Summer 5 weeks I 2027

In this summer course, students will have the opportunity to engage with a variety of lectures and labs as well as visits to local NGOs and community organizations. Students will document their experiences through creative reflections in photography, drawing, and creative writing. Through guided visits to local monuments and historical sites, guest lectures from artists and professionals, and carefully selected readings on ethnographical, historical, and political approaches to the artistic process, this innovative course grants students the opportunity to apply a variety of critical frameworks as they create a monument to their own lived experience in Sicily through photography, video making, and creative writing.

The following units will make up the contents of the course: Historical and Geographical Vision of Sicily: Geopolitics of Sicily: Rethinking Sicily through Art; along with experiential, community-based activities in Syracuse.

* Please note: when taken in the summer, this course does not include the Lampedusa excursion that is offered during the semester due to the shortened nature of the term. 

This course explores the interaction between individuals and urban space, focusing on perception and observation. Drawing inspiration from Syracuse’s traditions, folklore, and environment, students will design and create a public mural as a portal to reimagine reality, altering spatial perception and fostering poetic engagement with the city.

Bread has been a fundamental element of human culture since the dawn of agriculture, serving both as sustenance and a symbol. In this course, students will explore the cultural and symbolic significance of bread in Sicily, focusing on its role in community rituals. They will engage in traditional bread-making, with the final project blending Sicilian heritage and personal design expression.

In this course, students will first review the basics of anthropology and study anthropological methods in the context of the Mediterranean. Building upon that, students will then explore the relationship between anthropology and art, film, and tradition. Students will have the opportunity to engage in Art Lab, led by Gabriella Ciancimino. focusing on art as a catalyst for social change and community engagement.

Course Components 

1. Introduction to Anthropology
2. An Anthropology of Sicilian folk tradition and its environment
3. Environment
4. Art Lab

This course offers a hands-on introduction to traditional mosaic techniques using marble and stone. Students will create a Roman-style mosaic (25×25 cm) using the direct method, mastering material cutting and composition. They will explore stylistic differences, develop precision, and may create an original project.

This course introduces students to molding and casting techniques, exploring both traditional and contemporary methods, including 3D printing. Through hands-on practice, they will create and replicate forms in various materials. Inspired by Sicilian artifacts, students will analyze cultural significance and develop original projects.

This course offers an immersive journey into Sicilian puppet-making, guided by masters of the Siracusan tradition. Students will sculpt wood, emboss metal, and craft costumes, refining manual skills through hands-on techniques. By the end, they will create an authentic Sicilian puppet using traditional artisanal methods.

This program centers on live drawing, helping students develop observational skills and memory. Through this practice, they engage with their surroundings, learning to interpret and represent their environment while strengthening their drawing abilities and fostering a deeper connection with the world.

The Southern Mediterranean Basin has been the cradle of world civilizations since the first settlements in Jericho in 9000 BC, the place where religions, economies, and political systems met, clashed, influenced, and absorbed one another. Sicily is at the crossroads of the Mediterranean and for over 2000 years, has been the gateway between Europe, Africa, and the East. It has long been seen as the frontier between Western Civilization and the rest, but never definitively part of either. Despite being conquered by empires – Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Hapsburg Spain – it remains uniquely apart. This course will serve as an introduction to the island, its history, and its people through the interdisciplinary framework that informs modern Migration Studies, examining issues through geographic, historical, philosophical, and political lenses.  Starting with questions such as “What is a map?” and “What is a territory?”, students will progress to learning about and being able to discuss the following topics: the Mediterranean Basin as a cradle of civilization; Sicily, and an introduction to the concept of Island; the Island in Philosophy from Thales of Miletus to today; what is a Philosophy of the Island (G. Deleuze); the concepts of migration and navigation; the theory of the “New Barbarians” (T. Negri); the theory of “Stateless Persons” (G. Agamben); the disputed Mediterranean; and the “Philosophy of the Sea.” 

Mount Etna, the largest and most active volcano of Europe, is one of Nature’s great laboratories and has provided fascinating insights into the complex dynamics of this volcano and the processes of magma supply, accumulation, up-rise and eruption. The evolution of Mount Etna will be discussed in the regional geodynamic framework, starting from the long-lived pre-Etnean volcanism that affected the Hyblean Plateau to the south of the present-day Etna volcano. The course will investigate the geodynamic environments of volcanism, different types of volcanic processes and their products, the impact of volcanism on the environment, and volcanic hazards, as well as the benefits brought by volcanoes and introduce the different techniques applied in the monitoring of volcanic and tectonic phenomena that help in recognizing in advance the movement of magma to the surface, instability of the volcanic edifice, and in the evaluation of volcanic hazards such as the simulation of lava flow paths. Through field and site visits to Mt. Etna, along with Italy’s National Seismological Organization, the National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), students will engage with data collection, hypothesis testing, and modern technologies to better shape their understanding of natural and earth sciences. This course includes a one credit lab component.

This course includes the development of basic conversational, reading, listening, and writing skills. Focus will be given to the development of a vocabulary that will enable students to have simple but useful everyday conversations, which will be a support to their Italian experience. The course will give students the basic elements useful for everyday conversations, such as at the cafe, the train station, the post office, the restaurant, etc. 

Objectives: 

• Grammar: acquiring the basic structures of the language; simple grammatical structures and sentence patterns. Vocabulary: understanding and using the basic vocabulary regarding the concepts of space, time, quantity, and quality; mastering basic vocabulary necessary for the most common and concrete communicative situations. 
• Listening: understanding the most commonly used expressions in daily verbal communication, such as brief dialogue and instructions. 
• Speaking: using the most common colloquial expressions in daily social communication for self identification, greetings, asking for and giving basic information; using the language in order to identify and describe. 
• Reading: understanding simple texts for practical use. 
• Writing: writing simple dictated texts. 

The aim of this course is to extend the development of fundamental linguistics. Particular attention will be given to the abilities that can increase the students’ capacity to express themselves in more complex situations and extended language exchange. In addition there will be revision and extension of the basic grammar structures and focus on more complex vocabulary.

Objectives: 

• Grammar: studying and extending basic knowledge of the grammatical structures needed for correct expression, in statements referring to present, past (passato prossimo /imperfetto) situations. 
• Vocabulary: understanding the meaning of simple words from the context in which they are used; expanding vocabulary in order to participate in everyday simple and concrete communicative situations. 
• Listening: understanding the general meaning and the most important information in conversations. 
• Speaking: taking part in everyday simple and concrete communicative situations; explaining familiar facts or events. 
• Reading: understanding simple and short private correspondence (letters/postcards) and simple texts picking up familiar names, words and basic phrases. 
• Writing: producing simple texts of a practical nature; writing simple descriptive passages.

This level is for those students who already have an active knowledge of the elementary structures of the language (i.e. can express past actions and events and discuss future plans). Can communicate simple and routine tasks requiring an exchange of information on familiar and routine matters and understand clear standard speech regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc.

Objectives: 

• Grammar: acquiring the ability to use the comprehensive structures of the language, being able to correlate facts and events in the past, present and future and the ability to express doubts and desires. 
• Vocabulary: using vocabulary to talk about and describe basic communicative needs and some personal experiences; recognize the meaning of words useful in common everyday conversations. 
• Listening: understanding phrases and expressions related to areas of the most immediate priority (e.g. very basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography, employment); understanding explanations and instructions given in an elementary manner. 
• Speaking: communicating in simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information in familiar and routine matters to do with work and free time: telling a short simple story or describing something in a list of points. 
• Reading: comprehending information contained in practical texts; understanding short, simple texts containing the highest frequency vocabulary with simple connectors. 
• Writing: producing simple and brief texts relating to matters in areas of immediate need. 

This course is directed towards the acquisition of more complex language structures in order to express personal opinions and preferences. This level enables students to enter unprepared into conversations on topics that are familiar, of personal interest or pertinent to everyday life and current events, and to narrate simple stories.

Objectives: 

• Grammar: reinforcing the ability to make concordance between time and manner for the expression of reality and possibility. 
• Vocabulary: obtaining vocabulary relating to familiar and daily common situations. 
• Listening: understanding the most important aspects of messages and brief announcements referring to areas of immediate priority (study, family, work) proving speech is clear. 
• Speaking: telling a short story or describing every day aspects of his/her environment, events and activities; holding a simple conversation, describing everyday events. 
• Reading: understanding short, simple texts on familiar matter of a concrete type. 
• Writing: writing simple texts of various kinds: reports and descriptions about family, living conditions, present or most recent job; summarizing very simple texts. 

During the course a revision of the entire Italian grammar studied until this point will be undertaken, studying in depth the basic grammatical themes. Priority will be given to conversation skills and increasing vocabulary to express oneself in depth, in situations pertinent to everyday life such as family, friends, hobbies, interests, work, travel, and current events.

Objectives: 

• Grammar: examining closely the use of the indicative and the conditional; having sufficient vocabulary to express oneself with some circumlocutions on most general topics pertinent to everyday life such as family, hobbies and interests, work, travel, and current events. 
• Listening: understand the main points of clear standard speech on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc., radio news bulletins, and simple recorded material about familiar subjects delivered slowly and clearly. 
• Speaking: having a conversation on a variety of subjects related to the field of interest, relating reasonably fluently a narrative, and describing experiences, feelings, reactions, or work. 
• Reading: reading straightforward factual texts on subjects relating to personal interest with a satisfactory level of comprehension; understanding some information in news articles and in simple kinds of narrative texts. 
• Writing: writing connected texts on a range of familiar subjects by linking a series of shorter discrete elements into a linear sequence, writing accounts of experiences, and describing feelings and reactions. 

During this course, students will refine their use of the tenses and moods using agreement, while studying in depth the use of some of the grammatical structures. Attention will also be given to improving the use of prepositions. Writing and listening exercises will be carried out with authentic material with specific attention to written expression.  

Objectives: 

• Grammar: increasing the use of various phrases as well as different ways of expressing doubt, will, desire, negation, exclamation, and advice. 
• Vocabulary: studying the substitution (synonyms and antonyms); using the necessary vocabulary, adequately, in various topics, communicative situations, and in professional environments. 
• Listening: understanding factual information about common everyday or job-related topics; understanding most radio and television programs on topics of personal interest and some news delivered in clear standard speech; understanding part of the plot of a film. 
• Speaking: relating the plot of a book or a film, narrating a story, and describing events either real or imagined; describing and giving detailed accounts of experiences. 
• Reading: understanding part of news items. Scanning longer texts in order to locate desired information and gathering information from different parts of a text, or different texts, in order to fulfill a specific task.
• Writing: drafting a brief report or story; commenting on something read or listened to. 

This course serves as an introduction to the Italian language, history, and culture in order to prepare summer program students for everyday interactions in Syracuse. Given the intensive nature of the summer program (five weeks), students will learn essential words and phrases needed to communicate in practical situations, such as grocery shopping, dining out, traveling, and more. Instruction will include a mixture of lectures and immersive visits to local sites, such as the historic Ortigia street market. Coursework will cover key aspects of Italian customs, providing historical background for current cultural norms and etiquette. By developing an understanding of the unique historical and cultural context of Sicily as well as key Italian words and phrases, students are empowered to interact with the local community in a respectful and meaningful way.