COMM/CEP 300 – Tour Guiding & Multicultural Competence (Community Engagement Practicum)
Discipline(s): Art History, Communication & Journalism
Credits: 3
Available: fall semester 2025, spring semester 2026
Instructor: Francesca Passeri, Ph.D.
Course Type: Seminar & Practicums
Taught in: English
Course Fee: -
Formerly CEP 101 – Practicum Communication – Mediating Cultures: Tour Guiding and Multicultural Competence
General Practicum Description
In this practicum students will work as tour guides in a museum or one of the main churches of Florence. The aim of the course is, on the one hand, to make students appreciate first-hand the significance and importance of Florentine art and architecture; on the other hand, they will also have to try to convey this significance to some of the millions of tourists that visit Florence every year. Many of these tourists have very little previous knowledge of Italian culture, so the seminar will guide students into acting as mediators between different cultures.
Seminar Description
The seminar meets once a week, and is based on students’ reports about their work, readings and discussions. The seminar will focus on the fundamental importance of art and monuments for Italian national identity and Florentine local identity. We will also discuss how Florentine art and architecture can be appreciated by a widely multicultural audience, who only experience these churches through a heavily commoditized tourist industry.
Course Objectives and Learning Outcomes
By the end of the practicum, the successful student is expected to
- have a detailed understanding of how art and architecture contribute to a country’s national identity;
- have solid practical experience leading tours about such topics; and
- understand how to provide significant information to a diverse and multicultural audience, and act as a mediator between different cultures.
Course descriptions may be subject to occasional minor modifications at the discretion of the instructor.