We are happy to share information about the Critical Studies on Food in Italy Summer 2016 Program.  This successful 5-week program will take place from May 23 to June 25, 2016 in Rome and South of Italy (Campania region).  It started in 2010 thanks to the collaboration with the Italian Language Department at UMASS Amherst

From 2010, the Scuola Leonardo da Vinci Rome is the Academic Partner of Gustolab International Institute for Food Studies for the language courses and the Italian lexicon for Food Studies course. 

This is a real trans-disciplinary program. The available courses for this summer are: 

·         Critical Studies on Food Culture in Italy (3 credits) accredited by UMASS Amherst

A course on the history of food and culture in Italy. The course touches upon topics of sustainability, health and cultural heritage in Italy. Students will develop a community engagement project with local organizations.

·         Food Media, Communication and Trends in Italy (3 credits) accredited by UMASS Amherst

A course on how different types of media are used to communicate about food and how food is narrated through media (from newspapers to social media).  In this course, students will have the opportunity to create a short professional documentary on the topic of food. See some of the videos created by students on the Gustolab International Vimeo channel at:https://vimeo.com/gustolabinstitute

·         Food, Nutrition and Culture in Italy (3 credits) accredited by UMASS Amherst

A course that shows how nutrition and culture (as well as local identities) interact. During the course, students will participate in a research project about the Mediterranean Diet (from the nutritional, economic, social and environmental points of view)

·         Design for Food and Sustainability (not only Food Design) (3 credits)

A course on design thinking applied to the food supply chain and community development. Students will work with experts in the sector and will design their own innovative concept. 

·         Sustainable Architecture in Italy (3 credits)

A course on architecture and sustainability in the eternal city of Rome. How to unite the antique and the modern to protect cultural heritage and the environment?

·         Italian Lexicon for Food Studies (3 credits) accredited by UMASS Amherst and provided by the Scuola Leonardo da Vinci Roma

This course is for those who desire to work in the world of food in Italy and need to acquire a linguistic lexicon for the food sector (journalists, farmers, those who are interested in the advertising sector, teachers, etc.). This course is fundamental for students who want to do an internship in Italy.

·         Elementary Italian Language UMASS ITAL 110 (3 credits) and Intensive Elementary Italian Language UMASS ITAL 126 (6 credits) accredited by UMASS Amherst  and provided by the Scuola Leonardo da Vinci Roma

Other levels of Italian Language course are available. To learn more, please contact INFO@GUSTOLAB.COM

The program has grown and in the past 5 years has hosted students from:  Duke University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, George Washington University, Hampshire College, Lewis and Clark College, Marylhurst University, McGill University (Canada), Mills College, New York University, Saddleback College, Skidmore College, Wake Forest University, University of Alabama, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of New Haven, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and University of Vermont. In addition, in the past 3 years several graduate students (some courses were approved for graduate credits) as well as university professors, researchers, and journalists have attended this program and carried out their research on the field as  independent scholars. 

As the deadline ( 28 February 2016) to apply to the program is approaching, we ask you to kindly spread this information to students (undergraduate and graduate), professors, scholars and any other person that may be interested.