This six-week, two course summer program examines the myth of Venice through plays, poetry, novellas, letters, trial transcripts, contemporary accounts, travel literature and films that celebrated this city.
Taught in English by Duke Professor Valeria Finucci, ITALIAN 136P/HISTORY 175B/ICS 128 City and City Life in Italy: Special Topic: The Myth of Venice will focus on the many facets of Venice, a city of luxury and mercantile pursuits as reflected in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and Othello, as well as the epitome of lust, greed, seduction and power. Known as La Serenissima (a most serene city), Venice combined incomparable beauty and urban charm, beautiful women and lavish art.
The second course, ARTHIST 135A Topics in Italian Art & Architecture: Venetian Art of the Renaissance (15th-16th Century), examines a retrospect of sixteenth-century art, sculpture and architecture - considered the Golden Age of Venetian art. Extensive museum, church and archaeological site touring will enhance course lectures and readings. This course will be taught by Professor Maria Agnese Wiel, a Venetian art historian.
Students live in the dormitories of Venice International University on San Servolo Island.
Summer 2009
May 31 - June 30
This program will not be offered in 2009, but will be offered again in 2010. Please check back for updated information regarding the 2010 summer program.
The Duke University Office of Study Abroad, in cooperation with Venice International University , will offer a four-week, single course program in Venice, in the summer of 2009. The program is designed to provide participants with the opportunity to study aspects of Venetian history and culture, which have been particularly important in the shaping of European civilization.
Summer 2010 June 6 - 27 Three different courses will be offered during this edition.
Drawing from the Venetian Masters
Fulfills: Fine Arts Core, Fine Arts major/minor elective
Credits: (3 credits)
Introductory-level studio art course examines the process, materials, and issues addressed in exploration of the basic principles and concepts of making visual artwork.
Professor Alston Conley, Department of Fine Arts
The Imaginary City: Why Writers Love Venice
Fulfills: Philosophy major elective, Romance Language major elective, English major elective
Credits: (3 credits)
A detailed exploration of the world's most beautiful and enigmatic city through fiction, essays, cinema, philosophy and on-site wanderings. What can this dream city built on water teach us about the fundamental questions of truth, beauty, and human existence.
Professor Kevin Newmark, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, A&S Honors Program
Venice and New Orleans: A Comparative Study of Two Imperiled Cities
Fulfills: Political Science major elective
Credits: (3 credits) Focuses on two great cities that are perennially imperiled by floods. It examines how floods and the threat of flooding have shaped Venice and New Orleans physically, politically and culturally.
Professor Marc Landy, Department of Political Science
Summer 2010
May 24 - June 22
The Duke University Office of Study Abroad, in cooperation with Venice International University, will offer a five-week, single course program in Venice, Italy in the summer of 2010. The program is designed to provide participants with the opportunity to study aspects of Venetian history and culture, which have been particularly important in the shaping of European civilization.
PUB POL 101/ VISUALST 190.01/ POLSCI 100Z
The Art of Politics and the Politics of the Arts: Music, Art and Politics in Northern Italy, (CCI, ALP, SS) Taught in English by Professor Ken Rogerson. One course credit.
This course will examine the tense and inspirational relationship between art, music and politics in northern . Students will explore examples of art and music in state-building, social and grass roots movements and revolutions, as well as how political institutions supported and encouraged artistic creation and development. The course will also make occasional field trips to opportunity to go on day trips to nearby cities such as Mantua, Padua, Ravenna, Treviso, Vincenza, and Verona . While at these locations, students can visit museums, churches, public monuments and archaeological sites.
During the Summer Term VIU organizes a series of summer schools in cooperation with the member institutions. These intensive programs focus on specific themes which are of common interest to the members involved and which have been identified as strategic for the VIU consortium, for example: sustainable development, preservation of cultural heritage, and the challenges that society faces today due to ageing populations.
World-renowned academics come together in the unique setting of VIU’s campus on the island of San Servolo, where they engage with students of various levels.
The goal of these interdisciplinary summer schools is to disseminate knowledge among students (undergrad, master’s, PhD, post-doc) and young academics, and to establish and reinforce research networks among the VIU among the VIU community.
2014 Summer Schools
- Summer Institute on Ageing, 3-7 June 2014
- Visualizing Venice: The City and the Lagoon, 3-13 June 2014
- The Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change, 6-12 July 2014
In addition, Duke University and Boston College, in cooperation with the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, offer their students two summer programs set in Venice.
Both programs are designed to provide participants with the opportunity to study Venetian civilization, religion, culture and art history.The summer schools are run during the month of June and involve around twenty students from BC and twenty from Duke.
All the courses are taught in English by Professors coming from these Universities.
