HSIA home-base is a a large rambling schoolhouse in the hills outside Assisi but
students travel widely in Italy to see some of the greatest art and architecture of all times, from Ancient Greek to Renaissance to Contemporary. Students have classes in the morning in Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Medieval and Renaissance poetry, art & history, and then make afternoon trips and excursions to see castles, forums, ancient baths, bridges, frescoes and much more! Students sketch, keep journals, learning to create individual and constructive dialogues with what they see and read. HSIA is committed to the belief that literature and art can challenge students' ideas, inspire them to solve problems, help them to get to know themselves and other students better.

Favorite trips include nearby Perugia, a lively university town, with a beautiful Etrsucan well, interesting museums and a jazz festival; Bevagna, with its Roman baths and sea-monster mosaics; Florence; Ravenna; Tarquinia (painted 6th-century b.c. underground Etrsucan tombs and a beautiful beach); Castiglione del Lago, where students like climbing around on its famous hexagonal early Renaissance castle; and, of course, Assisi which becomes home to students.

At our Humanities Spring home-base, students can relax, process everything they've seen and experienced, go for walks, bike, or swim in the (cold!) natural springs (with waterfalls!). Two or three evenings a week, students go into Assisi for the gentle hum of piazza life and impromptu concerts (classical and jazz) or attend festivals, operas, ballets, puppet-shows, etc at the Spoleto Festiva.

Community life is an important part of Humanities Spring. A jokey tolerant atmosphere prevails with room for differing opinions. Conversation -- student-student, student-staff, and staff-staff, is at the heart of the HSIA experience. At HSIA, both inside the classroom and out, we all learn together.

Our director, Jane R. Oliensis, classicist and poet, got her degrees at Harvard and Columbia. Other staff includes art historians, archaeologists, painters, architects, and photographers. Students need have no previous knowledge of Latin, Greek, Italian or art history to attend, The only prerequisites for HSIA are enthusiasm, open-mindedness and the desire to learn.

HSIA 2012 will run from June 23rd to July 11th and cost 2,750 dollars. Work-study and merit scholarships are available. HS is committed to making it possible for enthusiastic and dedicated students to attend. If you are seriously interested in coming to Humanities Spring in Assisi this summer, please go ahead and apply and we will do our best to make it happen. All students who apply by February 15th are automatically eligible for our 100 dollar EER (early enrollment reduction).

Extra optional HS Archaeology Boot Camp will run from July 12th to July 22nd and cost 1650 dollars for students attending the regular HSIA session.