Summer 2013 Courses

The Summer Session in San Gimignano will include two courses led by Merrimack faculty:

 

PHL 2330 - Medieval Philosophy - Dr. William Wians

Studying Medieval Philosophy in one of Europe’s best preserved medieval towns and within reach of some of the most significant sites of medieval learning and the epicenter of the Renaissance offers a uniquely educative setting.  Though officially a philosophy course, students will take advantage of the setting in San Gimignano by focusing on the enormously wide range of theoretical and practical aspects that characterized Medieval and Renaissance learning in Italy—science, art, architecture, theology and philosophy (of course), but also accounting (modern banking was invented in Florence), medicine (the circulation of the blood was discovered in Padua), and engineering (the dome of the Florence cathedral is for me proof that human beings can achieve perfection).  Every student regardless of major will be challenged to engage with the Italian environment, and each student will be able to dig deeply into an area of his or her own personal and academic interest.

The course satisfies Philosophy or Humanities Distribution requirements, and counts as an Experiential Learning course.

RTS 2990 - City of God and the City-State: From Siena to the Vatican - Dr. Joesph Kelley

Augustine’s City of God, a political theology written during the decline of the Roman Empire, provides the basis for theological reflection on the relationships among discipleship, church and the promotion of the common good. The relationship between friendship with God and the promotion of peace provides the lens for examining the life and writing of Catherine from the medieval city-state of Siena and the life and writing of modern popes in the contemporary city-state of the Vatican.

This courses satisfies the second RTS institutional requirement.