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Some students who participated in the study abroad travel to Italy. Photo by Mark Dolan.
Each night in his Florence apartment, Mark Dolan opens the shutters of the screenless windows and lets in a rush of cold air as he listens to the sounds of people talking four stories above the cobblestone streets.
“Most of them left the bar, some laughing, others arguing with me, and even though I don’t speak much Italian, I understand a lot,” he said. “Their voice rises between the terracotta tile roofs.”
Adapting to the rhythms of Italian life, Dolan, his three colleagues and 52 students participated in a study abroad trip to Italy this summer.
Dolan, a University of Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media associate professor of multimedia journalism, taught the 8 a.m. photography class “Smartphone Storytelling” about shooting and editing with iPhones and using overlays and overlay techniques to create journalistic or portrait images. Good art.
“It’s kind of diving into a place, and then you realize you’ve only scratched the surface…” Dolan said. “After the first photo category, most of the challenge was how to get away from the clichés – wine glasses, motor scooters and espresso cups…
Hillside houses over the water in Italy. Photo by Mark Dolan.
“It was professionally rewarding to try this in a visually rich country… the cities we lived in became vast classrooms, these ancient Renaissance cities—Florence, Venice, Rome.
Dolan said he hopes the experience enriches the students.
“Being in college is the perfect age to stand on your own in a world that’s completely different from anything you’ve ever known — and to be accountable to yourself and to deadlines in what are often 12-hour days,” he says. “You realize yourself by being outside of yourself, paradoxically. It’s an amazing experience of transformation, of becoming, of enormous potential.”
The group spent three weeks in Florence with side trips including San Gimignano, Chianti, Pisa and Venice. After leaving Florence, they spent four days in Sorrento and the last week in Rome, stopping at Vesuvius and Pompeii.
RJ Morgan, PhD, Associate Teaching Professor of Journalism and IMC, taught a course called “Writing in Voice.” He was fascinated by how students expressed their sights, sounds, and feelings when they were newly exposed to so many strange but beautiful settings.
“Having the ability to slow down enough to the world around you and focus enough to write about it is a valuable skill both professionally and personally,” he said. “The more you are trained to notice and observe, the more vivid and lasting those memories will be.”
Ben Jonson and the other students eat together in Italy. Photo by Mark Dolan.
Christina Sparks, teaching associate professor of integrated marketing communications, said she taught “branding and communication strategies.” Students learned how to register and sell trademarks in different countries.
“They’ve got new brands as well as existing brands,” Sparks said. “One example is Nutella. It’s an Italian brand that’s well-developed in Europe, but it’s marketed differently in America.”
Students considered the cultural connections of global brands and presented their research to the class.
“You get to know them as they explore different cultures and develop a broader mindset, and you get a chance to be a part of their broadening perspective and deeper learning experience,” she says.
Jason Kane, Ph.D., interim IMC Program Coordinator and Assistant Professor of Integrated Marketing Communications, taught a class called “Global Communication Systems.” Cain enjoyed witnessing the disciples go to Rome.
“It’s a big city built on top of a very old city,” he said. “Many students find it very stressful, and many never recover from culture shock. But, many of them do, and for the last two days, they’ve dug themselves into what I believe to be one of the most beautiful cities on earth.
Cain hopes that students will understand that people are both different and similar, which creates opportunities and complexities in international communication. He hopes students grow from stepping outside of their own experiences, and that the trip leaves them excited and hungry for more adventures.
“There’s no doubt about the opportunity to travel around the world,” he said. “I’m constantly trying to find ways to make it more accessible to more students because I think when you’re in a place where you’re in a place where you can be more than just a tourist, it changes you.”
Cain says traveling abroad has changed him, and he’s seen similar growth in students.
“I hope at the end of the day, they better understand that there are people in all these places around the world who have their own hopes, dreams and fears that aren’t that different from them,” he said.
In fact, one Sunday in Rome, Dolan attended Mass with Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Basilica. In line with a Wichita family, he realized he needed a ticket. So a South Korean priest generously gave him the extra dolan he had removed from his wallet.
“The family took my place and I ended up in the last row,” Dolan said. “There was a floor made up of small mosaic tiles from the 1600s – no wheels, no folding chairs – and I was listening to a living pope. so cool.”
To learn more about this study abroad trip, courses offered, and future adventures of the School of Journalism and New Media, visit this website for updates: https://omjabroad.squarespace.com/about
This story was written by LaReeca Rucker.
Tags: Best IMC Programs, Best Journalism Programs, Featured, Integrated Marketing Communications, Italy, Journalism, Study Abroad, Travel, University of Mississippi, Mississippi School of Journalism, and New Media
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