Pursuing Interdisciplinary Mediterranean Studies at MADE means exploring the humanities through the unique perspective of Sicily, bolstered by the region’s compelling history, captivating current socio-political climate, interesting geological traits, and fascinating cultures of literature, art, and architecture.
Subject Offerings
- Ancient Mediterranean Studies
- Anthropology (including Medical Anthropology)
- Classics
- History
- Gender Studies
- Philosophy
- Sociology
- Contemporary Mediterranean Studies
- Anthropology
- Environmental Studies
- Entrepreneurship
- Geography
- Geology
- Economics
- History
- Management
- Political Science/International Relations
- Urban Studies/Planning
Interdisciplinary Mediterranean Studies Track
This multidisciplinary track is designed to present the essence of this island civilization and allows students to trace the historical narrative of Italy, and Sicily, from the fall of the Roman Empire to the 21st century as well as to satisfy important major-specific and core requirements.
International Migration Studies Certificate: The Mediterranean in Context
Housed within the Interdisciplinary Studies Track (Contemporary Mediterranean Studies option) is the MADE certificate-in-one-semester in International Migration Studies for study abroad students. This certificate requires that students take five (5) classes during the semester, including four (4) required courses, and one (1) elective course to choose from. The additional required classes are "Documenting Sicily: A Multimedia Approach" and “History of Migration in Sicily.” The coursework and co-curriculum provide students with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of migration studies as an interdisciplinary field of inquiry, and to then apply these methodologies and theoretical frameworks to the particular case of the Southern Mediterranean, namely Sicily, today and throughout millennia.
Spring 2026 Mediterranean Studies Courses
- Directed Undergraduate Research (Required)
- Italian Language & Culture (Required)
- Documenting Sicily: A Multimedia Approach (Recommended)
- Environmental Art: Unraveling Cartographies
- Sustainable Food Systems in Sicily
- Decolonizing Iconography
- History of Migration in Sicily
- Mediterranean Anthropology: Environment, Population, Art and Tradition
- Mafia Narratives in Cinema, Art, and Literature
- Volcanology: Environment, Geology, and Culture + Lab
- Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management: MADE in Sicily
Course Descriptions
Italian Language & Culture
Required, 6 ECTS/3 US semester credits
Each student will complete an intensive Italian Language and Culture course. By beginning the term with an intensive 4-week Italian Language and Culture course, students are prepared for more meaningful engagement with their environment. Students will explore Italy’s history, culture, and language, both through lectures and local site visits. By developing an understanding of the unique historical and cultural context of Sicily as well as key Italian words and phrases, students are empowered to interact with the local community in a respectful and meaningful way. With this groundwork in place, students will be set up for success to engage with all that Sicily has to offer and to set themselves apart by completing their MADE program. Italian classes are offered at all levels, from A1-C2, and a placement exam is offered online, pre-departure. Detailed descriptions for each level of Italian language can be found below.
Directed Undergraduate Research
Required, 6 ECTS/3 US semester credits
Pursuing an individual research capstone allows MADE students to explore their individual interests in the context of Sicily and the Mediterranean Basin, enhance their research skills, and learn from industry mentors. Starting with a foundation of interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks and research methodologies, each student sets out to explore their individual academic and career interests, supplemented by Sicily’s unique attributes and resources. With the support of industry experts, such as a local NGO leader, volcanologist, designer, or artist, students gain valuable professional competencies, such as critical thinking, leadership, and communication. By the end of the term, each student will have completed a final project or product, giving them a tangible takeaway from their high impact learning experience. Designed to be uniquely customizable for all levels, thanks to individual mentorship from local professionals and practitioners, this course is just as relevant for a rising senior working on their honors thesis in Psychology as it is for a rising sophomore delving into their Economics major for the first time. The course spans the entire semester, with an intensive four-week period at the beginning of the term.
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
- Collect, process, analyze, and/or draw conclusions from data to address a specific research question.
- Explain research methodologies and/or analysis techniques.
- Apply skills in research methodologies and/or analysis techniques.
- Synthesize research experience by identifying lessons learned, strengths, ways to improve and relating experience to coursework and professional futures.
Recommended:
Documenting Sicily: A Multimedia Approach
6 ECTS/3 US semester credits
In this course, students will have the opportunity to engage with a variety of lectures and labs as well as visits to local NGOs and community organizations. Students will document their experiences through creative reflections in photography, drawing, and creative writing. Through guided visits to local monuments and historical sites, guest lectures from artists and professionals, and carefully selected readings on ethnographical, historical, and political approaches to the artistic process, this innovative course grants students the opportunity to apply a variety of critical frameworks as they create a monument to their own lived experience in Sicily through photography, video making, and creative writing. This course spans the entire semester, with an intensive four-week period at the beginning of the term.
To enrich the learning experience, all students enrolled in this class during the academic year (fall and spring semesters) will embark on an intensive excursion to the island of Lampedusa. Students will travel to the “Lampedusa MADE Outpost” (a project by MADE in cooperation with the Lampedusa Municipality and Mediterranean Hope). Semester students will collaborate on projects in Lampedusa, for example: creating a short documentary film, a common manifesto for the future of Lampedusa, or completing a public roundtable discussion about their experience and how they will work to transform the world.
Before, during, and after the required field excursion to Lampedusa, students will learn about the location as a synecdochal stand-in for the liminal spaces that migrants occupy, along with the union of cultures that migration creates and mythologizes.
The following units will make up the contents of the course: Historical and Geographical Vision of Sicily: Geopolitics of Sicily: Rethinking Sicily through Art; along with experiential, community-based activities in Syracuse and Lampedusa. Some examples of activities include:
- Cooperation with NGO Mediterranean Hope and with “Archivio Storico di Lampedusa ONLUS,” or similar, for organizing the first reception of migrants at the port with food and other essential goods.
- Organization of workshops for children of Lampedusa and former migrant families at the city library.
- Production of a short documentary film;
- Cooperation with the Humanitarian Storytelling Organization “Migrants of the Mediterranean Organization” (www.migrantsofthemed.com)
- Cooperation with RRN – Refugee Radio Network (https://www.refugeeradionetwork.net/)
NOTE: excursion to Lampedusa is weather permitting. If visiting Lampedusa is not possible, students will visit another relevant site, such as Palermo.
Environmental Art: Relational Cartographies
Credit Hours: 6 ECTS
Relational Cartographies is a research-based course that uses sensory art and alternative mapping methods to examine the complex and layered interactions between humans and the environment, focusing on a specifically on the Augusta-Priolo-Melilli area (located just north of the city of Syracuse), home to one of Europe's largest petrochemical complexes, which remains largely unknown to the general public, yet it unveils an invisible Sicily—one that is both fascinating and haunting in its contrasts and paradoxes.
Through participatory and narrative cartography, students will engage with local knowledge to map not only the physical landscape but also the history, collective memories, and sociopolitical dynamics that define the area. Mapping will be used as a critical tool to bring together art and design with social and environmental sciences to explore interdisciplinary ways of documenting, understanding, and reimagining complex territories affected by industrialization and environmental degradation.
Sustainable Food Systems in Sicily
Credit Hours: 6 ECTS
Food serves as a fundamental link between the body and the landscape, shaping our understanding of the environment not as something external, but as an intrinsic part of our very composition.
This course offers the students a site-based understanding of sustainable food production practices in contemporary Sicily. Different aspects of sustainability in food systems (local production, zero waste, organic and regenerative agriculture, fair trade and wages, food production as a means for social integration) will be explored through a multidisciplinary and multisensory approach encompassing a historical overview of Sicilian food systems, field visits to local case-studies, artistic laboratories, cooking workshops, theoretical notions related to the multiple dimensions of sustainability.
Through an exploration of personal connections to land, food, and local traditions, students will reflect on their place within a complex, interconnected ecosystem, redefining the landscape as an extension of the self rather than a passive backdrop. They will experiment with their chosen medium to create a poetic and personal interpretation of the processes, field visits, and case studies explored. The course will culminate in a participatory, performative dinner - where eating becomes an act of shared responsibility and transformation - accompanied by the presentation of individual student works.
Decolonizing Iconography
Credit Hours: 6 ECTS
This course investigates visual culture through the lens of decolonial and postcolonial theory, emphasizing the collective dimensions of iconography as a means to interrogate and reinterpret contemporary imagery. Through studying key texts by Edward Said, Homi Bhabha, and Gayatri Spivak, students will engage with foundational postcolonial concepts such as cosmopolitanism, diaspora, and the enduring legacies of colonialism in visual representation.
Drawing on methodologies from visual studies—a multidisciplinary field encompassing iconography, anthropology, cultural studies, and media studies—the course examines how images shape and are shaped by histories of power, colonialism, and resistance, offering students the tools to analyze, interpret, and challenge dominant visual narratives.
Central themes include the politics of public art, the resignification of contested monuments, and the global migration of symbols and allegories. Through a combination of lectures, case studies, and critical discussions, students will explore the transformative potential of visual narratives, rethinking their role in shaping collective memory, identity, and cultural power dynamics.
History of Migration in Sicily
Credit Hours: 6 ECTS
The Southern Mediterranean Basin has long been the cradle of world civilizations, from the first settlements in Jericho in 9000 BC to the complex interweaving of religions, economies, and political systems that have shaped the region. Sicily, as the gateway between Europe, Africa, and the East, has served as a crossroads for over 2000 years, marking the frontier between Western civilization and other cultural spheres.
This interdisciplinary course provides an introduction to Sicily's history and people through the lens of modern Migration Studies, exploring geographic, historical, philosophical, and political contexts. Students will engage with concepts of island and border, through the lens of philosophy diving into works of thinkers such as Gilles Deleuze, Toni Negri, and Giorgio Agamben.
Starting from apparently basic questions such as "What is a map?" and "What is a territory?", through a series of frontal classes and experiential workshops, students will critically analyze the region’s role as a disputed space, its legacy of migration, and its ongoing significance in shaping contemporary global dynamics.
Mediterranean Anthropology: Environment, Population, Art and Tradition
Credit Hours: 6 ECTS
This course offers an in-depth exploration of Mediterranean anthropology, focusing on the intersection of environment, human development, art, and tradition in the region. Structured into three parts, the course integrates theoretical studies with practical workshops to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the Mediterranean's complex socio-cultural and environmental dynamics.
By the end of the course, students will:
- understand the foundational concepts and methods of anthropology within the Mediterranean context;
- be able to analyze the relationship between anthropology, art, and tradition, and how these elements influence social change;
- better understand the deep but schizophrenic relationship between humans and Earth, looking at religion, myth, and tragedy;
- understand the dynamics of human interaction with the environment of the Mediterranean from the Neolithic through the Classical Period. This will include the casualties and consequences of human impact (looking at findings of paleoclimatology, human archaeology, and history);
- develop practical skills through practical workshops that translate anthropological theories into artistic practices;
- produce a final project that synthesizes the students' understanding or interpretation of Mediterranean culture;
- finalize a collective exhibition.
Mafia Narratives in Cinema, Art, and Literature
Credit Hours: 6 ECTS
This course provides a comprehensive exploration of the history of the Mafia, with a particular emphasis on its cultural representations in cinema, art, and literature. Students will develop a critical understanding of the key historical events, figures, and narratives associated with the Mafia, while also examining how these elements have been portrayed and mythologized in various forms of media.
The Mafia system, which originated in Sicily, became a model for other criminal organizations in Italy and abroad after 1989. The course will trace the historical development of this phenomenon, with a particular focus on the contrasting narratives that emerge from the same events: factual history, legend, media constructions, and fictional portrayals. The course will be divided into two parts: one focusing on art and cinema, and the other on literature, exploring different modalities of narration, the ones rooted in journalistic investigations and historical research, and others shaped by fictional narratives in literature and film. From both perspectives, students will gain a deeper understanding of key concepts such as “family”, “respect”, “honor”, and “blood oath”.
Students will be invited to engage with these different narratives by researching a specific historical figure associated with the Mafia. This research will involve a thorough investigation into the life, actions, and cultural impact of the chosen individual. For the final exercise, each student will embody their chosen figure in a creative dialogue modeled on the Impossible Interview format.
Through this fictionalized interview, students will reinterpret historical narratives and present alternative perspectives on the character's life and legacy. This exercise will encourage them to explore different interpretations of historical events while also strengthening their ability to critically analyze and transform complex situations.
This interdisciplinary course is designed for students interested in history, cultural studies, literature, and film.
Volcanology: Environment, Geology, and Culture + 1 credit Lab
Credit Hours: 8 ECTS
Mount Etna, the largest and most active volcano in Europe, is one of Nature’s great laboratories and has provided fascinating insights into the complex dynamics of this volcano and the processes of magma supply, accumulation, up-rise, and eruption.
This interdisciplinary course explores the intricate relationships between humans, territory, and the environment through the lenses of geological phenomena, particularly the volcanic activity of Mount Etna. Emphasizing a holistic perspective, it aims to foster an understanding of the interconnectedness of natural processes and human impact while encouraging a reassessment of humanity’s role within these vast natural frameworks. The course is structured into three primary components: lectures, field trips, and laboratory activities.
This course includes a one-credit lab component: laboratory exercises will involve the collection and observation of volcanic rocks, including the examination of mineral formations under the microscope.
Volcanology: Environment, Geology, and Culture + 3 credit Lab
Credit Hours: 12 ECTS
Mount Etna, the largest and most active volcano in Europe, is one of Nature’s great laboratories and has provided fascinating insights into the complex dynamics of this volcano and the processes of magma supply, accumulation, up-rise, and eruption.
This interdisciplinary course explores the intricate relationships between humans, territory, and the environment through the lenses of geological phenomena, particularly the volcanic activity of Mount Etna. Emphasizing a holistic perspective, it aims to foster an understanding of the interconnectedness of natural processes and human impact while encouraging a reassessment of humanity’s role within these vast natural frameworks. The course is structured into three primary components: lectures, field trips, and laboratory activities.
This course includes a three US credit lab component. The course also includes an artistic and project-based component, incorporating photographic documentation as a method of both artistic and scientific inquiry. Throughout the fieldwork, students will be guided by a photography instructor, who will support them in developing a cohesive photographic series that captures their experience. They will have the opportunity to experiment with landscape photography as well as microscopy photography, closely examining volcanic rocks and minerals. The course will culminate in a public photography exhibition, where students will present their visual narratives, synthesizing the scientific and artistic dimensions of their exploration.
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management: MADE in Sicily
Credit Hours: 6 ECTS
The course invites students to explore Sicily's dynamic entrepreneurial landscape, focusing on the development of small businesses within local creative industries. Through class readings and discussions, students will examine how Sicily’s unique geographic, historical, and cultural context shapes innovation in local business ventures.
The curriculum covers the business development process, encompassing planning, marketing, financing, and operations. Case studies, guest lectures, and individual projects will provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the skills and steps required to successfully launch and sustain a small business.
Students will also explore the role of sustainability in business development, analyzing the environmental and climate-related challenges faced by Sicilian industries such as artisanal crafts, agritourism, winemaking, and more. Students will gain insights into the complex obstacles and opportunities small business owners face worldwide by investigating the interplay between tradition and innovation in Sicilian entrepreneurship.