Professor Kris Paulsen will be leading a study abroad program to visit Venice, Italy in May 2026. The course will provide class credit for History of Art 4789.4, as well as complete the entire GE Lived Environments Theme for 4 credits.

This Education Abroad class looks Venice, Italy as a singular site with extreme and exceptional environmental conditions. Venice’s precarious habitat influenced the production of unique forms art, architecture, civil engineering, politics, government, and culture over the last 1500 years. The physical and cultural landscape of Venice is the result of a dynamic collaboration between people and the natural world surrounding them. We will study the history of creative interventions developed to build and preserve this strange city and ecosystem. We will focus on three major themes: Venice Past: art, architecture, and engineering of the Byzantine through Baroque periods (500-1800 CE); Venice Present: Venice as the center of the art world from the “Grand Tour” in the 19th century to the current Venice Biennale; and Venice Future: how climate change and over tourism affect the natural environment and cultural heritage preservation.

The program will spend the first two weeks of the May term 2026 (May 11-22) in synchronous remote class meetings, before traveling to Venice, Italy for two weeks (May 24-June 5). Students will be housed in hotels in central Venice. There will be two different info sessions offered for more information regarding the program, with details found below.