Liberal Studies Abroad Italy 2014 Course Outline LBST 290/390; LBST 291/322; LBST 292/323 These courses are offered on a cost-recovery basis during Intersession. Preparatory sessions in Nanaimo and Toronto are followed by a month-long trip to Florence for intensive study. In the two months following, students complete assignments under faculty supervision. Each course, as paired above, may be taken at the second- or third-year level. The performance demands for the upper-level courses are greater than those at the lower level. The programme ranges over the art, architecture, literature, music, science and history of the Italian Renaissance. The division of topics among the courses is explained in the chart below. Instruction is primarily seminar-based, with lectures, art studios and other activities included. In Florence, there are a number of visits to concerts, museums, galleries and other artistic and cultural sites, and short trips to Siena, Assisi, Padua and Venice. Introductory and Preparatory Sessions Nanaimo Campus Building 355 Rooms 107, 211 & 203 Saturday March 8: 10 am to 3 pm. Monday May 5: 10 am to 4 pm. Wednesday May 7: 10 am to 4 pm. Friday May 9: 10 am to 4 pm. Ryerson University Jorgenson Hall Philosophy Boardroom Saturday March 1: 10 am to 3 pm. Early May: to be announced. For details log on to our Desire 2 Learn site: https://d2l.viu.ca/ Professors and Staff Three faculty members from VIU are responsible for delivering the courses and evaluating students: David Livingstone (the teaching-team leader), Maureen Okun and John Black, all of whom have taught the Italy programme often before. There will also be a guest lecture from Bettina Schindler, of the Bargello Museum. Field Manager Libby McGrattan will be responsible for logistics, travel and accommodation. Connie Kovalenka will lead certain activities for companions. Address of our Classrooms in Florence EuroCentres, Piazza Santo Spirito, 9 50125 Firenze (Italy) Tel. +39 055 213030 1
COURSES: LBST 290/390 LBST 291/322 LBST 292/323 Area Course- Specific Study Materials General Study Materials Course- Specific Evaluation General Evaluation Art, Architecture & Politics Leon Battista Alberti: On Painting Niccolò Machiavelli: The Prince Spiro Kostof: from A History of Architecture Art, Religion & Science Clare of Assisi and Isotta Nogarola: Selections Alfred Bennick: And Yet It Moves! Galileo Galilei: Letter to the Grand-Duchess Christina Art, Literature & Humanism Dante Alighieri: Inferno Giovanni Boccaccio: from The Decameron Italian Poetry, Laura Cereta & Cassandra Fedele: Selections Margaret Aston: from The Panorama of the Renaissance William Fleming: from Art and Ideas Betty Edwards: from The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain A. Richard Turner: Renaissance Florence : The Invention of a New Art Architecture Project Art Project Final Examination Essay 1 and Outline Essay 2 and Outline Research Art Assignment Portfolio Participation, including Seminar Notes Essay 3 and Outline Course Texts and Booklets [See Reading Schedule Below] A. Richard Turner: Renaissance Florence: The Invention of a New Art (Prentice Hall) Dante Alighieri: Divine Comedy, Volume 1: Inferno (Penguin Classics) Leon Battista Alberti: On Painting (Penguin Classics) Niccolò Machiavelli: The Prince (University of Chicago Press) Art and Architecture Margaret Aston: The Panorama of the Renaissance (extracts) Betty Edwards: The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain (extracts) Spiro Kostof: A History of Architecture, Chapters 16 and 17 Art, Religion & Science St. Clare of Assisi: selected readings Isotta Nogarola: Of the Equal or Unequal Sin of Adam and Eve Alfred Bennick: And Yet It Moves! (extract) Galileo Galilei: Letter to the Grand-Duchess Christina Art, Literature & Humanism Selections of Italian Poetry Cassandra Fedele: Oration in Praise of Letters Laura Cereta: selected letters Giovanni Boccaccio: The Decameron (extracts) William Fleming: Florentine Renaissance Style, from Art and Ideas 2
Materials and Supplies Required In preparation for each sketching class and for the architecture assignment, please bring to Florence pencils, erasers, a small sketchpad and any other materials you may wish to use for drawing (e.g. charcoal, pastel crayons). Bring also an 8½ x 11 pad of paper on which to write assignments and the final exam in Italy. Assignments and Evaluation Except for those which can be submitted via Desire 2 Learn (D2L), or are too bulky to mail, assignments should be submitted by mail to Liberal Studies Abroad c/o John Black, Dean of Social Sciences, Building 356, office 312, Vancouver Island University, 900 Fifth Street, Nanaimo, BC V9R 5S5. The various due dates are specified below. After returning to Canada, you are encouraged to consult David or Maureen on the work you are doing on the assignments; their e-mail addresses are david.livingstone@viu.ca and maureen.okun@viu.ca. Upper-Level Students The requirements for upper-level students are more demanding than those for lower-level students. For the essays, lower-level students must write 1000 words, upper-level students 1500. Upper-level students will be expected to display greater depth and quality in all components of evaluation. Overview of Common Assignments The portfolio counts for 15% in each course, and is due on June 30/2014. Participation and seminar notes count for 25% and 5% respectively in each course. Research Art Assignment Prior to our departure you will be given a topic to research. For this assignment, you will be given one of the religious topics in the list below. Familiarize yourself with the topic or the event. Then find two works of Italian Renaissance art (from 1300 to 1600 CE) depicting your subject, and write a two-page report comparing these pieces. You will likely find that the artists have taken different approaches to the same subject matter. For instance, what does each work of art emphasise about the subject? What constitutes this emphasis: Composition? Colour? Setting? Style? Arrangement? What interpretation of the subject does each artist offer? How closely does each artist follow the original source? Have elements or characters been added? Have any been left out? Why do you think the artist made those choices? On the first page of your assignment, include small reproductions of the two artworks and list the artist (if known) and date of each, followed by a 50-100 word description of your subject. Most of the topics are biblical narratives. All of the subjects are common themes in the art of the time period; you should have no trouble finding the information you need from Web sources such as Wikipedia. Keep your research focus on biblical and religious subjects and Renaissance art; if your search turns up, for example, the poem The Journey of the Magi by the modernist poet T.S. Eliot, ignore that and keep looking. To help remind you of what to look for in works of art, refer to Lisa MacLean s How to Analyse Visual Art: Some Questions to Ask in the Learning Aids section of the D2L site. 3
Your research assignment is due no later than our first day of class in Florence, May 15, 2014 (no exceptions!). Please do not exceed two pages in length. The research assignment is worth 5% of your grade in all three courses. Portfolio Assignment Much of the learning in the abroad courses occurs outside of the classroom: during visits to museums, art galleries, churches, and other towns and cities. Even an afternoon stroll to your favourite gelato shop will lead you past medieval and renaissance architecture and art in situ. For this assignment we are asking you to gather these experiences together and to synthesize them in a portfolio that contains notes, images, and thoughtful consideration of the material you learn throughout the course inside and outside the classroom. The portfolio can (and should) include your own photos, sketches, and illustrations; however, the images must be original and not simply copied from an internet site. Occasionally postcards purchased in Italy can be used for images of paintings in churches when taking photographs is impossible or not permitted. The portfolio must also contain written reflections on your daily course-related experiences, including what connection the art or architecture or event you are commenting on that day has to the other course materials and themes. For example, in your tour of the Uffizi Gallery you may perceive a stylistic change from one period of painting to another. Later in the month you might wonder whether this change is or is not echoed in Alberti s book On Painting. The notes you generate each day may be brief. We are not asking you for a series of essays. One way of getting into the right frame of mind (but not the only way to approach the assignment) is to consider yourself as a potential travel writer collecting notes and observations that will one day form the basis of a book on Florence and the Italian Renaissance. Your audience will be interested in what they can learn about the Renaissance when they tour Florence. What would you choose to highlight, and how would you explain the significance of the things they will see there? The focus, please note, should be on the intellectual and cultural components of your experiences, not on the personal or simply touristic aspects. You might want to buy a nice book for use as a portfolio: it will then serve you better as a permanent record. This assignment will be worth 15% towards the grade in each of the courses you are taking. It is due on June 30/2014. Participation and Seminar Notes Participation in seminars and other activities counts for 25% and seminar notes for 5% of each of the courses you are taking. In assigning marks, the professors will give most emphasis to the quantity and quality of your participation in seminar discussion, but will also take into account your contributions to other classes and activities, and to the educational experience of the group as a whole. For advice on how to participate in seminars, please consult Participating in Seminars in the Learning Aids section of the Desire 2 Learn site. 4
For each seminar, beginning with the three pre-departure seminars on the Gospel of Luke and Dante s Inferno, you must write out and hand in a question about an aspect of the seminar topic which you think would be interesting to discuss in the seminar. Briefly elaborate your question: why do you think it might help the group to understand the work or the passage? Your note should be in the range of 100 150 words. To gain credit the question must be a serious one about the material, one which demonstrates that you have examined the material carefully. See Seminar Note Guidelines and Tips in the Learning Aids section of the Desire 2 Learn site. Overview of Course-Specific Assignments LBST 290/390: Essay 1 and Outline: 35% Architecture Project: 15% LBST 291/322: Essay 2 and Outline: 35% Art Project: 15% LBST 292/323: Essay 3 and Outline: 35% Final Examination: 15% The final examination is scheduled for the last week of our stay in Florence. Essays are due by July 14/2014, Art and Architecture Projects by August 04/2014. Essays and Essay Outlines You must write one essay for each course. The essay topics are given below. For students in the second-year courses, each essay should be approximately 1000 words long; for those in the third-year courses each essay should be about 1500 words long. The essays are due by July 14/2014, and each is worth 30% of your grade in the relevant course. Please consult the Liberal Studies Department Essay Grading Guidelines available on the Liberal Studies webpage and also available on the D2L site. Outlines: While in Florence (and by June 12 /2014) you must also prepare and submit tentative outlines of the essays you propose to write: each outline is worth 5% of your grade in the relevant course. The outline should explain which question you are answering, the proposed thesis of your paper and (briefly) your argument for it. (In writing the paper you may deviate from the outline if you change your mind about these elements.) There is no word-limit, but one page should suffice. Outlines may be submitted on paper or through the Desire 2 Learn site. These essays should be examples of argumentative writing: that is, you must adopt a thesis, an answer to the question posed that takes a point of view about the text or about an issue it raises, and defend that point of view with reasoned argument and evidence drawn from the text(s) you are studying. This requires you to justify your interpretations and evaluations of the text or material which forms your topic, to argue against alternative interpretations and judgments where these are likely to arise, and to speak with your own voice, not that of other critics. Your essays should not be primarily research essays, and definitely not mere summaries of the views of others. At the same time, it is legitimate to introduce the views of other writers if doing so would help illuminate your own point of view. When you do make such an appeal, you should always specify the source to which you are referring. Plagiarism (using outside sources without acknowledgment) is prohibited by VIU's Student Academic Code of Conduct, and may result in a mark of zero, a failing grade for the course, or worse. 5
For advice on essays, and a brief explanation of grading standards and policies on plagiarism, please consult Tips on Writing Argumentative Essays and Essay Grading Guidelines for Liberal Studies Courses in the Learning Aids section of the Desire 2 Learn site. LBST 290/390 (Art, Architecture & Politics) Choose one of the following topics: AAP1) In your view, does the introduction of linear perspective constitute an advance toward objectivity in painting, or merely the selection of a different subjective means of representation? AAP2) "Beauty is a form of sympathy and consonance of the parts within a body, according to definite number, outline and position, as dictated by concinnitas, the absolute and fundamental rule of Nature." (On Painting, Introduction, p. 8) To what extent, if any, does On Painting offer practical guidance on how to produce beauty in this particular sense? AAP3) Explain Alberti's views, as expressed in his dedication to Brunelleschi (On Painting, pp. 34-5), on the relationship of the artist to the past. How do these views reflect on the opinion of some art historians that the Renaissance is nothing but an attempt to reproduce the art of antiquity? With reference to Renaissance art encountered during the programme, evaluate Alberti's views on this issue. AAP4) From the architects whose work you have seen in Florence, select the one whose work, in your opinion, most clearly articulates the spirit of classicism. How, why, and to what effect does this architect use classical forms in his or her work? AAP5) By reference to buildings encountered during the course, compare the mediaeval and Renaissance periods in terms of how their architecture expresses the social, political, or intellectual preoccupations of their time. AAP6) Renaissance architecture is politics written in stone. Drawing for illustration upon your experiences of architecture and politics during the course, explain whether or not, in your view, this claim captures an important truth. AAP7) Discuss the significance of one of the following in Machiavelli's The Prince: a. the metaphor of the lion and the fox; b. the concept of fortune; c. the discussion on promise keeping and promise breaking d. the ruler's attitude to cruelty and mercy. AAP8) Explain and evaluate the conception and significance of "glory" in Machiavelli's The Prince. AAP9) The quality most admired in Renaissance times was virtù (the word comes closer in the modern sense to virtuoso than virtuous )... With virtù, Renaissance artists could no longer be satisfied with a single speciality but sought to become universal in ability (William Fleming: Art and Ideas, p. 215). Select an individual artist or political figure of the Italian Renaissance who, in your opinion, most completely fulfils this desire, and show, through an analysis of his/her work or life, how and why he or she does so. 6
LBST 291/322 (Art, Religion & Science) Choose one of the following topics: ARS1) In what ways or ways is a life lived according to The Rule of Saint Clare a life worth living? What especially valuable characteristics would it have? (In answering this question, please confine your attention to the characteristics of the life as it is lived on earth, ignoring any possibility of an afterlife.) ARS2) Choose one of the sections in the debate between Isotta Nogarola and Ludovico Foscarini in which the writers discuss a specific passage of Genesis. Which of the two writers presents the better argument and why? Analyse the original passage in question (from Genesis). Is there evidence the debaters missed (or added), or is there anything they could have added to strengthen their case? ARS3) The real message of the Christian art of the painters of the Italian Renaissance is not the religious message itself, but the realisation that the religious subjects portrayed have meaning in human terms. Discuss and evaluate this claim with reference to works encountered during the programme. ARS4) Choose one of the works of art we have encountered in our studies, and write a close analysis of how its formal characteristics (e.g. the arrangement of the things it depicts; the use of colour, line and shape; the mode of representation of space; the style of brushwork) help to create its dominant impression. ARS5) Explain and evaluate Galileo's attempt to show that the Copernican System is not inconsistent with the biblical account described in the Bible (Joshua 10:13). ARS6) Comment on the plausibility or otherwise of Galileo s position, expressed in the Letter to the Grand-Duchess Christina, on the relation between science and scripture. ARS7) To what extent can you use the Letter to the Grand-Duchess Christina to support the claim that Galileo can be correctly described as a scientific naturalist? ARS8) From the artists whose work you have seen in Italy, select the one whose work, in your opinion, most clearly articulates the spirit of scientific naturalism (see William Fleming). How, why and to what effect does this artist use scientific naturalism in his or her work? LBST 292/323 (Art, Literature & Humanism) Choose one of the following topics: ALH1) Why does Dante place the Virtuous Pagans where he does? Is this placement just? ALH2) Analyze the description Dante gives of Satan and his imprisonment in the frozen lake. What are we to learn about the nature of sin from this description? ALH3) Dante presents a ranking of failures of moral virtue. Why, according to this ranking, are the sins of malice and fraud more severely punished than those of sensual appetite? 7
ALH4) Who is Virgil, and why is he an appropriate guide for Dante the Pilgrim? ALH5) From our poetry selections, choose two or three of the love poems, and write a close analysis of the ways in which each uses nature imagery. How does this imagery help to shape the message of each poem? ALH6) From our poetry selections, choose two or three of poems of praise, and, in a close analysis, compare the means by which each poem attempts to convince us of the exceptionality of its subject. ALH7) Several of the poems in our collection present to the readers something unexpected, such as an unconventional attitude towards the poem's subject, or some twist away from what the poem has led us to anticipate. Choose two or three such poems, and, in a close analysis, explain how the unexpected in each poem helps to shape its message. ALH8) Discuss the significance of lies and trickery in Boccaccio s Decameron. ALH9) Illustrating your answer with references to a number of the Decameron stories, explain whether you read Boccaccio (i) as promoting a relatively amoral approach to life, or (ii) as satirising the latter approach with serious moral intent. ALH10) Drawing upon works you have read, seen or heard in Italy, explain and evaluate the claim that the Renaissance constituted in part a revival of interest in classical humanism. ALH11) Is the defence of Liberal Education provided by Cassandra Fedele relevant only to her time? ALH12) Comment on Laura Cereta s criticism of the weaknesses of women; what does this criticism suggest about Cereta s place in what we now think of as Renaissance humanism? Architecture Project (LBST 290/390) Introduction Architecture may be defined as the art of arranging and manipulating space to fulfil a certain sort of function. Space is a relationship among things, not a thing itself; nor can it be reduced to a collection of things, or treated as a container in which things are collected. Because we focus on the things inside a space, we often fail to notice the space itself. Architecture, however, asks us to confront space, to experience it in a way that combines both attention to function and sensitivity to artistic expression. Buildings, of course, are made to be used for living, working, learning and many other human activities. The function of a building is part of, and reveals, the building s subject-matter, but it does not exhaust it. Architecture expresses ideas and values other than the merely functional: these ideas and values may be aesthetic, ethical, political, and of other kinds. The common assumptions of the architect s society and culture are always relevant: whether they adopt a critical or a reverential attitude towards them, architects must deal in one way or another with the public values of their society. Part of understanding a building, then, is grasping what ideas and values it embodies and expresses to those who encounter it. 8
In the transition between the mediaeval and Renaissance periods, architectural taste went through a number of interrelated changes, many of which are exemplified in the buildings still standing in Florence. One change was a shift of emphasis from purely interior decoration, with a forbidding exterior appearance, to the exterior display of wealth and artistic sensibility. Another was the incorporation of Classical Greek stylistic elements into an approach that was primarily derived from late Roman architecture (although this too already had its Greek roots). Of special interest are the similarities and differences between domestic, ecclesiastical and other public buildings, and the ways in which these changed over time. This assignment involves selecting one of the buildings you visit in Florence as a focus of study. There is a restriction on the time-period of the building: it should be either mediaeval or Renaissance, although buildings of that period that have been remodelled more recently may be considered. You will be asked to answer various questions about the building, based upon your interaction with it, and to provide graphic illustrations of some of its features. In answering the questions below, be sure to support all of your impressions and observations with specific references to relevant details of your building. Remember, too, that several of the readings we are asking you to do may supply some insights into architecture that you may wish to draw on for this project. If you use such source material, be sure to document it. You will be asked to provide graphic illustrations of some of your building's features. The illustrations may be in any medium: photography and sketching with pencil or charcoal are probably the easiest, and part of the assignment (B) calls specifically for a sketch. You should make sure you carry the necessary supplies with you on the visit. The assignment may be completed after returning to Canada, on the basis of the notes and illustrations you make on-site. It is due by August 04/2014, and is worth 15% of the grade for LBST 290/390. Instructions A. Carefully observe the building or structure from the outside. Keeping in mind the fact that architecture articulates social values, answer the following: 1. What is/was the building s function? Is it possible to discern the function from the building s exterior? If so, on the basis of what features? 2. What cultural or social values are projected by the exterior of the building? 3. What are the materials of which the building is made? Why do you think they were chosen? How do they articulate the building s subject-matter? 4. During what historical period was the building constructed? Does it hark back to earlier times? 5. What kind of presence does the building have? How does it relate to the surrounding space: does it dominate, meld in, contrast? 6. How do you respond to the building, and why? 9
B. Make a sketch of the building s exterior. Don t worry about getting all of the details, or getting them perfectly right. Reduce the exterior view to its geometrical components: rectangles, squares, circles, semicircles, triangles. C. Make a sketch or photograph of an interesting detail of the exterior: a door-handle, window-frame, panel, cornerstone, statue, or whatever. D. Enter the building, and spend some time sitting in it and walking around the interior space. 1. Do you find the entrance inviting? 2. How is the inner space organized? Is there a single focal point, or many? If so, what is it/are they? How do the focal points relate to the function of the building? 3. Is the inner space unified or disjointed? What choices did the architect make to produce this effect? Does it harmonize or contrast with the exterior? 4. What materials are used inside the building, and to what effect? 5. How does the inner space make you feel? What elements inside are the most striking? E. As one contemporary architecture critic argues, A feeling of beauty is a sign that we have come across a material articulation of our ideas of the good life (Alain de Botton). What ideas does your building communicate? Make a sketch or photograph of an interior element or detail, and explain the purpose it serves in the building as a whole. 1. Is the building beautiful? What makes it so? 2. What cultural, social and or religious ideas are projected by the building? How can you tell? Art Project (LBST 291/322): Reimagining the Renaissance: A Conversation with History This art project asks you to create an original piece in some art-medium, as follows: 1. Select one thing an image, a place, a theme, an idea, an episode from a narrative that you have encountered during these courses. It might be something you found to be the most interesting, valuable, beautiful, striking, and/or intriguing. It should be something which, when properly understood, is vital to an understanding of the Italian Renaissance. 2. Create an original art piece that interprets and conveys that understanding. The piece may take any appropriate visual form: two-dimensional, three-dimensional or some combination thereof; painting, sculpture, mixed media, collage; found objects or attachments, assemblage; large, medium or small; mobile or stationary (but not a computer generated photo-montage, please). It may be made from anything you think works to convey your ideas. 4. Title your piece. 10
5. Explain your piece. Include a typewritten account of the project (approximately 500 words) that explains the aesthetic choices you made and how they help to convey the subject matter. Why did you create it in this particular way? 6. Deliver your piece, including the account and other documentation described above, to the Liberal Studies Department at Vancouver Island University by August 04/2014. This art project is worth 15% of your grade in LBST 291/322. Do not be concerned if you feel that you lack artistic talent: first, you are probably wrong about this, and perhaps have all sorts of talents that you have not yet tapped; second, the range of media and techniques is very wide, so that you should be able to find some form of expression that you are able to manipulate freely; third, what are most important are the ideas you express through your piece. Final Examination (LBST 292/323) A final examination is scheduled for June 12/2014. It will consist of a series of short-answer questions based on the content of the courses, including the site visits in Florence and other cities. It is important to pay attention during these activities, and to retain as much as possible of what is discussed. Please bring a pad of 8½ x 11 paper to the exam: paper will not be provided. The examination will be worth 15% towards your grade in LBST 292/323. Reading Schedule A. Richard Turner, Renaissance Florence : The Invention of a New Art: this book contains an excellent overview of the art, architecture and social conditions of Renaissance Florence. You should read it through before AND during the month in Florence. Some extracts are assigned for our classes and tours in what follows; you might also re-read the following chapters before visiting or re-visiting, with the group or on your own time, the following sites: Chapter Three: The church of Orsanmichele (May 26) Chapter Four: Duomo (cathedral: May 20), S. Spirito (May 27), S. Maria Novella (May 28) Chapter Six: The monastery of San Marco, the Museo Nazionale Chapter Seven: Santa Trinità, the Accademia gallery For May 5 The Gospel of Luke Betty Edwards: The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Ch. 6, pp. 88-95 (AAP Readings) Margaret Aston: The Panorama of the Renaissance (AAP Readings) For May 7 Dante Alighieri: Inferno For May 9 A. Richard Turner: Renaissance Florence : The Invention of a New Art Introduction William Fleming: Florentine Renaissance Style, from Art and Ideas (ALH Readings) 11
For May 19 Extracts from Women Writers St. Clare of Assisi, Isotta Nogarola, Cassandra Fedele, and Laura Cereta: (ARS and ALH Readings) Betty Edwards Right Side of the Brain, Ch. 7, pp. 116-123 (AAP Readings) For May 20 A. Richard Turner: Renaissance Florence Chapter One, Chapter Two (pp. 40-41 only) and Chapter Seven For May 21 Spiro Kostof: A History of Architecture, Chapter 16 (AAP Readings) For May 22 Giovanni Boccaccio: The Decameron: Selections (ALH Readings) For May 26 A. Richard Turner: Renaissance Florence Chapter Three Poetry Selections (ALH Readings) For May 27 Spiro Kostof: A History of Architecture, Chapter 17 (AAP Readings) A. Richard Turner: Renaissance Florence Ch. 2, pp. 42 45; Ch. 4. For May 28 A. Richard Turner: Renaissance Florence Ch. 5. For May 29 Leon Battista Alberti: On Painting Betty Edwards: Right Side of the Brain, Ch. 8, pp. 138-151 (AAP Readings) For June 5 Niccolò Machiavelli: The Prince For June 9 A. Richard Turner: Renaissance Florence - Chapter 6 Alfred Bennick: extract from And Yet It Moves! (ARS Readings) Galileo Galilei: Letter to the Grand-Duchess Christina (ARS Readings) For June 11 A. Richard Turner: Renaissance Florence Chapter Two (pp. 34-40 only) 12
Reminder While we naturally expect you all to have lots of fun in Florence, we ask you to note that the standards of evaluation in these courses will be the same as for all Liberal Studies courses. You will be expected to keep up with the reading, participate fully in seminar, produce thoughtful papers and projects, and hand in your work on time. We recommend that you set aside a definite period of time each day for reading, writing in your portfolio, and making notes for the assignments you will complete on your return. Emergencies If you encounter any problems whatsoever (academic, legal or personal) while in Italy, please contact one of the faculty or staff at their apartments, or by phone: Libby McGrattan: 377 703 9700 John Black: 377 703 8889 David Livingstone: 377 703 8812 Maureen Okun: 377 703 8885 Connie Kovalenka: 377 703 8698 In the case of dire emergency only: if you cannot contact one of the above, please call our adjunct Bettina Schindler at 335 743 3394. Police station for foreigners: 49771. Emergency Services: 113. VIU Emergency Contacts: Audrey Hansen (Education Abroad Co-ordinator): (250) 740-6312 or Graham Pike (Dean, International Education): (250) 740-6311. VIU also has a 24hr answering service for calls made outside the working day: (250) 740-6600. For all emergency calls, provide a way by which you can be contacted in return. To call Canada from a landline in Italy, dial 001 before the area code. Canadian Embassy in Rome (Consular Services): 06-85444.2911. Canada Emergency Line (Ottawa): +1 (613) 996-8885 (call collect). Schedule of Activities The schedule for our activities in Italy, specifying the topic for each session, is on the Desire 2 Learn site. All seminars are marked in the schedule by the material or topic to be discussed. Please make sure that you have read the material to be covered in each class and bring it to the class itself. Some material is assigned to be read before a site-visit please be sure to complete that reading too, though there is no need to bring it along. There will also be classes in drawing while we are in Florence: bring the drawing supplies with you. 13