CHRISTINE L. CHO AND JULIE K. CORKETT

15. PRESENTOSA FILIGRANA

Crafting a Metaphor for Authenticity in an International Teaching and Learning Context

INTRODUCTION

Sulmona is a small town in the Abruzzo region of Italy, with ties to the ancient Romans still felt and seen in the cobblestone roads and long-standing aqueducts. Equally proud of their medieval history, the people of the town re-enact a joust, the Giostra Cavaleeresca di Sulmona, every August. It is in this quaint village that we had a remarkable experience buying, or perhaps more aptly, attempting to buy, a filigree necklace traditional to the area and its medieval connections. What follows is the juxtaposition of images collected during a recent international teaching placement the authors facilitated in Sulmona with the retelling of the story of the necklace. In this chapter, we attempt to interrogate our own identities in relation to teaching in an international context, expanding on the metaphor of the pendant for the role of identity in shaping praxis, culminating in our own visual representation of a presentosa.

E. Lyle (Ed.), At the Intersection of Selves and Subject, 143–152. © 2017 Sense Publishers. All rights reserved. C. L. CHO & J. K. CORKETT

Presentosa We ventured into a jewellery store with the hopes of purchasing a filigree treasure. Italian is not either of our first languages and English was not a language spoken by the jewellery story owner. As faculty members of a Bachelor of Education program in Ontario, Canada, in May 2016 we spent three weeks in Sulmona, Italy, facilitating 42 Canadian pre-service teachers participating in an international teaching placement. As we walked the beautiful cobblestone streets, the ancient storefront windows glittered with numerous examples of the wonderfully delicate presentosa pendants. Our inquiries with one of the local teachers led us to understand that the pendants held regional and traditional significance. The Abruzzo Filigrana, or presentosa as it is also known, is a pendant made of delicately woven threads of white or yellow gold, which showcases the incredible artistic and technical skill of the goldsmith who made it. It has been said that the craftsmanship is more precious than the gold itself (Italy Heritage, 2016).

Christine had been studying Italian so we thought we could manage a very basic, be it fragmented, conversation with the jewellery storeowner. However, we were soon to discover that numbers were not necessarily Christine’s strong suit. For two weeks Julie had been marvelling at a particularly stunning example of a presentosa in the store window. Having finally decided that she wanted to purchase it, she asked Christine if she would enquire about the price of the pendant. Consenting to the request, we entered the store. Christine confidently conversed with the storeowner. Then with a glowing expression Christine turned to Julie and said that the presentosa was only 50 Euros. Excited by this affordable cost, Julie indicated she would purchase the pendant. The jeweller’s eyes lit up with pleasure and Julie then proceeded to make some additional

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