Colorful Carnevale

When in Italy, do as the Italians do.

The SAIS Bologna experience is anchored in the classroom. It is fundamentally an academic program.

But as we've written before, the learning experience extends beyond the classroom walls. There are lectures, job opportunities, exposure to different points of view and of course the attractions of Bologna, the surrounding region and neighboring countries.

Last weekend, many SAIS Bologna students took advantage of the proximity of Venice to participate in the annual Carnevale. It's difficult to find a more colorful tradition among Italy's many rituals.

Started some 900 years ago, Carnival marks the shift from winter to spring. It traditionally lasted from October to Lent and had an important social function: to bring together different social classes. It was a time when rich and poor could mingle freely thanks to the masks on their faces. Today, it is a time to celebrate Venetian culture, to mark the beginning of Lent and of course to dress up.

Our students' photographs have been among our most popular posts since we launched this blog in December. It's little use, then, my continuing to write about Carnevale as these pictures are worth far more than my words.

By Megan Holt

by Elizabeth Fustos

by Megan Holt

by Elizabeth Fustos

by Megan Holt

by Rachel Salerno

by Megan Holt

by Courtney McCarty

by Megan Holt

by Courtney McCarty

by Courtney McCarty

by Rachel Salerno

by Lars Olson

Nelson Graves

A humbling experience

SAIS has experts in a great many fields. They are leading academics and policymakers. They help set the agenda.

Experts you can know

Events that have swept recently through the Arab world have brought to the fore some of the expertise inside of SAIS. Our Middle East Studies faculty have helped make sense of the developments in articles and interviews. The developments are of keen interest to many other areas, from economics to development.

I thought it was a good time to tap the knowledge of Karim Mezran, who is an adjunct professor of Middle East Studies at SAIS Bologna.

Prof. Mezran also teaches at John Cabot University in Rome and  is director of the Center for American Studies in the Italian capital. His two courses at SAIS Bologna this year are "Political Islam and Change in the Mediterranean Area" and "North African Political Development" -- surely relevant to current events.

I caught up with Prof. Mezran in his office in the Bologna Center. Here are his reactions to the recent events, which he called "a humbling experience" for all those who have studied North Africa and the Middle East.



Nelson Graves