Summer Institute in Rome

Ancient Rome’s contributions to civilization are legion. Among the most visible are the ideas and practices that continue to influence the political philosophy and civil and legal institutions of many nations, including the United States. This course seeks to understand the Roman conceptions of such things as statesmanship, law, citizenship, virtue, rhetoric, civil religion, and imperialism, through a close reading of primary sources written by those who shaped or later reflected upon Rome. Authors might include Cicero, Lucretius, Livy, Virgil, Tacitus, Marcus Aurelius, Plutarch, St. Augustine, Machiavelli, Shakespeare, Gibbon, and Publius.

This course can be taken as either a politics or a philosophy course, thus fulfilling either a social science or a philosophy core requirement. Three credits.

The course professor is Dr. Jerome Foss, associate professor of politics, Director of the Saint Vincent Center for Catholic Thought and Culture, Director of the SVC Summer Institute in Rome, and Fellow of the Center for Political and Economic Thought. Dr. Foss earned his B.A. from the University of Dallas and his M.A. and PhD from Baylor University. He has published several articles and two books: Flannery O'Connor and the Perils of Governing by Tenderness (Lexingtong, 2019) and Constitutional Democracy and Judicial Supremacy: John Rawls and the Transformation of American Politics (Cambria, 2016).

This class explores the city of Rome as the cradle of the Christian tradition in the visual arts. From the earliest paintings in the catacombs to the monumental installations of the Baroque, the Christian community in Rome engaged with the arts as a form of evangelization. While at first, art was strictly tied to theology, the Middle Ages saw art collaborate more closely with the imagination of the artist culminating in the glorious productions of the Renaissance and the Baroque. Through readings, site visits and classroom lectures, students will learn the history of Christian imagery in Rome, the techniques and methods for making art, the rudiments of iconography, and also explore the question of defining "Christian" Art. Site visits will include the Catacombs of Priscilla, the Sistine Chapel, St Peter's Basilica, St Mary Major, as well as a trip to Florence.

This course will fulfill students' fine arts requirement for the core. Three credits.

Dr. Elizabeth Lev is an American-born art historian who lives and studies art in Rome. She graduated from the University of Chicago in 1989 and earned her graduate degree from the University of Bologna in Northern Italy. She is the author of three books and has published numerous articles for First Things, Sacerdos, and Inside the Vatican magazines, the College Art Association, and Zenit News Agency.

The Italian scientist Galileo Galilei is called the father of modern science, for his numerous contributions to astronomy, physics, instrumentation, methodology, and the philosophy of science. He is a central character in the development of a dramatic new view of the universe that emerged in the 16th and 17th centuries. Galileo’s discoveries and opinions made him a celebrity, but he was also perceived as challenging long-established scientific and philosophical truths. Opposition to Galileo grew until he was finally put on trial by the Inquisition in 1633, for suspicion of spreading heresy with his scientific ideas.

What were Galileo’s discoveries? Why did his work draw both high praise and deep criticism? Why did a Pope who initially admired Galileo and his work eventually put his friend on trial for heresy?

What have been the scientific and religious repercussions of the Galileo affair for the past four centuries?

We will explore these questions in Italy, where Galileo spent his entire life. We will visit the most significant sites of the Galileo affair in Rome, all within easy reach from our classroom at Sant’Anselmo. We will also visit Florence, the city Galileo called home.