This May, seven students will travel to Italy to learn about Renaissance mathematicians as part of a new UA in Italy study abroad program.
In its inaugural year, the three-week program titled “Discovering Mathematicians of the Renaissance” will take students to cities including Rome, Florence, Pisa and Venice. Pam Derrick, director of learning communities, is program director for UA in Italy.
“This program was created to provide an experience that integrates numerous academic disciplines in an experiential setting,” Derrick said. “I am thrilled for the students who are participating in this trip. Dr. Bowen will create new and imaginative ways for them to earn about Italian culture, math and themselves.”
Larry Bowen, a professor in the department of mathematics, will travel with the group abroad and teach a three-hour general studies course. The idea for Bowen’s course came from several of his own personal interests.
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“Because I teach mathematics, a course related to math was an obvious choice,” Bowen said. “I also wanted to take advantage of teaching in a foreign location. Putting those two things together with some pre-existing interests of my own, I decided to focus on mathematicians of the Renaissance.”
The mathematicians that students will study were not necessarily classified as mathematicians when they were alive. Bowen explained that sometimes they would hold titles such as bookkeeper or accountant, but were actually mathematicians. Students will have to uncover these hidden scholars as part of their studies this May.
“I used the term ‘discovering’ in the course title simply as a way of acknowledging that a lot of Renaissance mathematics was done by people who might not have considered themselves primarily mathematicians,” Bowen said.
The group will spend the majority of their time in Florence, but will enjoy several days in Rome and Venice and even a day in Pisa. These locations were chosen to provide a relevant backdrop for the course.
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“Florence is ground zero for studying Renaissance mathematicians,” Bowen said. “For instance, while there, we will tour the Museo Galileo and we’ll use our visit to the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore as an introduction to Filippo Brunelleschi, who designed and built the famous dome of the church. I’ll use our visit to Pisa to introduce Leonardo of Pisa — better known to us as Fibonacci. Fibonacci was a pre-Renaissance mathematician but his work, especially his book, Liber Abaci, was extremely influential among mathematicians of the Renaissance period.”
Scott Barnes, a post-graduate student with a BA in telecommunication and film and A/V production, is keeping his expectations for the program’s first trip relatively open.
“I have very few expectations for what is coming in Italy,” Barnes said. “I like to keep myself open in any experience I may have. I know the study abroad program has many things planned for us including some of the typical things one would expect to do, and that will be exciting, but I am hoping to find a nice hole-in-the-wall restaurant with fantastic food and a big personality.”
Alex Jones, a sophomore majoring in anthropology, said he wants to use this trip to increase his global awareness as a budding anthropologist.
“As an anthropology major, it would really give me better insight into the field to get out of the country, to see completely different cultures,” Jones said.
For more information about study abroad programs at The University of Alabama, visit studyabroad.ua.edu.
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