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Academics
- Discover how the domed churches of Florence were built without modern technology
- Learn how the Tower of Pisa was built and then saved
- Explore how five Great Minds changed the world during the Renaissance
Academic Structure
Program Type: Great Minds of the Renaissance is a Global Seminar. Global Seminars are short-term study abroad programs led by University of Minnesota faculty. Instruction is in English.
Level: 3000 level coursework
Term: Summer 2010
Prerequisites: None
Courseload: One 3-credit course
Prior to departure, students will attend a pre-departure orientation and receive pre-departure readings and requirements. Students will participate in an orientation, welcome reception, and a walking tour of Florence. Monday through Friday instruction will consist of a combination of classroom discussion and group projects as well as field trips to sites of significance. Weekends are free for studying and exploring Florence and its surroundings. There will be a farewell dinner at the end of the program.
Coursework
Learn how famous sculptors, artists, and painters used mathematics to depict history and religion during the Renaissance period.
Walk through the streets where Michelangelo carved "the David" and Leonardo da Vinci honed both his artistic and scientific skills.
Study how Galileo struggled with his belief in the church and his quest to understand the universe, the issues behind the construction of the Duomo, and the convergence of mathematics and art during the Renaissance.
For more information see last year's course syllabus.
This course has been approved for the International Perspectives theme and Historical Perspectives core.
View the Global Seminar Liberal Education Requirements chart.
Faculty Leader
Great Minds of the Renaissance will be led by Associate
Vice Provost and Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of
Mathematics, Laura Coffin Koch, of the College of Education and
Human Development.
Professor Koch has been a faculty member at the University since 1985 and is currently Associate Vice Provost. She has traveled around the world and lived in the Philippines for three years as a Peace Corps Volunteer. This will be the seventh time she has taught in Florence and is looking forward to bringing to life the great minds of the Renaissance for students.
Last modified on September 2, 2009 |