Rome Campus J-Term Program

Based on the Aventine Hill, the southernmost of Rome’s seven hills, Trinity’s Rome Campus is surrounded by ancient churches, monasteries, and spectacular views.

January 8th – January 19th, 2024 (2 weeks)

• Applications are due October 8th, 2023. This program is not accepting late applications.
• Open to Trinity and Visiting Students (First Year through Senior Year)
• Language of Instructions: English
• Eligibility:
  • 2.5 GPA
  • Students must be 18 years or older prior to the program start date
  • Students must have a valid passport in hand by the confirmation deadline of October 27th.

Overview

The program has a max capacity of 36 students.

Each course has a max capacity of 12 students.

Trinity College Rome Campus J-Term program runs for 10 days and offers three courses constructed in collaboration with local community partners. Students enroll in one of the following courses taught by Trinity Rome faculty: Food & Culture, Italy’s Holocaust, or The Politics of Magnificence. Course offerings are dependent on enrollment and students will be asked for their first choice and alternate course offerings.

The Trinity College Rome Campus offers an exciting opportunity for undergraduate students in all fields of study to explore first-hand one of the oldest and most international cities in the world. Trinity College Rome Campus courses facilitate dialogue and collaboration between students, professors, and community partners. Students will gain an understanding of the complexity of interconnected global and local issues in an international and contemporary urban setting.

Courses

Students will be enrolled in ONE of the three courses below. Students are NOT guaranteed their first choice course.

ROME 235 – FOOD IS CULTURE – 0.5 TRINITY CREDIT 

The saying, “A tavola non s’invecchia” (“One doesn’t age at the supper table”) expresses the importance of food and eating for Italians. In this course, we will examine the relationship between food and culture in Italy, from the ancient world to the present, through a variety of readings, class discussion and some personal and practical experience. Because the study of food culture in Italy invites comparison with your own alimentary habits, we will examine the culture and meaning of food in Italy and in your own country.  If “we are what we eat”, then “what” we choose to eat affects many aspects of our lives. The study of food culture is an interdisciplinary study. Even though the historical point of view will be the main one, during our reading, class discussion and lecture we will touch upon a lot of different fields: anthropology, sociology, literature, art, philosophy. Besides studying food culture through readings, written assignments, and class discussion, students will undertake a group-learning project around Rome that will enhance their classroom experience. The course will be taught through a variety of readings, class discussions and presentations and there will also be some practical experiences.  Prerequisite: None; Faculty: Valentina Dorato 

ROME 247 – ITALY’S HOLOCAUST – 0.5 TRINITY CREDIT 

This course will take a detailed look at the Holocaust principally from an Italian perspective. Through a combination of class lectures, on-site visits, discussions, film screenings and readings, students will be able to connect decisions taken in Fascist Italy with the end result of forced labour and mechanised killing. In doing so they will gain knowledge of pre-Fascist and Fascist Italy’s relationship with its Jewish population, the repressive nature of the dictatorship, its involvement in the Second World War and its alliance with Nazi Germany to gain a thorough grounding in how scholars have sought to explain Italy’s Holocaust. Having established the processes and practicalities by which Jews in Italy were rounded-up and deported from occupied Italy, students will reflect upon debates surrounding guilt and how this has been used to excuse or deflect responsibility for the deportation and murder of religious and political prisoners. Instruction will consist of a series of online lectures and class debates around assigned readings, film and literature. Throughout the duration of course we shall be reading and discussing Primo Levi’s account of his experience of surviving Auschwitz in If this is a Man. Providing a solid grounding in Italy’s role in the Holocaust, the course will also introduce students to how memory of this particular event has been/is constructed, used and abused for political means. Prerequisite: None; Faculty: Simon Martin 

ROME ### – THE POLITICS OF MAGNIFICENCE: Art and Power in Rome throughout the Centuries – 0.5 TRINITY CREDIT (PENDING)

As Goethe pointed out “there is only one Rome in the world” – it is a space where “a new life begins.” This proposal is inspired by the hope that after a short J-term, students, like the German poet after his journey in Italy, will “feel better than ever in body and soul.” Conscious of the intimate link that exists between politics and aesthetics, this course seeks to examine through specific case studies how those who have governed Rome throughout the centuries have used architecture, town planning, statues, paintings, artifacts and ceremonies to inspire people and to strengthen their own legitimacy. Students will explore the visual exercise of power: a) how Rome transformed from a “city of bricks” to a “city of marble” during the “golden age” of Augustus; b) in what ways Renaissance artworks celebrated the power of their patrons; c) the use of art by the Catholic Church to confront the challenge posed by the Protestant Reformation; d) Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s endeavors to prove that real power is ennobling; e) the mission of the first public museum in Europe (built on the Capitol hill) to “promote the magnificence and splendor of Rome among foreign nations”; e) the challenging and creative process of fashioning and building the Italian nation in the Nineteenth-century; f) how Fascist art celebrated the very essence of the regime; and g) how after the Second World War, “Made in Italy” design contributed to shaping a modern identity for a new nation. Numerous onsite classes and a special visit to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will allow students to explore the (both changing and constant) sources of Rome’s soft power: its culture, its political values and its foreign policies. A daytrip to Tivoli will conclude their period of experiential learning: at the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of Hadrian’s Villa and Villa d’Este, they will have the chance to feel and reflect on the transformational power of beauty. Prerequisite: None; Faculty: Eszter Salgó 

Outside of the Classroom:

• Access to an Italian Language Lab 
• Social activities with local Italian students  
• Extra-curricular activities:
  • Cooking class (dependent on course)
  • Visits to important museums and sites in Rome (dependent on course)

Housing & Meals

• Single or double bedrooms 
• In-suite bathroom 
• Closet 
• Desk 
• Access to coin operated washers and dryers 
• Bed linens, blankets, pillowcases and towels 
• Cleaning service 
• Wi-Fi internet connectivity 
• Courtyard garden common area 
• 5 meal vouchers and 1 Café voucher per week that are redeemable at several neighborhood restaurants, pizzerias, delis and cafes. 

Cost

$ 3,500

Includes tuition (.5 Trinity credit), room and partial board (meals), metro pass, extra-curricular activities, staff support, international safety and health insurance.

Does not include airfare, partial board (meals), passport application and fees (if applicable) and spending money. 

Financial Aid

Trinity College is pleased to offer J-Term study away financial aid to Trinity students. Aid will be based on financial need and will take into account tuition, room & board and air travel.