SUMMER Courses 2007
Early Renaissance Art in 15th Century Florence
Professor Grazia Badino, Florence Faculty
3 credits
The course is an introduction to Renaissance Art in Florence: from Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, Masaccio and Donatello to Michelangelo's youth in the age of Lorenzo il Magnifico and Republican Florence. The survey will span the entire 15th and early 16th centuries in the form of lectures at the Villa Corsi-Salviati and on-site visits, mainly to downtown Florence. Alternating the classroom sessions with visits to the major museums and monuments of Florence, students will have the opportunity to integrate their studies with first hand experience of the masterpieces of the Golden Age of Humanism. My aim is to give students different keys by which to approach a work of art in its complexity; these comprise history, iconography, technique, style and, of course, beauty. Florence is surely the best place to acquire a basic knowledge of Renaissance art and it also affords the opportunity of learning about coeval Italian Art in general. The program includes in effect an overnight trip to Rome that will enhance our insight into this epoch and it's culture.
Experiencing the City
Professor Neal Robinson, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan
3 credits
Using the city of Florence as an artifact and a laboratory, this course will examine basic concepts of architecture and urban morphology through a series of lectures, readings and on-site analyses. Specific topics addressed will include: "The Urban Morphology of Florence", "The City and the Palazzo, "The City and the Villa", "The City and the Piazza", "Brunelleschi's Dome", "Facade", "Landscape and Gardens of Florence", and "The Architecture of Michelangelo". The content of lectures will introduce non-architecture students to terms, topics, and representational methods necessary to analyze the built environment, and to provide background information for sites in Florence selected for further analysis. Weekly site visits to Florence will be organized in conjunction with the lecture topics and related themes to be explored and documented in more detail through written and image-based reports. Some basic representational techniques such a photography and drawing will be used to more deeply examine, analyze and document the urban and architectural context. While these on-site analyses will be used to compliment written reports, it should be noted that there is no prior knowledge of architecture, urbanism, drawing or photography required to take this course.
Wood Sculpture
Professor Dan Price, Residential College and School of Art and Design, University of Michigan
3 credits
This studio course will introduce the venerable tradition of woodcarving and fabrication to the beginning art student. We will learn the rudiments of three-dimensional design through a series of projects designed to familiarize students with the material, tools, and principles of working wood by hand. Nearby sites will offer a wealth of study-examples, while research field trips and atelier visits will enrich the course content considerably. Students can expect to complete the course with a solid understanding of: tool composition, maintenance and theory; basic material (wood) biology, characteristics, history and selection criteria; historic techniques and the creation of an individual approach to rigorous studiopractice; contemporary art strategies and theory in the context of historic and regional modes of production. Students will learn to analyze and critique their own work while gaining a deeper understanding of the sculptural art they see in Italy.
Cinema and Society
Professor Vincenzo Binetti, Department of Roman Languages and Literatures, University of Michigan
3 credits
An investigation of the main tendencies of Italian cinema from Neo-realism to the present focusing on issues of national identity, politics, gender and the dynamics between public and private spheres.
Italian Language (Elementary Level)
Professor Sandra Palaich, Department of Roman Languages and Literatures, University of Michigan
Professor Silvia Sammicheli, Florence Faculty
3 credits
Designed to provide a solid foundation in both spoken and written Italian, this intensive introduction permits comprehensive coverage of basic structures and vocabulary. Exclusive use of the language in dialogues and drills encourages development of linguistic awareness in a meaningful and dynamic context.
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