I can’t think of a better way to supplement one’s education than to study abroad. My undergraduate experiences overseas have consisted of summers spent on archaeological digs, particularly at the site of Stabia in Southern Italy. The weeks I’ve spent at Stabia have been among the most formative periods of my life, not only influencing my choice in majors and career path but also shaping who I’ve become as an individual. On these digs I learned the practical applications of ideas I’d learned in the classroom: there’s nothing… read more about Summers Spent on Archaeological Digs »
At the request of Italian authorities, a team of American archaeologists spent three summers in the late 1990s digging up a 2,300-year-old house on a Sicilian hillside. They were seeking proof that silver objects on display at a prominent American museum had been plundered from the ancient site.The team followed the evidence and helped prove that 16 ancient cups, bowls and other objects on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City were stolen property. The Met eventually returned the silver, one of… read more about The Hunt for Truth in Ancient Sicily »
Simply put, studying abroad was the most intellectually and socially rewarding experience of my life. Until that point, everything I knew about the Classics had been restricted to texts and pictures--these gave me a good foundation but were insufficient to understand how the Romans lived. To actually go to the cradle of Classical civilization, Rome, and explore the archaeology, art history, and architecture as a Classicist contextualized my previous knowledge. The environment was fantastic. I met Classics majors from around… read more about Ancient Medicine as Inspiration »
My time spent abroad in Rome was one of my most memorable semesters, and one of the most important for my intellectual experience at Duke. One of the most exciting things about studying abroad was that most of the lectures were taught on cite. Rather than simply looking at pictures of remains and monuments, we were able to see them for ourselves and to stand in the very places where events took place as we learned about them. This immersion into the ancient world allowed me to internalize what I was learning more than I was… read more about Immersion in the Ancient World »
I took advantage of two different study abroad programs while at Duke, and there’s no doubt that they both added an incomparable dimension to my course of studies. I participated in the Duke in Rome summer program after my freshman year, just after taking a seminar course on Roman Civilization. I fell in love with the city and its history and art, certainly helped by the structure of the course, which consisted of exploring on foot. We also traveled to see Etruscan tombs, suburban imperial villas, and the Roman sites near… read more about Falling in Love with Rome »
Without a doubt, taking the summer session abroad to Greece affected the direction of my studies as well as my life. Visiting the ancient cities, walking through the architecture, and seeing the objects that I had studied so diligently in books and through photographs shifted my interest in Classical Greek art and archaeology into a desire to further my studies in graduate school. Though brief, I learned more in the month we spent traveling through Greece than I ever would have if traveling alone, and I made friendships… read more about Summer in Greece Changed the Direction of my Life »