Summer Abroad in Italy 2011

Updated 2012 Course information will be posted in early February.

Art & Contemporary Culture: Session I

Rome / Venice / Ravenna / Bologna

June 7–21, 2011

Two additional class sessions, held on CCA's Oakland campus, are required.
Orientation: Sat., April 23 from 10 a.m.–noon
Follow-up: Thurs., August 25 from 10 a.m.–4 p.m.

Instructor: Mariella Poli

Description

Rich in history and culture and with a singular place in the development of Western art, Italy offers unique perspectives to all students of the arts. Once divided into small warring principalities, the Italian Peninsula still retains regional differences in art, architecture, dialect, and cuisine.

Today Italy faces political questions that reflect the pressures of modern globalization.

This interdisciplinary course examines the art, culture, and everyday life of Italy, while providing students an opportunity to work in the medium of their choice. The course traces Italian art and culture from the Renaissance to present day.

Students receive a reader, that pertains to museums and historical sites, to which they must respond before they arrive in Italy.

Rome: The course begins with four days in Rome where students visit the sites of Imperial Rome; High Renaissance, such as the Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel (accompanied by an art historian); and Baroque, viewing Caravaggio, architectural sites designed by Michelangelo, Bernini, Borromini, Bramante; and San Clemente, three churches constructed one above the other that rest on the remains of earlier Roman inhabitants. The class also visits a contemporary exhibition in the new museum MAXXI designed by Zaha Hadid.

Venice: Participants spend six days in Venice where the main concentration is on the Biennale. Since 1895, the Venice Biennale has been in the avant-garde, promoting new artistic movements and organizing international events in contemporary arts in accordance with a multi-disciplinary model which characterizes its unique nature.

Bice Curiger, the 2011 Venice Biennale Art Director of the 54th International Art Exhibition, chose the title ILLUMInations, saying: La Biennale is one of the world’s most important forums for the dissemination and illumination about the current developments in international art. The title of the 54th Exhibition, ILLUMInations literally draws attention to the importance of such developments in a globalised world. I am particularly interested in the eagerness of many contemporary artists to establish an intense dialogue with the viewer, and to challenge the conventions through which contemporary art is viewed.

A few sites of interest for this summer's Venice Biennale:
Artists
Allora & Calzadilla (USA)
Taibaimo (Japan)
Mike Nelson (Great Britain)
Curator
Vasif Kortun (United Arab Emirates)
Pavilions
Latin American Pavilion

Ravenna: Students spend two days in Ravenna visiting its 1,500-year-old churches, famous for their Byzantine mosaics. Briefly the capital of eastern Rome during its fall, Ravenna was taken by the barbarians. Then in 540 A.D., the Byzantine Emperor Justinian turned Ravenna into the westernmost pillar of the Byzantine Empire. A pinnacle of civilization in that age, Ravenna was a light during Europe's Dark Ages.

Bologna: The class spends the final two days in Bologna, a dynamic and politically active city, home to the oldest active university (founded in 1088) that now houses over 100,000 students. Along with its Medieval, Renaissance, and Modern museums, Bologna offers many contemporary venues for art, including the internationally renowned Cinematheque, known for its unique Film Library and Archive.

Italy x 2
Two summer study-abroad courses in Italy are scheduled one week apart. This schedule allows students the opportunity to spend more time in Italy immersed in the country and culture while earning a total of 6 credits. Students explore the country independently during the one week between programs.

About the Instructor

Mariella Poli has exhibited and had her work published in Austria, Denmark, Italy, Mexico City, South Africa, Spain, and the United States. Most recently her work was exhibited in the Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi, Vietnam. Since 1994 Poli has been teaching photography and interdisciplinary classes at the San Francisco Art Institute, the Studio Art Center International in Florence (an affiliate of Bowling Green State University, Ohio), Saint Mary's College of California, and California College of the Arts. She has curated and organized several student exhibitions that have been exhibited locally and internationally. BFA, MFA, San Francisco Art Institute

Prerequisites

Undergraduates: completion of sophomore level by summer 2011 and instructor approval.
Graduates: instructor approval

In addition all students must be in good academic, conduct, and financial standing for the 2010–11 academic year.

Course Satisfies

For undergraduates, this course satisfies a studio elective requirement or, with prior instructor arrangement, 3 credits of Visual Studies Seminar or a 200 or 300 level Visual Studies Elective; or for students who achieve junior or senior standing by the end of spring 2011, this course can count for an Upper Division Interdisciplinary Studio requirement.

For graduates, this course satisfies a grad-wide elective.

Program Fee

$4,450 + $50 summer registration fee
Program fee includes:
3 credits, housing, studio, art historian lecture, museum entrance fees, local transportation, and field trips

Program fee does not include:
Airfare to and from Italy, course reader, meals, travel insurance, medical or personal insurance (students must provide their own insurance)

Please make sure you read the related links in full:
Registration
Financial Aid
Passport, Visa, and Insurance
Code of Conduct

Registration begins on March 1 for all summer study abroad courses. Students should register by March 31, but may register on a space available basis after this date. Please contact the Office of Special Programs at 510.594.3710 if interested in registering after March 31.

Interested students should contact Mariella Poli, mpoli@cca.edu, right away to start the approval process for registration.