Classics at the University of Maryland

Study Abroad: Rome, Paris, Greece, & Italy

Maryland-in-Rome.  Beginning fall semester 2009, University of Maryland undergraduates will now be able to do a Semester Study in Rome, taking courses in Latin, Greek, Classics, History, and Art History and Archaeology at the American University in Rome (AUR), the oldest independent, four-year, degree-granting American institution of higher learning in that city.   The AUR is located on the top of the Janiculum hill overlooking the Tiber and the site of the ancient city. The program is being administered by the Study Abroad in the Office of International Programs at College Park.  

For more information, go to:  http://www.international.umd.edu/studyabroad/7431

CLAS 171   Classical Myths in Paris   (1 credit)

Lillian E. Doherty (May 23 - June 1, 2009 )
This one-week tour of "classical Paris" (taught on location after two days of background lectures in Maryland) will focus on the Roman past of the city, the rich collections of Greek and Roman art in the Louvre, and the influence of classical styles on the art and architecture of France.  Mythology will provide a focus for our comparisons of art from different periods.  In addition to the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay, visits will include walking tours of the Latin Quarter with its ancient Roman baths and medieval art in the Musee Cluny and of the Champs Elysees from the Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe.  There will be ample free time for visiting other sites such as the Eiffel Tower and the chateau of Versailles.  For more information and an application, contact Prof. Doherty at ldoherty@umd.edu.  The application deadline will be February 18 2009.

Dates & Fees
Application Deadline: Please check the Study Abroad website for dates.
Program Dates: May 23 - June 1, 2009

Program Costs
The program fee covers lodging, breakfast and dinner daily (if eaten at the pension), and all entry fees to museums included in the itinerary. Students will be responsible for most meals outside of the reserve and miscellaneous expenses, as well as their own round trip air fare to and from Paris. The program fee is $TBA. This fee is paid directly to the University of Maryland.
A $300.00 deposit is required with the application and will be applied to the total program fee. If trip is canceled or not admitted, deposit will be credited to your UM account.

Admissions
Students should be interested in learning about the history, art and architecture of Paris, and about the classical Greek and Roman cultures. Applicants should have at least a 3.0 (B) academic average and the approval of their academic advisor.
Admission is on a rolling basis.

Financial Aid and Scholarships
The Study Abroad Office offers scholarships for undergraduate students to attend summer term programs. These scholarships are awarded based on academic achievement and financial need. Scholarship applications are due on February 18 2009.
For academic and program-specific questions, please contact the Faculty Director.
For more information, go to the Study Abroad Office at 1101 Holzapfel Hall or
click here for the application deadline and more details.

Greece: Study Tour 2009

CLAS 308G  Greece: The Living Legacy  (3 credits)

Pittas-Herschbach (June 1 - 22, 2009)  

                                                               
This three-week course will be taught on location in Greece. Students will be based in a central location in Athens and will take day trips as well as longer excursions to some of the most important sites and monuments of antiquity, including Mycenae, Delphi, Epidaurus, the temple of Aphaia in Aigina, Sparta, Mystras, and the Cycladic islands of Mykonos and Delos. Readings and discussions will explore central issues and themes (cultural, artistic, political and philosophical) associated with classical Greece during the latter half of the fifth century.

Dates & Fees
Application Deadline: Please check the Study Abroad website for dates.
Program Dates: June 1 - 22, 2009

Program Costs
The program includes tuition, accommodations, breakfast, transportation to scheduled excursions, and admissions to the ancient sites and museums. A group dinner on our second night in Athens will be included, but students are responsible for other meals. Students will be responsible for most meals outside of the reserve and miscellaneous expenses, as well as their own round trip air fare. The program fee is $TBA. This fee is paid directly to the University of Maryland.

A $300.00 deposit is required with the application and will be applied to the total program fee. If trip is canceled or not admitted, deposit will be credited to your UM account.

Admissions
Requirements are minimum standards. However, admission is not guaranteed, even when the applicant meets the minimum requirements. Admission is on a rolling basis.

Financial Aid and Scholarships
The Study Abroad Office offers scholarships for undergraduate students to attend summer term programs. These scholarships are awarded based on academic achievement and financial need. Scholarship applications are due on February 18 2009.
For more information, go to the Study Abroad Office at 1101 Holzapfel Hall or
click here for the application deadline and more details.

Academics

COURSE EXPECTATIONS

Students will be tested over the material covered in the course and expected to do a project and presentation at one of the sites. There will also be two exams that will cover how well students have absorbed material they themselves have observed over the course of the site and background lectures. Please note a final 300 number is still pending.

Students majoring in Classics may also take advantage of semester-long study-abroad programs sponsored by other institutions: for example, they may study in Rome at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies, or in Athens, at the College Year in Athens. Students are also eligible to participate in the summer excavation season of the Combined Caesarea Expeditions during June and July and to compete for scholarships that make participation affordable. This project can be undertaken for three or six hours credit at the 400 and 600 level. For information, contact the Caesarea office 301-405-4353, or e-mail Professor Kenneth Holum at kh22@umail.umd.edu.
Additionally, during Winter term the Classics Department regularly offers a 3-credit study tour in Italy.  This year's application deadline has already passed; watch the Study Abroad website at http://www.inform.umd.edu/studyabroad/ for next year's announcement.  In addition to our own study abroad programs, students may take advantage of other opportunities to study abroad:  for example, in Rome, at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies, or in Athens, at the College Year in Athens.  
The Department sponsors a chapter of Eta Sigma Phi, the national undergraduate Honor Society in Classics, and annually awards the Avery Prize to a Latin student of special merit, and the Steyer Undergraduate Scholarship to an outstanding classics concentrator. To honor the memory of Sylvia Gerber, who taught Latin for many years in the Washington, DC public schools, her son Louis has recently provided our department with funding to support the training of Latin teachers and Latin pedagogical studies. The sons of Elena Toma and Antonio DeLuca have similarly honored them by contributing to undergraduate scholarships and other departmental programs. Students may also participate in the department’s annual Latin Day, which brings over 1300 secondary school Latin students and teachers to our campus.

ITALY: Study Tour 2009

CLAS 308: Classics in Context: Italy (3 credits)

J. Scholten. Jan 3-22, 2009.  The Classics Department regularly offers a three-week study abroad course with visits to Rome and the bay of Naples area including Pompeii. 

This three-week exploration and study of Ancient Greek and Roman Culture will include Greek temples, Ancient Roman cities, Beautiful Mediterranean islands, The Eternal City, The World's greatest work of Art. All of these will be experienced as we explore some of the most important sites of Classical Antiquity in the world in Ancient Greek and Roman Culture in Context: Italy/The Ancient Roman City.

Dates & Fees
Application Deadline: Please check the Study Abroad website for dates.
Program Dates: Jan. 3-22, 2009

For more information, go to the Study Abroad Office at 1101 Holzapfel Hall or
click here for the application deadline and more details.

TENTATIVE SITE VISITS

Stabia and Pompeii
We will stay in Stabia, itself once a seaside resort of thriving villas, and just a 20 minute metro ride away from the greatest cities surviving from the ancient world, Pompeii, a vivid and living reminder of our Roman heritage over which Vesuvius looms. Our visit to Stabia and Pompeii will consider not only the nature of public and domestic architecture and urban planning, but also important aspects of Roman culture, from commerce, to politics, to gladiators.

Herculaneum and Oplontis
While in Stabia we will also visit Herculanaeum, once a ritzy beach resort in antiquity, with some of the most elegant and sumptuous houses surviving from the Roman period with beautiful mosaics and fountains. Oplontis was the villa of the decadent and murderous Poppaea Sabina, mistress of the emperor Nero; it still survives with some of the most luxurious paintings and architecture that come down to us from Roman antiquity. There will be lecture tours of these sites as well, in which the science of archaeology and how these places came to be excavated will be explained.

Paestum
We will visit some of the greatest Greek temples on the European mainland that still stand at Paestum, a magnificent site with a gorgeous pastoral setting, which is at its best in January, set against the snow-capped Appenines, with wild flowers in bloom. In addition to the place of Paestum in the history of architecture, we will also consider the various religions and religious practices of the Greeks and Romans, and discuss the relationship of Greek and Roman culture.

Naples
We will take a day to visit the National Museum at Naples where we will see one of the world’s greatest collection of Roman paintings, stunning mosaics, giant Hellenistic statues, ancient silverware, and the “secret cabinet” - a collection of ancient artifacts deemed too scandalous to put on public view for three hundred years. A visit to the museum will include a lecture tour on the basics of ancient art history.

Vesuvius, Capri and Beyond
There will be a number of visits to various sites as yet to be scheduled. Possibilities include excursions up Vesuvius, and a visit to Capri, a beautiful Mediterranean island famous as the retreat of the emperor Tiberius. Other possible destinations will include Cumae, Pozzuoli, the ancient seaside town of Terracina, Tiberius’ villa at Sperlonga, Capua and Benevento.

Rome
We will spend 7 days in Rome during which there will be a series of on site lecture tours: the Capitoline and its museum, the Roman Forum and Palatine, the Campus Martius, the Imperial Fora and Colosseum, and the Palazzo Massimo, with possible extra excursions to Ostia Antica, or the Villa Adriana. There will be ample time to expand beyond the ancient world and consider its continuity in the art and architecture of the Renaissance and Baroque periods as well.

Excursions on Your Own
There will be some free time for you to go off and explore on your own. From Rome it is an easy trip to destinations such as Florence, Orvieto, Pisa, or Siena, to name a few.