This is a 3-credit course, and yes, there will be both grades and work, though perhaps not as strenuos as that of the oxen we see on the Iannicelli farm. The grades will be based on your participation in all planned activities and discussions -- and in particular on your contributions to guiding the group in Paestum, Pompeii, and Ostia Antica -- and on your project.
You should try to do most of the required reading books before leaving for the trip. You will be asked to present in 3 - 5 minutes some point which particularly struck you from the required reading. During the course, there will be several opportunities for discussions for which these readings are important background.
For particular sites, especially Rome, Florence, and the Cilento area around Ascea, readings are recommended which will open up for you secrets of the area which you would otherwise certainly miss.
Your main academic work, however, is preparation and presentation to the class of a project related to the theme of our course or the places we are visiting. The presentations, about 20 minutes each, constitute a large part of the formal instruction on the trip, so it is very important that they should be interesting, not to say entertaining. Written versions, to be circulated to your classmates, are due on the Monday a week after our return. Some possible topics might be:
Trade in the ancient world
Slavery in antiquity
Greek architecture
Roman architecture
Roman roads
Roman acqueducts
Banking and business in the Roman world
Work and trade in Pompeii
The craft of the architect in antiquity
The Medici bank
The building industry in renaissance Florence
The Italian risorgimento
International economic policy following World War I and its aftermath
Fascist Italy
Origins and development of the European union and its economic effects.
Medicinal herbs of Italy and their preparation.
Because we will have virtually no library resources in English, you can base your presentation on a small number of resources which you should select before you leave and take with you. This very active participation on your part in the teaching of the course is key to its success.
