Students Abroad—In the Classroom: A Transatlantic Assignment on Edith Wharton’s “Roman Fever”

The teaching project on Edith Wharton’s short story, “Roman Fever” (1934), exposes students to the ideas of their peers in another part of the world through the collaboration of faculty teaching classes in universities in different countries. The project contributes to the actualization of current strategic aims in post-secondary institutions that encourage global perspectives by providing students with an opportunity for international interaction. Its innovative application of already existing, user-friendly digital tools works well with the study of an author whose text invites cosmopolitan awareness. Wharton’s “Roman Fever,” with its international setting, transatlantic perspectives, and subtle narrative details, is particularly well-suited for a project that crosses countries and cultures. The assignment works well in courses involving women’s writing, gender and transnational approaches, and genre studies, among a range of others. The digital tool, Padlet, that the project utilizes is an easily manageable free platform. Students receive clear instructions about what is expected of them with directions on access, postings, starting and ending dates, and other relevant details. At the end of the assignment period, students write a critical response that reflects on the international interactive nature of the project as they discover resonances of their own intellectual articulations in the broader world.