Calendar of Events

Registration is required for all events. All activities are in English and are online unless otherwise specified. Please return to this page for updates during the academic year.

Italy Reads offers opportunities for high school students to acquire valuable experience in the context of Percorsi per le Competenze Trasversali e per l'Orientamento (PCTO) / Pathways for Transversal Skills and Orientation.

Each year, nearly 200 teachers and their students participate in Italy Reads or one of the other Programs for High Schools offered free of charge by John Cabot University. Many students earn a significant number of hours for PCTO for their participation in Italy Reads.

See Programs for High Schools or Programmi per le Scuole for more information or contact [email protected].

Italy Reads 2024-2025 The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein

All Italy Reads participants are invited to consult the page Italy Reads Resources for Teachers. This collection of resources is compiled each year by the JCU librarians. It includes the presentations of Lesson Plans on the author and the work prepared by JCU professors and by Italy Reads high school teachers who attended the relevant Professional Development Course during the preceding Spring Session.

TEACHER TRAINING WORKSHOPS
The first workshop was held at John Cabot University on April 12, 2024.

Friday, September 27, 2024, online. Program. High school teachers of all subjects throughout Italy are invited to learn about the resources available to them and their students with JCU's Programs for High Schools. Proposed lessons for teaching The Autobiography of Alice B.Toklas will be presented by teachers who attended the Professional Development Course last spring.

The workshop is in English, free, and Certificates of Participation will be provided. High school teachers of all subjects are welcome.

Register to attend the workshop (on Zoom).

KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Thursday, October 24, 2024, 6:00-7:30pm, online. This public event is the annual kick-off for the Italy Reads Program. Dr. Sarah Posman.  Register to attend the Keynote Address (on Zoom).

MASTER CLASS FOR TEACHERS
Thursday, November 7, 2024, 6:00-7:30pm, online. Master Class for Teachers with Dr. Sarah Posman. Register to attend the Master Class (on Zoom).

STUDENTS INTERVIEW KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Thursday, January 16, 2025, 6:30-7:30pm, online. Students Interview Keynote speaker Dr. Sarah Posman. Register to participate in the interview (on Zoom).

Sarah Posman, Ph.D. Keynote Speaker

Sarah Posman works as an English lecturer and teacher in Ghent, Belgium. In 2010 she obtained her Ph.D. on Gertrude Stein from Ghent University. She was affiliated with Ghent University and is now a lecturer in the Journalism programme at Artevelde University. Her research on avant-garde poetry was funded by the Research Foundation Flanders. She has coedited The Intellectual Response to the First World War (Sussex Academic Press, 2017), Gertrude Stein in Europe: Reconfigurations Across Media, Disciplines and Traditions (Bloomsbury, 2015), The Aesthetics of Matter: Modernism, the Avant-Garde and Material Exchange (De Gruyter, 2013), and Vital Stein: Gertrude Stein, Modernism and Life (Edinburgh University Press, 2023). She is a member of the Gertrude Stein European Network and is working on Dutch translations of Stein's lectures and poetry. 

Interview and Digital Newsletter Project 

Students attend public lectures, interview speakers, and work in teams to create a digital summary of their work. JCU student mentors are recruited to provide guidance. This activity is ongoing from October through March. Students will present their final work and answer questions from their audience.

Volunteer Mentors 

October through April: JCU students meet with high school students, in-person or online, to discuss (in English) The Life of Alice B.Toklas by Gertrude Stein, the life of the author and the social/cultural context in which the book was written, and its relevance to today. 

JCU students: Visit the Volunteer for Italy Reads page for more information and scheduled training sessions.

High school teachers: Register to participate in the Italy Reads Program and receive more information using the Unique Registration Form. Visits to high schools by JCU Italy Reads Volunteer Mentors can be scheduled to take place in-person and/or remotely from October through April. The frequency of these meetings is based on the academic schedules of the JCU students.

Professional Development Course for Teachers

Each year, Italy Reads offers a Professional Development Course for High School Teachers who plan to include the selected work in their academic program. This 30-hour course is delivered online and is free-of-charge. Completion of this course is not required for participation in the program the following academic year, but it is an excellent opportunity for teachers to study the author and the literary work in depth with colleagues and a JCU professor.

The aim of this annual course is to prepare teachers to engage their students in the study of this work from literary and interdisciplinary perspectives. The course introduces background information on the author and the social and literary context in which they wrote. During the course, teachers exchange best practices in teaching and considerations specific to their teaching realities. 

The outcome of this course, which takes place from January through May, is the increased profession support between colleagues. Informed by seminars led by academic experts, teachers share specific Sample Lesson Plans developed by the recipients of this Italy Reads Scholarship for High School Teachers. In addition to the Resources for Teachers gathered by staff at JCU's Frohring Library, Sample Lessons provide specific didactic approaches proposed by Italy Reads Scholars. Resources for Teachers are available for use by all Italy Reads participants. 

Italy Reads 2025-2026 (book selected to be announced)
Details, course schedule, and application form will be published on this page in late October. The Professional Development Course in preparation for Italy Reads 2025-2026 will be held January - May 10, 2025 (Online, Zoom, in English, and free of charge). Teachers receive certification of 30 hours Professional Development upon completion of the course.

Student Video Contest

A Video Production Tutorial available online. Italy Reads registered teachers can request access to this material for their students. A gmail account is necessary to access this material through a dedicated Google Classroom. Write to [email protected]. 

31 January, 11:59pm, Deadline to submit entries. Read about the Student Video Contest and submit your video. The Italy Reads Student Video Contest is the culmination of a months of activities between high schools and JCU's Italy Reads Program centered around the work and life the selected author. Students: submit your entries following the instructions and using the Video Contest Submission Form. N.B.: One submission per video, please.

20 March, 6:00-7:30pm, Italy Reads Student Video Contest Award Ceremony (online). Register to attend the award ceremony (on Zoom).

Italy Reads Theatre 

In collaboration with Gaby Ford and The English Theatre of Rome. Performances of an adaptation of the Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (in English): 10-14 March. Ticket information will be posted here. Tickets will be purchased through The English Theatre of Rome. Discount tickets for Italy Reads participating students available. Teachers accompanying their students are our guests.