Courses in Florence
The Arts of Florence in Context
Instructors: Janet Smith and Gail Solberg
Required course, 3 credits
Click here to see a course syllabus
Late medieval and Renaissance painting and sculpture represented saints, mythological personages and ordinary human beings. Architecture’s special role is to create a backdrop for the activity of daily life which reinforces the messages of domestic, religious and political ceremonies. Studying works of art in their original setting will enable you to learn to decode these messages and will introduce you to a world view very different from the one we share today. You will discover the Florence of the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries which formed Giotto, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Botticelli and Michelangelo and will investigate how their works, and the works of other masters, contributed to the evolving process we call the Renaissance. You will also learn to decipher the role played by the patron in every artistic commission. With few exceptions, the classes will be conducted in the churches, museums and piazzas of Florence.
Note: Students on the Spring 2010 "London first" program option will have two Art History courses to choose from in Florence (in addition to the visiting professor's class). Click here to see the course syllabi.
Italian Language
Instructor: Linguaviva staff
Required course, 2 credits
Instruction emphasizes spoken colloquial Italian so that students may quickly acquire conversational ability. Classes are taught in Italian at Linguaviva, an Italian language institute in Florence. Students who have previosuly studied Italian will be placed in language classes appropriate to their levels of proficiency. The Linguaviva instructors are not just language teachers but also rich sources of information about Italian culture, and they help students solve the daily problems which Italians and foreigners share.
Renaissance Florence: Politics, Art, and Intellectual Life
Required course (Spring 2010), 3 credits (an additional 4th credit may be arranged)
Click here to see a course syllabus
This course will focus on the relationship between politics, art, and intellectual life in Renaissance Florence (1250-1550). Over the course of the semester we will examine the evolution of Florence from a medieval commune, to a Renaissance republic, to an oligarchy controlled by the Medici family, and finally, to a duchy under Spanish power. As we look at each stage of the historical and political development of Florence, we will also examine key intellectual movements of the time (Scholasticism, Humanism, Civic Humanism, Neo-Platonism, etc.) We will examine some of the Florentine writers who best represent each intellectual movement (Dante, Salutati, Bruni, Pico, Machiavelli, etc) and place those thinkers in their historical context and relate their ideas to the key political issues of their times. Central to this course is the idea that intellectual endeavors are a product of their times and reflect the issues and concerns of their political milieu. We will see throughout this course that artistic endeavors can also reflect the current political and intellectual ideology of the day, and can be used to promote certain ways of thinking. Throughout the course, as we explore the interconnectedness of politics, art, and intellectual life during the Italian Renaissance, students will critically analyze texts, whether they are philosophical treatises or statues from the fifteenth century, and place them in their larger historical context. Francesco Petrarch, one of the key writers we will study in this course, is credited with starting a decidedly modern approach to examining the world, emphasizing above all that things must be viewed with historical perspective, and the aim is for students to leave Florence with this Petrarchan sensibility.
Florentia and Firenze: Ancient Rome and Classical Mythology in Modern Florence
Required course (Spring 2011), 3 credits
Click here to see a course syllabus
The focus of this course is the classical heritage and Roman origins of the city of Florence. The goal is to engage you actively in observing the ways in which classical culture, and especially classical mythology, is woven into the identity of Florence. You will also see how classical themes are incorporated widely into the public architecture of the city and how the same themes from classical mythology are used by Italian artists in paintings, sculpture and artwork on display in the museums of Florence. Typically the class will use the city of Florence as a classroom. You will study public buildings with classical themes on site and look for artwork with classical themes in museums. You will also come to understand Florence as a Roman as well as Renaissance city by examining the archaeological evidence for the Roman city of Florentia, founded by Julius Caesar in the first century BCE. You will participate in walking tours of the city in order to experience Florence in from a different perspective, namely as an ancient Roman city, and will come to appreciate how the basic features of the ancient city, namely, its Forum, Amphitheatre, walls, etc., have determined the contours of modern Florence.
ACM students singing an Italian song and dancing, after their final Italian language class.