Academics
Learning objectives
The ACM London & Florence: Arts in Context program aims to develop in students the ability to read a city through first-hand comparative study of how painting, sculpture, architecture, theatre, and literature reflect history and culture in two world-renowned cities and across several centuries.
The overall learning goals of the program are:
- To convey to students an understanding of the cultural heritage and present-day complexities of two European cities, London and Florence;
- To enhance students’ critical thinking skills and specifically their ability to “read” a city through its artistic media;
- To develop students’ intercultural awareness in both an English-speaking milieu and in a culture where English is not the medium of communication.
Students in this program encounter a variety of artistic media—architecture, painting, sculpture, literature, and theatre—and reflect on the experience of art to understand its social, political, historical, and religious contexts. The program aims to give students not only a depth of knowledge about urban-based art but also the ability to analyze artistic media across sites, historical eras, and modes of expression by conducting their studies in two different yet complementary sites.
Through immersion in the contemporary life of two great European cities —studying Italian and living with Italian families in Florence and living in apartments in the heart of London—as well as formal classroom study and program-sponsored site visits, students should become more inter-culturally aware and be proficient in reading the “text” of modern cities.
Academic overview
Students may choose from three program lengths (beginning Spring 2012):
18-Week option (with Intensive language)
Students who choose the 18-week option start in Florence with an additional 3-week program of intensive Italian instruction in January. Starting in late January, they then participate in the standard language and other courses for the first half of the semester in Florence, before going to London in March, for the second half of the semester. This option provides an additional recommended 3 credits for the language program, and there are additional costs for this extra 3 weeks of study.
15-week option
Students who choose the 15-week option may start in either London or Florence in late January, and then move to the second location in March. While in Florence, they take the standard Italian language class, but not the additional intensive class.
10-week option (FLORENCE WINTER QUARTER/TRIMESTER)
Students who choose this option will not participate in the London portion of the program. They participate in the same Florence schedule as the 18-week participants, beginning with the 3-week program of intensive Italian instruction in January, and participating in the standard language and other courses for the additional half of the semester in Florence. When the Florence portion of the program is completed in March, rather than continue on to London, their program experience is completed. This option can be be an attractive one for students from schools not on a traditional semester calendar, since they will be in Florence for their winter quarter/trimester and should be able to return to campus for their spring term.
Program credit
All students who complete an ACM off-campus study program receive a grade report which lists their courses, credits, and grades. Most colleges accept this grade report as an official academic document. If a college requires an official academic transcript, ACM can arrange to have a transcript issued through Beloit College for a $350 processing fee. To request an official transcript, students must make a formal request through ACM.
ACM students singing an Italian song and dancing, after their final Italian language class.