Chapman Italian Studies News

Melissa Marino has been selected by the National Italian American Foundation to join the Italian American Leadership Council (IALC) Fellow Program. Melissa Marino is a Santa Barbara native receiving a BFA in Theatre Performance and a BA in Italian Language and Culture at Chapman. She studied abroad in the spring of 2015 in Milan, Italy, and loved all of the amazing gifts and culture Italy had to offer–so much so that she eventually declared a second major in it. In 2016 she received Chapman University’s Italian Studies Council Academic Excellence Award. She is also the Vice President of the Italian Club on campus, where she truly enjoys helping the Chapman community grow. She will be graduating in the Spring of 2017.

Though there are numerous Italian American social, fraternal, linguistic and academic organizations on campuses throughout America, there has never been a unified strategy to their organization and management. In order to address this absence, NIAF has created NIAF on Campus, a NIAF Italian American Leadership Council (IALC) Fellow Program. This initiative aims to support the engagement of future generations of Italian Americans in the leadership of our community by designing a unified, grass roots, and collaborative strategy between NIAF and university Italian groups all over the country. Together with the other fellows, Melissa Marino will lead the discussion and design of a new “NIAF on Campus” strategy and support its the implementation for many years to come.

Congratulazioni Melissa e un grosso ringraziamento per la tua dedizione ed entusiasmo!

Chapman Italian Studies is launching a new travel course in Taormina, Italy, next summer. Students interested in participating can contact Dr. Pacchioni at pacchion@chapman.edu

Sicily presents a prime opportunity to experience cultural hybridization at its best and most beautiful. Due to its strategic location in the Mediterranean basin, the island of Sicily has been invaded over the centuries by many civilizations from the ancient Greeks and Romans to the Byzantines and Arabs and later to the Christian kings of Europe, each leaving a mark on the culture and traditions of the island inhabitants.  This cultural and linguistic immersion experience will be based in the archeologically rich and elegant town of Taormina, considered an unmissable stop on the Grand Tours of the 19th centuries and since then visited by many important artists and filmmakers. Students will engage in a rich curriculum integrating daily linguistic coursework, excursions to sites of naturalistic and artistic importance, and cultural activities familiarizing them with traditional and contemporary aspects of Sicilian life.