For particularly high-achieving students, Pacific Union College has developed a unique community of learning in its Honors Program. One of the key elements of the program is the summer term abroad, in which all Honors students participate.

This year students explored the summer term seminar entitled “Beauty” in Italy. A required class for Honors students, “Beauty” examines different concepts of beauty within the Western aesthetic tradition, particularly in the visual arts.

Previous to their trip to Europe, members of the Honors class met informally to prepare for the class. The students then traveled to many cities and towns throughout Italy to learn on location about artists and writers, from Michelangelo and Di Vinci to Aristotle. While the class visited Venice and Rome as well as several coastal towns, the class spent the majority of its time in Florence, Italy, visiting cathedrals and museums like the Santa Maria del Fiore and the Academia.

According to professor John McDowell, head of the Honors Program, Italy was the perfect place for the students to learn about the history and art of the period they studied. “Florence is a great place for the students to see the shift from the classical models of the Renaissance period to what happens later,” he explains.

Part of the reward for students was immersing themselves in the culture of a city. “The students really enjoyed the different pace of life. We encouraged them to explore,” McDowell recounts.

The purpose of the class, however, was not solely for students to observe great works of art or to enjoy a Europe vacation. The class was also meant to help students incorporate what they learned from the art into their own lives. For the final exam, students were asked to use what they had learned from the trip to define their own unique code of beauty.