Faculty members from the Macalester Classical Mediterranean and Middle East department offer a January program approximately every other year. These programs are available to all Macalester students and have included a regular course on ancient Rome and Pompeii. January programs to other destinations have also been offered; one explored the history and archaeology of Turkey, another combined the popular Rome program with travel to Alexandria and Cairo.
CLAS 155 – January in Rome: The Art, Archaeology, and Urban History of Ancient Rome (2 credits)
Professors Nanette Goldman, Brian Lush, Andy Overman, Beth Severy-Hoven
Course Description: A survey and exploration of the major spaces, surviving monuments and artifacts of the city of Rome from the earliest occupation of the Palatine around 1000 BCE to the first major Christian buildings in the 4th-5th centuries CE. Students explore how politics and culture shape the urban landscape, challenges in identifying buildings and the way that spaces were used, and the Roman imperial consumption of Greek art. We consider the incorporation of Roman monuments into subsequent architecture, including Fascist political (re)use of archaeology, as well as problems of conservation in the context of the modern city. Visits to the excavated cities of Pompeii and Ostia make visible the lives and activities of those lost in the literary record, including women and enslaved people. Students give two presentations to help teach the city, use their developing knowledge to interpret archaeological sites, and conduct a self-guided site visit as coursework. No prerequisites – students from all disciplines and years are welcome to apply.
January in Rome 2023 info sheet (posted 9/23/22)
Link to application (posted 9/26/22) *If you have started your application and want to go back to work on it, please use this link to avoid having to start over
Applications and deposits are due on October 7; decisions about the applications will be completed by October 14.
- If you encounter any difficulties with the online application system, please contact Shanti Freitas at the Center for Study Away ([email protected]).
- If you have further questions about the program, please contact Beth Severy-Hoven in the Department of the Classical Mediterranean and Middle East ([email protected]).
January in Rome, 2016 course participants.