Mediterranean Marvels

Why does preserving cultural heritage matter? How do enduring monuments define identity: personal, local, religious, cultural, and national? Can art create dialogue and understanding? Our program highlights the study of the humanities and visual culture. It allows us to step outside of our own biases and comparatively study distinct cultural and visual traditions throughout the Mediterranean World. Also in our course we will ask some of the most challenging questions about art in the 21st century: can art counter misconceptions about a culture different from one’s own? Can art lead to global understanding?

Beginning in Athens, Greece, this short-term study abroad class will introduce students to the art, architecture, culture and intellectual heritage of Ancient Greece and its impact across the Mediterranean World. Through both on-site field experiences as well as at home study, students will be introduced to the ancient Greek life. For example, by studying Greek sculpture, we will learn about the ideals of the Greeks: how they wanted to be seen, how they envisioned their gods and goddesses, and how taste and material shaped the human body. We will also consider how we experience ancient Greece today, including how modern political power shapes life and cultural heritage today.

Greek culture had a great impact on subsequent eras- particularly evident during the Renaissance but also apparent in our contemporary lives. We will see the impacts of Ancient Greece upon the Venetian Republic when we arrive in Venice, Italy. For example, the Basilica di San Marco is decorated with Greek, Roman and Byzantine spolia (fragments taken from other monuments often in circumstances of war), such as columns taken during Crusader pillaging of Constantinople in 1204. We will study the inspiration that the Venetian Renaissance took from the classical past, but also explore how the classical past is transformed in modern Europe. Finally, we will end the program considering how an expansive view of the Mediterranean World from past to present can challenge the current cultural landscape of contemporary “fortress Europe.”

We focus on cultural heritage in the Mediterranean cities of Athens & Venice in order to consider the impacts of international, national and local regulations on preservation; economics and tourism; politics; religion; and environmental change on major cultural heritage monuments, including the Parthenon and the Mosque of the Conqueror in Athens; and Venice’s Lagoon as well as the Church of San Marco. Athens & Venice are UNESCO World Heritage sites, and each is regulated by its own national ministry of culture. In these spaces is a fascinating and unique interplay between UNESCO programs to support cultural heritage, and national and local governmental bodies determining the daily regulation and use of the cities’ monuments.