academic Study Trips: Spring 2010

STUDY TRIPS


The JFRC offers school-sponsored Study Trips each semester during holidays, fall and spring break, as well as short day trips in Italy on selected weekends.  Each Study Trip is accompanied by a faculty member and an SLA.  The itineraries are prepared with both academic and cultural interest in mind, taking into account the prevailing economic factors. 

HOW TO REGISTER FOR A STUDY TRIP

Due to limited seats, trips will be decided on a first-come, first-serve basis. The business office will be open at 11:30AM on Friday January 22 so that students may sign up for trips.  At that time, students may sign up for only ONE study trip.  Depending on availability, students may be given the opportunity to sign up for additional trips at a later time.  More details on how to register for the study trips will be provided at the Spring Study Trips meeting on Thursday January 21.

Students pay directly at the Business Office at the JFRC for all Study Trips.  Credit cards may be used.  Information regarding payment due dates, etc. will be posted on the Study Trips Bulletin Board.  Please use this as your main Study Trips resource!

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Students in need of financial assistance in order to participate in certain group travel opportunities may be invited by the Director and Assistant Director for Student Life to apply for Forza Roma funds generously contributed for this purpose by JFRC Alumni.  Students may contact Todd Waller, Associate Dean of Students, for details.

 

   Ostia Antica & the Catacombs

January 29

The beautifully preserved ruins of Ostia Antica, Rome’s ancient seaport, lie twenty miles from the modern metropolis, in the meadows between the Tiber River and the Tyrrhenian Sea.  It was founded, probably in the 4th century BC, as a military colony to guard the river mouth against seaborne invasions.  Later, during the centuries when virtually all imports reached the Capital via the Tiber, Ostia gained prominence as the domestic landing for cargo boats.  By the 2nd century AD, it had become a flourishing commercial center inhabited by upwards of 100,000 people, whose apartment buildings, taverns, and grocery shops are still intact.  This day-long study trip will include a guided tour of the ruins and catacombs of this ancient city. 

 

Cost: €25
The price includes bus transportation to and from Ostia, a boxed lunch, and park entrance fees.  Register and pay in the Rome Center Business Office.

Approximate number of students: 50

Approximate length of trip: 8:45 am – 5:00 pm
This study trip is a day trip.

Facilitator: Prof. John Nicholson.
Questions about logistics should be directed to: RomeSLA@luc.edu

For more information about Ostia, visit: http://www.ostiantica.it/ 


   Sicily

February 12-14


 
This study trip to the island of Sicily offers students the opportunity to see one of Italy's most beautiful regions while observing archaeological treasures left by the island's previous inhabitants--the Greeks. Students arrive in the island's capital, Palermo, for a half-day tour of the city before moving on to Segesta where some of the best preserved Greek Doric temples are found, as well as a theatre built into the side of Monte Barbaro. The day closes in Selinunte with temples lined up against the island's southern coast at sunset.

Day 2 includes one of the most important colonies in Magna Graecia, Agrigento, where there are remnants from the Greeks and the Romans, including the Temple of the Olympian Zeus in the Valle dei Templi (Valley of the Temples). The trip fast-forwards through time a bit as students cross through the scenic countryside to Piazza Armerina, home to a 3rd century Roman villa and remarkable mosaics. The evening will be spent in Taormina, back in Greek times, in the midst of a gorgeous shopping and dining district. The final morning will be spent at the teatro Greco overlooking the northwest coast and Mount Etna. A drive past the largest active volcano in Europe to Catania concludes the trip before the return flight to Rome.

Approximate cost: € 290,00
This cost includes all transportation on the island of Sicily, two nights' accommodation in a three-star hotel (two students per room), daily breakfast, two dinners, guided tours and all museum entrance fees. Register and pay in the Rome Center Business Office.
Students are to book and pay for their own travel to and from Sicily. Details will be provided during the JFRC "Study Trips Informational Meeting" hosted during orientation. It is estimated that travel to and from Sicily will range from € 100,00 to € 150,00 round-trip from Rome.

Approximate number of students: 25

Facilitator: Professor Alexander Evers

Questions about logistics should be directed to RomeSLA@luc.edu.
For more information, visit: http://www.initaly.com/regions/sicily/sicily.htm .

 

   Pompeii

February 13

A unique visit to the Roman city of Pompeii which was buried by lava flowing from Mt. Vesuvius in the year 79 AD. Except for the lucky few, Pompeiians suffered a live burial. The amazing exhibits are visible all over the ancient site. The excavation is ongoing, from the first unearthing in 1784 through the present.


Approximate cost: €25.00
The cost includes all transportation, guided tours, all museum entrance fees, a box lunch and a box dinner. Register and pay in the Rome Center Business Office.

Approximate number of students: 50

Approximate length of trip: 7 a.m. - 8 p.m.
This Study Trip is a day trip.

Facilitator: Prof. John Nicholson.
Questions about logistics should be directed to: RomeSLA@luc.edu.

For more information about Pompeii, visit http://www.pompeiisites.org/database/pompei/pompei2.nsf?Open Database.

 

   Tunisia: Islam and Democratization

March 5-14 (Spring Break)

This study trip offers a combination of site visits and lectures by Tunisian scholars focusing on the politics of democratization in the Arab world, the role of women in Muslim society, Arab perceptions of U.S. foreign policy, U.S. perceptions of Tunisia's role in the global war on terrorism, the socio-economic challenges of development in the Sahara desert and the history of Islam in North Africa.

The study trip will start in the capital (Tunis) and then proceed to the kasbahs (Arab citadels) of Sousse and Monastir, the troglodyte dwellings of Matmata, a visit to the Muslim holy town of Kairouan, as well as the Roman coliseum of El-Jeb. The trip includes camping overnight in the Saharan desert (with an optional camel trek for the most adventuresome).

Approximate cost: € 900
The cost includes all transportation, travel to and from Tunisia, guided tours, all museum entrance fees, four-star hotels (3 students per room), daily breakfast, daily lunch, and daily dinner.

Approximate amount of deposit: €300.00
The non-refundable deposit is necessary to secure your place on the study trip. Register and pay in the Rome Center Business Office.

Approximate number of students: 70. You are not able to give up your seat to another student in the event you decide not to participate in the study trip after having made a deposit. All deposits are non-refundable.

Facilitator: Mr. Todd Waller and Professor Alexander Evers.

Questions about logistics should be directed to RomeSLA@luc.edu.
For more information about Tunisia, visit: http://www.tunisiaonline.com.

 

   Spain

April 2 - 5 (Easter Break)

Santiago de Compostela (also Saint James of Compostela) is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in the north west of Spain in the Province of A Coruña, it was the "European City of Culture" for the year 2000. The city's Cathedral is the destination today, as it has been throughout history, of the important 9th century medieval pilgrimage route, the Way of St. James (Galician: Camiño de Santiago, Spanish: Camino de Santiago).

Tentative plans are being made for an Easter Break journey to Spain.  Dr. Susan Cavallo will be leading the trip.  Details will be made available in the late Fall of 2009.



 

   WORLD WAR II DAY TRIP

April 9 (Tentative)
With Phil O’Connor

A WWII tour of Rome

This trip is a visit to a number of sights key to the WWII history of Rome and especially to the Italian Resistance. We’ll visit the Via Rasella, sight of a partisan attack against German troops; the Museum of the Liberation, located in the building that was formerly the Gestapo headquarters, torture center and prison; and the Fosse Ardeatine – caves outside the city, where 335 civilians were massacred by the Nazis as a reprisal for the attack on the Via Rasella.

The tour is generously sponsored and led by Phil O’Connor, PhD. – a Rome center Alumnus (1968-69) and author of A Loyola Rome Student’s Guide to World War II in Rome & Italy. The guide can be accessed via the link: http://www.nprg.com/Portals/2/nprg_com%20files/ForTheCommunity/RomeGuideThirdEditionFinal.pdf

Cost: €10.  Actual cost of program is €50 but is being partially subsidized by Dr. O’Connor.

Tentative Itinerary

9:30 am

Bus Departure from the Rome Center

Historic route to Fosse Ardeatin

9:45 am

Fosse Ardeatine

Caves outside the city where 335 civilians were massacred by the Nazis as a reprisal for the attack on the Via Rasella.

11:15 am

Museo della Liberazione

This museum is located in the building that was formerly the Gestapo headquarters, torture center and prison.

Via Rasella

Site of the partisan attack against German troops

1:00 pm

Lunch - Osteria dell’Anima


 

   Prague, Czech Republic

April 16-18

 

Prague, capital of the Czech Republic, is one of the few great European cities to escape massive destruction in  the Second World War.  As a result, it is unrivalled in its preservation of the entire historical legacy  of North-Central Europe – from the Medieval to the baroque, from the “Belle Epoque” (at the turn of the 20th century) to the Soviet-style architecture of the 1950s, 60s and 70s to the post-modern experiments of the present. 

This study trip includes a guided walking tour of the old town, the Jewish quarter and the neighborhood of Prague Castle as well as a visit to the modern heart of the city at Wenceslas Square. Interested (and adventurous) students will be able to visit the outer-lying area of Prague 10 to see how once-sleepy villages were incorporated into Stalinist suburban plans. Opera (Mozart composed many of his works here and is a perpetual favorite with Prague opera companies) and/or ballet tickets can also be arranged.

2008 marks the 40th anniversary of the Prague Spring, a period of cultural flourishing and attempted expansion of democracy in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic that was violently crushed by a Soviet invasion.  The event had a tremendous impact on European politics, raising questions about Cold War categories and loyalties and giving impetus to “New Left” movements in Europe and beyond.

Approximate cost: €270.00
The cost includes 2 nights' accommodation in a three-star hotel, daily breakfast, two dinners, guided tours and all museum entrance fees. Register and pay in the Rome Center Business Office. Students will be required to travel to and from Prague on their own.  Numerous low cost air carriers fly in and out of Rome’s Ciampino airport.  Details as to how one can find low cost air fares will be explained at the January 12 Academic Study trips informational meeting.

Approximate number of students: 25

Facilitator: Dr. Anne Wingenter
Questions about logistics may be directed to RomeSLA@luc.edu