Honors in Italy – June 2014
Honors in Italy
June 2-15, 2014
Rome
Vatican City
Ostia Antica
Pompeii
Herculaneum
Florence
Ravenna
Pisa
Honors in Italy

 Enrollment limited to 20
students (Selective)
 Includes an application
process
Open to all students with a
minimum 3.25 GPA
Honors in Italy
Advantages of Choosing Honors
 Taught and led by your own
Honors faculty and staff—Dr.
Phillips and Ms. Goers
 Credit for Honors hours
 Selective enrollment
 Scholarships Available
 Safety and Support
Gelato in Florence
Honors in Italy
The Coursework
 Three (3) hours of Honors credit (UH
3500: Junior Interdisciplinary Seminar)
 May substitute for ENGL 3400:
European literature to 1400
 May count towards interdisciplinary
minors in Classical Studies, Great
Books, Medieval Studies, or Global
Studies
Honors in Italy
Dante and the Legacy of Ancient Rome
Taught by Dr. Philip Phillips, Professor of English and
Associate Dean of the University Honors College
We will read selected major
works in translation of Dante
Alighieri (1265-1321),
including The New Life and
The Divine Comedy, as well as
Vergil’s Aeneid, Saint
Augustine’s Confessions,
Boethius’s Consolation of
Philosophy, and selections from
Pliny’s Letters.
Honors in Italy
Dante and the Legacy of Ancient Rome
Rome, Ostia, Vatican City, Pompeii, Herculaneum, Florence, Ravenna,
and Pisa will serve as our classrooms as we retrace the footsteps of
Dante and discuss some of the classical and late antique Roman
authors who influenced his intellectual and artistic development.
Honors in Italy
Dante and the Legacy of Ancient
Rome
Guided tours of world-renowned historical and cultural sites will
add greater depth to our experience of the literature and culture
from Classical Rome to late Antique Italy.
Honors in Italy
Course Objectives
• To develop a knowledge and appreciation for some of the
major literary, philosophical, historical, and artistic
masterpieces of classical, medieval, and Renaissance Italy
• To bring enhanced perspective to those works by studying
them on location and in dialogue with each other (and with
other writings, thought, and events of their time)
Honors in Italy
Course Objectives
 To think, write, and report critically and effectively
about the readings, cultural sites, and geographical
places encountered
 To develop a greater appreciation for the
interconnectedness of literary themes and conventions
through the ages as well as our own interconnectedness
across cultures, past and present, through study abroad
and service learning experience.
Honors in Italy
Course Meetings/Readings
 We will meet as a group 4-5 times for pre-travel class meetings during the
Spring semester and 1 time for a post-travel class meeting after returning to
Murfreesboro.
 Our readings will include Vergil, The Aeneid, trans. Sarah Ruden (Yale); Pliny the
Younger, Complete Letters, trans. P.G. Walsh. (Oxford); Saint Augustine,
Confessions, trans. Henry Chadwick (Oxford); Boethius, The Consolation of
Philosophy, trans. David R. Slavitt (Harvard); and Dante, La Vita Nuova, trans.
David R. Slavitt (Harvard) and The Divine Comedy, trans. John Ciardi (New
American Library)—most readings will be completed before to departure to Italy.
 For those wanting to learn some basic, conversational Italian to use during our
trip, we will provide optional language classes for our group in the Spring (times
TBA). Knowledge of Italian is not required for this trip; all course instruction and
guided tours will be in English.
Honors in Italy
Tentative Itinerary
 Monday, June 2:
– Depart USA
 Tuesday, June 3:
– Arrival in Rome
– ISA airport pick-up
– On-site orientation
 Wednesday, June 4:
The Holy See: Papal Audience, St. Peter’s Basilica,
Vatican Museum, and Sistine Chapel
 Thursday, June 5:
Classical Rome: Roman Forum, Coliseum, and Palatine Hill
Capitoline Museum
Honors in Italy
Tentative Itinerary
 Friday, June 6:
Guest lecture by Professor Fabio Troncarelli, Universitá
della Tuscia (Viterbo), on “Boethius in the Middle Ages”
 Saturday, June 7:
Day trip to Ostia Antica
(round-trip boat cruise
on the Tiber river)
 Sunday, June 8:
Pliny’s Rome: Day Trip to
Pompeii and Herculaneum
Honors in Italy
Tentative Itinerary
 Monday, June 9:
Depart Rome via train for Florence
Pick-up at Santa Maria train station in Florence and
transfer via taxi to apartments
Guided walking tour of
Dante’s Florence
Honors in Italy
Tentative Itinerary
 Tuesday, June 10:
Medieval Italy: Day trip to Ravenna, Late Antique capitol
of the Western Empire and Ostrogothic Italy
Guided tour of Ravenna, including:
 S. Vitale
 San Apollinare Nuovo
 Galla Placidia
 Mausoleum of Theoderic
 Sant’ Apollinare in Classe
 Arian Baptistry
 Dante’s Tomb
Honors in Italy
Tentative Itinerary
 Wednesday, June 11:
Medieval and Renaissance Italian Art:
Uffizi Museum
 Thursday, June 12:
Duomo Cathedral
 Friday, June 13:
Service-learning
project:
(Rotary International)
Honors in Italy
Tentative Itinerary
 Saturday, June 14:
Day trip to Pisa
 Sunday, June 15:
Drop off at Florence
Peteroia Airport
Depart Florence for Home
Honors in Italy
The Cost
 $2,530-$2,890 includes: on-site transportation; lodging;
cultural activities and excursions with English-speaking
guides; guest lecturers; service activity; emergency
support, and some meals
 Program costs not included:
international airfare;
summer MTSU tuition (25%
off); books; $79 education
abroad and iNext fee;
passport; some meals, and
personal spending money
Honors in Italy
Application Process
 Step 1 – Attend Office of Education Abroad Info Session –
Tues, Oct. 22nd @ 2pm in Student Union Room 221
(recommended but not required)
 Step 2 – Pre-approval advising appointment with Office of
Education Abroad (opens Oct. 31 for summer programs)(Peck
Hall 207)
 Step 3 – Submit application and confirmation of paid deposit
for Honors Italy Program by Friday, Nov. 15 to April Goers
HONR 228 or HONR 205 (main office)
http://www.mtsu.edu/honors/pdfs/Honors%20in%20Italy%20A
pplication.pdf
-$500 Deposit is submitted to the Business Office
Honors in Italy
Application Process
 Step 4 – Apply for Education Abroad Scholarship by January 29,
2014 (application available early November)
https://mtsu.studioabroad.com/index.cfm?FuseAction=Abroad.ViewLi
nk&Parent_ID=0&Link_ID=5AC2B662-26B9-58D3F5713C5FCF91848B
 Step 5 – Apply for Honors Study Abroad Scholarship by January 30,
2014
http://www.mtsu.edu/honors/pdfs/Study%20Abroad%20Intent%20For
m%20May%202013.pdf
 Step 6 – Apply for Honors Passport Scholarship (if you don’t already
have a passport) by Feb. 2014 (application available early Jan.)
 Step 7 – If accepted into program, first payment will be due
February 15, 2014
Honors in Italy
Questions?
Course Information
Dr. Philip E. Phillips
philip.phillips@mtsu.edu
Travel Information
April Goers
615-494-7767
april.goers@mtsu.edu