Course Objectives
Rome and its surroundings are the locus of imaginative works that continue to shape our cultures and civilizations. We’ll spend a few weeks reading and discussing some of these, and then we’ll get to explore these places ourselves and encounter some of the art and architecture (and food!) that provokes and responds to these stories.
Grading Breakdown:
- Three Short Essays (disregard the part about the final essay in these directions) 30%
- Exam (given en route to Italy: will consist of short answer, passage identification, and essays) 20%. You can preview the final exam essay questions here.
- Journals 20%
- Final Essay 30% (6-7 page thesis-driven essay that makes an argument about one or two of the books we read while also drawing on your experiences in Italy. Talk with me about your ideas during the trip, and I’ll be happy to help you develop those.)
Course Grading Scale: A 100-93; A- 92-90; B+ 89-87; B 86-83; B- 82-80; . . . F 59-0.
Required Texts:
- The Aeneid, by Virgil, translated by Robert Fagles. ISBN: 0143105132 (should be at bookstore)
- Tales from Ovid: 24 Passages from the Metamorphoses, by Ovid (selections), translated by Ted Hughes. ISBN: 9780374525873
- Confessions, by Augustine, translated by Henry Chadwick. ISBN: 0199537828
- The Divine Comedy, by Dante, translated by Allen Mandelbaum. ISBN: 0679433139
- Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare (we’ll watch this together)
- Innocents Abroad, by Mark Twain. Chapters 1, 24-28 (Italy)
- Periodic Table, by Primo Levi
- Unaccustomed Earth (The three Hema and Kaushik stories) by Jhumpa Lahiri. ISBN: 0307278255
- “Making it Home,” by Wendell Berry.
- Ekphrastic poems
- “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” by John Keats
- “Early in the year by my friend’s gift,” by Wendell Berry
- “Resurrection: Borgo San Sepolcro,” by Rowan Williams
- “Musee des Beaux Arts,” by W.H. Auden
- “On the Medusa of Leonardo Da Vinci in the Florentine Gallery,” by Percy Bysshe Shelley. (see the painting, which is not by Da Vinci, here–we’ll see the original on our trip)
- “A Baroque Wall-Fountain in the Villa Sciarra,” by Richard Wilbur
Schedule
Dec. 19: Virgil’s Aeneid 1-4
Dec. 20: Virgil’s Aeneid 6, 10-12
Dec. 21: Ovid tales 1, 4, 6, 7
Dec. 22: Ovid tales 13, 15, 17, 22, 23
Dec. 23: Augustine Confessions 1-2; Paper 1 due
Dec. 26: Augustine Confessions 6, 8, 9
Dec. 27: Dante, Inferno 1-11, 13-15 (see this map of the Inferno)
Dec. 28: Dante, Inferno 31-34; Purgatory 1-6 (see this map of Purgatory)
Dec. 29 Dante, Purgatory 9-11, 17-18, 25-27, 30-33
Dec. 30 Dante, Paradise 1-3, 17-20, 26-33 (see this map of Paradise); Paper 2 due
Jan. 2 Primo Levi, Periodic Table
Jan. 3 Jhumpa Lahiri, “Once in a Lifetime,” “Year’s End,” and “Going Ashore”
Jan. 4: Wendell Berry, “Making it Home“
Jan. 5: Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad Chapters 1, 24-28
Jan. 6: Ekphrastic poems; Paper 3 due
Resources
Rick Steves has some helpful videos, podcasts, and more on many aspects of Rome.
While reading Virgil and Ovid, and to prepare for the Villa Borghese, you may want to listen to these two podcasts.
As you’re reading Dante, if you have any questions about a canto or want some background, this website has great, short videos about each canto.