Primary Source, Spring 2020

The UI History Department The Primary Source

1 Primary Source Page 2 – The Coronavirus How the History Department reacted to the pandemic.

Page 4 – History of Global Pandemics Pandemics across history, how they effected the world and what is next.

Page 5 – Photography and Cowboys Two faculty members release groundbreaking works.

Letter from E. Kittell, interim chair: Born in the crucible of a pandemic, this issue of The Primary Source testifies to the perseverance, optimism and resourcefulness of our history majors. Through the crisis of sudden migration both to online courses as well as, for many, away from campus, all to shelter in place, they have nonetheless sought to document the experiences as true historians do. Under the guidance of the indomitable Emma Williams, editor and president of Phi Alpha Theta, the History Honor Society, The Primary Source functions as a compendium of departmental activity, from undergraduates, graduate students to alumni, faculty and friends. This issue, as suits a newsletter from a history department, reviews the past (Fall 2019) the present (the pandemic) and sets the future.

The immediate past: Four of our students spent last fall overseas. Ben Cain, Nicholas Schofield, and Michel Terry sent reports of their experiences in the USAC program in Lüneburg, Germany; Anna Bauer tells of her time in Krakow, Poland. While they were learning about the past on site, two of our faculty, Rebecca Scofield and Matthew FoxAmato published their monographs, interpretations of our own past. Professor Scofield analyzed the historical experience of the Gay Rodeo. Professor Fox-Amato, using photographs slave owners took of their slaves, explored the birth of picture as politics.

They marked their achievement at a celebration in October at BookPeople, long before the arrival of the virus on our shores and campus.

Page 6 – Departing and Returning Professors leaving the department and returning from sabbatical.

Page 7 – Women and Photography in History Two classes promote new thinking.

Page 8 – Phi Alpha Theta History Honors Society treasurer looks at next steps.

Page 9 – Our Newest Alumni Graduating historians and students review the year.

Page 12 – Vandals Abroad U of I history students look back on their time abroad.

The present: The newsletter continues to follow our students overseas with Gavan Harmon’s story not only of his experience in Italy, but also what happened when his group and the virus collided, and they had to leave abruptly. Max McPherson reflects on how back at home, the department, students, staff, and faculty alike, coped with our own consequences of the pandemic. Crucial to understanding our own particular experience is to situate it, as you will read below, in the historical context of earlier world-wide diseases. The intrepid authors of the newsletter also take up the challenge of how history majors and others can spend their time while sheltering in place by providing thoughtfully curated movie and book recommendations. Although the Phi Alpha Theta conference was regrettably no part of our present (it, of course, had to be cancelled on account of the pandemic) Derek Higgins, one of our masters students, reflects of the value of his experience with the organization.

The future: Time moves on, the future approaches. Three of our faculty are leaving and one is returning after a year on sabbatical. Seven undergraduates and three graduate students have done what we urge them to do — graduate, transitioning from student to alumna. A couple reflect on their years in the Department of History, while one alumna, Chloe O’Neill, reflects on what her post post-graduate future will hold.

Our future, full of uncertainty, to be sure holds a promise of unease, but also of productive challenges, both intellectual and personal. We continue to grow as a community as we gather the threads of our past and present to weave together the tapestry of our future. Enjoy our stories.

Spring 2020 Chair: Dr. Ellen Kittell Editor: Emma Williams

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The Coronavirus – How the History Department responded to the pandemic

By Emma Williams

When the coronavirus began to shut down the world, the University of Idaho had to end in-person classes.

This meant classes that had been built purely as in-person lecture-based had to be significantly modified for the online world. With the help of the meeting program and (commonly referred to as “Bblearn”) professors quickly turned the classes virtual. However, while uploading a presentation on the Justinian Plague Era onto Bblearn is one thing, significantly changing.

Time zones, poor network connections and dying electronic – excuses for missed classes or assignments – replaced traffic issues, doctors' notes and missing alarms.

When lecturing on campus expertise in PowerPoint is the extent of technical skill needed. Yet when faced with a quickly changing world the U of I History Department faculty had a crash course in virtual education uses. The faculty also recognized that they were not the only ones needing to learn how to use the program. After a few “test run lectures,” the professors and students learned how to co-exist in a virtual classroom. Issues still arose with meetings, yet the classes could continue, and meetings could even be recorded for those students with technical difficulties to watch later.

U of I History Assistant Professor Alyson Roy

Aside from online learning, some assignments had to be changed as well. In one of my history classes for the semester, The Roman Empire with Assistant Professor Alyson Roy, the original final was going to be an in-class reenactment of the Roman Senate. Each of us would be assigned a side and character and we would debate an issue. This was no longer possible. The assignment was shortened, and we were allowed to choose our characters. We then wrote the speech we would have presented in class. We were not able to present it to our classmates, instead just submitted the papers to Roy. This one of many changes Roy made to accommodate the uncertain times. She, along with other professors, lengthened assignment times, shortened assignments and made other adjustments to make this semester as stress-free as possible.

U of I History Assistant Professor Matthew Fox-Amato

Outside of the classroom, in the middle of advising week, the University of Idaho’s administration decided to close the school for the remainder of the semester. While looking forward to the Fall 2020 semester seemed impossible while we were trying to figure what the present looked like, the History Department faculty and advisors moved quickly to have one-on-one meetings with students. My advisor, Matthew FoxAmato, had meetings with students to help plan the next semester and check on each student. He was able to help me set up for my last semester from a few thousand miles

away.

Spring 2020

Chair: Dr. Ellen Kittell

Editor: Emma Williams

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The U of I History Department went above and beyond the call to make this chaotic semester as calm and functioning as possible. While next semester's set up is still uncertain, the department is ready for whatever comes our way. As historians, we know that we have survived difficult times before and recovered. I am not the only one with confidence in the department. Max McPherson, a junior in the department and vice president of Phi Alpha Theta, truly appreciates all the effort put in by the faculty. He wrote: “It is not every day that the world collectively experiences a major historical event. In this case the coronavirus has upset many of our lives in unexpected ways as we are all forced to adapt to a situation out of our control. This past spring semester was suddenly interrupted by this historic pandemic as classes transitioned to exclusively online form.

While most of us were caught by surprise I have been very impressed by and very much appreciated the efforts of the professors of the History Department to adapt to the circumstances. Many people were forced to make adjustments to their lives, and accommodations made by these professors to move to online classes allowed the semester to continue even as the world ground to a halt. Hopefully classes are able to resume in person in the Fall, but in the event that classes remain online I am certain that additional means will be found to continue education online. I am just grateful that precedent has shown that, despite the drawbacks of quarantine, the professors of the History Department at the University of Idaho have been able to adapt to continue teaching even under current conditions. Who knows what the next few months will bring: No one asked to live through a historical event like this global pandemic, but it is a reality we must all learn to deal with.”

Editor’s Movie Recommendations – Movies to get through quarantine!

1917

Harriet

Hidden Figures

On the Basis of Sex

Directed by Sam Mendes

Directed by Kasi Lemmons

Directed by Theodore Melfi

Directed by Mimi Leder

Spring 2020

Chair: Dr. Ellen Kittell

Editor: Emma Williams

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History of Global Pandemic – Pandemics across history and how they affected the world

By Emma Williams

As historians, it is our job to remind folks of the past, and sometimes remind them of how often it repeats.

Worldwide pandemics are not new to civilizations and this will probably not be the last. The first bouts of tuberculosis, leprosy, smallpox, influenza and others first appeared when civilizations abandoned the huntergather lifestyle and began to settle. As larger groups began to grow and become permanent, disease flowed as much as the uninhibited sewage.

The first known pandemic was in the Peloponnesian War in 430 BC in Athens, Greece. Suspected of being typhoid fever, it wiped out two-thirds of the population. Smallpox first appeared in 165 AD and continued through 180 CE. Spreading through the Huns, the Germans, and through the Roman empire, even claiming Emperor Marcus Aurelius.

One of the most well-known diseases in history is the Justinian Plague from 541 CE. It sporadically continued to 15th-century image by Jacopo Oddi from the La Franceschina codex depicting Franciscan monks treating appear for almost 200 years. In the end it claimed 26% of victims of the plague in Italy. via NPR the population. Leprosy was the next plague for the history books, appearing in the 11th century BCE. Plagues continued with the Black Death taking a third of the population of Europe. It reappeared every 20 years up until the sixteenth Century.

Epidemics raged the sixteenth century onward—the diseases of the Columbian Exchange, the Great Plague of London and the first appearance of cholera in Calcutta in 1817 and the Russian flu in 1889—and on into the 20th century, beginning with the Spanish flu (which did not originate in Spain) in 1918, The Asian flu, HIV/AIDs, and SARS. While we are well aware of the possibility of such occurrences coming back and the devastating effects they could have, we can hardly imagine witnessing one. However bad these diseases have been, one thing always happens. We always recover.

The Fall 2020 semester at the U of I will be very different than we are used to, if we are back on campus. We may wear masks, have reduced class sizes or hybrid classes (half online / half in person). According to President Scott Green, there is a team working to decide the next steps for the university with the help of the Idaho State Health Department. We were mostly prepared for this when the school first closed, and we will be prepared for the team’s decision.

Spring 2020

Chair: Dr. Ellen Kittell

Editor: Emma Williams

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Photography and Cowboys – Two faculty released groundbreaking works

By Emma Williams

Matthew Fox-Amato and Rebecca Scofield, both faculty of the University of Idaho’s History Department, have recently published books. Fox-Amato’s specialty is Civil War-era historical photography and he recently published a book entitled Exposing Slavery: Photography, Human Bondage, and the Birth of Modern Visual Politics in America. His work helped to show how photography shaped social ties and racial hierarchy. This was displayed in how masters depicted their slaves and how slaves later used the photographs. Scofield works studying society in the American West. Her book, Outriders: Rodeo on the Fringes on the American, discusses the influence of conventional social pressures on nontraditional rodeo riders. These include female immigrant riders and gay men. On Oct. 24, 2019, Fox-Amato and Schofield presented their books at BookPeople of Moscow.

Fox-Amato’s work explains many things about slave photography, including the reasoning behind the attire of slaves in photographs and how they were posed with and without white masters. He described how slaves would be dressed as their job required. One man he described was the slave responsible for retrieving the mail up the river. The slave was pictured with the mail sack slung across his shoulder, a rope around his waist and an oar in his hand. Other ‘house slaves’ may be depicted as nannies and nurses for the children. Fox-Amato recognized a common Madonna like pose for many of the slaves posing with white children. They would be positioned holding the child as if presenting them to the world. Fox-Amato also explained photography of the era with, “It furthered allowed for owners to flaunt their humanity before family with investing time, money and hard work into photography of the enslaved.”

Scofield articulated that western rodeo is a combination of violence and theater. Participating in the sport has left thousands died or maimed. However, the dangers of the sport were not the only peril some riders faced. Some riders also faced discrimination for being gay or cross dressing or for being simply a woman. Many female competitors faced sexual assault and abuse. Other difficulties they faced were uncertain economic benefits. Some shows brought in less money. One of the female rodeo riders Schofield focused on was Tilly Baldwin, an immigrant from Norway. Baldwin faced discrimination for her immigration, political beliefs, gender and economic independence. The gay men of rodeo would face discrimination and in the 1980’s, Schofield claims, the International Gay Rodeo Association was founded.

Schofield and Fox-Amato both worked to share the stories of those who faced difficulty and sometimes traumatic discrimination. Through newspaper articles, diaries, letters and photographs they pieced together stories of the human passed.

Spring 2020

Chair: Dr. Ellen Kittell

Editor: Emma Williams

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Departing and Returning – Faculty leaving the U of I and a professor returning

By Emma Williams

Professor Richard Spence, specializing in Russian intelligence and military history. Looking back on his time with the department Spence stated, “I came to the U of I in August in 1986, and ended up staying 34 years.” He had been given another offer from another university in Minnesota but wanted to stay in the Pacific Northwest. He noted that the best thing about his time at U of I was “that I was permitted, mostly though administrative indifference, to research and teach without interference.

Because of that, many students were able to take courses that they wouldn’t have found anywhere else, and I didn’t get bored.”

Thank you for your time at the U of I and good luck on your next adventure!

Spring 2020

Professor Pingchao Zhu, specializing in Eastern Asian History and U.S. Diplomatic History. She has served as the department’s online degree advisor and the director of graduate Studies.

She is retiring after 24 years.

During her time here she has published two books and many different research articles. She is working on “a textbook on Modern China and a monograph on China’s War of Resistance.” Zhu has won many awards while here, including a Fulbright Teaching Grant in 2008 to teach in South Korea, to U of I Excellence in Teaching and Advising, the U of I Alumni Award, and the U of I Naval ROTC Faculty Recognition Awards. Thank you for your time with us and good luck on your next adventure!

Daniella McCahey, lecturer, she has been with the department for two years.

“The History Department at the University of Idaho was my first full-time job after graduate school. I really appreciated the opportunity to teach small classes in my areas of interest at a major state university so soon after graduating. Also, the department was extremely supportive of my research and writing pursuits outside of the classroom. At the University of Idaho I got the opportunity to teach many types of classes. I think my favorite classes were History 379, which I taught In Spring 2019, and History 290, which I taught online in Fall 2019. I was really excited to teach History 379 (History of Modern Science) because I am a historian of science.

We will miss you and good luck with her new project!

Chair: Dr. Ellen Kittell

Professor Adam Sowards, an environmental historian on North American specifically the West. He works with American Indian Studies, Environmental Science, Water Resources and American Studies. He is also the director of the Pacific Northwest Studies. For the last year he has been doing research at Taylor Wilderness Research Station at Taylor Ranch in Valley County. In the fall he will be teaching American Environmental History and the seminar Place, Power, and History. Welcome back!

Editor: Emma Williams

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Women and Photography in history - Scofield and Fox-Amato present fascinating classes

By Emma Williams Rebecca Scofield is presenting a class intitled History of Women in American Society. Her course offers a study of “how feminine ideals changed over time in North America and how this affected the experiences of people considered to be women across race, class, geography, and religion.” She begins the course with the “experiences of trans-people in Native and Anglo societies and ending with Beyoncé’s Homecoming. Following this timeline, the class looks at issues such as reproduction, politics, and popular representations. While studying “how femaleidentified bodies experienced history, we will also collectively undertake assignments about gendered labor, namely mending and baking. This is one of Scofield’s favorite courses because it is a discussion “about the diverse fabric of our society in a way that puts current movements, like Me Too and Black Lives Matter into context for students.” Christie Clark, a U of I history graduate, stated she “loved learning about all different kinds of women and learning that a lot of women’s rights were established more recently than people believed.”

UI History Assistant Professor Rebecca Scofield

Matthew Fox-Amato is also presenting a fascinating class, Pictures and Power: Photography, Politics, and American History. He examines how photography has been a powerful force to “shaping American history.” The class starts “by looking at how abolitionists used the medium to mobilize oppositions to slavery in the Civil War Era and end with the role of photographs in visualizing anti-racist protest today.” Throughout the class discussions they study the role images have played in influencing western

colonization, immigration, the women’s suffrage movement, the Great Depression, WWII and the Holocaust, the civil rights movement, the environmental movement, and 9/11.” Fox-Amato recently released a book about photography of the Slavery Era and the effects it has on how photography was used by slave owners. (See page 5) UI History Assistant Professor Matthew Fox-Amato

To take either of these classes in the Fall of 2020, register for class HIST 420 for History of Women in American Society for three credits and HIST 454 Pictures and Power Photography, Politics, and American History for three credits.

Spring 2020

Chair: Dr. Ellen Kittell

Editor: Emma Williams

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Phi Alpha Theta – International History Honors Society This year’s conference was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was to be held at Western Washington University from April 3-4. Next year’s conference will be held at Portland State University if conditions permit. Our treasurer took a moment to reflect on the next steps for the society.

My name is Derek Higgins, and I am the returning Treasury Secretary of Phi Alpha Theta. I began my master’s degree in history here at Idaho in Fall 2019 under the tutelage of Matthew Fox-Amato. Coming out here to Idaho was not originally in my plans but following my girlfriend to Moscow so that she could pursue her PhD in meat science at U of I led me to consider going back to school. I graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2012 with a bachelor’s in history but had not really put my degree to use for the seven years I was out of school. About a year after moving to Idaho I began to take a much closer look at the possibility of going back to school and researched potential locations to pursue my graduate degree. The outstanding department reputation and high level of instructors led me to choose the U of I History Department and it has been nothing short of excellent. Broad views, a dedication to research and scholarship, and the willingness to work as a cohesive department have all been attributes that have reaffirmed why I made a great decision in choosing the University of Idaho.

My involvement in Phi Alpha Theta was really limited to the latter half of the Fall semester, as I was unaware of the group and was still working on figuring out everything the History Department has to offer. I was not eligible for actual membership until the Spring semester but really enjoyed the discussions and activities we had throughout the fall. I was elected treasury secretary this past semester and will continue in the role during the upcoming fall semester. Unfortunately, like everything else, our spring semester was severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and we were not able to have any of our scheduled activities. While active participation has not been extremely robust in the time I have been attending meetings, I feel that there is tremendous upside and potential for this group to become a leader for on-campus organizations. The importance of history is no more present than during this current pandemic we are all going through. I look forward to the upcoming school year and working with my fellow Phi Alpha Theta leadership to provide a place where historians in training and history aficionados alike can come together and explore our historical interests. Whether it will be in person or online, I am confident that we will uphold and continue to build upon the great tradition that Phi Alpha Theta as at the University of Idaho.

All the best, Derek Higgins

Spring 2020

Chair: Dr. Ellen Kittell

Editor: Emma Williams

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Alumni News: Chloe O’Neill has been accepted at Columbia’s Teacher College Politics and Education Graduate Program with a scholarship! Chloe graduated in the Spring of 2018 with a B.A. in history. She was a part of the first USAC program to Verona, Italy as well as interning with Sydney Freeman. Congratulation Chloe!

Spring 2020

Chair: Dr. Ellen Kittell

Editor: Emma Williams

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Our Newest Alumni- Recent graduates look back on their experience with the U of I History Department 3. If you could go back and add a class, which Kelton Pemp, a recent graduate with a B.S. in history with a minor in religious studies, took a moment to look back on his time with the department and what he enjoyed the most.

1. What is your favorite memory of the History department this year?

Honestly looking back, I think my favorite memory of the department was this semester's first day of class. Because this was my graduating semester, I felt like this would be the last beginning I would have with the excellent professors within our department. As with the beginning of every semester, the teachers summarize what the class will look like, what we'll learn, and why it is important for us to know. That day, everyone seemed excited to teach, and the classes themselves were filled with people who genuinely wanted to be there. I don't know that every department can really say that.

2. What was your favorite class and why?

I'm making the choice to exclude my actual history classes here; I can't pick one from between them properly anyway. Instead, I'll say my favorite class was Professor Dezzani's Geography 204, Geography of Middle-Earth. Not only was the subject material one of my personal interests, but Dezzani's interdisciplinary approach enhanced my understanding of geography as more broad subject, as well as the roles that mythology, fantasy and culture play in the way that people understand the world around them.

Absolutely both a blast and very educational.

Spring 2020

would it be and why?

I really wish I would've had the time to take Professor Kittell's Medieval English Constitutional and Legal History. She's one of the university's best professors, and I've always had a strong interest in law history because it's the system which society organizes itself around.

4. What are you most grateful for from the department?

Without a doubt, the personal support I've received from our teachers makes the department the best at U of I. Whether it's something small, like a genuine critique of an essay, or something more important to my future, such as a mandatory meeting for a class paper turning into an incredibly helpful advising session. A good professor makes a good class. And we have some of the best people in our department.

We wish you luck with your future Kelton!

Kelli and Mecarte Sichmeller, both recent graduates with master’s in history also commented on their time with the department.

1. What is your favorite memory of the History department this year?

Getting to know more people in the grad program.

Mecarte – Conspiracies and Secret Societies. It was really interesting, and I really enjoyed it.

2. What was your favorite class and why?

Kelli – Hellenistic World, I like Dr. Roy’s classes and I have been to Greece and love learning about it.

Chair: Dr. Ellen Kittell

Editor: Emma Williams

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Mecarte – Conspiracies and Secret Societies. It was really interesting, and I really enjoyed it.

3. If you could go back and add a class, which would it be and why?

The Tudor class that was cancelled our first semester and History of Greece which is being taught in the fall because these are interesting topics.

4. What are you most grateful for from the department.

Dr. Roy and Dr. Kittell for helping us through our graduate exams.

Kellie and Macarte Sichmeller

Editor’s Reading Recommendations- Readings to get through quarantine!

The Twelve Caesars

by Suetonius

The Souls of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels

by Jon Meacham

The Dew Breaker

by Edwidge Danticat

The English and Their History

by Robert Tombs

b Spring 2020

Chair: Dr. Ellen Kittell

Editor: Emma Williams

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Vandals Abroad – U of I history students look back on their time abroad this year I am a history and international studies double major studying in Lüneburg Germany. While here, I am taking several German Language courses, as well as an International Relations course.

I was able to, in part, afford this incredible opportunity because of the generosity of the University of Idaho History Department, from which I received a study abroad scholarship. It has been an amazing experience, meeting locals and other international students while staying in and exploring around Germany. Lüneburg was largely spared from the bombing of World War II, and the historic Altstadt of Lüneburg stands largely as it has since the 15th century, with the main square showing many examples of the original Gothic red brick architecture. However, there are still reminders of that dark time in German history, as Leuphana University's campus is a converted World War II German military base. But 75 years later, these buildings are used for education and intercultural learning, and I am glad that I get take part in that exchange.

Anna Bauer studied in Krakow, Poland.

Spring 2020

Michel Terry studied in Lüneburg Germany.

My name is Anna Bauer and I am currently studying history in Krakow, Poland. I received scholarships from both the Study Abroad Department and the History Department. My experience in just one short month here has already been amazing. Being one of the only large cities in Poland that was not destroyed in WWII by the Nazi party, the history here is endless. The main square of Old Town dates back to the 13th century and is Europe's largest town square.

Krakow was also heavily impacted by WWII, as it was a main “hub” for the Nazi party and housed a large Jewish ghetto. Being only 70 km from Auschwitz and home to the Oskar Schindler Enamel Factory, many forget to look past the history of WWII in Krakow. There are cathedrals that date back to the 11th century! Wawel Castle, an 11th century castle which housed all Polish royalty until Warsaw was named the capital of Poland, and now is open to the public as a museum is absolutely stunning! From the delicious food (pierogis, kiełbasa, bigos), the amazing people and the vast history of Krakow, I am learning so much about this city and so much about myself, I wouldn’t change it for the world. Krakow already has my heart.

Chair: Dr. Ellen Kittell

Editor: Emma Williams

13 Primary Source I am currently one of several U of I students studying at Leuphana University in Lüneburg, Germany. Here I am studying German (of course) as well as both the functioning of the European Union and the history of international relations in Europe since the end of WWII. Lüneburg, located in north-central Germany just south of Hamburg, is today a smaller town in the region with about 80,000 people, but they were once an important part of the Hanseatic League, and an incredibly wealthy city due to their production of salt. They're very proud of it here: There's even a Lüneburg Salt Museum, not far from where I'm living. Today, Lüneburg is probably better known for being the home of ViO, one of Germany's major mineral water companies. Thanks to various scholarships from the history department (most notably the Winkler Memorial), I've also had the ability to somewhat freely travel around Europe on several of my more-free weekends. Attached you'll find a picture of myself at the Parc du Mont des Artes in Brussels, Belgium (one of the aforementioned excursion opportunities I had), and a photo I captured from Am Sande, Lüneburg's main street, right after a brief rain. On the left of that picture you'll see the St. Johanneskirche, and on the right you'll be able to make out a double rainbow!

Nicolas Schofield studied in Lüneburg, Germany Spring 2020

Chair: Dr. Ellen Kittell

Ben Cain studied in Lüneburg, Germany

This semester I am studying abroad in Lüneburg, Germany, a beautiful city in east Lower-Saxony (or Niedersachsen) 45 minutes south of Hamburg. Medieval merchants in Lüneburg enriched themselves and the city by trading salt in the Hanseatic League, resulting in a ornate town center and the construction of grand gothic churches. I am currently enrolled in Leuphana Universität studying German, the EU, and International Relations since 1945. Through a generous grant, University of Idaho's History Department supported my adventure abroad and made my semester in Lüneburg possible. Besides travelling to other EU countries like Belgium and Poland, I have also enjoyed visiting museums and art galleries throughout Germany, learning the history and culture in greater depth. My favorite museums so far have been the Deutsches Auswanderer Hause (German Emigration Museum) in Bremerhaven, where 7 million people emigrated primarily to the United State, and the Hanseatic League Museum in Lübeck, the former capital of the Hanseatic League. I look forward to return to Moscow with the cultural and historic insights from Norddeutschland!

Editor: Emma Williams

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Gavan Harmon studied in Reggio Emilia, Italy

I studied in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The best part about the trip was probably being able to see the art and places that I've studied for so long in person.

Perhaps the single best moment was visiting Villa D'Este and getting engaged. I'm not sure what was the most educational but I was particularly interested in how the Italians viewed history- they are all big on the Romans and seem to ignore many of their wrongdoings. I also managed to study the Reggio Emilia approach to education which was fascinating. COVID was never really an issue or even talked about until about 3 weeks before the program ended. It started with security checks to and from the Milan train station. The next week we began taking our classes online, and the following Saturday we were informed that we had a week to evacuate before our travel insurance would expire.

The next semester will bring a great deal of uncertainty and most Study Abroad programs for the Fall semester have been canceled. In the future more students may be able to go abroad and explore the history the world offers! For more information contact the University of Idaho Education Abroad International Programs Office.

Spring 2020

Chair: Dr. Ellen Kittell

Editor: Emma Williams