Christian faith and visual culture in Rome

Abstract

Home to popes, final resting place of martyrs, and a crossroads of cultural exchange, Rome is a city whose unique history is closely intertwined with the development of Christian thought and practice. This team-taught, multi-disciplinary course uses the perspectives of art history, history, and theology to investigate how Christianity helped to shape developments in architecture and visual culture. As an intensive course taught onsite in Rome, students understand cultural heritage through a direct experience of the city. The course draws comparisons over time and across different faith traditions, so that students understand the changing urban fabric of Rome and its impact on individuals from the Early Christian period to the present. Students develop a greater respect for others through an understanding of cultural heritage and cultivate a deeper understanding of the Jesuit mission and identity of their university through a reflection on the roots of the Ignatian tradition in Rome.