Classes in Rome

Classes at the JFRC are a species of their own. Although professors and classes are great in both Chicago and JFRC, I feel that a major difference between the two is that the professors here are able to immerse themselves in their field in their everyday life. For example, my THEO 100 professor, Father Ted Bohr, has teaching resources from the Vatican just a bus ride away. Or, my Aesthetics professor, Stefano Giachetti, lives in one of the most artistic countries in the world! This aspect really enriches life in the classroom. Although my Italian courses with Maria Palladino (a very poised, distinguished, and intense former inspector of secondary schools in Italy for the Ministry of Education) and Flaminio Di Biagi (an extremely animated and very passionate Italian Film History professor) are absolutely incredible, I would have to say that my favorite class is Writing Rome. In Writing Rome, which is my once-a-week on-site class which takes part at different locations across Rome, we focus on incorporating the Roman landscape into different fictional stories. I feel like this class will be really good for me because, being a Biology major, I feel that I have been molded to write too scientifically to a point where my writing gets a bit dull and dry. However, this class would definitely not have half of its appeal if it weren’t for my professor, Elizabeth Geoghegan. When you stop and think about the most quintessential English teach you could ever have, you are probably envisioning Professor Geoghegan. She always pulls up to our meeting spot on her bike or moto, wears something simple yet fashionable (and ALWAYS black), and doesn’t take any crap from anyone. She is that type of professor that makes a true effort to talk with you. I wouldn’t say I have a huge interest in fictional writing, but when I am in her class, her passion definitely rubs off on me. So in short, classes at JFRC are truly unique in the sense that rather than being lectured on different foreign places, you get to see those places, make your own experiences, and truly be immersed in the world which all of the professors are truly and fully passionate about.