JMU Honors Program Seminar Abroad:
Art, Culture, and Politics in Medici Florence

Summer 2012: May 7 to May 27 (tentative dates)

Program Location

Florence is an extraordinary site for the kind of interdisciplinary learning promoted in this seminar.  Late medieval Florence was, to a large extent, a republic in which political power was relatively broadly based.  The Medici family enjoyed a sustained influence on the ongoing development of political life in Florence, as powerful and wealthy citizens and later, beginning with Cosimo I, the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, becoming a powerful noble family.  Florence was also the location of the artistic developments now associated with the birth of Italian Renaissance art, many of which depended on the patronage of the Medici.  Donatello and Brunelleschi spent their entire careers in Florence, and other artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo worked in Florence before moving to other cities.  Major authors, including Dante and Boccaccio, are important for understanding Medici Florence.  Christianity was a pervasive influence on all aspects of art and culture.  Florence was also a vibrant center for the revival of Platonism during the Renaissance, a movement that influenced the development of humanism in modern Europe. 

Academic Program

The course is designed as an experiential learning course for Honors Program freshmen and sophomores. Maximum class size will be 24 students, though the ideal size is 18-20. The course will be structured as a six-credit interdisciplinary honors seminar. There will be preparatory work at JMU during the spring semester 2011 and reflective work upon return to campus.  During the three weeks in Florence, the group will alternate between seminars on specific topics held at the Palazzo Capponi, visits to major museums and architectural sites, and cultural excursions related to Florence’s history.  We envision that most days the students will spend approximately 2-3 hours in classroom activities and an additional 4 hours in outings, with some cultural events scheduled in the evenings. Day trips to Siena, ruled by the Medici at the end of our period, and to three Medici villas in the environs of Florence will be scheduled.  One three-day weekend in the middle of the period will be left open for independent student exploration.

Instructional methods include lectures, guided tours, field work, journal assignment and/or papers, test and exams and a research project.

Tentative course offerings:

• HON 200—Art, Culture, and Politics in Medici Florence (6)
  
  Pre-requisites: You must be an Honors Program student.

Accommodations

Students will reside in the hotel, Istituto Gould in Florence. Some group meals will be provided.

Program Costs

For the current projected costs for this program, please click on the following link to the Fees for JMU Study Abroad Programs page.

Application

For more detailed instructions and to download the application, please click on the following link to the Applications and Forms section for JMU Short-Term Programs.

Applicants must be Honor program students with Freshman and or Sophomore standing.

For More Information

For additional information about the Honors Program Seminar Abroad: Art and Politics in Medici Florence, please contact the program directors:

Linda Cabe Halpern
Dean
University Studies
Tel: 540-568-7770
E-mail: halperlc@jmu.edu

Richard Halpern
Adjunct Faculty
Tel: 540-421-4512
E-mail: halpern01@verizon.net

Scott Hammond
Professor of
Political Science Department
Tel: 540-568-6313
E-mail: hammonsj@jmu.edu