History in Your Hands!
A visit to the American Academy in Rome (AAR)
The AAR was founded in 1894 and grew out of the Chicago World’s Fair, which in itself was a celebration of Christopher Columbus and colonialism and industrialization. It is part of a larger pattern of foreign schools being founded in Mediterranean countries and beyond. As the readings explore these schools have come under criticism as agents of imperial and colonial power, especially in past generations. They continue to play a key diplomatic role between countries. For most who interact with such institutions they serve primarily as educational resources with research libraries, public lectures, specialist expertise for archaeological excavations, and collections of antiquities. The grounds are beautiful, even luxurious. Artists and scholars compete to spend a six months or more in residence. We will visit in order to get up close an personal with the object we’ve been seeing behind glass! Below are objects in the hands of summer 2025 students.
Readings
Whitling, Frederick, ‘Foreign Schools in the Mediterranean in Historical Perspective’, in Margarita Díaz-Andreu, and Laura Coltofean (eds), Institutions and Legislation, in Margarita Díaz-Andreu, and Laura Coltofean (eds), The Oxford Handbook of the History of Archaeology, (2024).
LogisticS
The American Academy is on the TOP of the Janiculum. It is critical we are not late. Transit advice will be forthcoming.
Themes
The history of scholarship and collection on an international stage. The role of prestige and power in the reception of the Roman past. Ownership and protection of cultural heritage.
Blog Prompt
How does holding an object change your perspective of it? How do the objects you handled connect to earlier instructional days/topics? What does it mean for an institution to be American in Italy? What felt Italian about the Academy? What felt American?
GALLERY
Rome via Brooklyn 