The Academic Program Established in 1996, the Council Study Center program in Tunisia offers students the opportunity for intensive short-term study in art history and archaeological studies or studio arts. During the six-week program, students enroll in two of three area studies courses. Students use the techniques discussed in this course during the dig. In the Studio Arts course, students are introduced to techniques of mosaic, stucco relief, and terra-cotta pottery making. Students use the ancient techniques learned in this course in the restoration of mosaics.
Students also receive informal instruction in Arabic.
Local customs and practices are also addressed in these sessions. Depending on work in progress and discoveries made through spring 2001, the work in the dig consists of cleaning, completing the uncovering of a monument, uncovering and lifting a mosaic, working on early Christian catacombs, or surveying fields for datable objects in a new area. Studio Arts Students interested in studio arts concentrate on making mosaics, arabesque stucco relief, and terra-cotta pottery. The Sahel region has been famous for all three of these arts since early times. Tunisia has the world's largest collection of Roman polychrome mosaics.