Itinerary/Syllabus

Itinerary

2013 itinerary to be determined, but approximate dates are June 15-July 14.

Syllabus

All students will be required to read two texts before departing for Rome: a brief history of the city and a critical book on art and creativity (probably Jacques Maritain's Creative Intuition in Art and Poetry). This basic curriculum will be supplemented by additional texts for each group of students.

Writing students will study a novel, a collection of poems, and a work of creative nonfiction, which they will present to the class in a brief review while on the trip. Art students will master a major art history survey text (either Gombrich's Story of Art or Kemp's Oxford History of Art), and a course-pack of critical studies and primary sources that will serve as "springboards" for group discussion throughout the trip.

Throughout the week, both creative writing and art students will attend combined morning excursions to places of artistic or historical interest (i.e., the Roman Forum, the Capitoline Museum, St. Peter's cathedral. After an introduction to the site, both groups will be given a prompt on which to reflect during the remainder of the visit.

During the afternoons, students will return to their rooms to complete written assignments in preparation for evening discussions or workshops. On weekends, students will have time for less structured activities (i.e., a trip to the beach), or exploration. Sunday worship will take place at churches of varied artistic and historical interest.

Assignments

Both the art and creative writing components of the program will involve daily assignments of 2-3 pages of writing. Creative writing students may write poetry, fiction, or creative nonfiction, according to their previously declared genre specialty. Art students will write critical responses to the artworks they've seen, informed by their growing knowledge of history and theory. Both groups of students will also work toward crowning final projects. Creative writing students may aim toward a suite of poems, short stories, or personal essays. Art students will write individual "position papers" reflecting on the nature and role of the visual arts, combining their own reflections with the insights of historians and philosophers.