NEH Summer Institute for College and University teachers
– summer 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The Legacy of Ancient Italy: The Etruscan and Early Roman City”

The Community College Humanities Association, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, will sponsor a three-week summer institute, "The Legacy of Ancient Italy, the Etruscan and Early Roman City” with a total attendance of 24 college and university faculty in Italy. The three-week institute will be conducted June 5-June 25, 2012.  

While the literary and historical evidence for Greece and Rome is relatively abundant, the Etruscans are known mainly from archaeological remains and material culture, much of which is funerary in nature. The Etruscans had a profound influence on Rome, and part of their legacy is that they were the first urban culture of central and northern Italy. In fact, many of the major Etruscan cities, beautifully situated on dominant plateaus, are still flourishing today. . At the heart of the Institute will be an examination of the ways that art, architecture, and material culture are used to illuminate the social and cultural landscapes of ancient Italy. Through the study of groups of objects and archaeological sites, we will address specific issues of cultural identity, status, gender, belief system, spatial hierarchy, and political and economic dominance and decline. Central to our approach will be a critical examination of current research trends.

Because the primary evidence for the Etruscans is archaeological (actual sites and material culture), this Institute places particular emphasis on site and museum visits. As an NEH Summer Scholar you will have the opportunity to visit Etruscan archaeological excavations, sites, and collections not normally open to the public. These places are in fact become our “classroom,” and the program has an active schedule of museum trips and site visits. Readings on Etruscan urbanization, identity, and cultural interaction by the scholars that are shaping the discipline, as well as by those that have provided the traditional interpretations will provide a theoretical and historical anchor to the sites and objects under study.  Readings will primarily be in English, but since the broader bibliography in this area is in other languages: Italian, French, and German, the ability to read one of these languages will be helpful.

College and university faculty and approved graduate students will have the opportunity to experience first-hand excavated Etruscan sites, many not normally open to the public, and to research in archives and museum holdings throughout northern Italy as they develop curriculum that can be included in courses in a multitude of disciplines.

 

ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

Participants will be chosen through a nationally competitive process following the National Endowment for the Humanities guidelines. The application process will include: completion of the NEH online cover sheet, submission of a detailed resume and a letter of recommendation from the department head of your teaching institution. Perhaps the most important part of the completed application is an essay of up to four pages doubled spaced page. This essay should include information about your professional background and interest in the topic of this institute.

Please discuss your special perspectives, skills or experiences that would contribute to the institute and how the experience would enhance your teaching or research. Your completed application (3 copies) should be post marked no later than March 1, 2012, and should be addressed to:

David A. Berry, Project Manager, “Ancient Italy” Institute
Community College Humanities Association
Essex County College
303 University Avenue
Newark, NJ 07102-1798

The selection committee will include faculty and staff from the Community College Humanities Association (CCHA), Southern Methodist University, and colleges of the DCCCD and will review all applications to ensure a qualified, diverse group of participants.

NEH awards stipends to its Summer Scholars in the amount of $2,700 for three-week Summer Institutes. However, since "The Legacy of Ancient Italy" Summer Institute involves housing at multiple sites within a limited time frame, all housing, internal travel, site-visit costs for all scheduled activities, and some pre-arranged meals in Italy must be booked in advance. For this reason the stipend monies are pooled to cover necessary costs paid in advance directly by CCHA (per person costs for this Institute are $2,275).  This means that participants will be asked to release a large allocation of their stipend to cover these costs.  In addition, they will be responsible for other meals and personal expenses (estimated at between $30 to $50 per day for the duration of the project), as well as travel to and from Italy.  The stipend amount that will be paid to help to cover these costs is $425.00.  Selected NEH Summer Scholars might expect airfares from NYC to Rome to cost between $1500 and $2100 depending on airfare rates in the first week of April 2012.  Hence out-of-pocket expenses for the Summer Institute might exceed an estimated $1,700.  Yet the Summer Institute offers an unparalleled research and study opportunity.  Many previous NEH Summer Scholars have called NEH Summer Institutes "life and career transforming."  We invite you to join us in Orvieto, Italy!

 
At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will receive written certification of their attendance and participation in all sessions.
The major professor and co-director of this institute is Dr. P. Gregory Warden, University Distinguished Professor of Art History at Southern Methodist University and Principal Investigator and founding Director of the Mugello Valley Archaeological Project, Dallas, Texas. He will be assisted by scholars who are undertaking cutting-edge research in the study of the Etruscans and ancient Italy. They will be on site for lectures and to help participants with their research. Institute co- director Dr. Carole Lester and institute associate Marsha Anderson will facilitate activities, local arrangements, and support research efforts.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For more information visit the Institute website www.legacyofancientitaly.net or the CCHA website www.ccha-assoc.org.
If you have additional questions, please contact:  Project Co-Directors: Dr. Greg Warden, gwarden@mail.smu.edu 214-768-4068 or
Dr. Carole Lester, clester@dcccd.edu 214-450-9170.

Programs funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age.

Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.