April 2007 – DEV – The Umbra Institute – Study Abroad in Italy

Last Thursday the Umbra Institute had the latest edition of the biannual Talent Show. Our growing enrolment meant that even with a larger-than-normal venue (the University of Perugia’s 100Dieci Pub and Student Mensa), the hall was full to almost capacity.A number of Italian language classes put on performances, in addition to individual student acts.

Professor Mugno’s class sang a choreographed version of the Italian pop song “Cinquanta Special” and Professor Leonardi’s 201 did the same for “Azzurro.”The Italian Theater and Racconto classes joined up to perform scenes from the Cavalleria Rusticana, and there were a number of other musical performances (kudos to both Christopher Loo and Dan Gillespie), as well as an original dance by Jacqueline Starner.The Talent Show finished with a duet by Frank Seijas and Natalie Stephens (the latter will be performing at the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi this summer)

It wasn’t a Parisian but rather a Perugian vernissage on Tuesday as Umbra fine arts students had a chance to show off their semester’s work. The vernissage took place in Umbra’s Via Danzetta art studio, where the walls of every room but the darkroom were hung with paintings, drawings, and photographs. Students displayed their oil paintings, charcoal and pencil drawings (among them some huge, Benetton-like faces looming from far above the floor), and a mixture of playful and serious black-and-white photographs, some even hand-tinted. Umbra’s fine art faculty, many members of the staff, and most of the student body came during the course of the two-hour show.

A record-breaking number of students showed up at La Tana del Orso for the semesterly Literary Reading for Professor Cindy Clough’s Creative Writing class. They crowded into Via Ulisse Rocchi prior to the 7:30 event, many worried that the televised sporting event that had been pushed forward to 5:30 would not end in time for the popular bar to accommodate the crowd. Wondrously, however, the room cleared punctually and tables filled instantly with Umbra students, staff, faculty and even a few visiting parents.

Creative Writing professor, Cindy Clough, reminded students that the “rhetorical situation” of La Tana was unique and certainly different from that of the student literary magazine; they could pull out their riskier pieces in an atmosphere of fun. Food seemed to be on everyone’s mind; students produced essay after essay on culinary experiences while waiting for La Tana staff to do some kind of loaves and fishes trick for the hungry unexpected multitudes. Beth Dudek, whose parents were visiting, dared to go first with her panegyric to Nutella and Jackie Starner followed suit, describing thedubious discovery that Nutella could be used even as a facial mask. Geno McDermott had everyone in stitches with his ribald caricature of Parma sandwich eaters. As the night progressed, the readings took a more pensive turn with Dan Gillespie’s reflections on Hugo Van der Goes Portinari Altarpiece and Paul Schiller’s narrative of travels with a kindhearted Sicilian who sang Madonna songs. No one was exempt from sharing something s/he had written during the term, but there were no shrinking violets: Everyone grabbed the mic with gusto and all had a rollicking good time.

The Tana reading offers Umbra students not only a chance to share stories of their fondest study-abroad memories, but is also the first of many end-of-term celebrations.

The semester’s almost over but the learning isn’t! This past Monday Umbra students were treated to a trip to a nearby Umbrian town, Bevagna. Bevagna is particular not so much for its beautiful boulevards or works of art, but rather for its preservation not just of buildings but of what was in them. Traditional crafts from as far back as the early Middle Ages are still practiced in Bevagna. Students witnessed demonstrations of paper and candle-making as well as silk spinning and a recreation of a medieval painter’s house and workshop. The weather was beautiful and warm and the students and staff were able to finish off the morning with a picnic lunch in a park-like atmosphere.

We often hear of alumni reunions held across the country – but we rarely receive photographic evidence. Rachel Bethany and Reid Williamson sent the following photos of an informal alumni reunion in Boston. These former Umbra students headed for Boston’s historic North End, a bastion of Italian eateries and culture, to share memories of their semester in Perugia.

Alumni: please send your updates (and photos!) to [email protected].

“Is the Pope Catholic?” is a sarcastic response to what seems to be a rhetorical question, but the answer to the question “How Catholic is Italy?” is not quite so obvious. In Professor Jim Schwarten’s Contemporary Italian Culture and Society, students attempted to answer just that question by compiling a questionnaire to poll Italians about Catholicism. The actual administration of the survey to Italians around Perugia gave the class members a chance to use their language skills, and approach members of the community. The results were very interesting.

The survey showed that more men reported being non-practicing Catholics (44.6%) than females at (17.7%). More men (42.2%) than women (22.2%) believe that the Catholic Church should not intervene in social affairs such as de facto couples, and gay marriage, etc. Most people polled, men (39%) + women (29%) totaling 68%, believe that the Church’s place in society is best served in creating solidarity for the needy–a finding that generally reflects a recent IPSOS poll.

A result the class found that seems to contradict previous findings is that 29% of women believe that Catholicism and such divinatory arts as card reading, palm reading, or astrology can coexist, whereas 40% of men believe they cannot. As a whole, the polling experience was a positive one for the students and the results allowed for the students to give some serious thought as to how Catholic Italy really is.

Umbra’s Spring 2007 Photo of the Month contest rounds out its season with a photo from Trieste, in the north of Italy. It was taken by Dashiell Davis from Arcadia University and is titled “Double Take in Trieste.” Dashiell wins a free meal from Quattro Passi Pizzeria.

Congrats Dashiell!