Program Details from 2025
Classes
HON 407: Cinema Site & Preservation in Bologna
Museums and festivals are often the major ways that we encounter historical narratives and works of art. In this course, we will focus on cinema and its prehistory to study how cinematic preservation publicly occurs in film festivals such as the annual Bologna film festival: Il Cinema Ritrovato, an eight-day open-air film and preservation festival. Class time during the second week will be spent discussing the festival’s film offerings alongside assigned scholarly essays about digital preservation, cinematic exhibition, and how museums develop, curate, and plan their exhibitions, focusing on cinematic installations. As part of this work, we will spend a day visiting Verona’s Museo del Precinema to experience the museum and meet with curators and designers to learn about institutional cinematic preservation as well as how to stage visual history in museum settings.
HON 407: Secrets of Nature in the Renaissance in Bologna
In this course we will consider the relationship between the practical craft traditions and the theoretical studies of natural philosophy (science) in Renaissance Italy. We will focus on the “occult sciences” (which included studies in natural magic and alchemy) and the role they played in shaping the development of scientific inquiry in this period. We will attend to the diversity of interests displayed by the various branches of the occult sciences so as to understand the complex relationships that existed among them. One theme that is common across the various occult sciences was the inquiry into the “secrets of nature.” Many scholars in this period looked to the natural world to discover the arcane codes and information that God was believed to have hidden there. These scholars were influenced by Neoplatonism and the Hermetic tradition, which drew heavily on a written tradition. However, the task of unveiling the secrets of nature was also undertaken by people working in the craft traditions and in the empirically-based occult sciences. Thus, we will also need to think about the work done by those investigating the secrets of nature and the means by which people could discover those secrets of the natural world.
Some key individuals whose works we’ll consider: Giordano Bruno (1548-1600), Giambattista della Porta (1535-1615), Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), and Athanasius Kircher (1602-1680).
Itinerary
Details are still being finalized, but we have a tentative daily schedule. Classes were held on Tuesdays and Thursdays in a meeting room in the hostel. Excursions are planned throughout the week, but there are many free days scheduled for students to explore Bologna, Italy, and beyond.
Excursions
As part of the program, there will be excursions in Bologna, day trips to nearby cities, and an overnight excursion to Florence. In Bologna, you will get to tour the Archiginnasio - Anatomical Theatre, the La Specola astronomy museum, and Palazzo Poggi. Students will take a day trip to Padua to explore the historic city center, including the Arena (Roman amphitheater) and Casa di Giulietta and Romeo. On the overnight excursion to Florence, students will take a guided tour of the Uffizi museum, visit the Giunti Odeon bookshop, and explore the Galileo museum. All transportation is included in the program fee as well as the hotel accommodations in Florence.
Accommodations
Students will be staying in double rooms with private bathrooms at the Combo Hostel in Bologna.
Scholarship
All Honors students accepted into the program receive a $2000 scholarship. In the spring term, students will be awarded a $1000 tuition remission scholarship. In summer term, $1000 will be applied to their PSU accounts. Students are also encouraged to apply to the Gilman Scholarship. Students are also encouraged to apply for scholarships available through our Ed Odyssey, our program provider.
Further details about program costs and scholarships can be found on the Ed Abroad website.
Questions?
Contact Dr. York at why@pdx.edu and Dr. Borden at aeborden@pdx.edu
Education Abroad Advisor
Rachel Landers
Senior Education Abroad Advisor
Schedule an advising appointment
goffra@pdx.edu | 503-725-4195 | Karl Miller Center | 610G
If you'd like to get in touch with our provider in Italy, Stefano can be reached at stefano@edodyssey.com