Study Abroad - Mediterranean Basin

Greece • Italy • France

IAU’s Mediterranean Basin January Term Traveling Seminar is designed for students interested in an academic and cultural experience in Greece, Italy and France. Students build visual literacy in the history of art and archaeology as well as examine philosophical literature of the Mediterranean Basin from Antiquity to the Middle Ages. The seminar cultivates students' abilities to synthesize cultural, historical, political, and social information as it relates to the visual arts. The experiential learning component consists of a series of site visits made by academic experts from IAU in addition to local guides and faculty in the field of history, art history, and archaeology.

Students can choose one of the following courses:

• Archaeology 385: Greek and Roman Archaeology
• Art History 385: Ancient and Medieval Classical Art and Architecture
• Cross Cultural Studies 385: Cultural Identities in Mediterranean Europe
• History 385: Ancient and Medieval Mediterranean Cultural History
• Religious Studies 385: From Polytheism to Monotheism, The Early Christian Period in Italy, Greece & France

Sites visited include:

• Greece: Athens, Mycenae, Tiryns, Corinth, Epidaurus, Delphi and Cape Sounion
• Italy: Rome, Paestum and Pompeii
• France: Aix-en-Provence and Arles

View the 2021 itinerary here. Please note, the schedule is tentative and subject to change.  The 2021 syllabus will be posted soon! View the 2020 sylalbus here. Details are subject to change.

For more insight visit The Smithsonian's recent article, "Travel to Southern France for a Dazzling Taste of Ancient Rome" for a sneak peek into what Nimes has to offer.

About the Professors

Dr. Guillaume Durand has been a professor of archaeology and art history at IAU since 2002, Assistant Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences since 2014, and leads a January Term Traveling Seminar on Mediterranean Civilizations. Prof. Durand completed a Masters of Art History and Archaeology on Byzantine Studies and a Ph.D. in Romanian History at the Université de Provence. In 2014 he completed a three-year post-doctorate program funded by the European Union and under the aegis of the Romanian Academy (Bucharest) and the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (Paris). He has published two books and several articles in French academic reviews (Cahier des Etudes Romanes, Turcica) and in Romania (Historical Yearbook, Annals of the Spiru Haret University).  Professor Durand participates regularly in international conferences in France and throughout Europe and maintains active involvement and oversight of local, regional, and national archaeological excavations. He speaks French, English, Romanian, and Greek. 

R. Bruce Hitchner is Professor of Classics and International Relation and Director of the  Archaeology program at Tufts University. He has directed major archaeological projects in France and Tunisia funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Geographic Society, and is the former Editor-in-Chief of the American Journal of Archaeology. Professor Hitchner has published extensively on the archaeology and History of the Roman Empire and has been Visiting Fellow at Oxford, Cambridge, Copenhagen,and Princeton. He teaches Greek and Roman History and Archaeology at Tufts. 

J. Matthew Harrington is a Senior Lecturer in Classical Archaeology and Languages at Tufts University. In addition to field excavation at important sites including Pompeii, Rome, the Athenian Agora, Corinth, Gabii, and other sites, he has done extensive work with the documentation and 3D reconstruction of Pisidian Antioch and of the Sanctuary of the Gods on Samothrace. In 2006-2007, he was a Regular Member of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. He teaches archaeology, ancient languages, history, and culture at Tufts.

January 2021: $6,040

Program fees include tuition (3 credits), hotel accommodations, medical insurance, entrance fees to all museums and guest lecture venues, Intra-European transportation, daily breakfasts and some dinners.

Students who enroll in a January Term Seminar and the spring semester in Aix-en-Provence consecutively are eligible to receive a $2,000 grant credited to their spring semester invoice. In order to be eligible to receive the grant, students must participate in the Early Start Program during the week between the end of the January Term Seminar and the start of the spring semester. The Early Start Program allows students to move in with their French hosts a week before the semester begins, receive French language instruction, and participate in local cultural activities! Visit IAU's Scholarship website for additional details.