![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() "My dissertation will focus on the transition from the Hellenistic to the Roman republican period in Sicily, roughly the third to first centuries BCE," he said, "so it was particularly rewarding for me to gain a better appreciation for the connectivity fostered by the island, both in terms of geography and history." The visit also sparked a new angle of research for her, as LaValle has expanded her previous interest in the "reuse of pagan literature by early Christians" to examine the reuse of pagan architecture as well.Īlex Walthall, a fourth-year graduate student in art and archaeology, also used the trip to deepen his scholarship, which is specifically devoted to Sicilian history. As I was there, among the excavations, the city came to life."ĭawn LaValle, a second-year graduate student in classics and Hellenic studies, echoed the general sentiment that "there was simply no substitute for seeing the monuments in the flesh." She added, "Actually walking around the remnants of an overgrown archaic town or standing in the middle of a church covered with glittering 12th-century mosaics is a completely different experience than looking at a slide show." "To go to the site, hear my professors and colleagues talk about what once was, and walk among the architectural ruins was enthralling because I filled in the missing stones in my head in order to imagine the lives of the people. "Examining drawings of the city's site plan and street grid, I pictured a living, functional city," she said. Marriott said that a particular highlight was visiting the ancient city of Selinus, founded by Dorian Greeks in around 628 BCE. "Studying ancient history, for a change, was fascinating." "As an architecture student, I am often studying 20th-century cities," she said. While the students from the two classes joined forces for much of the trip, some excursions were split based on the historical focus.įor Rebecca Marriott, a senior who is majoring in architecture, the course and trip have opened doors to new areas of interest - archaeology and architectural history. On the itinerary were museums, cathedrals and churches, an amphitheater, fortifications, catacombs, monuments and other archaeological sites. In addition, the variety of academic disciplines represented by the students in the courses, such as architecture, art and archaeology, classics and history, brought fresh insights to discussions as the Princeton group visited key cultural and archaeological sites across the island. And, of course, my field of expertise stops in time where his starts." "Professor Ćurčić is a specialist of medieval architecture, among many other things, while I am a historian of the ancient world who works with material evidence. "We come to the subject from very different perspectives," said Luraghi. The areas of expertise of Luraghi and Ćurčić, a professor of art and archaeology, complement the exploration of such a range of material. The largest island in the Mediterranean, Sicily was a "crossroads meeting place of different peoples, religions and cultures." From Antiquity to the Middle Ages, spanning 700 BCE to 1200 CE, the island successively was inhabited by Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and Normans, generating a wealth of cultural artifacts. ![]() Last year, the graduate program seminar included a field trip to Sparta.Īccording to Luraghi, the David Magie '97 Class of 1897 Professor of Classics, Sicily offers an extraordinary destination for students of ancient and medieval cultures of the Mediterranean because of its central location. Four graduate students are enrolled in this course. The trip also was part of Luraghi's graduate seminar in the Program in the Ancient World, "Center and Region in the Ancient Mediterranean," which brings together doctoral candidates in art and archaeology, classics, history and religion. Six undergraduates and eight graduate students are enrolled in this course. It was part of the course "Island of Cultures: Sicily From the Greeks to the Normans," offered for the first time to juniors, seniors and graduate students by the departments of art and archaeology and classics and the Program in Hellenic Studies. 8 was a required component of two courses offered this semester. Led by Princeton Professors Slobodan Ćurčić and Nino Luraghi, the overseas field trip from Oct. That was the lesson a group of Princeton students learned when they visited Sicily over fall break to gain a firsthand appreciation of the ancient cultures of that Mediterranean island. ![]()
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