JCU Launches New Course: Researching Rome - Fieldwork in the City
In Spring 2014 John Cabot University will be launching a new course for students who want to do independent field research in the city of Rome: Researching Rome – Fieldwork in the City. Taught by sociologist and Italian Studies Professor Isabella Clough Marinaro, the course is aimed at students who are interested in exploring and analyzing first-hand some of the most fascinating social, cultural and political issues of contemporary Rome.
Students will develop a research project based on their own personal interests and will be given on-going individual guidance by the professor on the most appropriate readings, research methods and ways to analyze and present their findings. All the projects that involve research with human subjects will be submitted to JCU’s Institutional Review Board for approval.
Classes will be organized as seminars in which students discuss their own and each others’ research as it evolves, helping each other to:
a) choose and refine their project so that it is manageable and realistic
b) identify the most useful theoretical and background literature to guide their work
c) select the most appropriate ways to carry out their field work observations and data collection
d) understand the ethical implications of their work and be sure to use only ethically appropriate methods
e) develop original analyses and conclusions
f) choose the most effective ways to present their findings to the JCU community and the wider public
The course is ideal for ambitious students who want experience in doing independent field research in an academically challenging and rigorous way, especially those who are considering doing research after they graduate and would like to develop their CV in that direction.
Although there are no prerequisites for the course, it is strongly recommended that students have a background in the social sciences and/or contemporary Italian Studies and that they be willing to organize their time independently.
This course promises to be as exciting and popular as JCU’s Rome Modern City course and is taught by one of the editors of a ground-breaking new book entitled: Global Rome: Changing Faces of the Eternal City.
Learn more about the Department of Modern Languages and Literature at John Cabot University in Rome!
