Study Abroad

italian-photos_abroad If possible, students in the minor should have a study experience in Florence, Rome, or elsewhere in Italy to gain a true understanding of Italian history and culture.  There are several ways of meeting this objective that count toward the minor:

  • Lafayette’s own month-long study-abroad course in Florence, offered every other summer, which permits students to complete the foreign-language requirement in the Common Course of Study and earns them one credit in the College’s general curriculum. In addition to language-instruction, it also features supplementary lectures on Florentine cultural history: history of music, history of literature, history of science, political history and history of political thought, history of neo-classical learning (the Renaissance recovery of Greek and Latin literature), and other such subject areas. The program also entails visits to leading museums and such architectural monuments as Florentine and Pisan churches. The instructors are not only Lafayette faculty members but also internationally-known scholars from the United States, France, and Italy. (The course title is listed under Minor Electives as INDS 105: Language and History: Renaissance Italy.)
  • the interim course in Rome offered by Professor Markus Dubischar;
  • the semester abroad program in Florence administered by Syracuse University, in which Lafayette participates (some courses may count toward the minor);
  • the semester abroad program in Rome administered by Temple University, in which Lafayette participates (some courses may count toward the minor);
  • various other study-abroad alternatives in Italy in which our students have previously enrolled, e.g. Cortona, Milan (some courses may count toward the minor).

The better experience is always the longer one, and students are encouraged to consider the possibility of spending an entire semester in either Florence or Rome.  Students should consult the director of international and off-campus education concerning their participation in this (and any other) study-abroad option.