Casa Artom: An Environment for Active Citizens
Choosing a time to go abroad as well as the place and program can be overwhelming to some students, but for me it was easy. I knew I wanted to stick with a Wake Forest Program, and I knew I wanted to study abroad in Italy. Wake Forest’s own Casa Artom program was perfect. Now some might argue that attending a WFU study abroad program does not allow one to enrich themselves in a culture as much as if they were to choose a different program at an actual foreign university. Some might go as far to make the claim that studying with a WFU program does not allow one to be active citizens within the host culture. However, I believe that Aristotle would disagree with those claims and would argue that WFU’s Casa Artom program allows its students to be involved within Venice, and therefore allows them to be both active American and Venetian citizens. How do you make twenty college students care about being active Venetians? In general, how can you make someone want to be an active citizen in their community? Aristotle believes that individuals must be involved in order to care.
To begin things, Aristotle mentions that private property is necessary for humans to feel involved and motivated to be active in their community. Casa Artom is Wake Forest’s private property in Venice, Italy. All of the students are completely aware that this is Wake Forest property and that piece of ownership allows us to embrace the city as if it is our own. When students study abroad with non-WFU programs, they are staying on a foreign campus, in a foreign country, with a foreign program; they have no sense of ownership. They constantly feel that they are a visitor in someone else’s space. Being a Wake Forest student within Casa Artom gives you a sense that you belong in the community. It makes you feel entitled in a way that means you can be more than just a visitor in someone else’s home. This is our home; it is our community. When students, including myself, feel that we have a sense of ownership within our community, it makes us want to be more involved in the place we are calling our home. I am not saying that students who do not study at Casa Artom do not want to be involved in their community. However, I am saying that they may feel as if they are overstepping their boundaries as visitors if they are becoming too involved in their host cultures issues, whereas Casa Artom students see it as our responsibility. We see it as a responsibility as citizens of Wake Forest, to represent our school well; as citizens of the United States, to show that we too can be involved in other cultures while being respectful of our own; and as temporary citizens of Venice, to be a part of the community and not exclude ourselves to only the American culture that we could easily experience in the house without pushing ourselves to do more. This ownership has led many students to keep up to date with Venetian news. It has also taught us to support local businesses. For example, many students have become locals by frequently attending the same restaurant or meat deli, while others have refused to buy Murano glass that was made in China rather than Venice. Aristotle’s belief that private property makes individuals feel involved, and therefore care proves true for Wake Forest students and Casa Artom.
Another claim that Aristotle makes is that societies serve a purpose, “not just to live together, but to live well.” If Aristotle could see how Casa Artom
functions, not only within the community but just within the house then I think he would agree that the program allows us to“not just live together, but to live well.” Casa Artom’s courses allow students to experience and understand Venice. There have been multiple times where I have seen beautiful paintings at an art museum and thought the painting was beautiful, but I wish I had the context of what I am seeing so I could better appreciate the painting. Casa Artom does well at providing this context. Not only do we get to explore Venice, but we know exactly what we are seeing and why it is there. We also have the privilege of learning about contemporary issues and working with Italian students to give us insight into Venice today and not only its past. These courses are not only allowing us to live together and know the basics of Venice, but to live well and really enrich ourselves in the culture, therefore, making us more active citizens.
Overall, I believe that Aristotle would agree that WFU’s Casa Artom provides a program that allows students to go beyond studying abroad. It is one that provides a comfortable environment that allows students to feel comfortable exploring Venice through its academic courses and allows students to feel a sense of ownership in the community through a campus away from campus. Both of which provide for Casa Artom students to take their study abroad experience to the next level and be participatory citizens within the Venice community.
Choosing a time to go abroad as well as the place and program can be overwhelming to some students, but for me it was easy. I knew I wanted to stick with a Wake Forest Program, and I knew I wanted to study abroad in Italy. Wake Forest’s own Casa Artom program was perfect. Now some might argue that attending a WFU study abroad program does not allow one to enrich themselves in a culture as much as if they were to choose a different program at an actual foreign university. Some might go as far to make the claim that studying with a WFU program does not allow one to be active citizens within the host culture. However, I believe that Aristotle would disagree with those claims and would argue that WFU’s Casa Artom program allows its students to be involved within Venice, and therefore allows them to be both active American and Venetian citizens. How do you make twenty college students care about being active Venetians? In general, how can you make someone want to be an active citizen in their community? Aristotle believes that individuals must be involved in order to care.
To begin things, Aristotle mentions that private property is necessary for humans to feel involved and motivated to be active in their community. Casa Artom is Wake Forest’s private property in Venice, Italy. All of the students are completely aware that this is Wake Forest property and that piece of ownership allows us to embrace the city as if it is our own. When students study abroad with non-WFU programs, they are staying on a foreign campus, in a foreign country, with a foreign program; they have no sense of ownership. They constantly feel that they are a visitor in someone else’s space. Being a Wake Forest student within Casa Artom gives you a sense that you belong in the community. It makes you feel entitled in a way that means you can be more than just a visitor in someone else’s home. This is our home; it is our community. When students, including myself, feel that we have a sense of ownership within our community, it makes us want to be more involved in the place we are calling our home. I am not saying that students who do not study at Casa Artom do not want to be involved in their community. However, I am saying that they may feel as if they are overstepping their boundaries as visitors if they are becoming too involved in their host cultures issues, whereas Casa Artom students see it as our responsibility. We see it as a responsibility as citizens of Wake Forest, to represent our school well; as citizens of the United States, to show that we too can be involved in other cultures while being respectful of our own; and as temporary citizens of Venice, to be a part of the community and not exclude ourselves to only the American culture that we could easily experience in the house without pushing ourselves to do more. This ownership has led many students to keep up to date with Venetian news. It has also taught us to support local businesses. For example, many students have become locals by frequently attending the same restaurant or meat deli, while others have refused to buy Murano glass that was made in China rather than Venice. Aristotle’s belief that private property makes individuals feel involved, and therefore care proves true for Wake Forest students and Casa Artom.
Another claim that Aristotle makes is that societies serve a purpose, “not just to live together, but to live well.” If Aristotle could see how Casa Artom
functions, not only within the community but just within the house then I think he would agree that the program allows us to“not just live together, but to live well.” Casa Artom’s courses allow students to experience and understand Venice. There have been multiple times where I have seen beautiful paintings at an art museum and thought the painting was beautiful, but I wish I had the context of what I am seeing so I could better appreciate the painting. Casa Artom does well at providing this context. Not only do we get to explore Venice, but we know exactly what we are seeing and why it is there. We also have the privilege of learning about contemporary issues and working with Italian students to give us insight into Venice today and not only its past. These courses are not only allowing us to live together and know the basics of Venice, but to live well and really enrich ourselves in the culture, therefore, making us more active citizens.
Overall, I believe that Aristotle would agree that WFU’s Casa Artom provides a program that allows students to go beyond studying abroad. It is one that provides a comfortable environment that allows students to feel comfortable exploring Venice through its academic courses and allows students to feel a sense of ownership in the community through a campus away from campus. Both of which provide for Casa Artom students to take their study abroad experience to the next level and be participatory citizens within the Venice community.