Faculty International Activities

Dr. Sangyoub Park

(Sociology & Anthropology Department) traveled to Korea to explore a growing number of migrant workers and immigrants during his 2022 Sabbatical. As Korea has become more diverse, there are many “multicultural towns” due to ethnic enclaves. He visited various multicultural towns in Seoul. In addition, he

Ye Wang (Art Department)

I spent my 2022 summer Sweet Sabbatical in France and Italy. During the 64-day travel, I did 30 Plein Air oil paintings (9”x12” each) and took 3,000 photos of artworks and 10,000 photos of landscapes. I also visited 14 art museums, 14 churches with murals, and 10 castles.

It was my first time handling a Plein air oil painting trip for two months. There were quite some challenges and I learned a lot. I had to cut my canvas into a very small size for the luggage weight limit. I used fast drying medium and paint to speed up the drying time and used a painting box to store the wet paintings. I painted landscapes in some places where the old masters used to paint, such as Fontainebleau Forest, Barbizon, La Rochelle, and Provence in France. I also painted in Puglia, Perugia, and Venice in Italy. had the opportunity to visit the K-pop Star Road and HYBE, the Korean entertainment agency behind supergroup BTS.

The visits to art museums, churches, and castles have greatly enriched my knowledge of art making and art history. The following are the most impressive places from this trip. Château Clos Luce, where Da Vinci spent the last three years of his life.

Tapestry Museum in Château Angers, which hosts the most famous tapestry from the 14th century. St. Paul de Mausole Monastery, where Van Gogh made his famous Starry Night, Wheat Field with Cypresses, and The Irises. Montignac, where people did amazing animal paintings in caves 17,000 years ago. La Rochelle, a medieval harbor city where Corot, Pierre Langlade, and Paul Signac used to paint. Pompei and the Naples Archaeological Museum, where you can see very realistic murals and drawings from over 2000 years ago. St. Francis Church in Assisi, which evidences the development of Italian paintings from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.