Students will enroll in both a language course and a culture-based content course, each offering one Duke credit. No pass/fail option or auditing is permitted for either course. 

ITALIAN 213A
Accelerated Intermediate Italian
(FL, CZ) 1.0 Credit

Pre-requisite: Italian 102 or 112 (the equivalent of two semesters of college-level Italian), or have the consent of the Italian Language Director, Luciana Fellin.

This course is the equivalent of Italian 203 and 204 together. The course is project-based and fosters students’ speaking, reading, and writing abilities through immersion and exploration of the city. Bologna will be used as a classroom with which students engage to develop their linguistic and intercultural competencies.
 

ITALIAN 342SA / ART HISTORY 342A / LIT 342A / MEDREN 342A
Dante and the Art of Hell
(ALP, CZ, R) 1.0 Credit

Prerequisite: None

Combining close readings of Dante’s Divine Comedy with visits to sites that inspired (or were inspired by) his poem, this course offers a unique perspective on Dante’s poetic and artistic universe that can only be achieved in Italy. We will investigate how various elements of Florence (such as the Baptistry and Duomo) inform his representation of Hell; the emergence of the idea of Purgatory in relation to Giotto’s extraordinary Scrovegni Chapel in Padova; how Dante’s distinct  idea of love contrasts with Verona’s  idea of Shakespeare; and the idea of paradise that shimmers in Ravenna’s late antique mosaics. You will take on six different roles during the course: translator, author, commentator, scribe, compiler, commentator, and editor. As translator you will examine the rich complexity of Dante’s language in multiple translations; as author you will be the authority on a single object during a site visit; as commentator you will lead class discussion of a canto; as scribe or compiler, you will build on class or site discussions to pose new questions. In your final project you will take on the role of editor, putting together a portfolio that reflects on the verbal and visual materials that we have explored. Engaging your linguistic skills and exploring Italian cultural objects in situ, this course provides new ways for you to experience Dantes’s art. Instructor: Martin Eisner

As part of the program there will be several excursions within Italy to take advantage of Bologna’s location. Some possible destinations could include Florence, Rome, Venice, Verona, or Ravenna, but final itinerary will depend on the particular content of the courses being offered.

Given its central location in Europe and status as a travel hub, Bologna is a great base for further travel throughout Europe both by rail and by plane. Students typically take longer trips before or after the program, and shorter ones on some weekends during the session.

You'll be housed in apartments in central Bologna, with two or three students per apartment. Students will be responsible for their own meals, either purchasing food at grocery stores and markets and cooking in the apartment kitchens or frequenting restaurants and cafés.

Attendance is required at all classes, excursions, and group events. Given the intense nature of this program, late arrival and/or early departure is not permitted.

• Arrival: May 9, 2020
• Departure: June 20, 2020

Flights

You will make your own travel arrangements to and from the program site. You are expected to arrive on the arrival date cited above, which usually means departing the U.S. one day prior. Once you have a flight itinerary, log in to MyGlobalEd to update your travel registry.

Housing Before/After

You will need to make your own housing arrangements if you will be arriving before the program start date or leaving later than the program end date.