ITAL 280 Urban Space As A Stage For Memory
Considering Rome as an object of study, in this course we will focus on historical and cultural memories and explore how they intersect with individual memory. What is the role of urban space in the construction of memory? How do historical and cultural memories inspire our own memories? What relationship is there between them and what dialogue is there between us and History? An interdisciplinary approach will orient our study of urban space which is to be understood not only as the past that we study, but also as a present that is active and alive and able to stimulate students to think of art and history not as entities external to ourselves, but as worlds intimately connected to the construction of our own identity.
Through lectures, site visits, and hands-on projects we will study and experience the fundamental relationship between space and time, with particular attention to the its horizontality in Rome. Specifically, the work involved in this course will focus on two main fields of study: 1) historical and cultural memory as agents of individual memory and 2) the horizontal perception of urban space in Rome.
Students will investigate and deepen their understanding of the relationship obtaining between space, time, and memory through paths on ancient roads, together with the analysis of evident traces of cultural memory, and the discovery of less visible ones. Through the study of both the glorious city center and significant Roman suburbs, students will develop a richer and more real knowledge of the Eternal City deepening the powerful evidence of its implacable memory. Taught abroad in Rome, Italy.
Cross Listed Courses
ITAL 280 & HIST 207B