The Florence Study Center specializes in the study of studio and fine arts. Social science and business majors would also benefit from this outstanding educational opportunity. Situated in a major Renaissance city with a wealth of cultural resources, it is an ideal location for the intensive study of painting, drawing, sculpture, photography and art history. Each participant’s first semester begins with an intensive three-week Italian language course at the Scuola di Lingua e Cultura Italiana per Stranieri in the historic town of Siena. This is followed by eleven weeks of study in Florence. With the exception of Italian language, most courses are taught in English.
The Florence Study Center
The Center is conveniently located in the Palazzo Michelozzi near the major cultural, historical and social attractions of this great Renaissance city, and consists of classrooms, art studios, offices, a library and a student lounge. The study center has cooperative links with a number of leading institutions including the University of Siena, the University of Florence and, for photography, Studio Marangoni.
Institutional Links
The study center has cooperative links with a number of leading institutions including the University of Siena, the University of Florence and, for photography, Studio Marangoni.
Accommodation
In Siena, students stay in a comfortable student residence or a family hotel. Dinner is provided in the student residence or student restaurant. In Florence, students live in Italian homes or in student apartments which are carefully screened and supervised. The Center makes the arrangements for students’ accommodation (a list of approved lodgings is provided) but students pay directly to the families. Special rates have also been negotiated for dinner at a number of excellent Florentine restaurants, and a dinner voucher for each Monday to Friday night (five nights) is included in the cost of the program.
Italian Language Program in Siena for Florence
Students are introduced to Italian life and culture and begin their Italian language studies in the beautiful historic town of Siena.
Italian Language
ITL 103 (3 CREDITS)
Elementary Italian I
Designed for students who have never taken any Italian language course before and are not familiar with any other foreign language. Students build an essential vocabulary and assimilate basic grammar and sentence structures. Instruction is based on listening, grammar and comprehension exercises, repetition and easy conversation.
OFFERED AT ITALIAN STUDY CENTERS ONLY.
ITL 104 (3 CREDITS)
Elementary Italian II
A preparatory course to the intermediate level, designed for students who have already had one or two semesters of Italian or are fluent in Spanish or French. Although the course starts with basic grammar structures of the language, it moves faster than ITL 103. Conversation is a central part of every lesson.
OFFERED AT ITALIAN STUDY CENTERS ONLY.
ITL 203 (3 CREDITS)
Intermediate Italian I
Students will develop ability to communicate in Italian correctly and with expanded vocabulary. Conversational practice, including improved listening and interpreting skills, will encourage students to better understand and respond to normal Italian speech. Exercises in reading and writing will improve skills in understanding prose and in writing letters and simple messages. Admission to the course is based on a placement test in Italian.
OFFERED AT ITALIAN STUDY CENTERS ONLY.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of three or four semesters of Italian.
ITL 204 (3 CREDITS)
Intermediate Italian II
Reviews complex grammar structures and provides students with exercises in reading, composition, phonetics, syntax and style. Continued practice in conversation will provide students with increased capability to communicate competently in Italian. Admission to the course is based on a placement test in Italian.
OFFERED AT ITALIAN STUDY CENTERS ONLY.
Prerequisites: Three or four semesters of Italian.
Art History
ARH 273 (1 CREDIT)
Introduction to Italian Art
Viareggio and Siena only
Designed to introduce the student to the history of several periods, this course traces developments in painting and sculpture leading up to the Renaissance. It is taught partly in Siena and to a greater extent during the field study visits to Rome, Sorrento and Venice. A field project paper is required.
Academic Program in Florence
Students continue their Italian language studies at the appropriate
level. All Italian language courses are taught at the Center.
Italian Language
ITL 104 (3 CREDITS)
Elementary Italian II
A preparatory course to the intermediate level, designed for students who have already had one or two semesters of Italian or are fluent in Spanish or French. Although the course starts with basic grammar structures of the language, it moves faster than ITL 103. Conversation is a central part of every lesson.
OFFERED AT ITALIAN STUDY CENTERS ONLY.
ITL 105 (1 CREDIT)
Conversational Italian
Meets two and half hours per week and gives students a basic vocabulary to deal with authentic everyday situations. It is designed for those students who prefer the communicative approach with less emphasis on intensive exposure to the language structure.
OFFERED AT ITALIAN STUDY CENTERS ONLY.
ITL 203 (3 CREDITS)
Intermediate Italian I
Students will develop ability to communicate in Italian correctly and with expanded vocabulary. Conversational practice, including improved listening and interpreting skills, will encourage students to better understand and respond to normal Italian speech. Exercises in reading and writing will improve skills in understanding prose and in writing letters and simple messages. Admission to the course is based on a placement test in Italian.
OFFERED AT ITALIAN STUDY CENTERS ONLY.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of three or four semesters of Italian.
ITL 204 (3 CREDITS)
Intermediate Italian II
Reviews complex grammar structures and provides students with exercises in reading, composition, phonetics, syntax and style. Continued practice in conversation will provide students with increased capability to communicate competently in Italian. Admission to the course is based on a placement test in Italian.
OFFERED AT ITALIAN STUDY CENTERS ONLY.
Prerequisites: Three or four semesters of Italian.
ITL 303 (3 CREDITS)
Advanced Italian
With a focus on reviewing complex syntactic structures, this course will provide exercises in use of synonyms and idiomatic expressions. Students will analyze readings from contemporary authors, including samples of fiction and articles from newspapers and magazines.
OFFERED AT ITALIAN STUDY CENTERS ONLY.
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor.
History
HST 309 (3 CREDITS)
Early Modern Italy
Florence only
Examines the history of High Renaissance and Baroque Italy, with particular attention to Florence and the Medici family during the 16th and 17th centuries, its historical evolution and decline, the relationship between court and town, the mythology of the Prince, the social and economic organization of urban life, the Counter Reformation and Galileo and his contemporaries.
HST 310 (3 CREDITS)
Medieval and Early Renaissance Italy
Florence only
The structure and evolution of political, social and cultural life in Italy is examined, with special emphasis on Florence and Tuscany. Particular attention is paid to the political and spiritual role played by the church. The activities of the five city-states Florence, Venice, Milan, Rome and Naples are also viewed against the background of the peninsula as a whole.
Prerequisites: Two 100- or 200-level history courses or permission of adviser.
Literature and Philosophy
LIT 326 (3 CREDITS)
English and American Writers in Italy
Florence and Rome only
Based on a selection of English and American authors who travelled, resided and wrote about Italy and were influenced by Italian images and culture. Readings have been chosen in an effort to define how contact with Italian life and culture affected their work. Authors include Hawthorne, Byron, Ruskin, Twain, James and McCarthy.
Pre-requisite: ENG 215.
LIT 326 (3 CREDITS)
English and American Writers in Italy
Florence and Rome only
Based on a selection of English and American authors who travelled, resided and wrote about Italy and were influenced by Italian images and culture. Readings have been chosen in an effort to define how contact with Italian life and culture affected their work. Authors include Hawthorne, Byron, Ruskin, Twain, James and McCarthy.
Pre-requisite: ENG 215.
PHL 405 (3 CREDITS)
The Modern European Mind
Considers the development of political, philosophical and cultural ‘world-views’ in European history and how they shaped the intellectual and cultural life in Europe in the 20th century. The course explores modernist discourses related to power, desire and relativity and charts the transition between the ‘modern’ and the post-modern. Marx, Freud, Einstein, Foucault, Barthes and Debord are some of the writers studied.
PHL/RLG 310 (3 CREDITS)
Mysticism and Magic in Medieval and Renaissance Italy
Florence only
Aims at prompting reflection on how much our present is related to the past, by evincing the role of Renaissance magic in the genesis of modern science and the shaping of modern fantasy. After an explanation of the function of magic in archaic societies and of the representation of hell and demonization in the late Middle Ages, the course focuses on the end of the 15th century when Florence became the irradiating centre for the new doctrine on the magus ideal formulated by Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola. This new direction in European thought was further developed into modern science by the contribution of Bacon, Copernicus, Harvey, Galileo, Paracelso and Newton.
Art History
ARH 317 (3 CREDITS)
Italian Fashion
Florence only
Students trace the birth, evolution, decline, revival and most recent developments of Italian fashion from the late Gothic Age to the present ‘made in Italy’ design. Italian fashion styles are decoded in relation to art history in an international, social and economic context. Fashion and its connections with culture, subculture, gender and communication are emphasized. On-site visits also illustrate the dominating role of Florence in fashion from its origins until now.
ARH 323 (3 CREDITS)
Masters of the Renaissance: Leonardo da Vinci
Florence only
Examines the extraordinary variety and complexity of the work of Leonardo da Vinci. A central concern of this course will be use and examination of Leonardo’s work as a lens whereby students can explore science, anatomy and the human body, portraiture, perspective and Religious painting in the 15th and early 16th centuries. The course is taught largely on-site in and around Florence and includes a trip to Vinci (Leonardo’s birthplace) and a visit to Milan to view
The Last Supper.
ARH 352 (3 CREDITS)
Art in Context
An introduction to major art historical themes, methods, and approaches. Weekly visits to museums, galleries, and exhibitions, with their rich intercultural collections, provide an opportunity for students to test theories put forward in class in front of original art works.
ARH 359 (3 CREDITS)
Modern Italian Art I
Florence only
Examines the development of the most important Italian art movements from the 19th century to the futurist period. Italian divisionism and the avant-garde futurist movement are studied and discussed. Painting and sculpture are focused on as products of the whole Italian and European cultural and social environment and analyzed in their specific literary, philosophical and musical context. Visits to the Gallery of Modern Art at Palazzo Pitti and to local galleries and exhibitions are also part of this course.
ARH 360 (3 CREDITS)
Modern Italian Art II
Florence only
The major Italian metaphysical and cubist artists such as C. Carra, De Chirico and Savinio are studied as well as other famous artists like Modigliani and G. Morandi. The most important avant-garde movements and the abstract artists from Milan are analyzed in relation to modern European art and its social and cultural context. In addition, visits to local artists’ studios, galleries and exhibitions are arranged in conjunction with instruction.
ARH 378 (3 CREDITS)
Central Italian Romanesque and Gothic Art
Florence only
Examines the important achievements of the early Renaissance in Romanesque and Gothic architecture, sculpture and painting of major central Italian cities, especially Florence, Pisa, Siena, Lucca, Orvieto and Rome between the years 1000 and 1400. The artistic developments of the time are viewed in the light of the intense rivalry of the city-states. Among the artists covered are Nicola Pisano, Giovanni Pisano, Arnolfo di Cambio, Andrea Pisano, Cimabue, Pietro Cavallini, Duccio, Giotto and his Florentine followers, Simone Martini and Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti. There is an optional field trip to Pisa and Lucca.
ARH 380 (3 CREDITS)
Central Italian Early Renaissance Art
Florence only
Focuses in depth on the quattrocento in Florence and central Italy. Special attention is given to the time of Lorenzo de Medici, the Magnificent, who is viewed as the central personality in a ‘golden age’ of Florentine art and culture. Much of this course is taught on site in Florence. There is an optional field trip to Arezzo, San Sepolcro and Urbino.
ARH 381 (3 CREDITS)
Central and North Italian High and Late Renaissance Art
Florence only
Examines fully the High Renaissance style in Florence and Rome and traces the development of this style in north Italy, especially Venice. Students study the works of Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael in Florence and Rome. The latter part of this course follows the further development of the ideal classicizing High Renaissance style in the works of the Venetians: Giorgione, Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto and Palladio. Much of this course is taught on site.
ARH 384 (3 CREDITS)
Italian Mannerist and Baroque Art
Florence only
Explores the creative transformation of High Renaissance styles by central Italian early mannerist artists and the relationship of their achievements to the historical events of the early cinquecento. It then follows the evolution of Maniera (second-generation mannerist art) in Florence, largely under the patronage of the Medici grand dukes who desired to beautify their city and make it a fitting stage for their princely lifestyle. The latter part of this course covers the emergence of the boldly realistic baroque style in the late cinquecento and early seicento, especially in Bologna and Rome and the further development of this baroque style in mid to late seicento sculpture, painting and architecture. Much of this course is taught on site in Florence.
Music
MSC 305 (3 CREDITS)
Italian Opera
Florence only
Introduces the non-musician student to the riches of Italian opera and its plots, melodies and rhythms through a survey of the leading composers and their most famous works. Each lesson includes many excerpts of recorded material and video tapes are seen frequently. Live performances are attended when available.
MSC 311 (3 CREDITS)
Puccini and his Operas
Florence only
Puccini displays the four great features of Italian Opera: humanity, sincerity, passion and effect. He is renowned above all for his gift as a melodist, but he was also a new force in musical drama and possessed a great sense of theatre. This course increases the student’s understanding of Puccini’s work by studying the man, the artist and his most significant operas. Lessons include excerpts of recorded material, videos and slides.
Studio Art
ADM 103 (3 CREDITS)
Introduction to Drawing
Students are introduced to many types of drawing and work from the still life, natural forms and the life model. This course encourages experimentation in the two dimensional representation of form, space, structure and texture. Students learn to observe more closely through the discipline to appreciate art more fully. When offered in Florence, this course is taught in English and Italian.
A studio fee is levied on this course.
ADM 215 (3 CREDITS)
Introduction to Painting
Florence only
The figure is studied as a vehicle for developing the ability to distinguish the essential qualities of natural form in order to produce the illusion of volume, space and movement on a two-dimensional surface. Students are assisted in developing a sense of structure and composition.
A studio fee is levied on this course.
ADM 303 (3 CREDITS)
Drawing I
Florence only
Develops drawing skills and provokes and stimulates thinking about both the technical and intellectual aspects of the drawing process. A developing understanding of the vocabulary and syntax of drawing is encouraged through projects which feature observation, analysis and expression. Students work from studio subjects and on location and are expected to undertake museum study.
A studio fee is levied on this course.
ADM 304 (3 CREDITS)
Research and Writing Methods
This course prepares students to conduct significant, original research in the Art Design and Media Disciplines. It requires the production of a full practice-based research proposal and presentation of a research project relating to the student's art design or media practice. Emphasis is placed on critical engagement with researched sources in conjunction with appropriate presentation and citation of sources used. Qualitative and quantitative research methods are presented and discussed in order for students to make an informed decision for their own research project. Students are provided with input and feedback throughout the preparation, organisation drafting and revising of their research proposal both from the tutor and their peers. By requiring the student to plan their research project and to write a full research proposal, the course provides practical preparation for ADM 450 Fourth Bridge the senior capstone course.
Prerequisite: ENG 215 and Junior Status
ADM 309 (3 CREDITS)
Painting I
Florence only
Combines studio practice in drawing and painting with discussions and demonstrations on style, technique, color, compositional ideas, paint composition and chemistry. Students are encouraged to discuss their work as a means of clarifying their objectives. Figurative or abstract idioms may be pursued.
Builds upon the foundations laid in ADM 215. A studio fee is levied on this course.
ADM 310 (3 CREDITS)
Painting II
Florence only
An extension of ADM 309, structured around specific painting projects set to develop the range and technical competence of the student. Professional painting techniques are demonstrated and there are discussions of such topics as style and composition.
Prerequisite: ADM 309. A studio fee is levied on this course.
ADM 341 (3 CREDITS)
Photography for the Media
Florence and Rome only
Recommended for Communications and Journalism Majors as well as photographers, this course develops knowledge and experience in photojournalism by studying work of major practitioners and designing and shooting projects. Projects are produced on transparency film in color. Students need to provide a 35mm camera with manual controls, slide film and processing fees. There is a $150 fee for developing. Students do not have the use of a darkroom.
A studio fee is levied on this course.
Business and Economics
MKT 306 (3 CREDITS)
Advertising Management
The course provides an in-depth study and application of advertising and its role in marketing plans. Study includes identification of relevant data to analyze the marketing situation, development of product positioning, marketing and advertising objectives, creative strategy, media planning, and evaluation.
Prerequisites: MKT 301.
INB 483 (3 CREDITS)
Internship in International Business
This program offers upper division students the opportunity to do a full-time internship in London. The experience provides the opportunity to enhance and complement classroom learning and to develop professional skills and competencies. The Internship Program is open to students enrolled in a degree program who have successfully completed 75 credits with a minimum GPA of 2.75. Most London-based multinational corporations require a minimum GPA of 3.0.
Prerequisites: Senior status and permission of adviser.
ECN 357 (3 CREDITS)
International Economic Relations
Florence and Rome only
Examines economic relations between nations and groups of countries. Institutional, political and historical factors shape the economic environment, and the course discusses international cooperation toward development, regional integration, settlement of disputes and the steady growth of world trade. Also covered are multilateral trade negotiations, the European Economic Community and the legal framework for world trade.
Social Sciences
PLT 302 (3 CREDITS)
Italian Society: From Fascism to the Present
Florence and Rome only
A survey of Italian political life from the rise of fascism to the present time. Topics covered include institutional developments since Mussolini, analysis of political parties, the Red Brigade, Italy and the EU and churchstate relations.
PLT 358 (3 CREDITS)
Beyond the Single Market - The European Union in the New Millennium
Historical beginnings of the European Union, its institutions and its economic performance. The Single European Act, the European Monetary System, social, political and economic aspects of integration and foreign policy cooperation.
Prerequisite: Junior status.
SCL 302 (3 CREDITS)
Modern Italy: A Social Analysis
Florence only
Highlights the characteristics of contemporary Italian society. The sociological framework provides the possibility of comparing modern Italy with other Western nations. This course presents a brief historical and geographical overview and identifies key issues in present day Italy, such as religion, social and economic inequality, the Mafia, the condition of women and the family.
SSC 483 (3 CREDITS)
Internship in Social Science
This program offers upper division students the opportunity to do a full-time internship in London. The experience provides the opportunity to enhance and complement classroom learning and to develop professional skills and competencies. The Internship Program is open to students enrolled in a degree program who have successfully completed 90 credits with a minimum GPA of 2.75. Pre-requisite: Senior status and permission of adviser.
Prerequisites: Senior status and permission of adviser.
