Summary

Professor Virginia Cox (Italian Studies) integrated project-based learning into CORE-Texts & Ideas, Visible and Invisible Cities, a course that focuses on representations of the city since Classical times. In addition to writing scholarly papers, each student had to complete a creative project, critically exploring texts using multimedia and non-traditional technologies.

Learning objectives

• Develop students’ ability to use multimedia to advance and enhance a scholarly argument
• Use emerging technologies to broaden the audience for scholarly content

Visible and Invisible Cities centers on the ways in which human communities have been theorized and imagined within the Western tradition from classical antiquity through to the Renaissance. Activities include close reads of primary texts, rich discussions, and the completion of a creative project. For the creative project, students critically reflect on texts using alternative methods, like podcasting, interactive illustration, mapping, and even song writing.

Student experience

• Develop and iterate on project idea
• Post final projects on a course blog, and upvote favorite projects

Technology resources

• NYU Web Publishing (WordPress), to showcase student projects
• Variety of technologies for individual creative projects

Outcomes

• Increase in engagement for subject matter
• Increase in ability to transfer text-specific ideas to a broader context
• Project showcase: https://wp.nyu.edu/nyucities/ (open to NYU community only)