Rome Study Abroad Program

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Courses

Each year, the Program will offer two mission courses, that is, courses that relate to the Catholic mission of each of the sponsoring schools, as well as two comparative or international law courses.  Courses offered during summer 2008 are:

Comparative Corporate Scandals

Dean Mark A. Sargent, Villanova

The goal of the course is to do a comparative analysis of two recent, major corporate scandals in the U.S. and in Italy:  Enron and Parmalat.  Each had major economic repercussions and led to significant law reforms:  the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the U.S. and a major restructuring of Italian corporate law.  The ensuing reform legislation in both countries reflected official judgments about the causes and remedies for the scandals.  While the scandals have some key similarities, a comparative analysis shows that the scandals reflected significant differences between U.S. and Italian corporate and securities law.  In addition, socioeconomic analysis shows that profound differences in American and Italian political and business culture also influenced the way the scandals unfolded.  This course will also consider the intensely controversial legal reforms that followed the scandals.  The course will also include a more general discussion of the ability of law to restrain corporate wrongdoing.

Comparative Refugee and Asylum Law and Policy (mission-related course)

Professor Michele Pistone, Villanova

The course will begin with an exploration of the historical roots of refugee protection under international law, as well as the emergence of the international refugee protection regime in the 20th century.  The legal definitions of the term “refugee” will be examined in detail. Religious perspectives on immigration and the treatment of refugees will also be considered, beginning from the perspective of Catholic Social Teaching.  Traditions also to be examined will be Jewish, Muslim, and Buddhist perspectives on refugees.  International norms and state practice in adjudicating refugee claims will be reviewed and analyzed, with a particular emphasis on European policies and practices. 

International Art & Cultural Heritage Law

Assistant Dean Diane Penneys Edelman, Villanova

From the removal of the Elgin (or Parthenon) Marbles from Greece, to the looting of art by the Nazis and the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in Afghanistan, civilizations have often considered objects of art and cultural property to be their rightful spoils of war or conquest—to take, sell, or destroy as they will.  Sometimes these acts are committed by governments, sometimes by private actors.  Governments may succeed or fail in their efforts to repatriate cultural property, and museums and galleries, as well as individual purchasers, must be wary about the provenance of their collections and purchases to avoid costly litigation and recovery.

This course will expose you to these and other issues relating to the increasingly hot topic of the international law relating to art and cultural property.  We will examine major international legal instruments relating to the protection of cultural property, in addition to U.S. and other countries’ legislation and court decisions relating to efforts to repatriate art to its rightful owners.  In addition, we will examine how the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, as well as American law, treats the moral rights of artists.

Making War and Peace in Ages of Terror  (mission-related course)

Professor Virgil O. Wiebe, St. Thomas

The course will begin by looking the different historical conceptions of war and peace, looking at Holy War, Just War, and Pacifism from different religious, legal and philosophical perspectives.  The course will continue by reviewing the development of the laws of armed conflict, and the emergence of an international criminal justice system.  An emphasis will be placed on how war and conflict affects people “on the ground,” from how participants train for conflict to how conflict affects the legal status of those caught up in the middle of it. Issues will be presented through case studies, often with Italian and other European connections.  Whenever possible, field trips will be arranged to relevant museums, government and Vatican ministries, and non profit-organizations, and documentaries and movie clips will be used in class when relevant.

Study law in Rome this summer!

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