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Summer Programs |
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Dante's Divina Commedia in Italy: July 6-18, 2008
Register today!Click here to register today! A Dante For All TimeDante is certainly the greatest of the Italian poets, and his lyric epic, the Divine Comedy, may be the greatest poem ever written. Too often people know only the first canticle of the poem, theInferno, but the Purgatorio and the Paradiso complete the vision. No reader should be left in hell! We will study the entire poem in English in two ways—first, through Socratic conversation in seminars on the poem on UD’s campus in the Italian countryside; second, through travel--in Rome and to Florence and Ravenna--to learn about the Italian culture he both inherited and reinvented. We will study the ancient Roman and medieval Christian traditions he inherited, and the Italian Renaissance impossible without him; finally we will turn to a modern Italy, Europe and America unable to leave him behind. A Dante For All Readers
We have crafted this experience especially for teachers for professional development and other adults from all walks of life seriously interested in informed study and travel. In past years lawyers, businesspeople, artists, doctors and more have traveled with UD summer programs. We offer three hours of master’s credit for completing the course. We also provide an online component of the class in which participants can consult with the professors, pursue research, and post papers afterwards to share and learn as a group. A Dante of All Subjects
Because Dante was a poet, we will study Dante primarily as a literary artist; because he was so learned in so many fields, we will study the science, history, art, politics, philosophy, and theology needed to understand his literary art. Whether in the text or on the road, we’ll use Italy to understand Dante, Dante to understand Italy, and both to understand ourselves. The Sights and Sounds of An Amazing Life
You will see Rome, a city important to Dante because it figured the ancient and Catholic worlds: Rome was to him both the city of Virgil and Cicero and the city of St. Peter and St. Paul. We will visit the Forum and the Colosseum, St. John Lateran and St. Peter’s Basilica. Yet Dante is important to the city, as well, especially the renaissance artistic traditions we will see in the Vatican and Borghese museums. 
You will see Florence, Dante’s birth city, the city where he was baptized, educated and married; the city where he met Beatrice; and the city that exiled him. See the Baptistry, his reputed home, and the museums of the Florentine renaissance that give us Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise, Fra Angelico’s frescoes, Michelangelo’s David, and Botticelli’s paintings. As well, we will visit Ravenna, the most important of the cities that adopted Dante during his exile, where he wrote much of the poem. Dynamic Teachers, Superb Staff
Our professors, instructors and staff are building on more than 35 years of University of Dallas experience in Italy. UD has been leading its sophomores to Rome since 1970, and has been hosting summer programs for adults since the 1980's. We have a wealth of experience in leading students and adults to live and study there. Our superb scholars are teachers, guides and, in some cases, residents of Italy. We know how to get around, what to avoid, and how to make your experience rich, fruitful and fun! The directors are Dr. Gregory Roper and Dr. Scott Crider. Dr. Roper, associate professor of English, has wide interests from medieval literature to modern poetry. He lived and taught on the Rome Campus from 2003 to 2005, and has returned to do so again in 2007. Dr. Crider, associate professor of English, is a Shakespearean with interests in the ancient origins and modern consequences of renaissance culture. He lived and taught on the Rome Campus from 1998-2000. Both have published books on writing—Dr. Roper’s The Writer’s Workshop and Dr. Crider’s The Office of Assertion are classically rhetorical treatments of the art of composition—and both are committed to the art and life of teaching. You can read a brief interview with Dr. Roper about his book here. Study, Tour, Discussions of Pedagogy
The advantage this program offers is the integration of classroom study, on-site visits and lectures, and intense discussions with your professors and one another about issues that arise in teaching the poem to our students. We aim to create a collegial atmosphere where all can learn, all can contribute, and all can teach one another out of our experience and expertise, whether teachers, lawyers or any other walk of life. Beauty and Relaxation on Campus
No noisy city setting here. The University’s ten-acre Eugene Constantin Campus rests in the beautiful foothills just off the Via Appia southeast of Rome, where ancient Rome got its start and where Romans and popes take their summer rest. . Take a walk in the kiwi grove, kick around a soccer ball, eat fresh Italian food in our mensa, take a dip in the pool, work out in the exercise room, or just sit in the pergola above the working vineyard. You’ll find it come paradiso—like paradise—on the grounds of this beautiful former villa. The Fine Print
The price of the program is $3475 (excludes air). The price includes all land travel, tuition (or non-credit course fee), and entrance fees. We will have several room arrangement options available as well. We are making arrangements for an optional group flight. We will send a flight form to all registrants as soon as the group flight information becomes available. For More informationIf you would like more information about our Summer 2008 program, please click here to complete a brief electronic inquiry form, or contact: S2.10
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