ECU Tuscany Summer Course Offerings
Students can select from a variety of courses offered on the program that satisfy general education requirements in humanities, fine arts, science, social science, foreign language, and kinesiology. At least 6 credit hours of courses must be taken through the ECU Tuscany course offerings. Students can take a maximum of 1 online courses outside of the program at their own expense. Course availability is subject to change based on student interest and instructor availability.
Fine Arts:
Digital Photography
- ART 1250: Digital Photography (for non-art majors, 3 credit hours)
- ART 2220: Photography (for art majors, 3 credit hours)
This class will introduce students to photography and photo editing software using a smartphone. Together, we will explore the self-expressive possibilities of photography as a visual language through lectures, assignments, and critiques, creating strong visual narratives. Students will make photographs learning to technically control and compose images with their smartphone, as well as digital editing and filing software. The unique opportunity of a Tuscan landscape, culture, and history will be our jumping off point for assignments that will incorporate ALL that we are seeing and learning. In addition to a good smartphone, you will need a laptop computer with digital editing software that you can get from ECU. Details will be sent in the class syllabus.
Art History and Art Appreciation
ART 1910: Art Appreciation (3 credit hours)
Students in this class will take the train to Florence each week to discover works of art in Museums, cathedrals and other sites of interest, meeting OUT OF our classroom as you study the amazing collections of artworks in Tuscany. This onsite class will also take place in: San Gimignano, Siena, Rome, Pompeii, and Venice. The Art 1910 class will count as fine arts foundation credits for non-art majors and ARTH 3915 counts as a required art history credits for art majors or a fine arts foundation required class if you have already taken the Art 1910 class. The goal is to investigate the rich artistic output of Italy from the Dark Ages to the Renaissance.
Humanities:
Literature
ITAL 2220: Cultural Crossroads – The Influence of literature on Art from Antiquity to Renaissance (3 credit hours)
Join us for an exciting new course that explores the vibrant interplay of literature and art from Antiquity to the Renaissance. We will go to Florence each week with the Art History tours, and discuss the literature, music, and performing arts that inspire the artworks we will see. Almost all lessons will be on-site in museums, as we discover the relationship between literary texts and the works of art. For example, we will read the passage from Euripides’ Bacchae to discuss Michelangelo’s Bacchus sculpture at the Bargello Museum, or we will read King David’s description in the Old Testament as we look at Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia Museum. This class will help us understand the culture of the Ancient, Medieval and Renaissance periods that inspired all the arts!
General Education Requirement:
Lifetime Health & Fitness
KINE 1000 (1 credit hour)
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the importance of lifetime physical activity and fitness. We will explore the various aspects of total fitness including physical fitness, diet, weight control, exercise, flexibility, motor skills, and stress reduction. Emphasis will be placed on various exercise platforms as the physical activity component, allowing students to experience multiple workouts and consider how each might fit into their own lifestyle, (such as interval training, yoga, Pilates, walking, and running.).