| Description: | With its roots dating back to the Bronze Age, Tuscania has been inhabited by ancient cultures, from the Etruscans to the Romans and medieval civilizations. Their influence can still be felt in the present-day life of Tuscania, from wedding ceremonies held in the Romanesque church of San Pietro to the continuation of traditional agricultural customs by local farmers. But how else does Tuscania's past continue to influence the daily lives and values of its citizens? How does living amid such great historical and archaeological sites affect the perceptions and lifestyles of visiting students? In this course, students will tackle such questions through a writer's lens. Creative writing, both fiction and nonfiction, provides students with a way to synthesize their impressions of Tuscania's rich, variegated past with their own personal experiences of the town's present, everyday life. Through class discussions, workshops, assigned readings and excursions to local historical sites, such as Etruscan tombs and medieval churches, students will take part in an intense form of intellectual and artistic engagement, and produce works that depict their evolving personal response to their surroundings. Through weekly writing workshops, students will have the opportunity to share and discuss their creative work with their instructor and peers, in a supportive environment that offers both encouragement and constructive criticism. |