this has been removed, the calçot is dipped into the sauce and eaten.


Afterwards, we headed over to the historical town of Sitges for a city tour.
Set on a cliff overlooking the sea, Sitges’ topography is the reason why its small historic quarter has remained so intact. Fishing and wine-making have always been the local industries, coupled with tourism, which took off at the beginning of the 20th century.
The Passeig Maritim is a long promenade which curves along the shoreline, where your eyes will be drawn upward to the majestic church of Sant Bartomeu and Santa Tecla. Sitges also holds a number of well-known festivals. It is the only place in Catalonia that takes Carnival in February seriously, with a long weekend of parties and parades. The Sitges’ “Festival de Cinema” in October draws top film makers and is a showcase for new home-grown talent.  

You can see some pictures of the day on the following link!