Students take three semesters of beginning and/or intermediate language, including FREN 1101, 1102, 1103, 2203 and/or ITA 1101, 1102, 103, 2203. The three semesters can be taken in one language in sequence or in the two languages (e.g. 1101 and 1102 in one language and 1103/2203 in another language).

The Immersion project entails the creation of a final artifact (in English or in the target language(s), including movies, posters, visual journals, performances, etc.). Throughout the three semesters, students will:

• Collect classwork from the three language semesters (e.g. projects, assignments, in-class activities, quizzes, exams, etc.) that they think are significant to their learning and will store it in the Brightspace’s portfolio
• Reflect on the language learning process (which in-class or outside-of-the-classroom assignments were the most helpful throughout the three semesters), and on cultural awareness and intercultural competence acquisition
• Discuss the possible applications of the language(s) in their future life with concrete examples

French contact: Alexis Finet
Italian contact: Andrea Mirabile

Students with credit for the first three semesters of French have the choice of enrolling in two courses that focus on language use in context and cross-cultural awareness.

Courses options are:

• FREN 1111: First-Year Writing Seminar
• FREN 2501W: Grammar and Composition
• FREN 2611: Pronunciation, Phonetics and Performance
• FREN 2614: Advanced Conversation
• FREN 3111: French for Business
• FREN 3112: Medical French in Intercultural Contexts
• FREN 3113: Advanced French Grammar

The Immersion project entails:

• A final reflection on the ways these two classes allowed students to reflect upon the multiple facets of their identity as a language learner and gain a sense of the vast and diverse voices present in the language and cultures studied highlighting language use in context and cross-cultural awareness.
• A subsequent creation of an artifact (in English or in the target language(s), such as a movie, a poster, a digital journal, a performance, etc.) in which students express their own diverse identities and showcase their multicultural awareness.

Contact: Alexis Finet

After completing the first three semesters of Italian, students have the choice of enrolling in three courses at an upper intermediate or advanced level. Students can take two 200-level classes and one 300-level class or one 200-level class and two 300-level classes.

• Possible 200-level classes are ITA 2614: Conversation and ITA 2501W: Grammar and Composition.
• Possible 300-level classes are ITA 3041: Italian Civilization, ITA 3701: City Fictions, ITA 3702: Topics in Contemporary Italian Civilization, ITA 3704: Italy: A World Cultures & Languages, and ITA 3802: Contemporary Italian Society and Culture.

The Immersion project entails:

• Collecting classwork (e.g. projects, assignments, in-class activities, quizzes, exams, etc.) from the three language semesters in the portfolio provided by Brightspace
• Reflecting on the language learning process (which in-class or outside-of-the-classroom assignments were the most helpful throughout the three semesters), cultural awareness and intercultural competence acquisition, and application of the language(s) in the future life (concrete examples)
• Creating a final creative artifact (in English or in the target language(s), including movies, posters, visual journals, performances, etc.) after completing the three semesters, in which students express their own language and culture experience throughout the three courses

Contact: Andrea Mirabile

After completing the first three semesters of French, students have the choice of enrolling in three courses at an upper intermediate or advanced level (3000-4000 level). Possible course offerings include any French courses taught within those levels, but with an emphasis on thematic or subject links throughout the courses (e.g., cinema, literature and history from a specific time period, etc.).

The Immersion project entails:

• Collecting classwork (e.g. projects, assignments, in-class activities, quizzes, exams, etc.) from the three language semesters in the portfolio provided by Brightspace
• Reflecting on the language learning process (which in-class or outside-of-the-classroom assignments were the most helpful throughout the three semesters), cultural awareness and intercultural competence acquisition, and application of the language(s) in the future life (concrete examples)
• Creating a final creative artifact (in English or in the target language(s), including movies, posters, visual journals, performances, etc.) after completing the three semesters, in which students express their own language and culture experience throughout the three courses.

Contact: Raisa Rexer

The Department of Theatre and the Italian program within the Department of French and Italian propose an immersive experience through the world of design and fashion, which offers students the opportunity to investigate the aesthetics and process of costuming and makeup; the cultural, historical, and economic aspects of Italian brands; and the issues and practices of sustainable fashion.

Students selecting this opportunity take:

• THTR: 1111-05: Sustainable Fashion: Issues, Practices, and Possibilities
• THTR 3741: Elements of Basic Design: Costuming and Makeup (which is offered every two years)
• ITA 3704: Made-in-Italy: Italianness in Italy and Abroad

During these courses, students are offered theoretical reflections on the topic of design and fashion as well as hands-on experiences and contacts with design and fashion communities from the local to global level.

For their final project, students can choose between two options:

• A comparative analysis between Italian and American brands or an investigation of the local and global economy of a Made-in-Italy brand with an international market.
• A practical project on costuming or sustainable practices to realize in The Wond’ry Innovation Center.

Italian contact: Faculty members in the Italian program
Theatre contact: Alexandra Sargent Capps

Students take courses dealing with the history of Italian cinema, film theory and practice, and contemporary intermedia experiments, including ITA 3640: Classic Italian Cinema (strongly recommended) and ITA 3641: Contemporary Italian Cinema (strongly recommended). See courses offerings in the Department of Cinema & Media Arts.

For their final project, students can choose to complete one or two of the following:

• Thesis
• Multimedia Project
• Community Work
• Oral Presentation.

Contact: Andrea Mirabile

There are a variety of faculty-led Immersion projects focused on one of the most entrenched conflicts of our epoch: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This could occur through a Maymester faculty-led study tour (10-15 students), or a set of courses including a study abroad component that address a wide-ranging interrogation of the turbulent cohabitation of Jews and Arab-Muslims in France.

The purpose is to understand the rise of terrorism and why France has been the target of more ISIS terrorist attacks than any other country in Europe. Through a study of the history and culture of migration and diaspora between Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, an Immersion project of this type can focus on the interactions of the specific French and Francophone regions in the Mediterranean basin that are most integral to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—most notably southern France, the Maghreb, but possibly also Israel.

Study in Nashville could include courses aimed at the conflict and its history, coupled with a study abroad component that could include a study tour of the Mediterranean basis from France (Marseilles) to North Africa (Tangiers) and Israel (Haifa), or be incorporated into the existing study abroad program in one of those areas. Haifa now has a direct-credit program for Vanderbilt students.

Successful completion of the Immersion project may involve a research paper or other creative project that reflects student learning on the topic (video, journalistic report, etc.).

Credit hours: variable according to specific project.

Contact: Nathalie Debrauwere-Miller

This interdisciplinary immersive experience brings together cultural theory and urban planning to explore the ways in which fiction, film, painting, photography, graphic novels, and performance art aspire to communicate the complex life and design of our cities, as well as seek to transform the way readers and viewers understand and experience urban realities.

Students selecting this opportunity take:

• ITA 3701: City Fictions
• Two content-related courses, such as:
  • AADS 1716: The African City: Urban Landscapes on the Page, Screen and Canvas
  • ANTH 2150: Urban Ecology
  • HART 2780: History of Western Urbanism
  • HART 3725W: The Skyscraper: Modern Urban Icon
  • HOD 8200: Community Development and Urban Policy
  • CLAS 3200: The Greek City
  • AADS 2294: Black Paris – Paris Noir
  • DIV 5221: Social Action in the City
  • HIST 1368: Rio de Janeiro
  • HART 3766W: Post-1871 Berlin Monuments
  • SPAN 4810: Images of the City
  • FREN 3634: Parisian Geographies: Paris in the 19th and 20th century Art and Literature
  • HART 2340W: The Art of Venice
  • HIST 2655: Historic Black Nashville
  • EUS 2260: European Cities
  • HIST 1281W: The Making of African Cities
  • HIST 3150: Cities of Europe and the Middle East
  • PPS 3100: Cities in the 21st Century

The Immersion project entails a thesis, or a multimedia project, or community work.

Italian contact: Andrea Mirabile
French contact: Raisa Rexer