Rome Graduate Seminar in Aesthetics and Cultural Studies: Vision and Rationality

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

Temple University Rome offers a four-week graduate seminar designed to bring together the disciplines of aesthetics and cultural studies. In its interdisciplinary thrust, the six-credit seminar is intended to serve as a foundation for advanced study in the human sciences and to reflect the most current trends of thought in post-modern culture. The seminar convenes at Temple University's campus in Rome.

Advanced undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral students in fields such as literature, film studies, philosophy, art and social theory are welcome to apply. The seminar entails an intensive program of class work, field trips and guest lectures, and the city of Rome is used extensively as a resource. All classes are taught in English.

The Temple Rome campus is ideally located in the heart of Rome, in the Villa Caproni, a handsome building facing the Tiber River. Just north of Piazza del Popolo and within walking distance of the lively Spanish Steps and the beautiful Borghese Gardens, the Villa Caproni is convenient to living accommodations, shops and restaurants. Its facilities include a 16,000-volume library – one of the largest English-language libraries in Rome, a computer center, academic classrooms, extensive art and architecture studios, an art gallery and student lounges. Accommodations can be arranged in an apartment residence or students can make their own living arrangements in advance.

VISION AND RATIONALITY

This topic of the seminar focuses on the troubled relation between perception and cognition in three historical moments of Western culture: the Renaissance and the birth of single point perspective; the Baroque and Counter-Reformation; and the postmodern critique of Enlightenment rationality. We speculate about how our culture has been shaped by collaboration and conflict among visual, visionary, ideological and rational ways of knowing the world. The scope of our inquiry embraces literary, philosophical, painterly and cinematic texts.

Among the questions to be raised are: What is the relation between visual and verbal representation? Is the perceptual realm of sight necessarily subordinated to rationality? What is the place of visual representation in the tug-of-war between imaginary and real spheres of being? What historical and ideological exchanges between vision and rationality continue to affect our social and political orders? What role does aesthetics play in the making of a public sphere?

All program participants enroll in English 9089: Rome Seminar – Art & Culture, for six graduate credits.

FORMAT

The seminar is conducted in English through lecture/discussion sessions and closely coordinated field trips. The class sessions focus upon the listed readings below in the theory of ideology and the history of art. The field sessions focus upon Roman illusionist painting; Caravaggio and the Counter-Reformation; Baroque sculpture and architecture; and the holdings in futurism and abstraction at the Museum of Modern Art in Rome.

WORKING READING LIST

• Selections from On Painting, by Leonbattista Alberti

• Vision and Visuality, edited by Hal Foster

• Selected writings by Teresa of Avila

• Selected poetry by John Donne and Richard Crashaw

• "The Analytic of the Sublime" from Immanuel Kant's Critique of Judgment

• Selections from Four Fundamentals of Psychoanalysis by Jacques Lacan

• Force Fields, by Martin Jay

• "Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses" by Louis Althusser

• The Inhuman, by Jean Francois Lyotard

• Film: The Draughtsman's Contract, by Peter Greenaway
  

FIELD TRIPS

• The Advent of Single-Point Perspective: paintings by Giotto, Lippi, Michelangelo--including the Sistine Chapel. (Rome)
  
• Baroque Painting and the Counter-Reformation: the incarnational image in the work of Caravaggio. Also trompe l'oeil works by Pozzo, Borromini, the anamorphic experimenters. (Rome)
  
• The Tradition of Roman Illusionist Painting. (Pompeii)
• The Uffizi, Brancacci Chapel. (weekend trip to Florence)

SPECIAL EVENTS

In past years we have invited guest lecturers and artists to conduct a one-day workshop in relation to the issues of the seminar, and we hope to continue this practice. Previous guests include: Rodolphe Gasche (theorist, philosopher), Juliet Mitchell (psychoanalyst), Jacqueline Rose (literary critic), Anthony Giddens (political theorist), Jean-Marie Straub (filmmaker), Marco Bellocchio (filmmaker), Enzo Cucchi (painter), Kristin Jones and Andrew Ginzel (installation artists), Peter Greenaway (film-maker), Bernardo Bertolucci (film-maker), Michael Fried (art historian), Peter Flaccus, (painter), the Brothers Quay (film-makers), Mieke Bal (theorist and art critic), Stefano di Stasio (painter), Jannis Kounellis (sculptor) and Sandro Chia (painter and sculptor).

2010 ESTIMATED COSTS

Notes:

All estimated costs are subject to change. They should be used as a guideline only. Accepted students will receive updated, detailed cost information as soon as it is available after the application deadline.

*Fee includes housing in the apartment residence.

**Please note that the program fee applies to fellowship and non-fellowship students alike.

In addition to the items listed above, students should budget money for health insurance, books, any personal travel, and any other personal expenses.

We recommend that students follow the exchange rate prior to and during their summer abroad, either through the newspaper or a currency exchange web site (such as www.oanda.com).

2010 CALENDAR (SUMMER I)

Dates are tentative and subject to change

SCHOLARSHIPS

This year the English Department will offer one tuition fellowship to a Temple University graduate student of English. The award will be made on a competitive basis taking into account grades and faculty recommendations. Students who would like to be considered for this award must indicate their interest within the online program application.

A limited number of $500 scholarships are available to qualified Temple students. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need. Scholarship eligibility: Applicant must be enrolled as a full-time, matriculated student at Temple University at the time of application for a scholarship; have a 3.0 cumulative grade point average; enroll as a full-time student while abroad; demonstrate financial need; and be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Temple students who meet the eligibility requirements will be considered for a scholarship if they complete the scholarship application and essay (available within the online application system) by February 15.

Students who hold Temple University Fellowships or Future Faculty Fellowships should contact their fellowship coordinators to determine whether or not tuition waivers can apply to the Rome program.

GENERAL SUMMER PROGRAM INFORMATION

Please see General Summer Information to read about pre-departure information and orientation; passports and visas; scholarships; costs and payment policies; accreditation; and transfer of credits.

ELIGIBILITY AND APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Please see Eligibility and Application Procedures for program eligibility, application requirements, and application procedures that apply to all summer programs.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 15

To speak with program faculty, please contact Alan Singer, Temple University,
215-204-7563, alansinger00@comcast.net.

For further information, contact the International Programs office, 215-204-0720, study.abroad@temple.edu.