Exploring Venice as a Place-Based, Problem-Based Interdisciplinary Learning Experience

Exploring Student Interests

Bryan expresses that a problem-based and placed-based approach “allows students the freedom to really explore their own interests.” For example, one student in the Resistance and Representation module was particularly interested in “feminist Venetian courtesans in the early modern period and so she did her final project as a podcast on Veronica Franco.” In addition to the final project, in Resistance and Representation students develop their own protest by the end of the module. Students think about if they were to plan a protest in Venice, "Where would they do it? For what cause? What would their protest look like? What would their slogans look like? What tactics would they use?” This year’s students planned protests in relation to disability rights in Venice; protest menus as manifestos against the invasion of the Atlantic Blue Crab; and a piece of protest theatre inspired by Dario Fo to commemorate anti-Fascist resistance in Venice.

Students begin Sustainable Serenissima by playing “Venetian bingo they sit in a square for an hour and observe the number of things they see that are for locals and for tourists.” Students also make an actor’s map of key players in sustainability to help them when they go out and explore the issues in the community. For example, on the field trip to the Northern Lagoon students have visited local valli da pesca (traditional fish farms), abandoned islands (rethinking changes to the usage of the lagoon), and an organic farm which is trying to bring back the tradition of agriculture to the island of Sant’Erasmo — once the garden of Venice that fed most of the historic city.
However, Bryan importantly adds that “We don’t simply have a science day followed by a culture day, etc… which would be multidisciplinary. The module’s interdisciplinarity rests in looking at the connections and intersections between these approaches." In the culminating final project, students are asked to imagine themselves in the role of the mayor of Venice in 2050, and they must debate whether or not to save the lagoon: Bryan elaborates “it's really interesting to debrief after and to get them to think about: Why did you decide this? How did you come up with this? And it's really interesting because for them because they've been in Venice for two weeks and they've fallen in love with the city. They don't want to sacrifice it.” 

Bringing in Community Knowledge and Global Connections

Bryan explains that “Another key component of interdisciplinarity is valuing the existing knowledge that anyone brings.” This includes bringing in students’ knowledge as well as the community. Throughout the modules, students are exposed to different organisations in Venice who are tackling issues of sustainability and tourism that affect the city. This importantly helps students to see practical ways that interdisciplinarity works in the real-world. Student meet with organisations such as:

OCIOLink opens in a new window

Venessia.comLink opens in a new window

ArzanàLink opens in a new window

Associazione Progetto RialtoLink opens in a new window

We are Here VeniceLink opens in a new window

and others to learn about the many intersecting crises currently facing the city of Venice. They also benefit from making global connections and international friendships with students from partner universities—such as Columbia University in New York, Concordia University in Montréal, Stellenbosch University in South Africa, and Monash University in Australia—who take these modules as well. Students often maintain these friendships and collaborations long after the module ends.

Building International Partnerships

Bryan mentions some of the challenges of building community partnerships which can be difficult to navigate given the timelines of organisations and differences in language and culture. What is key to a successful partnership is that Bryan often tries to ensure that the partnership is mutually beneficial, for example by promoting the organization’s work so that they can have greater visibility, or offering to help translate some of the organization’s documents into English.

Another area of international collaboration is in developing partnerships with students and faculty from other institutions who can participate in the modules. The module is also open to students from other universities who participate in the WIISP programme, namely Colombia University in the United States. Bryan draws on the expertise of professors at partner universities to help develop the module further and to foster cross-institutional relationships. Finally, Bryan offers that these kinds of intensive modules are really useful for interdisciplinary learning and should be encouraged further in the future. He notes that in an intensive, place-based module students “have the unique chance to bond together and focus intensively on their learning in a collaborative environment, as opposed to their usual course load and other commitments during the term."