Global Engagement > Partnerships > Programs for Partner Institutions > Exploring the concept of National Parks in the US and Italy

Exploring the Concept of National Parks in the US and Italy

​​​​​​​​​​​​Project Summ​​ary: 

  • In this GLE project, students from DePaul University worked with students at Politecnico di Torino in Italy to understand the concept of national parks, comparing the two countries' understandings of freedom of expression and the balance of individual versus collective rights on parklands. While Italy does not have national parks, the concept of public lands protected by the national government was explored. DePaul students researched new cases of parkland use such as demonstration spaces for movements like the Black Lives Matter movement and protests against executive branch orders.  The Politecnico students served as peer reviewers of the cases and provided examples of how parklands are used by the United Nations and Italy as a stark contrast.

Project ​​Length: 

  • 8 w​eeks

Technology T​​ools Used: 

  • Doodley
  • VoiceThread
  • D2L
  • Green Screen lectures
  • Zoom
  • WhatsApp
  • Email
  • Ken Burns's digital films on National Park history​

Interaction ​Mode: 

  • ​Asynchronous

Learning Outco​mes: 

  • ​Students learned respect for others, and to appreciate the perspectives of others different from themselves.
  • Students gained the knowledge to become stewards of global resources for a sustainable future.

Student Feedback:

  • ​"My favorite part of this GLE component was actually that the students we met with were all over the world… I had never before considered that the norms for verbal and nonverbal communication could be so different in other countries, or even that the way I communicate has a lot to do with where I was born. Overall, the class was enlightening and a great opportunity to learn about international collaboration."​  ~Gillian M. 2021​

Kelly Tzoumis

faculty name

Institution: DePaul University
Discipline: Public Policy Studies
Course name: National Parks Policy Management

Claudia Cassatella

faculty name

Institution: Politecnico di Torino
Discipline: Urban Planning/Architecture
Course name: Landscape and Regional Planning

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Partner Institutions

DePaul University
Chicago, IL, United States

Politecnico di Torino
Turin, Italy

 

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