A day-by-day tentative schedule of all classes and activities planned for the four-week Institute is also attached. calendar at a glance

Usually morning time will be dedicated to classroom lectures, discussions, and related activities, while most afternoons will be spent visiting historical sites, monuments, and museums under the guidance of expert art historians. In general, weekends will be yours to spend as you please, while for one or two a special activity may be planned.

During the NEH Institute you will have free time to take in on your own Italy’s many beautiful artistic treasures, to visit special museums of your choice, or to go to the National Library or the University of Rome library to do some research for your specific projects. However, we expect that your four weeks will be dedicated to an intensive study of Italian art, to learning and applying the principles of content-based instruction, and to immersing yourselves fully in the Italian language and culture. During three evenings of each week, from 5:30pm to 6:30pm, time will be set aside for interested participants to meet with a tutor for an Italian language review.

The NEH Institute Faculty

The NEH Institute Faculty consists of a group of well-published, independent scholars and university professors with a proven record of excellence in teaching both in Italian and American institutions.

The art historians and modern history specialists include the following: Professor Elizabeth Yawn, American University of Rome and John Cabot College, who specializes in the art and history of Rome and in Italian ancient and contemporary architecture; and Professor Valentino Sani and Dr. Pamela Volpi, formerly from the University of Rome-Tor Vergata, who will team-teach the relationship between art and modern Italian history from the early Renaissance to the Eighteenth century.

The specialists in acquisition of Italian as L2, current teaching methodology, and content-based instruction are, respectively, Professor Lidia Costamagna, Università per Stranieri di Perugia; Professor Andreina Sgaglione, Università per Stranieri di Siena; and Professor Diane Musumeci, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. In addition, a number of guest lecturers will be invited to speak on content-based methodology instruction and on other specific related topics dealing with Italian society, language and culture. Detailed curriculum vitae of faculty

Institute Outcomes

It is expected that by the NEH Institute’s end the participants will have completed the following:

An annotated list of “How to Create and Adapt” materials for teaching Italian through Art, incorporating current, authentic resources and visuals elements;

As you know, Italy has often been compared to a giant open-air museum with artistic beauty present at every corner. Bring a camera to build a memorable portfolio of images depicting Michelangelo’s Pietà at Saint Peter’s Church, or a beautiful Madonna painted with chalks by an itinerant artist on the stones of a Roman sidewalk, or a sinuous Modigliani masterpiece seen at the Modern Art Gallery.

The many world-renowned museums that are found in Rome, from the Vatican Museums to Villa Giulia’s National Etruscan Museum, Galleria Borghese, the National Gallery of the Academy of San Luca, Galleria Corsini and the National Gallery of Modern Art, just to name a few, constitute an unparalleled repository of masterpieces and precious artifacts. Within their walls you will find a formidable array of great works from early Greek, Etruscan and Roman times to those of the great artists of the Italian Renaissance, and the Baroque masters, to those created by the Futurists and other modern and contemporary masters.

In the course of our five-day academic excursion to Florence and Tuscany, a city and a region both known as the cradle of the Italian language and as the quintessential birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, we ill visit the most important museums such as the Palazzo Pitti and the Uffizi Gallery and travel by private bus to visit and study memorable historical sites built during Dante’s or Boccaccio’s lifetime. While there, we will be able to visit and study the wondrous paintings or sculptures of Tuscan masters that are displayed in public squares or in major museums and churches, and throughout historical locations of that region.

In Rome there may also be occasional special meetings with official representatives of Italian institutions; hence, in addition to comfortable walking shoes and lots of no-iron summer clothes, bring along some light Sunday attire for these special occasions. Please be aware that both in Rome and Florence summer temperatures may often reach high 90 degrees Fahrenheit, with considerable humidity. Given the fluctuating exchange of the Euro vis-à-vis the U.S. dollar, just keep in mind that you may find things a bit pricier than what they used to be.

Housing

In Rome and in Florence participants will be offered housing in comfortable air-conditioned hotels conveniently located, and with easy access to the subway station and to other public transportation. We are in the process of finalizing a special rate for our group (considerably less than their posted rate). Presently we expect that a shared room (with two beds or a double bed, if coming with a spouse or significant other) will generally cost about €70 per person, per night, with, possibly, half board included, and about €96 for a small single room with, possibly, half board included. We want to caution you that these are only good-faith estimate costs and they are in Euros and not in dollars. At this writing we cannot know what the exact exchange rate will be at the time we hold the Institute.

More specific information on the hotel facilities, availability of computer and email connections, etc., will be sent to all participants as soon as they become available. If you wish, you are free to make other housing arrangements; however, we strongly encourage everyone to stay and live with the group. Proximate living is an important aspect of the summer study experience as it provides an opportunity to interact with other teachers of Italian from around the United States, to exchange ideas informally, and to build a network of context. All other necessary information on local bus and metro transportation, etc. will be furnished to the participants upon arrival.

Stipend

Rest assured that every effort is being made to keep costs down. However, do keep in mind that we are going to Italy in the height of the tourist season, and that your NEH stipend most likely will not be enough to cover completely all your traveling and lodging expenses.

Some museum entrance fees will be offered at no expense to you, but others may not be.

NEH guidelines require that NEH Institute Summer Scholars are expected to attend all session activities and educational excursions, and must engage fully in the work of the project. No teaching assignment or any other professional activities unrelated to their participation in the project may be undertaken. Participants who for any reason do not complete the full tenure of the project must refund a pro-rata portion of the stipend.

Per NEH guidelines, guests, if any, will be allowed to participate only in selected social activities but not in excursions or instructional sessions.

Credits (Optional)

Upon satisfactory attendance and completion of all NEH Institute work, NEH Summer Scholars will receive a “Certificate of Attendance and Course Completion” offered jointly by NEH and the Italian Cultural Society of Washington, DC, Inc.

Through a US accredited institution of higher learning interested participants will have the opportunity to register for a three (3) or a six (6) credit course at a highly discounted rate, which we are in the process of negotiating. At this writing we expect it to be no more than $100 per credit. These credits, which we will offer to you at cost, will be awarded only if you register for the course directly with the university, and complete by the end of the Fall Semester 2011 an extra project or other written academic requirement assigned. This credit opportunity is completely optional.

As for past NEH Institutes, after the conclusion of the Institute we hope that all the participating NEH Summer Scholars will keep in touch with each other and share our Institute’s results and experiences through a website maintained by the Italian Cultural Society of Washington DC.

How to Apply

A complete application shall consist of three copies of the following collated items: