SATA Rome 2004

Identity, Community and Democracy

SATA Rome classes often take place on this rooftop terrace at John Cabot University.

Program Description | Courses | Excursions | Reflections

Rome, often referred to as "the eternal city," has been in existence for more than 2500 years. It prompts images of the Colosseum, spectacular churches, piazzas with beautiful sculpture and fountains, the Spanish Steps and much more. But not all of Rome's legacy is tangible. Its enduring cultural significance, especially for Western Civilization, lies in its contributions to ideas that permeate Western art, law, languages, architecture, engineering, and representative government. Rome is also a multicultural city. Through the centuries, it has been a crossroads of many cultures, whether as the center of a republic, empire or nation.

Rome, a diverse and vibrant city, "offers an exciting setting in which to explore the impact of powerful domestic and international trends that affect and could even undermine republican-democratic governments," according to SATA Rome 2004 Director and Professor of Sociology Arthur Ferrari. Rome was a successful republic and it failed; America is a successful republic; could it fail? What will it take to maintain it? Professor Ferrari's research during recent years on issues of identity, and community and democracy have included study of a spiritual and service organization in Rome and neighborhood organizations in Siena, and will be furthered during the program. These "case studies" cast light on challenges to republican-style democratic governance and help demonstrate how "micro"-level groups and the individuals who constitute them are affected by "macro"-level trends impacting nations and states, as well as how micro-level groups affect macro-level trends.

The SATA Rome 2004 program began with a brief review of influences on the formation of American culture during the revolutionary era, and then took up French social and political analyst Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America, published in the 1840s. There he expressed concern over Americans' potential loss of democratic participation due to engulfment by private life and individualism, a concern echoed in contemporary debates over "too much individualism (or freedom or selfishness) and too little community (or cooperation or caring)." These debates take place in advanced capitalist societies significantly driven by the twin forces of globalization and the knowledge/information-based economy. In addition, movements, sometimes including terrorism, sometimes warfare, powerfully shape the modern experience.Worldwide, cries ring up from the streets for minority rights, national recognition, and safer environments. Additional demands are made for more freedom, more democracy, and more help for the masses.

Many of today's college students want to help resolve these and related issues. With that in mind, the required SATA course, Sociology 206, included service learning as a significant component of its syllabus. The Comunita' di Sant' Egidio was the host of the service learning activities in which all SATA Rome 2004 students participated. This unique organization, based near John Cabot University, is an internationally-oriented group of concerned citizens and spiritual seekers. Their important work ranges from direct service to the poor, mediating conflicts between countries and civil war factions within countries, to aiding the aged and advocating repeal of the death penalty worldwide. Students attended lectures by and participated in informal talks with members of the Comunita' as well.

SATA Rome 2004 Courses

Professor Ferrari's new Sociology 206 course, "Identity, Community and Democracy," was an exploration of the nature of self and identities, how they are shaped, and their relationship to recent trends in the American economy, community participation, cultural changes, political participation, global conflict and social movements. This course was required for all students in the program and required service learning as part of the course.

As an option, Professor Ferrari also offered Sociology 403, "Group Dynamics," primarily for intermediate and advanced students of sociology and social psychology, which studied the practice of cooperation, conflict, consensus-building, compromise, conflict resolution, and leadership, all useful in understanding and participating in democratic processes. This course was not required.

Each student was required to take an Italian language course while in Rome.

All other courses were selected from the offerings of John Cabot University, the host institution of the Connecticut College SATA Program in Rome. JCU is a 600-student, English-speaking, private liberal arts college located in Trastevere ("across the Tiber"), the heart of old Rome.

Rome provided an unparalleled array of educational opportunities. Students interested in classics, religious studies, Italian Studies, international relations, history of art and architecture, for instance, found endless intellectual stimulation, also applicable for students of anthropology, political science, sociology, European history, and related studies. The SATA program and JCU sponsored field trips to important historical sites to supplement the students' experience.

SATA Rome 2004 Excursions

The piazza in Siena, site of the famous horserace, "Il Palio".

Siena, the second city of the Renaissance, with its centuries-old practice of effective city government, provided students with a firsthand opportunity to investigate exemplary, tightly-knit neighborhood communities, in many ways self-governing and perfect examples of civic participation. Siena also boasts a collection of beautiful and important works of Renaissance art, including the city-hall frescoes of good and bad government. Additional trips were to include Florence and Venice, the latter especially during Carnevale.