Contact: David West (west@alpha.nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

8/02/2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES - A group of Northwestern State University students recently took part in a 16-day program studying the art, architecture and civilization of ancient Italy and Rome.

The course, "Rome: Urbs Aeterna" was co-led by Dr. Richard Jensen of the Louisiana Scholars' College at NSU and by Dr. Janina Darling of the University of California at Santa Cruz. Jensen specializes in ancient Roman history and Darling specializes in ancient Roman art history. Jensen and Darling met while they were graduate students and Fulbright Fellows in Rome. The course was originally created by Dr. Jean D'Amato, a professor of classics in the Scholars' College. The group was joined by two students from California - Santa Cruz.

Participants in the program were given guided tours of and lectures on the major ancient monuments and museums in Rome along with some monuments and museums from Renaissance and Baroque periods. The group also the spectacular Villa d'Este and the villa of the Emperor Hadrian), Pompeii, including the nearby, beautifully-preserved villa of the family of Nero's consort, Poppaea, Herculaneum and Cuma, site of the ancient oracle or sibyl.

"Going on a vacation with a holiday air is one thing; but going to Italy and learning the history of everything seen, as we did, is quite another experience," said participant Vanessa Byrd, an elementary education and humanities and social thought major from New Iberia. "Being able to see those places which you have heard about, read about, and seen in pictures is an indescribable experience. Seeing those monuments while simultaneously learning about them has left me with an immense feeling of awe."

According to Jensen, a new feature of the program was a three-day stay at an experimental archaeological camp a half-hour northwest of Rome. Here students lived in reconstructed huts modeled on those used in ancient Italy. Students participated in excavating simulated ancient Roman and Etruscan sites, heard lectures, including one delivered by the mayor of Blera, who is also an expert on the Etruscans. The students also saw demonstrations of ancient bronze and glass making and visited the famous frescoed tombs of the Etruscans as well as the ruins of their towns.

After returning to the United States, students taking the course for credit are required to complete a research paper based both on their experiences in Italy and library research at Northwestern. This course will be offered again during the summer of 2002. Those interested in participating should contact Jensen at (318) 357-4599 or by e-mail at jensenr@alpha.nsula.edu.

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