Students explore theology, literature, art, and history across Rome, Assisi, Florence, and beyond.
In May, Asbury University students spent part of their summer exploring the humanities in the birthplace of the Renaissance. Led by Dr. Daniel Strait and Dr. Brian Shelton ’89, 18 literature and theology students traveled across Italy to encounter churches, museums, historic sites, and works of art that shaped Western thought and Christian imagination for centuries.
This journey gave students a living encounter with the roots of the liberal arts and showed them how faith, imagination, and culture continue to shape one another across generations.
Their journey began in Rome, where students stepped directly into the world they had studied in classrooms and books. They visited the tomb of the Apostle Paul, explored early Christian catacombs, and walked through the ancient Forum and the Colosseum. Students also toured the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter’s Basilica, where art, theology, philosophy, and history converged in unforgettable ways.Exploring
Students encountered the artistic legacy of Christian faith throughout Italy’s churches and sacred spaces. The group later traveled to Assisi, where students climbed Mt. Subasio in the footsteps of Francis of Assisi. They prayed and journaled at his original hermitage retreat while reflecting on readings from G. K. Chesterton’s biography of Francis. Medieval frescoes and sacred spaces helped students connect their academic studies with lived expressions of faith and devotion.
In Florence, students stood beneath the towering cathedral dome and viewed the gold plated baptistry doors that helped launch the Renaissance through their vivid biblical storytelling. Renaissance art and literature gave students new opportunities to reflect on the relationship between creativity, theology, and imagination.
Shelton emphasized the value of experiential learning that unites multiple disciplines.
We’re proud to be richly integrative, offering experiential learning of art that visualizes theology that matches the poet’s passions and imaginations. A figure like Michelangelo does all three."
Students also learned to navigate Italian culture through local food, transportation, and conversations with Italian guide Davide Ibrahim. As they read Petrarch’s Secret from the writer’s hometown of Arezzo, students considered the intersections of poetry, theology, philosophy, and the liberal arts tradition.
This is a trip that takes us to the intellectual origins of the liberal arts education."
Asbury University’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences serves as the intellectual core of the University’s liberal arts tradition, offering programs through the Ancient & Modern Languages, Art & Design, English, Music, Psychology, Social Science & History, and Social Work departments. These areas equip students with critical thinking, creativity, and a deep understanding of culture and human behavior, preparing them for both graduate study and diverse professional paths.