Tentative Schedule of Topics and Readings
DAY 1: Our goal is to study the monumental architecture of the city of Rome as a complex set of "texts" that communicate political ideals as well as make an attempt to construct a coherent historical narrative about Rome itself. The Agnew article will serve as a useful introduction, and the White essay will provide the necessary theoretical background.
Readings: John Agnew, "The Impossible Capital"
Hayden White, "The Question of Narrative in Contemporary Historical Theory"
DAY 2: After arrival we will take a walk around the historical center as an introduction to the course as well as the city. Our main destination for discussion will be The Pantheon. Built in the second century and a Christian Church since the sixth century, it is the best-preserved ancient monument in the city. It is also a perfect metaphor for Rome itself. Its imagery is layered, as the building is at once a temple to the gods of the empire, a Christian church, the burial place of the first two kings of the Italian secular state, as well as the burial place of Raphael. We will examine its particular iconography as a monument to Pythagorean philosophy.
12:00-5:00 Introduction to the course and city - The Pantheon
Readings: Christiane Joost-Gaugier, "The Iconography of Sacred Space"
DAY 3: Our focus today falls on Imperial Rome. Our site visit will concern the ruins of the Imperial period. Specifically, we shall walk the Ancient Forum, visit the Coliseum, the Capitoline Hill as well as several other classical sites. We shall examine the manner in which ancient ruins become the symbolic vocabulary for historical memory and public identity, and we shall discuss the manner in which their placement in the modern city expresses historical awareness.
8:30-12:00 The Forum, Coliseum, Largo Argentina and Capitoline Hill
3:00-5:30 Classroom Readings: James Ackerman, "Marcus Aurelius on the Capitoline Hill"
DAY 4: NEW YEARS DAY - Today we go to St. Peter's Square for the New Years' Parade, and to listen to the Pope's New Year's Day message and blessing.
DAY 5: Today we begin the first of a two-day study of the imagery of Christian Rome. Historians refer to this period as "The Second Rome" or "The Rome of the Popes", Imperial Rome or "The Rome of the Emperors" being "The First". Today we will center our attention on St. Peter's Square and the Basilica itself. In addition, we shall visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel. Our aim is to develop a counter-vocabulary of public imagery that expresses the world-view of the Church in opposition to the ruins of the pagan, imperial period. Reference will also be made of the manner in which the Fascist period sought to reconcile itself to the Church in the late 1920's. We will also visit the Gesu, Mother Church of the Society of Jesus and burial place of St. Ignatius (and Francis Xavier's forearm).
8:30-12:00 The Gesu, St. Peter's Basilica, The Vatican Museums
3:00- 5:30 Classroom Readings:
DAY 6: The secular state engaged in a frenzy of monumental construction in an effort to subvert the influence of the Church over Italians who now came together as citizens of a modern nation-state. The Church had opposed unification, so the new nation had to combat the religious imagery of the Church with a secular vocabulary of its own. The greatest example will be The Vittoriano, referred to today as "The Wedding Cake" among other derisive names. We shall examine the manner in which it seeks to reference the symbolism of the ancient period. We shall also refer to Fascism's appropriation of these secular monuments.
8:30-12:00 The Vittoriano, Campo di Fiori, The Gianicolo
3:00-5:30 Readings: David Atkinson and Denis Cosgrove, "Urban Rhetoric and Embodied Identities"
Bosworth, Chapter 6
DAY 7: Christian Rome and Capital of a Nation
8:30-12:00 San Pietro etc.
3:00- 5:30 Classroom Readings: Bosworth, Chapter 5
DAY 8: The Fascist regime of Mussolini (1922-1944) left an indelible mark on the city's architecture and layout. We end the program with a visit to several of his most important projects.
8:30-12:00 The Mausoleum of Augustus and others as time permits
3:00-5:30 Readings: TBA
DAY 9: We continue a view of Christian Rome with some church visits and at the Vatican for the Festival of Epiphany. We will also transition to Rome as capital of the nation state (1870).
DAY 10: Return to the USA