| City Kids: New York
August 30 - September 1, 2007 |
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The Academic Traveler is pleased to present its first family program, City Kids: New York. This program gives kids and parents an opportunity to travel to new places, learn about new things and explore new cultures - together!
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| NYC: On Location
October 3 - 7, 2007 |
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The Academic Traveler presents New York: On Location, an educational travel program dedicated to the film and television set in New York City. New York has long been a top location for the television and movie industry. Come explore the "city that never sleeps."
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South Florida: A Culinary Adventure January 2008 |
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Escape the winter doldrums, and join Cory Lewis in Miami and Key West for a culinary adventure! Cuban, French Caribbean, and Asian cuisine will await you. Tastings and cooking lessons - so you can bring a bit of the sunshine state home with you.
More details coming soon!
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Florence, Italy
"Top Ten" |
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To get your taste buds primed to join Cory Lewis in Florence in March 2008, take a look at our recent participants' "Top Ten" list of Florentine culinary delights:
#10 Flan of Wild Mushrooms and Ricotta Chesse
#9 Parmigiano Reggiano Dipped in Truffle Honey
#8 Olive Oil from Fattoria de Tancia
#7 Grilled small purple artichokes
#5 Sundried Cherry Tomatoes from Mercato Centrale
#4 Pistachio Gelato from Grom, a "Slow Food" Gelateria
#3 Pear-Filled Pasta with Gorgonzola Sauce at Ristorante Natalino
#2 Panne Cotta with Strawberries at Divina Cucina
#1 Grilled Fresh Vegetables Topped with Pecorino Cheese and Balsamic Vinegar in Pienza
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| The Academic Traveler
Division of Outreach
University of Mississippi
P. O. Box 879
University, MS 38677
phone (662) 915-6511
fax (662) 915-5138
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| The Academic Traveler Newsletter
July/August 2007 |
Greetings!
Welcome to the world! The Academic Traveler is an educational travel program for people who enjoy experiential travel - learning by doing, living as the locals live, visiting off-the-beaten-path sites. The Academic Traveler newsletter will bring you travel tips, program information and other articles that will tempt you to dust off your passport and join us as we experience the world.
Happy travels,
Laura Antonow
Program Director
The Academic Traveler |
Kids in the City
I vividly remember visiting New York as a small child - the skyscrapers, the food, and yes, even the museums. My parents' recollection is that of dragging a reluctant kid through the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but my recollection is of sneaking away and going to the Egyptian galleries -and actually liking it.
Now that I have children of my own, I'm always looking for an excuse to take them to New York. Having lived in New York, it's very managable for me to lead my two daughters through one of the world's most bustling cities. Not all visitors have that experience. Traveling with kids can be stressful under the best of circumstances, but top it with navigating subways, finding child-friendly restaurants, and trying to create an itinerary that pleases everyone, and many parents abandon New York as a family destination. Don't give up!! New York has so much to offer children and adults alike.
Museums
In addition to the fine arts museums like MoMA and the Met (which both have kids' tours), there are museums dedicated to science, subways, and skyscrapers, just to name a few. And then there's the American Museum of Natural History, brought to the attention of every child in the country through the recent movie Night at the Museum.
Restaurants
Obviously, reservations at Le Cirque are not in order when traveling with kids, but New York is home to a plethora of unique restaurants that can be enjoyed by children and parents. Peanut Butter and Company offers innovative sandwiches spead with fresh peanut butter and other adders likebanana and honey for the "Elvis". Cupcake Cafe and Dylan's Candy Bar provide a sweet stop for weary travelers, and, of course, there are the venues that are more spectacle than fine dining - Mars 2112, Hard Rock Cafe, Jekyll & Hyde Club, and ESPN Zone.
Other Highlights
For a bird's-eye view, the Empire State Building's Observatory has competition once again - the Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center. Broadway offers many kid-friendly shows - The Lion King, Wicked, Legally Blonde, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, to name a few. Free time can be filled with a visit to Bowlmor Lanes, Deb's Family Disco, or a Yankees game. The possibilities are endless!
Laura Antonow is the director of the Academic Traveler program and an adjunct assistant professor of art at the University of Mississippi.
Join the Academic Traveler's City Kids: New York program and explore the city through the eyes of a child. |
 Film Festivals 101
by Michelle Emanuel
If you've ever been frustrated by the offerings of your local multiplex - sequels based on comic book characters, blockbusters where the special effects replace dialogue, unfunny comedies with teenage TV stars that you've never heard of - then a good film festival might be just the thing to restore your faith in the Art of Film.
Film festivals are typically annual events, and can be based on a theme (such as the Indie Memphis festival which screens only Southern films) or a genre (such as North Carolina's Full Frame festival which screens only documentaries). Most film festivals show a little bit of everything - animation, documentary, experimental, foreign, independent features, music videos, and often, children's programming. The one thing they have in common is that they often cannot be seen in a regular cinema or on cable. But film festivals are more than marathon screenings of good programming; they are also a chance for the filmmakers to interact with the audience, through panels, question/answer sessions, and social situations. For a young filmmaker, the feedback (positive or negative) can inspire his/her next project or provide the networking connection to make that project happen. For the spectator, it gives an opportunity to interact with the process; finally, your voice can be heard.
Hundreds of film festivals have popped up all over the United States as filmmaking has become increasingly accessible with the advent of digital cameras and desktop editing suites. Mississippi now has four festivals in Oxford, Starkville, Tupelo, and Jackson. Each year, as we receive more and more entries from aspiring hopefuls, we also look to more established festivals - like the Sundance Film Festival, the South By Southwest Festival in Austin, or the New York Film Festival (Sept. 28-Oct. 14, 2007) - to see which films have buzz in a given year that we might try to bring to our towns.
Michelle Emanuel is a catalog librarian at the University of Mississippi, and has been a co-director of the Oxford Film Festival since 2005. For more information about the Oxford Film Festival - February 7-10, 2008 - visit http://www.oxfordfilmfest.com.
Join the Academic Traveler's NYC: On Location program in October and experience the New York Film Festival - and much more. |
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New York at the Movies
by Laura Antonow
New York has long been one of the most popular setting for film and television. Classic films such as Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Godfather, and West Side Story all take advantage of New York's ambiance. Contemporary favorites like Ghostbusters, Do the Right Thing, and Men in Black bring the city to life for viewers who may have never actually pounded the pavement of New York.
Manhattan and the outer boroughs have also served as the setting for many TV families over the years - the Bunkers in All in the Family, the Huxtables in the Cosby Show, and the Sopranos (okay, that's New Jersey, but John Sacramoni's "family" was based in New York). Other popular television shows such as Friends, N.Y.P.D. Blue and the ultimate New York show about nothing - Seinfeld - at least appear to be set in New York; some shows are actually taped in California, but the establishing scenes are "real" New York. Viewers get to visit Greenwich Village, the Upper West Side, and Brooklyn weekly through the magic of television.
Many writers have tackled the subject of iconic films set in New York. James Sanders' book, The Celluloid Skyline, documents the history of New York in film and recently inspired an exhibition at Grand Central Terminal. Sanders' new book, Scenes from the City: Filmmaking in New York, expands on the subject, and also addresses landmark television series, commercials and music videos filmed in the Big Apple. The obvious conclusion from these books and the many others on the topic is that directors and producers simply cannot get enough of the "city that never sleeps."
Laura Antonow is the director of the Academic Traveler program, an adjunct assistant professor of art at the University of Mississippi and teaches a freshman writing course entitled "The History of New York through the Arts."
Join the Academic Traveler's NYC: On Location and see first-hand the "city that never sleeps." | |
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