Course Descriptions
THE PROGRAM OF STUDY: Students choose any two courses from the offerings. The courses on offer meet Xavier University core requirements and make every effort to use the resources of the city of Rome in their curriculum. All courses in Rome satisfy the University Scholars program seminar requirements. The courses scheduled for the 2019 Rome program are:
ARTS 113 Art in Rome– Prof. Suzanne Chouteau This 3-week intensivo class introduces students to the art and architectural wonders of Italy spanning ancient to modern times. Rome is a historic center of great art, culture and learning. Students not only get immersed in Rome, but also have opportunities to visit other cities in Italy including Florence, Siena and Assisi as part of the Rome Study Abroad program. In each locale we see as many of the most important art works as we possibly can by artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian and Caravaggio in places such as the Borghese Gallery, the Vatican, St. Peter’s, and the Uffizi Gallery. This variety of masterworks is seen on-site in churches, museums, and on the streets. We spend roughly five hours each day in the city looking at art, sharing the historical record, and drawing or writing from it. Students realize that humans across many centuries have created profoundly brilliant and beautiful works from architecture to sculpture to painting and everything in between. Studying art in Rome brings history to life in ways that the classroom cannot, thus encouraging students to foster a life-long passion for researching and seeking out the world’s treasures—both natural and human-made.
The course is capped at 12 students, with seats reserved for art majors. All other students (including non-art majors seeking the 3 week option) will be placed in the course based on the date of their deposit. This course fulfills the Creative Perspectives requirement.
ARTS 112 The Aesthetic Experience: Rome in Film – Prof. Kelly Blank In this course, students will discuss and analyze cinematic representations of the City of Rome in Italian and American film. We will assess the ways in which the urban, social, cultural, and political history of the Eternal City have influenced the portrayal of Rome as a “character” in film. We will consider representations of Roman monuments and locations constructed in film studios vs. on-location shooting. In this course, we will examine five main topics regarding Rome in film: Images of Ancient Rome; Neorealism; Americans in Rome; Fellini’s Rome; and Urban Angst. Students will visit important film locations in the city both in class and on their own. The class will visit the film studios of Cinecittà. Films will be shown in Italian with English subtitles. This course fulfills the Creative Perspectives requirement.
ITAL 258 Language & Culture in Italy – Prof. Kelly Blank
Prerequisite: recent completion of ITAL 102 or above, or equivalent
This communicative course will provide students participating in the Xavier summer program in Rome with an opportunity to use their language skills in context as well as learn and use other high-frequency structures and vocabulary. Through conversational practice, vocabulary building, and task completion, students will build on their language skills and cultural knowledge of Italy while being able to communicate more comfortably in everyday situations. The class will also have the opportunity to discuss culturally relevant themes while reinforcing new grammar and vocabulary through the reading of short stories, articles, and essays.
PHIL 200 Philosophical Perspectives / PHIL 351 Italian Philosophy - E. Paul Colella
For our class, the city of Rome itself is as much an indispensable required text to be read and interpreted.
The multiple Romes - The Rome of the Caesars, Christian Rome, the capital of the modern Italian nation (1870-1922), and the center of Mussolini’s fascist empire (1922-1943) will provide the materials for a study of collective political identity. Specifically, we shall examine the manner in which a shared public identity is established, sustained and communicated through urban monumental space. How are political and cultural ideals embodied in the architecture of the city, and how do they enter into dialogue with the monuments of past historical eras? How is it possible that the same images can be appropriated by successive regimes with different systems of ideas? Globalization and mass immigration in Italy as well as in Europe have renewed the interest in these questions today. PHIL 351 satisfies the Humanities Elective as well as the E/RS Focus Elective core requirements. As PHIL 200 it fulfills the Philosophical Perspectives requirement.
PHYS 126/127 (lecture/lab) Science in Art and Architecture– Marco Fatuzzo
How can a church be used to make astronomical measurements? What does a statue in Campo de Fiori and a painting in the Sistine Chapel have to do with the structure of our Universe? How can you use a particle accelerator to read ancient writings from a scroll that was charred in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, or to reconstruct hidden portraits? These are just some of the questions we will explore in this course designed exclusively for the Rome program. And our exploration will include trips to the Pantheon, the Forum, St. Peter's, Brunelleschi’s Dome in Florence, the Sistine chapel, the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, and who knows where else. The course is designed to serve as either a Natural Science Elective or a Natural Science Perspectives course, and has the QR flag.
PHYS 114/115 (lecture/lab) Our Universe: Physical Science – Marco Fatuzzo An investigation of the physical properties of matter, mechanics, electricity, and magnetism. Inquiry is the primary method of instruction in a combined lecture and laboratory. Intended for Early and Middle Childhood Education, and Montessori Education Majors with an emphasis placed on the Ohio Academic content Standards. Satisfies science core requirement.
Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Majors: Early Childhood Education, Elementary Education, Middle Childhood Education, Montessori Education, Secondary Education, Special Education
Course Attributes: Scientific Perspectives
ER/S Elective Flag and Oral Communication Flag when taken as EDME 359