explorate University of Missouri Honors College Newsletter
Par for the course HC senior Hunter Kraus
Tiger travels
Bell Johnson Student spotlight
A taste of Italy
HC students on studying away
Professor Furstenau’s Italian food course
February 17, 2014 | honors.missouri.edu
Dr. West on
Study Abroad “I met a lot of people in Europe. I even encountered myself.” – James Baldwin
“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” – Bill Bryson As an undergraduate, I didn’t get the chance to study abroad. Funds were always tight in our house, and because I was heading to graduate school after college, whatever extra money could be scraped up had to go toward funding that. I don’t regret this fact; how can you regret something about which there was no choice? And I hate regrets anyway. But that doesn’t mean I don’t see this as a lost opportunity, something that might have changed me, or the course of my life, in compelling ways.
Like many of you plan to do, I went straight from my undergraduate education to graduate school (at the University of North Carolina) and then on to my first job. There were no interruptions, no delays, no detours. And although everything worked out very well for me, I sometimes wish life had gone a little crooked at times.
Studying abroad can provide that crookedness, taking us off the straight and narrow path of our careers. I learned this firsthand when I came to direct an annual study abroad program to England each summer. For 3 years, I was privileged enough to lead about 10 MU students to the northern part of England, where we visited the locations our favorite authors either lived in or wrote about. We hiked the glorious Lake District, stopping in Wordsworth’s cottage to see how the poet lived and worked. We visited the site of Pemberly in the BBC production of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, imagining the hunky Colin Firth walking through the estate as Mr. Darcy. And we spent a magi-
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cal weekend in London, eating fish and chips at the “Sherlock Holmes Pub” and scrutinizing a page of Charlotte Bronte’s original manuscript of Jane Eyre in the British Library.
Over those four magical weeks, the students and I were transformed. We left our “Columbia selves” home and adopted new, more adventurous selves. One student, a self-proclaimed “couch potato,” decided to do a 14-mike hike out on her own, just to prove to herself that she could do it. Another went off to Dublin by herself for a weekend, living out Freya Shark’s famous sentiment that “To awaken alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” After the program was over, one of the students, a Physics and English major, decided to get a Ph.D in English rather than go on to medical school, as he had originally planned. One student loved England so much, she decided to go live in London. If it’s at all possible for you to do a study abroad program, do it! There are few investments that will pay off in such big, and small, ways. . .
- explorate - - (ex-plo-raht) is a explorate plural imperative form of the - - “to exLatin verb explorare, plore.” Drawing on the Honors College motto, Explore. - Dream. Discover., explorate invites students to seek out every opportunity available to them.
Facebook University of Missouri Honors College Twitter @MUHonors
- - contributors explorate editor Rachel Koehn
in this issue 1
Dr. West on
Study Abroad
3 Announcements & Upcoming Passport Events 5 Tiger travels
HC students on studying away
7 Bell Johnson Student spotlight
staff reporters Siyu Lei Kate Maxcy Jacob Renie Kelsie Schrader Congrong Zheng
9 Sports: Par for the course
faculty advisor Dr. Gregory Triplett
Professor Furstenau’s Italian food course
Cover photo by Clayton Hotze.
HC senior Hunter Kraus
11 Faculty: A taste of Italy
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Announcements Honors College Scholarships Due February 28th Honors College Scholarship applications are due by 4pm on the final Friday in February (February 28, 2014). Application packets require a MU faculty recommendation, current transcript, and essay. More information can be found here: http://honors.missouri.edu/students/scholarships.php.
Schurz Hall and the Honors College Present: A Night With Gatsby
Prepare your 1920’s attire as the Honors College and Schurz Hall have teamed up to host a Gatsby-themed formal! There will be dancing, snacks, a fun photo booth and more! The semi-formal is next Friday, February 21 from 8-11pm in Stotler Lounge (Memorial Union), so grab your friends and your pearls and head on over for a great time! Please RSVP to the event on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/227652404076394/.
Important Spring 2014 Dates and Deadlines
Students wishing to drop a regular-length, spring class may only do so until 5 p.m. on Monday, February 24, via their Student Center in myZou. Students may withdraw from a regular-length class until 5 p.m., Monday, May 5. Those wishing to withdraw from a course must obtain a Course Withdrawal Form from their school/college and submit the completed form to the Office of the University Registrar, 125 Jesse Hall. The process is not complete until the form has been processed and myZou updated accordingly. The withdrawal must show in myZou to be valid.
Students may withdraw from the spring 2014 term (dropping or withdrawing from all classes enrolled) until 5 p.m., Monday, May 5*. Those wishing to withdraw from the term must obtain a Term Withdrawal Form from their school/college and submit the form to the Office of the University Registrar, 125 Jesse Hall. The process is not complete until the form has been processed and myZou updated accordingly. The withdrawal must show in myZou to be valid. If a student was enrolled through Mizzou Online, they may contact the Office of the University Registrar or Mizzou Online for assistance. The full spring calendar is available at http://registrar.missouri.edu/dates-deadlines.php. The Office of Cashiers refund calendar deadlines are available at http://cashiers.missouri.edu/refunds/ schedule.html.
New York Internship
Dear Honors Students,
An exciting new opportunity has come up for internship possibilities in many disciplines in New York City.
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MU’s International Center has teamed up with the Academic Internship Council, which provides internships and housing in the Village. The deadline to apply is February 25: www.international.missouri.edu/ intern-newyork <http://www.international.missouri.edu/intern-newyork>. Academic credit for this program ranges from three to six MU credit hours. Because no academic credit is specifically offered through this internship provider, students must work with a professor and/or their academic adviser in order to arrange academic credit for the program. Honors credits are possible. Please contact Monika Fischer at the Honors College to discuss this option: fischerm@missouri.edu. Students interning in the New York area are placed with companies ranging from innovative start-ups to global organizations representing a spectrum of industry sectors.
Test Prep Help for the GMAT and GRE
The Crosby MBA program will be offering some test prep sessions for students looking to take the GMAT or GRE as well as an informational webinar about the program: Math Bootcamp for the GMAT/GRE | Monday, February 17, 5:15pm to 7:15pm, 205 Cornell Hall Crosby MBA program Webinar | Tuesday, February 25, noon to 1:00pm, register online GMAT/GRE panel | Thursday, February 27, 5:00 to 6:30pm, 15 Cornell Hall Students need to RSVP to mba@missouri.edu to reserve their spot for the test prep sessions.
Special Opportunities for Students Wanting to Attend True/False! This year’s fest is Thursday, February 27 - Sunday, March 2, 2014. Here is the new webpage for detailed information for students and teachers: https://truefalse.org/educate.
NEW this year, we bring you T.G.I.T/F: Thank Goodness It’s True/False! - a day of FREE film, art, and music for ALL high school and college students in Missouri on the Friday of the fest (February 28th). And back again are the special discounted tickets for MU students at the MSA Box Office.
Honors College Spring Awards Ceremony and Reception SAVE THE DATE
A Celebration of Honors: The Honors College Spring Awards Ceremony and Reception Friday, April 4th, 4:00-5:30pm, Monsanto Auditorium Come and help us celebrate the faculty, students, and administrators who contribute so much to the Honors College at the University of Missouri.
Upcoming Passport Event Saturday Morning Science: “The Importance of Conserving Biodiversity Outside Protected Areas” Saturday, Feb. 22, 10:30 a.m. Monsanto Auditorium, Bond Life Sciences Center Speaker: Lori Eggert, Biological Sciences Although protected areas are essential to conservation, they aren’t always large enough to include all species. For wideranging animals like large mammals, biologists must recognize and address the challenges of conservation in humandominated habitats as well.
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Tiger travels
Honors College students take advantage of MU’s international and domestic study away programs
By Kate Maxcy
Each semester, Tigers can be found in over 50 countries around the world, thanks to the various international programs that MU offers. Twelve of these programs offer Honors College credit and are available during fall and spring terms, as well as summer and winter intersessions. Students are given the opportunity to take part in service programs, internships or simply to enjoy the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study in a foreign country while taking classes. Students interested in studying away from the MU campus but may not want to go to a foreign country can also study away within the U.S. Katy Mersmann, a junior in the Honors College, is taking part in the study away option while also fulfilling an internship:
Katie Yaeger is also a junior journalism major. Yaeger is currently abroad in England at the University of Manchester for the semester:
I’ve always wanted to go to Europe, and I wanted an immersive program in which I would live just like any other university student. Luckily for me, the University of Manchester offered both. The university’s location in a large city filled with tons of other college students certainly helped, too! I’m taking humanties and social science classes here. The education system’s different in that it’s very specialized, so I’m in final-year classes with students who have been taking courses in that area since the start of university. However, this keeps classes interesting, especially because mine are in areas I previously knew little about: religious studies and inAlthough I’m not studying abroad in the traditional sense, ternational relations. Talking about the U.S. from a foreign interning in Washington, D.C. for the semester has already perspective has been interesting, and I’ve learned a lot about been a very eye-opening experience. I moved out here about European culture as well. a month ago and started my internship in the medical unit at Outside the classroom, I’ve made friends with people from the CNN DC Bureau. all different places — the U.K., of course, but also Canada, Being here with the Mizzou journalism program has given Italy, Germany, Australia and Singapore, among other counme a really unique opportunity to both intern at CNN and tries. I’ve also been traveling the U.K. and have trips to other meet with industry leaders around the city. I have met some countries planned for Easter break. really interesting people, including graduates of the Missouri Talking about life with people from different backgrounds program who are now employed everywhere from NPR to and experiencing different environments has been invaluBloomberg. able in my understanding of the world — and though the seWhen I’m not working, I like to walk around the city and see mester is just beginning, I know this experience will make me what I can learn and experience. Living on Capitol Hill gives a more informed journalist and, more importantly, person. me the chance to see people from around the country, as well as puts me in walking distance of museums like the Smithsonians and the Newseum. Photo by Katy Mersmann.
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Diving into other cultures with the Honors College By Congrong Zheng The Honors College always encourages and expects its students to become global citizens who possess a sense of their roles as members of the world. Honors students should respect diversity, understand global issues and participate in global communities. To help students fulfill this expectation, the Honors College has partnered with various units on campus, including the Office of Service Learning and the International Center, to offer Honors credit for courses taken abroad. Below are the Honors courses available to students studying abroad in Summer 2014: College of Arts & Science
Japanese Language, Culture and Bunraku Puppetry
Chinese Traditions and Global Integration
Lida, Japan Jap 4005H international.missouri.edu/ japan
China: Beijing, Chengdu, Deyang, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Xiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;an Chin 3300H, GN_HON 3120H international.missouri.edu/ china
English Architecture and Literary Landscapes
United Kingdom: London, York Engl 3110H, Art History & Archaeology 3005H international.missouri.edu/uk
Exploring the Northern Renaissance: Dutch and Flemish Art Netherlands: Amsterdam, Haarlem; Belgium: Brussels, Ghent Art 3020H/7020 international.missouri.edu/ netherlands-art
French Language and Culture France: Paris, Lyon Fr 4993H international.missouri.edu/ france
From the Bronze Age to the Byzantine Empire
Greece Classics 4100H international.missouri.edu/ greece-classics
Global Seminars in Ireland
Ireland: Dublin, Galway Engl 4260H, Public Affairs/ Film Studies 4001/7001 international.missouri.edu/ ireland
Rome: From Fascism to Liberation Rome, Italy Hist 4085H international.missouri.edu/ italy-history
Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture Oviedo, Spain Span 4340H international.missouri.edu/ spain
School of Journalism
Media, Culture and Language in Germany Leipzig, Germany Ger 4001 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; J 4050/Ger 4005/ Hist 2004 http://www.mujournalismabroad.com/leipzig.html
Florence: Will Write for Food Italian Edition Florence, Italy HIST 2004, Journ/ScAgJ 4301H http://www.mujournalismabroad.com/florence-will-writefor-food---italian-edition.html
Trulaske College of Business Managing People in the Global Enterprise China
MGT 3901H http://business.missouri.edu/ programs-and-admissions/ undergraduate/study-abroad/ china
School of Social Work and Public Health Global Service in Ghana Cape Coast, Ghana GN_HON 2021H international.missouri.edu/ ghana-service
College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Germany: Food Science and German Culture Germany FS 3190H http://cafnr.missouri.edu/ study-abroad/germany/
College of Engineering
Ireland: Dublin, Trinity College Ireland ENGR 2100H http://engineering.missouri. edu/abroad/trinity/
Non-Faculty Led
Germany: Renewable Energy; Policy and Development MU equivalencies: Geography 6 cr http://international.missouri.edu/study-outsidethe-us/programs/detail. php?program=10780
Denmark: Sustainability, Human Rights, Architecture, Neuroscience, Psychology, Urban Studies, Biomedicine Copenhagen: the Denmark Institute of Study Abroad (DIS) offers a wide array of seminars for semester or summer study MU equivalencies: AFNR 2215, Management 3000 level Corporate Responsibility, MISC SSC 3000, etc. http://www.disabroad.org/ study-abroad-summer/
Office of Service-Learning Global Service in Ecuador Ecuador: Chilcapamba and Galapagos GN_HON 2021/2021H, SPAN 2160, SPAN 3150 kinnearj@missouri.edu
Global Service in Ghana
Ghana: Cape Coast GN_HON 2021/2021H kinnearj@missouri.edu
Global Service in Ireland
Ireland: Galway GN_HON2021/2021H kinnearj@missouri.edu Global Service in Thailand Thailand: Chiang Mai GN_HON 2021/2021H kinnearj@missouri.edu
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STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Bell Johnson
by Siyu Lei
Sophomore Bell Johnson likes to add new things “[The Ark Foundation’s] sole purpose is to proto her to-do list: visit every continent, backpack vide counseling, shelter and education to abused around Europe, write a book and become a foreign women and children,” Johnson said. correspondent. About a month ago, Johnson added For Johnson, the women’s rights issue sure was a checkmark to this extensive list, right next to “go not a new concept. The South Carolina native left to Africa,” after returning from Ghana with an MU her home state as a young high schooler to attend winter session study abroad group. As Johnson her- an all-girls boarding school in southern Virginia -self puts it, this trip was “just ina three and a half hour drive from credible.” her home and parents. “I could talk for hours about “I tell people here that I went to it,” Johnson said. a boarding school. It’s like a forJohnson came across this eign concept for them,” Johnson Do you have a story that newly developed 3-week prosaid. gram on the MU International Just like she expected, Johnson deserves to be in the Center’s website. In the past, gained some new experiences spotlight? If you or somemore students have gone to Afstudying at the boarding school. one you know has a rican countries to work in heath She greatly benefited from the story that you would li k e professions and related fields, school’s focus on developing womso Johnson was delighted to find en’s leadership and helping womto see in the Honors Colout that she could earn honors en to step up in the workplace. lege Newsletter’s student credits toward her two majors, The school tried to bring in some spotli g ht, let us know! Journalism and International iconic female role models for the Studies, while working in Afstudents, ranging from author and rica, somewhere she has always activist Gloria Steinem to dance Send your story idea and thought about going. choreographer Judith Jamison, all contact information to Since her return, many others of whom had an impact on Johnsi y ulei @ mai l .mi s souri . edu. have learned about Johnson’s son as a teenager. experience in Ghana from the “Being in an all-girls environ3-minute documentary video ment and having that healthy she co-produced on the trip. The video, which was reinforcement of ‘you can do this’ just makes you part of Johnson’s study abroad course requirement, more confident,” Johnson said. features the Ark Foundation, a non-governmental Knowing how important it is for women and chilorganization in Ghana that works to protect the hu- dren to receive the necessary education and supman rights of local women and children. port, Johnson left for Ghana not knowing exactly
What’s Your Story?
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what she would be doing, but connected right away with the Ark Foundation. “I had no expectations going in whatsoever,” Johnson said, “because I knew it wasn’t going to be the stereotypical what people think of Africa, like huts and elephants and safaris. That’s just generalizing an entire continent.” Johnson knew that she would be spending time in Accra, the capital of Ghana, which is one of the more developed countries in Africa, so she prepared herself to encounter something completely new. However, she still wound up feeling a little shocked. According to Johnson, the best part of this program was that it created an opportunity for her to submerge completely into the new culture and the society in Ghana. “You just pick up on little facets of the culture that you wouldn’t normally think of or experience without actually working there,” Johnson said. Johnson worked at the Ark Foundation with the other coproducer of the documentary, Katie Kiebles, for eight days (which Johnson said was not nearly
Photo by Siyu Lei.
enough time). During this period of time, the two MU students worked together to enhance the organization’s social media strategies and increased their social media’s footprints. They also created a blog for the organization as requested. “[The job was] very fulfilling in a sense that I felt I made even just the smallest difference over there, which was probably what I took out to be the best part of going over there and studying abroad in Ghana,” Johnson said. Johnson’s time in Ghana was more than just work. She remembers the weekend trip to the nearby city Cape Coast, the fireworks on New Year’s Eve, singing and dancing at an outdoor church and riding the tro tro, the local public transportation, to work every morning.
After some overseas traveling experiences, Johnson said that she always has reverse culture shock when she returns to the States, especially this time. Working in Ghana and being exposed to various social issues there made her normal concerns, like school, grades or the statistics test tomorrow morning, seem trivial. Recalling her time in Ghana, Johnson has many things she wants to share, but the first thing she said was that she felt really safe in that environment. “[Ghana] is not as dangerous as people want to think it is,” Johnson said. “They have this incredible culture and so much history and tradition. That needs to be at the forefront of what you perceive Africa to be, not this place that needs help.”
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SPORTS
Par for the course
Photo by Clayton Hotze.
Senior MU golf team captain Hunter Kraus says “you gotta embrace the ride” By Jacob Renie In most sports when a team loses there is no single player who can be blamed, but in golf when someone doesn’t have a good day, there is no one else to blame. While some might shy away from this kind of pressure, senior Hunter Kraus thrives on it. “There’s no hiding on the golf course,” said Kraus, a captain of MU’s golf team. “In team sports it’s like if you lose it’s a collective loss. No one person loses, but in golf you go out there and whatever you shoot, there’s no one else responsible for that.” According to Kraus, not even bad ad-
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vice from a caddie or coach makes all that much of an impact because in the end it is him, not someone else, making the shot. “You gotta embrace the ride,” Kraus said. Kraus has been hitting golf balls since before he can remember. “If I had to put an age on it I’d have to say five,” Kraus said. His dad used to take him golfing with him, and they bonded over the sport. “We would do nothing serious,” Kraus said. “I would tag along, but it wasn’t really playing. Just being out and hitting every once in a while.” It wasn’t until later, around eighth grade, that Kraus started golfing competitively and going to big tournaments. It was at one such tournament in Springfield, about 300 miles away from his hometown in Memphis, Tenn. that the Missouri coaches first noticed him. After playing really well, he met the coaches and was soon offered a scholarship. That scholarship, along with the added advantages of closeness to home and
Big 12 competition, convinced Kraus to choose MU over Princeton. Despite committing on average 20-30 hours a week to golf, Kraus has thrived academically. While double majoring in Chemistry and Latin, he managed to stay in the Honors College all four years. He attributes much of his success to his dedication. “Whether its golf, studying, I’m looking for ways to improve,” Kraus said. “There’s always something. I’m never just watching TV.” Of the classes he takes, Kraus finds the honors courses to be some of the most enjoyable. “Honestly the honors classes that I’ve taken, while they’ve been good, haven’t been unbearably hard, but I enjoy them a little bit more,” Kraus said. “I’m in two honors classes and I’m really enjoying both of them. They just add a little bit of variety to my course schedule.” After college, Kraus wants to intern with Cru, a Christian organization that operates in colleges around the nation. Since coming to MU, Kraus said that his faith was totally transformed and he has found a really great community here. When not studying, golfing, or with Cru, Kraus likes to play basketball with his friends at the Rec. “I don’t get to do this a while lot, but I love playing basketball at the Rec with friends,” Kraus said. “If I ever get free time I love going up there. I’ve been up maybe twice this year.” Golf, unlike most college athletics, is year round. “It’s pretty demanding of time,” Kraus said. “It’s fall and spring. We basically have a month and half off. There is never a time when I’m not playing.” This year the golf team can practice even more with the addition of the new indoor golf facility. “It’s awesome,” Kraus said. “In the past we’ve been either hitting balls outside in single digits or digging balls out of ice. Now we have amazing equipment like a simulator that allows us to see the ball’s trajectory on screen. It’s so much better than past years.” With all this time commitment comes its own reward. Kraus gets to see some a variety of courses and play in a number of different locations. “We played out in San Diego last spring and the courses were kind of old and traditional, so they weren’t anything amazing, but the weather was awesome,” Kraus said. “The greens were great and it was awesome to play out there.” Kraus will take all these experiences with him as he enters the real world after graduation.
The Seventh Column MU’s football recruits By Jacob Renie This year’s football recruiting class, while better than many previous years, still fell short when compared to other SEC schools. The SEC had over a third of ESPN’s Top 300 this year in recruiting, but Missouri only managed to snag two: offensive tackle Andy Bauer and outside linebacker Brandon Lee. Missouri’s 29-man recruiting class places them 32nd in the nation according to Scout.com, but only 10th out of the 14 teams in the SEC. I’m not dogging on Gary Pinkel, but we are in the SEC now. And that means it’s time to step up our recruiting. Some ranking websites even have us as low as 13th in the SEC. We could have finished dead last if James Franklin hadn’t left Vanderbilt. We got four 4-stars and twenty-one 3-stars. That’s three 2-stars actually recruited (we have one junior college player). In total, the top eight recruiting schools in the SEC only have one 2-star. Now, I know Pinkel has a talent for making players play better. And there is the stigma that high school ratings don’t mean anything, but come on. Alabama has consistently recruited from the Top 300 and what has it gotten them? Just a few BCS championships and numerous NFL players. But enough of that. Let’s talk about what we did right. We got Brandon Lee! Personally I am very psyched to see him play. Our current batch of linebackers were just too slow to compete. We had to rely on our corners and safeties a bit too much. Thankfully we had some strong defensive linemen, but they are off to do bigger and better things in the NFL. But how about our great receiving class? Pinkel has done it again. He pulled together a strong number of hands for Matty Mauk to throw to. This year’s top recruited receiver is Nate Brown from Georgia. He has great ball catching abilities and will be a huge asset when he gets playing time. Other key receivers are Desean Blair and Lawrence Lee out of Florida, both of whom bring speed to the field. We also recruited an additional two out of Texas and Dorial Green-Beckam’s little brother, Darnell. In addition we got Missouri tight end Kendal Blanton and are looking forward to a continued strong receiving core. We also recruited well on defense with a total of 12 recruits. Our defensive recruiting class is headed up by 4-star Missouri cornerback Raymond Wingo. Hopefully he will be able to add what EJ Gaines brought to the team. As for our offensive line, there is only one word to suffice: big. Our six big men upfront come in at an average 6-foot-5 and weigh 280 pounds. They will be headed up by ESPN Top 300 Andy Bauer whom Missouri managed to flip from Ole Miss in 2013. Going along with the linemen are three solid 3-star running backs, Trevon Walters, Thomas Wilson, and Ish Witter, who look like they could emulate last year’s power three of Hansbrough, Murphy, and Josey in terms of size and quickness. Like last year’s three, they all will probably share equal time given Pinkel’s success with last season’s three-pronged attack. So while we may not have recruited as well as we would have liked, the class still looks strong, and I trust in Pinkel to make the most out of them and continue winning games.
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FACULTY and experience with other cultures. She journeyed to northern India many times as a child to visit family. In college, she studied abroad in England, Scotland and France through the newly developed study abroad program at MU. Later on, she and her husband joined the Peace Corps in Tunisia and traveled many places—including Morocco, Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia, New Zealand and Fiji—before returning home. Her work with a publishing company has taken her to several countries in South America. Photo courtesy of Missouri School of Journalism website. She has also traveled through most of the United States, and of course, Italy. For Furstenau, culture and travel have been a part of her story for so long that she can’t separate travel from the rest of her life. However, she not only has experience with the traveling aspect of this unique study abroad course; her past courses that focus on wine and food reporting make her well qualified Professor Nina Furstenau to teach this course. Further, she enjoys on her upcoming study eating tasty foods, or trying to make abroad course in Italy them in her kitchen, Furstenau said. Professor Furstenau received her By Kelsie Schrader Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri and has reNo professor seems more fitting to cently received her Master’s in Creative lead a study abroad course focused on Writing from MU as well. She has taught Italian food than does Professor Nina at the university for four years and has Furstenau. Her many travels have instructed many different courses durgiven her extensive knowledge in ing that time. Her past classes include
A taste of Italy
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Wine Country Writing, Field Reporting on the Food System and Environment, World Food Prize (co-taught with Bill Allen) and, one of her favorites, Will Write for Food—and Wine. In addition to these courses, Furstenau has supervised an Honors student in a Learningby-Contract project and will be supervising another in the near future. Her newest course, Will Write for Food—Italian Edition, will consist of a four-week study abroad opportunity in Italy and is Honors eligible. Will Write for Food— Italian Edition features a study abroad opportunity for students with interests in journalism or photography, as well as those science- or sustainability-oriented students interested in culture and writing. However, students interested in projects in other media platforms can gain Furstenau’s consent if they wish to embrace this opportunity but do not have the specified majors. The only pre-requisite to the course is Journalism 2100, but Furstenau will allow students an exception under special circumstances. The course will cover
the culture and history of Italy based on its food. Furstenau will teach a writing workshop that will cover food topics and food systems in Italy prior to departure. Students will spend three weeks in Florence and one week on a farm in Siena, Tuscany. While in Italy, students will have the opportunity to visit those who produce the delicious, gourmet cheeses; the fresh, savory balsamic; the mouth-watering, thinlysliced prosciutto; the elegantly-crafted wine; and many more of Italy’s delectable treats. Students will also visit pasta factories and family farms to witness the production of these exquisite foods. Through field trips, travel and discussion, students will view a living history of Italy through a food “lens,” as Furstenau phrased it. “Food reveals what is important to modernday Italians,” Furstenau said. “If you really want to understand what is of value to a culture, take a look at what happens in their food system.” By studying Italy’s process of making food to transporting food and everything in between, Furstenau hopes students will really get a feel for the culture
and traditions of Italy. Throughout the 1st. If financial assistance is needed, course, students will create a blog that students can visit the Journalism Interdocuments their findings on the deep national Center for assistance in scholconnection of Italy’s culture to its food arship applications. However, students choices and processes. Students will may also contact Professor Furstenau also have the chance to try out their own directly if they wish. cooking skills in the kitchen and will Students who are unable to take this go to bed each night with a thoroughly course should still strongly consider satisfied stomach full of both their own taking other courses with Professor and others’ creations. Through their Furstenau. Senior Meghan Eldrige, who studies, field trips and discussions in It- is currently taking Furstenau’s Will aly, students will see a side to Italy they Write for Food—and Wine course and would never get by who took her co-taught being a tourist. Food reveals what is World Food Prize course The benefits reaped said these courses alby participating important to modern- lowed her a “greater in this course are opportunity [to write day Italians. If you realcountless. Furstenau creatively] than do mentioned that stu- ly want to understand some other journalism dents not only invest courses” she has taken. in their own world what is of value to a Though she fervently outlook by studying wishes she could attend culture, take a look at abroad, but that they the study abroad course, also make themselves she strongly encourages what happens in their much more valuable those interested in writto future employ- food system. ing and food check out ers, as they have disProfessor Furstenau’s played their ability to learn outside of other courses. their comfort zone. Students, she add- In the future, Furstenau says she would ed, become more interested in matters love to develop a course that would take outside of what directly affects them students to “developing areas of the and learn ways to communicate with world to see agricultural issues at play people even if they do not share a com- and to take a look at food security and mon language. sustainability.” Additionally, students who take this As made obvious by her own travels, course earn school credit while seeing Furstenau believes traveling and learnand tasting all of the beauty that Italy ing of others’ cultures is very important. has to offer. Students will fulfill three She strongly encourages all students to upper-level humanities or history cred- study abroad during their college cait hours, as well as three journalism reer. She feels it is a key component of or science and agricultural journalism education that allows students to develcredit hours. Honors students can take op their worldview and makes them bethis course for Honors credit by com- come more interested in being a “stewpleting an added component to which- ard of the world.” In addition, she offers ever regular project most appeals to one final word of advice: “Take the time, them. Those wishing to embark on this make the effort, be good at what you unique experience must apply by March do.”
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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Source Unknown
February 17, 2014 | honors.missouri.edu