News - May 28, 2010

SUF summer students on the road to rich and varied offerings

The lighting of the piazza. The Italian hilltown. The constructed photograph. The Italian Mafia. Cross cultural psychology. Three Cities. These are just a few of the intriguing subjects awaiting summer 2010 students, who will find course offerings at SUF spiced up for the warm months.

Students will be traveling the entire Italian peninsula with their summer courses. The piazzas of Florence, Rome, Vicenza, and Venice will be the focus of those who choose to enroll in the interdisciplinary studio/lecture course “Lighting of the Piazza,” taught by Alex Koziara, SU. Students will study the unique concept of “light as a thread that weaves through art, culture, and architecture,” including the fascination and manipulation of light by historical and modern artists from many perspectives.

A trip to Sicily is an important feature wrapping up the ever-popular course “The Italian Mafia,” with Natalia Piombino, SUF. After focusing on the Sicilian and American Mafia at the SUF campus, the class will travel to Corleone, where they will have the opportunity to work in fields confiscated from the Mafia.
 
Through “Italy and Italians: a Cross Cultural Study” with Amy Kleine, SU, students will examine Italy and its inhabitants, covering the influence of Italian culture on human behavior, communication, attitudes, and values. After focusing on differences between a collective versus individualistic society, students can look forward to conducting their own cross-cultural interview.

Undoubtedly the most travel will be done by students enrolled in the School of Architecture’s “Three Cities Studio: Florence, Madrid, Amsterdam.” Just two days after their arrival in Florence they will take off again. Says Lawrence Davis, Coordinator of the SUF School of Architecture, “As well as including a remarkable survey of some of the most important historic and contemporary European architecture and urban design, ‘Three Cities’ is an examination of three different architecture cultures: Iberia, the Netherlands, and Italy—each with a very different relationship to their own history that is evident in their contemporary built environment.

One week into their travels the ‘Three Cities’ students will also begin an official blog—a personal scrapbook of the 14 students as they venture through the European continent. Davis adds, “This course offers a great opportunity for SU Florence and SU Madrid to interact. SU Madrid has been instrumental in offering assistance and coordination for the Spanish section of the program. With SU Madrid we have organized a symposium for the ‘Three Cities’ students, with the participation of cutting edge architects in the world of Spanish architecture.”

Upon their return to Florence students can look forward to another unique feature of the course: a photography workshop with Stefania Talini, SUF, covering the themes of materials and details, people and space, lighting space and form, and urban landscapes. As Talini puts it, “Architectural photography is making art with another art.”