Food, Culture, and Community Experiential Learning

Though food diversifies throughout the world according to local cultural backgrounds, there is a common ground in the universal approach to food: it is a part of everyday life and sharing food is still one of the greatest examples of humans acting as social creatures. Italy represents a unique case for now food is both celebrated and is involved in cultural celebrations that are still fundamental in Italian society. This course will provide students with a full immersion in the relationship between food and the local community in Italy, focusing on the many moments that represent conviviality in Italian culture and society. Coursework includes a wide variety of field learning activities through which students will be introduced to local and traditional crafts, food markets, typical street food vendors, local purchasing groups, community-supported agriculture, and countryside food festivals as fundamental milestones in the Italian gastro-social tradition. Through hands-on experiences and on-site activities students, will learn the fundamentals of community-geared food production and will acquire a deeper understanding of food as an essential element of society. This course includes experiential learning hours with our Community Engagement Member Institutions (CEMI). CEMI are dynamic learning environments created to foster learning through a structured interaction with the community. In addition to regular lecture hours, students will be involved in learning by doing through real projects and integration with the local population and territory in order to remove cultural and learning barriers as well as to develop a strong likelihood for success in life. The experiential learning hours are fully supervised by instructors who track students step by step during their learning experience, monitor and advise according to student needs, and support student initiative. This unique learning model allows students to benefit from an all-encompassing educational experience based on theory and practice in real enterprises, learning of comprehensive operational processes, problem-solving, leadership, and management.