Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "AH/CL 266"
COURSE NAME: "Special Topics in Ancient Art: Persian and Ancient Near Eastern Art"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2020

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Sophy Downes
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: TTH 10:00-11:15 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Specialized courses offered periodically on specific aspects of the art of the ancient world. Courses are normally research-led topics on an area of current academic concern.
May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

AH/CL 266-Special Topics in Ancient Art: Persian and Ancient Near Eastern Art

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course provides an introduction to the art and archaeology of the Ancient Near East from the earliest Neolithic settlements (c.12,000 BCE) to the end of the Achaemenid Empire (330 BCE). It looks at the role of material culture—from figurines, eye-idols, and cylinder seals to public monuments and royal residences— in shaping the inhabited environment from the earliest settlements, through the development of urban centres, to the first ‘world empire.’

While students will gain familiarity with the region and the sequence of societies inhabiting it, this course is not intended primarily to provide a comprehensive survey. Instead it uses a series of case studies to consider various theoretical and conceptual issues involved in the production and use of objects / monuments. It will expand students’ visual literacy and their ability to think critically about how objects mediate our position in the world.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT

Is a statue ever alive? Why is there no Akkadian word for beautiful? What were the hanging gardens of Babylon? How did the servants in the Royal Tombs of Ur die? This course will address these and other questions in the context of the Ancient Near East, with the overall aim of introducing students to the varied, and often unfamiliar, ways in which material culture mediated Ancient Near East interactions with the world.

The class will be organized chronologically, each week focusing on a particular (set of) objects / monuments. Class will consist of 1) a lecture exploring the relevant historical background and 2) a discussion session for which students will read contemporary scholarship on a theoretical issue related to the material. Core concepts will include: object agency, place and memory, interactions with the gods, ritual violence and the destruction of objects, diplomatic exchange, the uses of visual narrative. Considering objects broadly in terms of their social function, their ability to ‘change the world’ – the course will return to the questions: why do these societies produce and use (art) objects? What can people do / think with these particular (art) objects that they couldn’t do / think without them?

This is a reading-intense course. Students will be required to bring notes on the readings to class each week, and after class to outline an answer to related questions, which will form the basis of the final exams.

This course is primarily visual, but will occasionally make use of the rich corpus of texts from the period—e.g., the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Behistun inscription.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Students will learn how to:

- look at objects and buildings more thoroughly, and use a wider vocabulary and range of concepts to describe what they see.

- understand the historical, social, and religious contexts in which these Ancient Near East objects/buildings belong.

- read intensively, respond critically and independently to the material they have read, and discuss their different responses in a productive fashion.

- form their own arguments and conclusions by moving between data and theory, and learn how to express these arguments and conclusions effectively.

- reflect on their own engagement with the material world, and the *long*-term patterns of human change/continuity within which they do this.

TEXTBOOK:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments	Format	Local Bookstore	Online Purchase
2017. Mesopotamia. Art and Architecture.	Bahrani, Zainab;	New York: Thames and Hudson.	9780500292754
The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy.	Liverani, Mario	London and New York: Routledge.	978-0415679060

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
- Attendance and participation	For the discussion classes, students are required to select a key sentence or paragraph from the readings and come to class prepared to explain why they chose it.	15%.
- Mid-terms	These will consist of identification and discussion of images studied so far in the course. This will evaluate visual awareness and vocabulary, as well as familiarity with the material studied.	25%.
- Research paper	Students will choose a research topic in collaboration with the instructor and turn it into a project. The project should involve an analytical and critical discussion of a theoretical approach and its application to an archaeological case study. The main aim in the research project is the bridge the apparent gap between theoretical discussions in archaeology and the material evidence.	30%.
- Final exam	This will be based on the questions raised in-class discussions. Students will be permitted to bring outlines to the exam. This will evaluate critical thinking and the effective communication of independently developed arguments.	30%.

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.

-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________

ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred. In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment, may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation to the President, who will make the final decision.

STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap. Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.

SCHEDULE

SCHEDULE

Each week will consist of a lecture, introducing the historical and artistic background, and a discussion period, which will be based on the assigned readings:

1 Where is the Ancient Near East?

Bahrani, Zainab; 1998. “Conjuring Mesopotamia: imaginative geography and a world past,” in

Archaeology under fire: Nationalism, politics and heritage in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. L. Meskell (ed.), Routledge: London and New York, 159-174.

Matthews, R. 2003: “Defining a discipline: Mesopotamian archaeology in history,” 1-26, inThe archaeology of Mesopotamia: theories and approaches. London and New York: Routledge

Scheffler, Thomas; 2003. “ 'Fertile crescent', 'Orient', 'Middle East': the changing mental maps of Southwest Asia,” European Review of History 10/2: 253-272.

2 Çatalhöyük. Which came first? Did art cause agriculture, or did agriculture cause art?

Cauvin, Jacques; 2000. The birth of the gods and the origins of agriculture. Trans. Trevor Watkins. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 62-72 and 105-120.

Hodder, I “Materiality, Art and Agency” in Catalhoyuk: Leopard’s Tale, Thames and Hudson, 185-206.

3 The Uruk phenomenon. Cities and narrative

Bahrani, Z.; 2002. “Performativity and the image: narrative, representation and the Uruk vase,” in Leaving no stones unturned: essays on the Ancient Near East and Egypt in honor of Donald P. Hansen. E. Ehrenberg (ed.). Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 2002: pages 15-22.

Matthews, R. 2003: “States of mind: approaches to complexity,” 93-126, in , in The archaeology of Mesopotamia: theories and approaches. London and New York: Routledge.

Epic Of Gilgamesh (relevant sections).

4 The Royal Tombs of Ur. Ritual violence and gifts for the dead

Susan Pollock; 2007. “The Royal Cemetery of Ur: Ritual, tradition and the creation of subjects,” in Representations of Political Power: Case Histories from times of Change and Dissolving Order in the Ancient Near East. M. Heinz and M. H. Feldman (eds.). Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 89-110.

5 Art of the Akkadian Empire from Sargon to Naram Sin. Landscapes and bodies

Winter, Irene; 1985. “After the battle is over: the stele of the vultures and the beginning of historical narrative in the art of the ancient Near East” Studies in the History of Art 16:11-32.

Winter, Irene; 1996. “Sex, rhetoric and the public monument: the alluring body of Naram-Sin of Agade” in Sexuality in Ancient Art, N.B.Kampen (ed.), Cambridge: 11-26.

6 The Uluburun Shipwreck. Trade and diplomacy in the Levantine Bronze Age

Feldman, M. H.; 2002. “Luxurious forms: refining a Mediterranean ‘international style,’ 1400- 1200 BCE,” Art Bulletin 84: 6-29.

Liverani, Mario, “The Late Bronze Age: Materials and Mechanisms of Trade and Cultural Exchange,” in J. Aruz, et al., eds., Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C., 160–169.

7 Mid-terms

8 Class visits to Museo Barrocco and Museo Nazionale di Arte Orientale

9 The Hittites: sacred waters, holy mountains

Hawkins, J.D.; 1998. “Hattusa: home to the thousand gods of Hatti,” in Capital Cities: Urban Planning and Spiritual Dimensions. J. G. Westenholz (ed.), Bible Lands Museum: Jerusalem.

10 Assyria. Palace and cosmos, centring the world – Nineveh, Nimrud, Khorsabad.

Nielsen, I. 2001. The Royal Palace Institution in the First Millennium BC. Athens: The Danish Institute at Athens.

Summers, David; 2003. “Facture” in Real Spaces. London: Phaidon Press, 61-86.

11 Babylon and memory

Winter, Irene J.; 2000. “Babylonian archaeologists of the(ir) Mesopotamian past,” in Proceedings of the First International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East. P. Matthiae et. al. (eds.); Università degli studi di Roma “La Sapienza,”: Roma, 1785-1789.

Jonker, G; 1995. “Continuity and change in the Ebabbar of Sippar: The construction of the past in the First Millennium” in The topography of remembrance: The dead, tradition and collective memory in Mesopotamia, E.J.Brill: Leiden, 153-176.

12 Paradises in Babylon and Persia

Novák, M.; 2002. “The artificial paradise: programme and ideology of royal gardens,” in Sex and gender in the ancient Near East. S. Parpola and R.M. Whiting (eds.); Helsinki: The Neo-Assyrian Text Corpus Project, Part II, 443-460.

Dalley, S.; 1994. “Nineveh, Babylon and the hanging gardens: cuneiform and classical sources

reconciled,”Iraq 56: 45-58.

Stronach, D; 1990. “The garden as a political statement: some case studies from the Near East in the First Millennium B.C.,” Bulletin of the Asia Institute 4: 171-180.

13 Persia. Does pattern keep you safe? Repetition and decoration in Achaemenid small crafts and architecture.

Frankfort, H. 1946. ‘Achaemenian Sculpture’, 6-14 in AJA 50.1.

Root, M. 1979. The King and Kingship in Achaemenid Art: Essays on the Creation of an Iconography of Empire. Leiden.

14 Review class. The ANE in the Classical and modern worlds

Meskell, L.; 2005. “Sites of violence: terrorism, tourism, and heritage in the archaeological present,” in Embedding ethics. L Meskell and P Pels (eds.). Oxford: Berg, 123-146.

Bahrani, Z; 1996. “The Hellenization of Ishtar: nudity, fetishism and the production of cultural

differentiation in ancient art,” Oxford Art Journal 19: 3-16.

Root, M. 2007. ‘Reading Persepolis in Greek: Gifts of the Yauna’, 163-203 in C. Tuplin (ed.) Persian Responses: Political and Cultural Interaction with(in) the Achaemenid Empire. Swansea.

15 Final exam