Please note that this summer program is offered every other year.

2013 program dates

May 14-June 14, 2013

* See the Program Schedule page for a more detailed itinerary, including information regarding travel to and from the program site.

Duke University's Departments of Classical Studies, Art and Art History, and History, together with Duke University's Global Education for Undergraduates (GEO-U), offer a four-week, one-course summer program in the city of Rome and on the Bay of Naples in Italy.

The program invites participants of all backgrounds to discover and explore monuments and other material remains substantiating ancient Roman history and culture, and to reflect on the influence of the ancient Roman world up to the modern day. Although some background in Latin, Roman history, and/or Italian art and archaeology is a plus, the course is designed to give any student a firm understanding of Roman civilization and its significance to Western and American culture.

All teaching is on site at archaeological sites, museums, re-purposed ancient buildings such as churches, and "restored" classical monuments. We begin in the Bay of Naples so as to investigate Pompeii, Herculaneum and other well-preserved sites. The second part of the course is based in Rome itself. Day trips include Capri, Naples, Paestum, Benevento, and Ostia. Students will learn from one another as well as the faculty and sites, and emphasis will be on making connections among monuments, eras, and cultures.