From the Roman Colosseum to the Olympic Futbol stadium; from the ancient catacombs to the Contemporary Art Museum; Italy and the Italians have contributed so much to the world’s history—and over such a long period of time—that it can be extremely difficult to see how all of these disparate pieces fit together. The goal of this course is twofold: to make Italy’s extraordinarily rich cultural heritage more meaningful by placing familiar traditions, landmarks, and people in their proper historical contexts; and to articulate the ways in which Italy’s past is relevant and essential to its present. To this end, we will explore the theme of Italy’s Heritage: Past is Present paying special attention to what Italian culture has borrowed, incorporated, rejected and recycled.
This is a General Studies course in the truest sense, as we will engage Italy through a number of interpretive lenses: The social and political functions of religious practices and theological beliefs; the ways that visual imagery and art shape and reflect cultural assumptions; the organizing of society through gender categories, physical bodies, and sexual norms. An art historian, Professor Gatti studies medieval art and ritual, has excavated an Etruscan farm and has lived and studied in Italy numerous times. Professor Huber, from Religious Studies, brings to the course her knowledge of early Christianity, gender and sexuality in the Roman world. Most important is the classroom, which, we can project with some confidence, will be the best that either instructors or students ever experience.
This is a General Studies course in the truest sense, as we will engage Italy through a number of interpretive lenses: The social and political functions of religious practices and theological beliefs; the ways that visual imagery and art shape and reflect cultural assumptions; the organizing of society through gender categories, physical bodies, and sexual norms. An art historian, Professor Gatti studies medieval art and ritual, has excavated an Etruscan farm and has lived and studied in Italy numerous times. Professor Huber, from Religious Studies, brings to the course her knowledge of early Christianity, gender and sexuality in the Roman world. Most important is the classroom, which, we can project with some confidence, will be the best that either instructors or students ever experience.
