A cohort of Lindenwood University art and design students engaged with their studies through a two-week study abroad experience in Italy. Led by Associate Professor of Art and Design Joseph Weber, the undergraduate and graduate students immersed themselves in the art and architecture of Florence, Vatican City, and Rome.
Students spent most of the trip in Florence, a city that Weber compared to a large museum. In Florence, the students participated in walking tours that explored museums, churches, and landmarks connected to medieval and Renaissance art and architecture. Weber said the sites sparked meaningful conversations that connected classroom learning to their surroundings. In the afternoons, students were free to further explore places that captured their interest.
Weber said the trip helps students move beyond memorizing concepts by giving them direct experience with the works and spaces they study in class. “It’s one thing to learn,” Weber said. “It’s another to see it in practice, to see it in person, and to have that tangible face-to-face interaction.
By immersing themselves in Italy, students felt a difference in the way they interacted with the art. Jordan Cannon, a rising sophomore, said the experience was an opportunity to explore “with the sole purpose to see, to seek, and to learn alongside my fellow students.” Rising senior Maria Clark shared the lesson she learned from the opportunity to unplug from her computer in a place full of art. “It reminded me that life isn’t meant to be rushed through,” Clark said. “I came home with a renewed sense of enjoying life as it was and not just enduring it.
While in Italy, the students found the time to slow down and reflect on their surroundings. This reflection allowed them to learn while creating unforgettable memories. Through engaging with art and architecture in the places they were created, students experienced the hands-on learning that defines a Lindenwood education.