Ciao! Auburn Summer Abroad Program to Sicily
Since 2006, Auburn University has been taking students to Taormina, Italy through the Auburn Abroad program. Students study with other students from all over the world at Il Centro di Lingua e Cultura Italiana Babilonia, the local university. The summer program is five weeks where students can get credit for a wide variety of classes.
Taormina is located in Sicily, where students have the opportunity to travel the continent on organized trips and learn about the Italian language through several classes. These classes include Sicilian Literature, Art History, Painting, Italian Culture, language and Italian Cinema. Recently, Babilonia has moved closer to the ruins of a Greek Theater that dates back to the Romans in Taormina.
"This change in location has allowed the university to be more open in the community and become a culture center in addition to just a school," said Dr. Giovanna Summerfield, Italian professor at Auburn and Sicilian herself. Summerfield conceptualized the study abroad opportunity in Sicily, and began leading it in 2006. Now, in its fifth summer, more than 18 students and counting are signed up to venture abroad through this program.
Students stay at a local hotel that is walking distance from their classes and downtown Taormina. Weekend trips to the Aeolian Islands, Catania and Agrigento are fully organized beforehand, allowing students to become completely familiar with all of Sicily and its history and culture. This year, a stop in Palermo has been added to the schedule to make for a very special trip.
Recently, an anti-mafia movement has made itself known in Sicily. The landscape that the government seizes from mafia members is now dedicated to this movement. The land is now used to cultivate products that are, as the stamp placed on them says, "Mafia Free". These products are things like wine, jam, pasta and other preserved food.
"Even though people know they can't do much against the mafia themselves, they can contribute by buying these Mafia Free products," Summerfield said. Auburn students will be the first Americans to visit "Anti-Mafia" lands.
Auburn students are paving the way to this new service learning project in Palermo, but they are also gaining a true sense of Sicilian culture.
Stephanie Secrest, a senior at Auburn, went on the trip in 2008. "It was a great experience to learn about different cultures," she said. The first week of June, Taormina hosts a film festival that always involves excitement for the students. They are exposed to cinema from all over the world and get to attend a movie premiere.
For more information about the trip to Taormina, contact Giovanna Summerfield at summegi@auburn.edu or visit the Web site.
Taormina is located in Sicily, where students have the opportunity to travel the continent on organized trips and learn about the Italian language through several classes. These classes include Sicilian Literature, Art History, Painting, Italian Culture, language and Italian Cinema. Recently, Babilonia has moved closer to the ruins of a Greek Theater that dates back to the Romans in Taormina.
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"This change in location has allowed the university to be more open in the community and become a culture center in addition to just a school," said Dr. Giovanna Summerfield, Italian professor at Auburn and Sicilian herself. Summerfield conceptualized the study abroad opportunity in Sicily, and began leading it in 2006. Now, in its fifth summer, more than 18 students and counting are signed up to venture abroad through this program.
Students stay at a local hotel that is walking distance from their classes and downtown Taormina. Weekend trips to the Aeolian Islands, Catania and Agrigento are fully organized beforehand, allowing students to become completely familiar with all of Sicily and its history and culture. This year, a stop in Palermo has been added to the schedule to make for a very special trip.
Recently, an anti-mafia movement has made itself known in Sicily. The landscape that the government seizes from mafia members is now dedicated to this movement. The land is now used to cultivate products that are, as the stamp placed on them says, "Mafia Free". These products are things like wine, jam, pasta and other preserved food.
"Even though people know they can't do much against the mafia themselves, they can contribute by buying these Mafia Free products," Summerfield said. Auburn students will be the first Americans to visit "Anti-Mafia" lands.
Auburn students are paving the way to this new service learning project in Palermo, but they are also gaining a true sense of Sicilian culture.
Stephanie Secrest, a senior at Auburn, went on the trip in 2008. "It was a great experience to learn about different cultures," she said. The first week of June, Taormina hosts a film festival that always involves excitement for the students. They are exposed to cinema from all over the world and get to attend a movie premiere.
For more information about the trip to Taormina, contact Giovanna Summerfield at summegi@auburn.edu or visit the Web site.
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