Nearly 20 Mount Saint Mary College students visited Greece during the college’s Study Abroad program this summer.
If someone asks Mount Saint Mary College study abroad students “what did you do this summer,” they’re in for a great answer: Student scholars and their Mount professors when on educational journeys to Greece and Italy.
Visiting the birthplace of the Olympics
Scott Russell, assistant professor of Sports Management and Interim Chair of the School of Business, and Michael Fox, Acting Dean of the School of Business, associate professor of Business Law, and Pre-Law Advisor, led a group of 18 students for several weeks of on-location learning in Greece, the birthplace of the Olympics.
The course began with readings and discussion forums during the last four weeks of the Spring semester and then was completed on-site in Greece. Students stayed in Athens for most of the experience before heading to Olympia, site of the Ancient Olympic Games beginning in 766 B.C. They also spent time at the Acropolis, the Parthenon, the Panathenaic Stadium, the 2004 Olympic Village, and several competition sites.
Russell’s course drew on the historic location to immerse students in their studies. As students learned the story of the ancient games, they walked in the footsteps of the first Olympians.
“In Athens, we were also able to visit the sites used by the Greeks to host the Modern Olympic Games both in 1896 and 2004,” noted Russell. “The trip was a fantastic success. My hope is to have similar trips every Olympic year. Looking forward to the next one!”
In the name of friendship: A voyage to Italy
As a group of about 10 Mount students and faculty boarded their flight to Florence, Italy this summer, it marked the first step in the journey of a lifetime.
“Friendship in Renaissance Florence” began in late March as an online course, laying the groundwork for the hands-on trip to Florence. It was taught by Charles Zola, assistant vice president for Mission, associate professor of Philosophy and director of the Mount’s Catholic and Dominican Institute; and Sr. Margaret “Peggy” Murphy, OP, a Dominican Sister, a retired Mount Religious Studies professor, and a current adjunct at the college.
Topics in the course included everything from friendship between spouses to friendship in the religious life, with a particular focus on the Dominican tradition that has shaped Mount Saint Mary College since its earliest days.
According to Zola, Renaissance ideas on friendship were greatly shaped by a reappreciation of the works of Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero, and Boccaccio. Of particular importance, he notes, is the friendship between mentor and protégée, as described in Dante’s Divine Comedy between Dante the poet who is guided on his journey through the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Lucy, Beatrice, and Virgil, the ancient Roman poet.
During their time in Italy, the group resided in apartments in the city of Florence and enjoyed excursions to Siena, San Gimignano, Bologna, and Acetaia. They also learned about the Dominican intellectual and spiritual tradition as it blossomed in Renaissance Florence.
“The study abroad course to Florence and Tuscany is very special on many levels,” said Zola. “Students learn to think philosophically about the nature and types of friendship as experienced in the Italian Renaissance; for example, the friendship found in family relationships and the friendship of artistic patronage. They also consider the spiritual dimensions of friendship, especially as it is lived out in the Dominican tradition. The city of Florence is an optimal place to study these themes. As the birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence is home to many famous artistic treasures and sites that celebrate the relationship between beauty, love and friendship, as well as the Dominican tradition.”