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Course Descriptions
Art 150 Drawing/Painting the Landscape (4 credits)
Professor Alison C. Hall
The focus of this course is on methods, materials, and techniques of pictorial organization from observation, memory, and Italian works of art, using painting and drawing mediums. Classes are held in plein air, weather permitting. Outdoor work will include Todi and the surrounding area. Various readings accompany studio sessions. We will explore ideas of cultural history, history of the landscape in art, and how landscapes are being transformed by the modern world. Final portfolio of personal work is required. Visits to museums in Florence, Rome, Assisi, and Orvieto are a part of class work. No prerequisite. Course will be taught on an individual level, taking into consideration each student’s experience and skill. May not be used towards art major requirements. Open to first-year students. Class contact: 4 hours a day for 22 days, (normally) Monday through Friday but schedules may change according to travel times). Total contact hours - 88.
Humanities 150 Italian Culture and Language (4 credits)
Professor Alison C. Hall
This course combines language study with social and cultural activities. Students acquire elementary language skills in structured classes taught by the Language Institute and will be able to communicate in Italian during practiced daily activities. Experiential activities in Italian include art restoration, tours of archeological sites within the Roman and medieval sections of Todi, participation in a contemporary artist’s workshop, and sharing the tasks of women in preparing an Italian family’s Sunday meal. Lectures and readings will support all activities. Final exam will be administered for language component. No prerequisite. Open to first-year students, this course does not satisfy general education requirements.
Class contact: Language instruction by the Language Institute of Todi, two hours three times per week for five weeks (30 contact hours) and experiential components: nine contact hours of Art Restoration, nine contact hours of Tours of Todi, nine contact hours of Inside the Artist’s Studio, nine contact hours of Italian Cuisine. These sessions will bring small groups of students into direct conversatonal experiences with members of the Todi community. Lectures and readings support all experiential activities. Groups may range from four to eight in size, depending on the number of students.
Supporting Activities for Humanities 150 Italian Culture and Language
Art Restoration
Instructor Enzo Zoccoli
Students meet with Enzo Zoccoli, a native of Todi, for a total of nine hours to restore paintings from the 1600 - 1800s. This component is hands-on inside a working bottega of restoration. Zoccoli’s family has been in the restoration business for than 100 years. Component is hands-on; translation of Italian to English by Professor Alison C. Hall. A lab fee is included in the cost for all materials. Contact hours - 9.
Tours of Todi
Tour Director Frederico Spiganti
Students explore the medieval, Etruscan, and Tuderti history of Todi with a native of Todi who undertakes major archeological digs, spelunking expeditions of the underground Roman water systems, and the cataloging of ancient fragments from pre-Christian churches in and around Todi. Students will see how this history affected the community of Todi and how it has shaped the present day community of this small hill town. Walking tours and hands-on activities with ancient artifacts are included. Component is hands-on; translation of guided tours provided by Professor Alison C. Hall. A lab fee is included in the cost. Contact hours - 9.
Raku/Ceramics/Inside the Artist’s Studio
Instructor Antonio Buonfiglio
Students will have the opportunity to make ceramic vessels with a working artist of Todi who has shown his work in Amsterdam, Germany, and Italy. He is a modern artist who has studied in Naples and Rome, and, like most classical artists in Italy who apprentice under masters, Antonio has been an artist assistant to Bruno Ceccobelli for over six years. Students will be introduced to the process of hand building ceramics and raku methods, a tour of Antonio’s working studio, and contemplating what it means to be a modern-day artist in a country rich in tradition. Component is hands-on. A lab fee is included in the cost. Contact hours - 9.
Italian Cuisine
Instructor Loretta Paolini
Students will enter into the home of Loretta Paolini, joining her in preparing a traditional Umbrian meal, traveling to the local market to buy ingredients, making pasta with rolling pins and recipes passed down through four generations, and, ultimated discussing the role that Italian women play in the modern Italian family. Component is hands-on; translation of Italian to English by Professor Alison C. Hall. A lab fee is included in the cost for all materials. Contact hours - 9.
Qualificiations of Faculty
A qualified Hollins faculty will teach the Art 550 Sp Topic course, translate, provide lectures and readings to accompany all experiential components, excluding the introduction to Italian language. The Language Institute of Todi will supply students with classrooms, language instruction, necessary language handouts, and housing. Alison C. Hall has an M.F.A. in painting from American University in Washington, D.C.. She has taught at Hollins in the M.A.L.S. program for three years, in the academic year 2006-07 she was sabbatical replacement for Bill White. Hall has been periodically living and working in Todi for the past five years. She currently teaches Italian at Roanoke College.
Housing
Housing is provided through the assistance of the Language Institute and consists of student-shared apartments located within historic Todi.
Program Fees
The total fee of $6,280 includes tuition, language instruction, supplemental activities, accommodations in student-shared apartments, trips to Orvieto, Assisi, Florence, Perugia, Arezzo; two overnight accommodations in Florence; and three-day trips to Rome. It does not include round-trip airfare, painting/drawing supplies, most meals, cell phones, and personal independent excursions.
Flights to Italy
Students are required to arrive at the Leonardo da Vinci Airport in Rome on the morning of June 2. The program director will be at the airport awaiting all students as they arrive.
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