{"id":4509,"date":"2024-04-08T11:20:03","date_gmt":"2024-04-08T15:20:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/?p=4509"},"modified":"2024-04-08T11:20:03","modified_gmt":"2024-04-08T15:20:03","slug":"rinker-global-scholars-program-madness-in-venice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/rinker-global-scholars-program-madness-in-venice\/","title":{"rendered":"Rinker Global Scholars Program: Madness in Venice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

-Written by: Heather Fontaine; Adapted from StetsonToday<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Spring Break in March, 16 Stetson students traveled to Italy for nine days, led by their two course professors, as part of the Rinker Global Scholars Program. All of the students were selected for the study abroad opportunity and given a generous scholarship from Drs. David and Leighan Rinker, which significantly subsidized the program\u2019s cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>
\n

The 2024 Rinker Global Scholars explore Venice as part of their class on mental health reforms in Italy<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new course, Madness in Venice<\/em>, explores how the conceptualization of mental illness has changed across time \u2013\u2014 developed and co-taught by Michael Eskenazi, PhD, associate professor of Psychology, and Melinda Hall, PhD, associate professor of Philosophy and interim associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo matter the student\u2019s major, they understand the importance of mental health,\u201d Eskenazi said. \u201cGiven the recent trends in college student mental health, this course topic was a timely and worthwhile investment for the Rinker Global Scholars Program<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On campus during the semester, the students learned about the different approaches that philosophers and psychologists use in understanding history and human behavior, specifically honing in on the history of mental illness treatments over time in Venice. Once abroad, the experiential learning journey started with a short ferry ride to the San Servolo Insane Asylum, where the students were able to understand how people with mental illness were treated before the passage of the Basaglia Law in 1978, which led to more ethical mental health treatment and practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The now-museum was full of instruments, equipment and imagery of patients who were held at the asylum. While an eerie energy filled the spaces of this once leading-edge psychiatric hospital, a sense of peace was felt knowing legislative changes had influenced not only better care for people with mental illnesses, but increased awareness of disability justice activism, having a positive ripple effect across the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cComing out of Venice now, our class is a lot closer, and were able to talk about these issues in a much more important and personal way than we had before,\u201d commented Laura Cheshire, a senior Art Therapy major.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to exploring other clinically relevant locations that coincided with their classroom studies, students enjoyed St. Mark\u2019s Square, including famous landmarks such as St. Mark\u2019s Basilica, Doge\u2019s Palace and the Grand Canal, where continually operating gondola tours begin and end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Students explore Piazza San Marco in Venice<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Venturing out of Venice to visit Verona, Bologna, and the islands of Murano and Burano, adjacent to the Venetian Lagoon, the group witnessed a private glass-blowing demonstration. Also, they toured a town sprinkled with small brightly painted houses owned by locals who have mastered the craft of lacemaking for hundreds of generations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe excursions allowed students to acquaint themselves with the harmonious aspects of Italy,\u201d Hall noted. \u201cI hope to call students to wonder about our obligations to others and to ourselves, the social structures and systems which impact the ways we understand each other and our own subjectivity, and who belongs in our moral communities and why.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eskenazi believes that as Stetson\u2019s new Strategic Priorities<\/a> outline the importance of people, culture and inclusive excellence, this study abroad course taught students the power of global citizenship by showing them the implications and improvements one country can have on the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have seen immense personal and academic transformation in students as they open their minds to new experiences, interact with people from different cultures, and learn how historical events in foreign countries are directly related to their studies and lives today,\u201d Eskenazi concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can view a short video<\/a> of the students’ experience on YouTube.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note:<\/strong> You can learn more about the Rinker Global Scholars Program<\/a> on WORLD’s website. The 2025 program will take place in Venice again and will focus on Music and Art through History.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

-Written by: Heather Fontaine; Adapted from StetsonToday During Spring Break in March, 16 Stetson students traveled to Italy for nine days, led by their two course professors, as part of the Rinker Global Scholars Program. All of the students were selected for the study abroad opportunity and given a generous scholarship from Drs. David and … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Rinker Global Scholars Program: Madness in Venice”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-study-abroad"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4509"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4516,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4509\/revisions\/4516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.stetson.edu\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}