The Location: Perugia is a big university town in a small Italian city. Rich in art, architecture, and historical significance, it is internationally recognized as a city of learning. Perugia’s hilltop location serves as the ideal backdrop for study abroad in Italy:

Course Work and Highlights: This course provides a comparative view of how regional food systems develop, change, and thrive in a global context. The course covers the impact of boundaries, environmental resources, and cultural practices in shaping regions and the food produced and consumed there. Using research frameworks from the US and Italy, students will explore the impact of global food systems on dietary options, well-being, and social-cultural life. Through field site visits, experiential learning, and class projects, we explore how strategies such as food markets, culinary tourism, heritagization, and product development provide opportunities and obstacles to robust regional food systems. Project-based components offer students the opportunity to work with professors on their research on heritagization, local markets, grains in the food system, and oral history. Students will attend the biennial Perugia Food & Sustainability Studies Conference during the program.

Housing: Housing will be in student apartments close to Umbra Institute and central Perugia. Apartments vary but all have equipped kitchens, shared baths, and two beds per bedroom.

Prerequisite: Any FST course or permission of the instructor.


Students must meet eligibility requirements. See application at http://chatham.abroadoffice.net/ for details. Application deadline: 2/5/2020

Minimum Enrollment: 10 students. Each field experience is self-supporting and must meet its minimum enrollment number or it will be cancelled.