Study Abroad

Mexico City and the Urban Experience in Latin America
K55.9300 4 CR SSII: June 26–July 15 Cañeque/Dym

This course explores the role of the city in the development of Latin American societies and cultures from pre-colonial times to the present. Mexico City offers an ideal vantage point from which to analyze the complex and multifaceted role of the city in Latin American history, as well as the many problems that large modern urban centers have to face. As the country’s political, industrial, financial, commercial, entertainment, cultural and even religious capital, Mexico City offers a myriad opportunities to study the Latin American city. Through lectures, readings, discussions, and field work, students will gain an understanding of the ways in which the urban experience has contributed to the formation of Latin American societies. The course will take place, for the most part, in Mexico City, but it will also include trips to several other urban centers, not far from the capital (Teotihuacan, Tlaxcala, Puebla, Taxco).

Humanities Seminar in Italy
K95.2060 4 CR SSI: June 2–June 24 Mirabella. Graduate course open to undergraduate students.

The Renaissance, which began in Italy with Dante, was a period of outstanding artistic and cultural production. Its effects spread throughout Europe and still influence us today. During this three-week program in Florence, students are introduced to the literature and art of Renaissance Italy. We study the Renaissance in its historical context while examining questions of society, culture, and gender. Students read selected works of the period and view the art and architecture of the Renaissance in the streets and museums of Florence. Works to be studied may include Dante’s Inferno, selected female writers, Vasari’s Lives of the Artists, and Turner’s Renaissance Florence. We consider artists such as Botticelli, Michelangelo, and Masaccio and visit sites such as the Duomo, the Medici Tombs, the Uffizi, and churches such as Santa Croce and Santa Maria Novella. The city offers an unparalleled lesson in Italian culture and architecture, providing students with a unique structure through which to experience the Renaissance. All classes are taught in English and meet four days a week. For students who would like to learn Italian, language lessons are arranged.