KRISTEN SHULTIS
Staff Writer
Fredonia offers many study abroad programs in different countries. Some are for specific majors. Others aren’t major specific.
One of these programs comes from the Department of Visual Arts and New Media and studies Renaissance painting, sculpture and architecture. This is a course titled “Arts of Italy.”
The study abroad trip is an opportunity to explore art in Italy. Some of the cities that are included in the trip are Florence and Rome, with other smaller trips to Siena, Arezzo, Cinque Terre and Pompeii.
“It’s a great experience for people who have never studied abroad before,” said Emily Ivey, a professor from the Department of Visual Arts and New Media who organizes the trip each year with her husband, James Ivey, a professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance.
“I have never seen so much beauty and eaten so well in my entire life,” said Eddie Knibloe, a senior arts administration major and participant in the 2014 Arts of Italy trip.
“One of the things that makes this a unique study abroad experience is the fact that you live in your own apartment, which is in a building with real Italian families, so you get submerged in the culture,” Ivey said.
Most of the trip is spent in Florence and Rome and looks at the significance of art in those areas. It also is a good opportunity for students to see Italy and learn to appreciate the art that has been in those areas for centuries.
“Artistically, seeing works of art in person you had probably only seen in tiny text book pictures helps you grasp how impressive they really are,” said Knibloe of his experience. “But there was a cultural aspect I didn’t expect. It felt like a different world.”
“When people hear it’s a course, I think it kind of scares them, but there is nothing to fear,” Ivey said. “The only assignment is a presentation on which the student picks [the topic] and then they get to give their presentation in front of that work of art.
“The thing the students like the best is our day trips. We hike and we go to the beach,” Ivey also said of the program.
This year’s program runs from May 18 to June 6, 2015, with an application due date of Feb. 1. Any questions can be directed to Emily Ivey at Emily.Ivey@fredonia.edu.