Credit hours:-- Contact hours: 45
Course # 22-1103 SR
Dept: Art and Design
Course Description: Beginning with the frescoes of the late 1200Õs from the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, this course covers the most important artists of the 1300Õs, 1400Õs, and early 1500Õs. Students are guided through the major artistic developments of these centuries from the spatial discoveries of Giotto, to the mathematical discovery of perspective, and on to the rebirth of interest in the classical world. The course covers historical and political events and analyzes their influence on the artistic production. Many class sessions are held on-site in museums and churches to enhance the in-class slide lectures.
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course # 22-3100 SR
Dept: Art and Design
Course Description: This Special Topics course offers the opportunity for specialized study in the area of Art History not normally available as part of the course offerings. Possible courses that may be offered include Futurism; The High Mannerists; History of Printmaking and the Book; Roman and Etruscan Art and Archeology; Realism, Modernism and Post-Modernsim; Il Quattrocento; and Il Cinquecento.
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course # 22-3150 SR
Dept: Art and Design
Course Description: This course will introduce students to Early Renaissance Italian Art, focusing mainly on Florence and Venice. The course will explore the relationship between art history and history, and the relationship between art objects and important episodes in political , social and intellectual history. Students will learn a new way to see a work of art as a product and a production of its time. Beginning with the competition for Baptistery doors we will follow the evolution of the discovery of perspective, the rediscovery of classical elements in architecture, painting and sculpture. While the contribution of artists such as Brunelleschi, Donatello, Masaccio, Ghiberti, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Michelangelo will be discussed in detail, the course will also cover lesser known artists such as Lippi.Pollaiolo, Verrocchio, Piero della Francesca, Paolo Uccello, Luca della Robbia, Beato Angelico, Andrea del Castagno, Rossellino.
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course # 22-3160 SR
Dept: Art and Design
Course Description: The art, history, and culture in Florence ,Rome and Venice between Late XV century and the beginning of the XVII century are explored in this course. This historical period marked a shift in political, religious and artistic life of Italy. During this time many of the values acquired in the previous periods were under debate. The works of writers and artists were deeply affected by the social and political climate. It is during this period in History that we begin to see the roots of modern individualism.
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course # 22-2120 SR
Dept: Art and Design
Course Description: The end of the 1950Õs brought new directions in artistic practices and beliefs. With the advent of Happenings, Pop Art, Conceptual Art, Body Art, Earthworks, Installations and many other investigations, the role of the artist in society changed significantly. Starting with a review of the formative artistic ideas, which led up to these new directions, this course will take a close look at the art of today. This inquiry is of absolute importance for artists wishing to understand the challenges faced as the 21st century begins.
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course # 22-2652 SR
Dept: Art and Design
Course Description: Since its beginnings in the mid-19th century, photography has dramatically changed our world and how we see that world. In this course, students will develop familiarity with the complex and contradictory genres of photographic images: between documentary and discourse; between mass culture and avant-garde. This course covers work from Europe and the United States from the mid-nineteenth century to present. Particular emphasis will be given to Italian photography.
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course # 22- 1131
Dept: Art and Design
Course Description: This course is a basic survey of the history of architecture, from antiquity through the twentieth century, using the city of Florence and Italy as a case study of major movements and issues in architectural and urban design It will examine the city from its earliest foundations as a Roman military colony through its great Romanesque, Gothic, and Renaissance monuments that still define the city today. The course will conclude by looking at the interventions of Poggi and Michelucci in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course # 22-3140 SR
Dept: Art and Design
Course Description: This course will focus on the major art movements in Italy over the last
century. The course begins with an
exploration of the roots of the avant-garde trends in the Nineteenth century
and topics covered will range from the Divisionism to Macchiaioli; Futurism to
Metaphysical painting; the abstract movement of the 30Õs to the materials of
Burri; the Arte Povera in the 70Õs
to present. Attention will be given to
social, political and technological influences. Important will be the
discussion of the relationship of the artist to the art movement.
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course # 22-3130 SR
Dept: Art and Design
Course Description: This course introduces students to the theory and principals of art conservation by focusing on the restoration of four world-class masterpieces, including the Brancacci Chapel, BotticelliÕs Primavera, the Sistine Chapel, and the Last Supper by Da Vinci in Milan. Through slides and site visits, the student is exposed to this complex and rewarding field. In addition, graduate school requirements for admission to art conservation programs in Europe and the United States are discussed.
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course # 51-2684 SR
Dept: Liberal Education
Course Description: This course will broaden studentsÕ Italian experience through a wide range of cultural activities and lectures on a variety of subjects. A local Instructor will coordinate and lead various field trips such as: visits to artist and artisan studios; a night at the Opera; a visit to Pietrasanta to see the marble-carving and bronze-casting studios; visits to museums, concerts and nearby towns. The course will also include lectures on topics ranging from the history of Italian Opera to Contemporary Italian Politics. One of the first classroom activities (lead by a professional book artist) is to create an original sketchbook or journal using traditional book-making techniques. Students will be asked to record their experiences by collecting materials, writing and sketching. Classes are held once a week with several guest visits and five additional field trips or workshops, as well as local excursions. Students are given a schedule at the beginning of the semester so that they may coordinate their weekend travels. The Italian Journal course is designed to help students maximize their stay in Florence. It seeks to provide a general framework into which studentsÕ own experiences may be more contextually placed, while at the same time offering insights into various areas of Italian, and more particularly Tuscan, culture and society. There is an additional lab fee for this course that covers transportation, museum entry fees, and other activities. This fee must be paid in addition to tuition fees or the student will not be enrolled in course.
Credit hours:3--Contact hours: 45
Course # 24-2512 SR
Dept: Film and Video
Course Description: This course focuses on the world of Italian Cinema It is a general analysis of post-war cinema and a parallel social history of this period using film as "decoded historical evidence". In the first part of the class, discussion will focus on Neo-realism, a cinematic phenomenon that deeply influenced the ideological and aesthetic rules of film art. The second part of the course will concentrate on the films that mark the decline of Neo-realism and the talent of "new" auteurs such as Fellini and Antonioni . The last part of the course is devoted to the cinema from the 1970's to the present. The class will also analyze the different aspects of ÒFilm MakingÓ both in Italian and the U.S. industry.
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course # 49-3320
Dept: Liberal Education
Course Description: This course will study the history of Modern Italy from the Risorgimento and continue on through the development and decline of the liberal Italian state, Mussolini and Italian Fascism, World War II, and post World War II Italy, up through recent historical events. Introduction to major literary, cinematographic, design, and artistic movements are covered as well as social aspects of Italian life including topics such as the development of the Italian educational system, the roots and influence of the Italian Mafia, the feminist movement and the changing roll of the woman in Italian society.
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course # 49-3321
Dept: Liberal Education
Course Description: Students will be presented with an interdisciplinary overview of the history of the city from its origins in antiquity to the late fifteenth century. Although the course emphasizes the artistic achievements of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries still visible in todayÕs Florence, it will lead up to these works through a consideration of their cultural context. Throughout the course, visits to local sites of relevant interest will be scheduled.
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course #49-2303 SR
Dept: Liberal Education
The Roman Empire was one of the few great world states--one that unified a large area around the Mediterranean Sea, from the borders of the Sahara desert in the south to Scotland in the north, from the Atlantic coast of Morocco in the west to Mesopotamia in the east. The Romans, triumphed in warfare, conquest, administration and law making. As a consequence, their greatest achievements were in the pragmatic spheres of ruling and controlling numerous disparate subject peoples and integrating them under a vast imperial state. After a brief survey of Rome's origins as a central Italian city state, students will trace the course of Roman conquests, from their inception in fourth-century BC Italy, to the formation of Rome's Mediterranean empire over the last three centuries BC. The social, economic and political consequences of this great achievement, especially the great political transition from the Republic (rule by the Senate) to the Principate (rule by emperors) will be studied. The period going back to the beginning of the fifth century AD, limitations to Roman power and various types of challenges (military, cultural, religious) to the hegemony of the Roman state will be examined as well as the development of a distinctive Roman culture, from the creation of new forms of literature (like satire) to the gladiatorial arena.
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course # 50-2301
Dept: Liberal Education
Course Description: This course will concentrate on Greek and Roman mythology. Students will learn to interpret the many examples of mythical themes that occur in art and in literature. In addition students will discuss the evolution of the myths themselves and learn to interpret the meaning of each myth and what it reveals about the people that created them, their history and their in-site into the human condition.
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course # 50-2515
Dept: Liberal Education
Course Description: This course is designed for both sociology and Italian studies students and will be divided into two parts. The first part will give background to the historical development of the Italian family from Roman Times to present. The Patriarchal system that began in Roman times and endured into the twentieth century will be explored. The second part of the course will focus on the modern Italian family. The roll of each member of the family will be explored in-depth. Topics of discussion will include the roll of the mother and how it has changed over the last century; the roll that grandparents play in child rearing; the change from extended family to nuclear family; the declining birth rate and the effect it is having on family dynamic; regional as well as socio-economic influences on the structure of the family nucleus will be studied. The course will give students the opportunity to have a greater understanding of the Italian people. In addition, students compare and discuss how their family dynamics and structures differ from those of the Italian family. Students will interview native Italians to gain a greater more personal understanding of the subject.
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course # 50-2301
Dept: Liberal Education
Course Description: This political science course will introduce students to the Italian political system. Students will study the Italian constitution, parliamentary system, political parties, electoral process and systems of administration. Historical background to political parties and governmental structures are studied. A daily discussion of current events is incorporated into lessons. Special attention will be given to the relationship that Italy has with Europe and the United States.
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course# 55-1101 SR
Dept: Fiction Writing
Course Description: Emphasizing the positive, interactive relationship among student, instructor, and class, students will explore the different genres of creative writing. Students will move at their own pace developing perceptual, technical, and imaginative abilities in several forms of creative writing. This is a writing workshop with a strong literature component. In each meeting there will be a close reading of one or two short pieces of fiction or poetry by well known British or American authors and a discussion of two or three pieces of student writing. The literature gives students a good introduction to British and American authors from the Romantics to the present, provides students with excellent examples of different genres and styles that will inspire students to try fresh approaches in their own writing.
Credit hours:3--Contact hours: 45
Course# 52-3607 SR
Dept: English
Course Description: This literature course introduces the main literary movements and writers of the 19th& 20thcentury in Italy. All readings will be in translation. Students will have assigned readings from, Ginzburg, Buzzati, Eco, Levi, Pirandello, Svevo, Calvino, Pratolini, Pavese. Assignments will include four full novels, a selection of short stories, and reading excerpts. Class will be organized around the discussion of readings.
Pre-requisites: College level English composition course
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course # 52-3606 SR
Dept: English
Course Description: Students will read and study portions of the major literary works of three of the most influential and important poets in Italian Literature, Dante, Boccaccio and Petrarca. These works will be read in translation. Main readings will be taken from DanteÕs Divine Comedy, BoccaccioÕs Decameron and PetrarcaÕs Canzoniere. The historical, political and philosophic influences will be discussed in-depth.
Pre-requisites: College level English composition course
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course #53-2545 SR
Dept: Journalism
Course Description: What better place to learn the genre of travel writing than in Florence! Class excursions will be planned in and around Florence where students will learn to observe and report on these trips by using highly detailed and personal style characteristics of travel writing. With the goal of publishing a piece of writing in a local American periodical students will complete a series of writing assignments based on class outing and personal travels. In class and outside reading assignments will augment classroom discussion.
Pre-requisite: College level English composition equivalent
Credit hours: 3--Contact hours: 45
Course #32-2613
Dept: Music
Course Description: The origins of opera can be traced all the way back to the Greek, Latin and Elizabethan drama. This course follows the evolution of opera as a "public" entertainment with the rise of the popular culture and the Commedia dell'Arte in the 17th and 18th century. Finally, it centers on the development of the Italian Opera from the early 19th Century (Rossini) to the early 20th Century (Puccini) and on how Italian history is reflected in the operatic melodramas from the heroic epic of the Risorgimento to the social anguish of Verismo.