Professors Lisa Bauman and Christopher Gregg have launched a series of new two-week study abroad programs. The first program, titled From Roman to Parisian: Shaping the Urban Experience in France from Antiquity to the Modern Period, was scheduled to run in the Winter of 2022, but disappointingly for all, had to be cancelled due to COVID. It is being rescheduled for Winter 2023. This program spends a week in the south of France investigating the cities of Nimes, Arles, Orange, and Glanum, where substantial remains of ancient Roman urbanism survive. Students see firsthand how Rome’s city-focused society reshaped both the land-scape and the indigenous cultures. Following a weekend in Lyon, the program continues on to Paris, the first capital in modern history to not grow randomly from village into urban sprawl. For five days the program traces the development of the city from its Roman origins to its massive rebuilding in the 19th century, a bold urban plan that showcased new kinds of streets and public parks while encouraging urban entertainments like walking and recreational shopping.
In the summer of 2023, Professors Bauman and Gregg hope to launch their second new study abroad pro-gram, a four-week program in Italy called: Art and Memory in Rome and Florence. Applications are now open and, as always, Mason Study Abroad programs are available to alumni and their friends. Professor Bauman also leads another Study Abroad program to Florence in the spring semester!
These new study abroad programs use the city as classroom, with walking tours and visits to museums and monuments. The city becomes a school without walls, and students explore urban design through a variety of lenses: historical artifacts and their associations, technical skill, architectural style, and cultural geography.
April 01, 2022