Summer: Rutgers- Global Journalism in Italy
The Program
Practice working as a foreign correspondent or travel writer in Italy!
Cover the big global stories of our time, from the struggles of Middle Eastern and African migrants surging through Europe to the controversies over war, defense and climate change that could threaten Europe’s very existence. Or delve into the cultural side of this sophisticated Venetian city, and write about culture, food, travel and city life.
Program Locations
Italy
Verona
Shakespeare chose this enchanting Venetian city as the setting for Romeo and Juliet, and no wonder: its walkable streets are filled with romantic Renaissance palaces, Roman ruins, Medieval lanes and gorgeous piazzas, all connected by the beautiful Adige River, which you can cross via numerous pedestrian bridges. This gorgeous city of opera, outdoor theater and multicultural living is located in one of Italy’s most exciting regions, just minutes away from Lake Garda, and at the foot of the spectacular Dolomiti mountains. Venice, Milan, Florence, Rome and the Cinque Terre are all a short train or bus ride away.
The surrounding Veneto region is also well worth exploring: you might try your hand at rowing in Venice; hike or bike in the fairytale German-Italian city of Bolzano; visit the chic resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo; tour world-famous vineyards devoted to the production of Prosecco, and Valpolicella wines, and explore the elegant university city of Padua.
Italy
Lake Garda
Included in the cost of the course is a boat trip up world-famous Lake Garda, Italy’s largest lake, and memorialized by poets and painters for centuries. Virgil, Goethe, Kafka, D.H. Lawrence and James Joyce all chronicled life on and around Garda, and Gustav Klimt and John Singer Sargeant painted there. We’ll visit the winemaking village of Bardolino; ride a Ferris wheel; enjoy a lakeside lunch and have a chance to swim at an atmospheric beach.
Italy
Trento
We’ll take a working day trip to the Alpine city of Trento, with its arcaded streets, Renaissance frescoes and famous Buoncasiglio Castle, seat of power of the prince-bishops who ruled this region for a half millennium. We’ll ride a cable car up a mountain to a neighboring village, to enjoy spectacular views of the valleys, and tour a museum that memorializes the region’s revered Alpini mountain infantry, who defended Italy in both world wars.
Academics
Benvenuti! Get ready for our two-week adventure in one of the world’ s greatest cities, where you’ll have a chance to practice working as a foreign correspondent or travel writer!
Our challenge: to get a taste of the life of an international journalist, while developing stories you can publish, and feature in your professional portfolio. With University of Verona English language students as your interpreters, you’ll be organized into teams, and will be assigned to report, write and photograph articles to a professional level, under the guidance of Professor Mary D'Ambrosio https://comminfo.rutgers.edu/dambrosio-mary
You’ll also learn about what makes this extraordinary city tick, and about the lives, hopes and dreams of the residents of Verona.
Classes will meet weekday mornings, around two modules: basic Italian, taught by a University of Verona Italian instructor, and international reporting, taught by Professor D'Ambrosio. After lunch, you’ll put your morning studies into action: you’ll go out reporting in teams, accompanied by your Italian interpreters, and sometimes by your professor, who will rotate among the teams.
Arrival weekend will be devoted to orientation, an excursion to the spectacular Lake Garda and to a welcome dinner. The second long weekend – Friday, Saturday and Sunday – will be free for you to travel within Italy. Venice, Florence, Milan, Padua, Rome, Bolzano, the Cinque Terre and the Italian lakes are all easily accessible by train and bus. (Students must stay in Italy during the program.)
Your course fee includes accommodations, travel health insurance, ground transportation for group activities, all instruction and credits, payment of Italian interpreters, several group meals for special events, and a range of cultural excursions to museums, concerts and vineyards. It also includes day trips to the spectacular nearby Lake Garda, and to the gorgeous Alpine city of Trento, where we’ll visit an atmospheric castle, enjoy a typical lunch and ride a funicular to a neighboring village, to enjoy panoramic view.
Housing and Meals
Students will lodge in an attractive new hostel located in the university district, within the city center. There is a fully-equipped common kitchen, where students can store their own food, and cook their own meals, and there is a major supermarket across the street. There are also many excellent, inexpensive restaurants and cafes nearby. The program covers group welcome and farewell dinners, and a number of local cultural activities and excursions. The other meals are on your own. Airfare is not included.
Scholarships
Faculty Leaders
Prof. Mary D’Ambrosio is a journalist who specializes in writing about international affairs. She has reported extensively from Europe and Latin America, and her work has appeared in the Huffington Post, Anthropology Now, Institutional Investor, Islands, and Working Woman magazines, as well as in the San Francisco Chronicle, Newsday, and the Miami Herald. Co-liaison to the Journalism and Media Studies Department’s Global Media specialization, Prof. D’Ambrosio is a dual U.S.-Italian citizen, and was the founding director of Rutgers’ Global Journalism in Italy program.