Florence Summer Institute 2024

Welcome to the KSU Florence Summer Institute. The College of Education, Health and Human Services will offer the courses below at the Kent State campus in Florence, Italy in summer 2024.

Learn more and apply for Florence Summer Institute 2024

HEM 43231 - Food/Wine/Beverage Pairing

This course provides students with knowledge of the sensory relationship of Food, Wine, Beer and other Spirits and the important role this process has on Hospitality Operations. Topics include developing an understanding of wine, beer and food pairing as a hierarchical process, gastronomic identity, Old and New World traditions, and traditional and non-traditional gastronomic pairings.

Dates: May 27-June 20, 2024

Instructors: Chef Andrew Eith (aeith@kent.edu) 

ETEC 47495/67495 - Innovative Technologies and Their Impact on Italian Wine, Food, Culture, Education, and Religion

Recent technological advances (i.e., artificial intelligence, virtual reality) are impactful on the speed at which we view, review, and shape our societies and cultures. The main purpose of this course is to examine Florentine and Italian society and culture, specifically focusing on food, wine, education, museums, and religion. Each week we will simultaneously: 1) explore the ways in which we get access to information and learn from innovative technologies (e.g., AR & VR); 2) explore how those tools shape Italian (and global culture); and 3) use that learning to set the stage to become producers of content for global consumption. The class will capitalize on the Italian and KSU context with field trips to learn and capture content for creation of student materials. Additionally, students will explore cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary aspects of technology consumption and production.

Dates: May 27-June 20, 2024

Instructor: Dr. Rick Ferdig (rferdig@kent.edu)

SPAD 45024 - Sport in Global Perspective

Students will critically analyze how sport, in contemporary societies, relates to general features of globalization and the connection between global and local issues (including social, cultural, economic, and geopolitical issues). The course will try to fully integrate the students’ abroad experience in their learning process. For this purpose, a focus on the Italian context will be a relevant part of the course through visits (Museo del Calcio di Coverciano – National Football Museum in Florence; Viola Park – ACF Fiorentina training center in Florence), and guest lectures and meetings with professional sport managers from Pistoia Basket – LBA pro team, ACF Fiorentina men and women, Savino del Bene women Volleyball – Italian team, and Guelfi American football Firenze.

Dates: May 27-June 20, 2024

Instructor: Marco Bracci, Ph.D.

LTCA 4/54033 - Long Term Care Administration II (With an International Flair) 

Have you considered retiring in Europe, maybe Italy? International LTC is becoming a focus as the world's older adult population grows rapidly. The course will benefit students in any major, as well as majors such as hospitality, gerontology, long term care administration, business, and students interested in senior living. (Prerequisite may be waived.) Visits to senior living communities in and around Florence will introduce students to how international long-term care differs from services offered in the US.

Dates: May 27-June 20, 2024

Instructor: Donna Alexander (dalexa2@kent.edu) 

SPED 4/53062 - Curriculum Methods Mild/Moderate

The focus of this course is on the delivery and adaptation of evidence-based practices for students with mild/moderate disabilities with an emphasis on achievement in general curriculum. Students learn how to deliver a highly effective lesson to a diverse group of students with a range of academic abilities. Students will have the opportunity to practice evidence-based instructional and behavior management practices.

Dates: May 27-June 20, 2024

Instructor: Dr. Nathan Stevenson (nsteve15@kent.edu)

HDFS 45089 - Lifespan Development Practices and Outcomes: The Italian Experience 

The goal of the course is to explore Italian culture, customs, education, and governmental influences on human development. Students will do this through lectures, assignments, and naturalistic observations of Florentines. We’ll spend most of our class time visiting historical sites, nonprofit organizations, and guided exploration of the city along with lectures from local experts.

Dates: May 27-June 20,  2024

Instructor: Lisa Hallaman (lhallama@kent.edu)

HDFS 44089 - Families in Florence, Italy: Love, Parenting, and Policy

The course explores the concepts of love, parenting, and social policy in the context of family experiences of Florence, Tuscany, and Italy. We aim to use the city of Florence as our classroom. In this course, we’ll explore how historical family honor, rituals, culture, and social context continue to influence the modern Florentine family. We’ll work to identify family rituals and traditions passed down from the Roman empire and explore how modern social policies and culture influence love, relationships, and family.

Dates: May 27-June 20,  2024

Instructor: Dr. Scott Tobias (stobias4@kent.edu)

PROS 40095 - Soft Skills of Leadership: European and American Perspectives

This course will assist students in tapping into their leadership potential by exploring the soft skills of leadership and exploring both European and American perspectives regarding essential leadership characteristics. There will be multiple opportunities for exploration in and around Florence, studying leadership as it is manifested in business, education, the food and wine industry and professional sports.

Dates: May 27-June 20, 2024

Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Ray-Tomasek (jtomasek@kent.edu) 

SPA 44089; EPSY 5/70093 - Cognition of Conversation, Miscommunication, and Learning 

Communication is the seat of social interaction, and to truly understand the intricacies of communication - we will communicate. Therefore, this course will not be like a traditional lecture-based course but will include three types of immersive learning contexts: field exploration, rich in-class discussions, and online preparatory lectures about communicating. There will be three planned field exploration activities, in which we will learn about pragmatics as we people watch at famous locations in Florence, like Ponte Vecchio, discover the city as we use language to navigate maps, and practice our perspective taking skills in local shops or restaurants. In-class discussion will come from discussions of personal experience and review of assigned readings, while online preparatory assignments will include pre-recorded lecture content and knowledge checks.

Dates: July 1-July 25, 2024

Instructor: Dr. Jennifer Roche (jroche3@kent.edu)

SPAD 25000 - Sport in Society

The aim of the course is to study and to apply different theoretical perspectives to the reflection and comprehension on sport in different countries, with reference to the United States and Italy. Students will critically analyze how sport relates to the social relations and cultural values of United States and Italian societies, using a comparative and cross-cultural approach. The course is framed by a critical evaluative perspective, examining how social class, ethnicity, race and gender relations shape sport practices. Analysis of specific case studies both from US and Italy will stimulate an active in-class students’ participation. The course will try to fully integrate the students’ abroad experience in their learning process. For this purpose, a focus on the Italian context will be a relevant part of the course through visits (Museo del Calcio di Coverciano – National Football Museum in Florence), and meetings with athletes and representatives from Pistoia Basket – LBA pro team, ACF Fiorentina women, Savino del Bene women Volleyball Scandicci-Firenze team, Beep Firenze Baseball for Blind team, and Volpi Rosse wheelchair basketball Firenze team.

Dates: July 1-July 25, 2024

Instructor: Marco Bracci, Ph.D.