Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "AH 223"
COURSE NAME: "The Art and Architecture of Imperial Rome"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2014

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Inge Hansen
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MW 4:30 PM 5:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The Art and Architecture of Imperial Rome is an essential study for anyone interested in the world of ancient Rome and its Empire. Through a focus on art and material culture, the course investigates the characteristics and interests of this multicultural world. It discusses how art and architecture functioned as dynamic expressions of cultural identity and as mediators for social interaction by asking how art was used at different times and places, and who commissioned and viewed these works.

The course will foster a firm understanding of developments and traditions in the history of the world of ancient Rome. The aim is to develop an awareness of cultural characteristics and an ability to analyze long-term trends and changes.
The course will familiarize students with a broad range of artistic media (architecture, painting, sculpture, mosaics) and develop the ability to analyze these in historical context. The aim is for a nuanced understanding of the social, political and cultural concerns shaping the material culture of a complex visual world.
The course will introduce students to the rhetoric of spaces and inherent narrativity of objects, and the methodologies to interpret these. The aim is for an awareness of spaces as dynamic stages of social interaction and an understanding of the impact of patronage and viewing.
The course will introduce students to discourses of cultural diversity and the construction of identity – within cultural groupings, across cultural interconnections, and in response to the ‘foreign’. The aim is for nuanced appreciation of socio-political concerns of acculturation and participation in the ancient world.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
The course focuses on the vibrant period between the 2nd century BC and the 4th century AD, which constituted the height of Roman power within a sprawling and culturally diverse Empire. An important focus of the course is the dynamic relationships of inspiration within this cosmopolitan and multicultural world.
The course adopts a format of two interlinked approaches
1. An overarching chronological format, complemented by material-based investigations, in order to highlight changes in – and impact of – cultural interaction over time
2. A thematic format focused on the patronage and viewership of works in order to highlight particular outlooks and traditions of cultural groups (‘nations’, cities and individuals) – as well as the interconnectivity between them – across the Empire

The course investigates the negotiation of artistic expression within an Empire that was at once unified and diverse. Hence, it examines the rich artistic culture of the ancient world through a broad prism of media: public and private monuments, statues, portraiture, reliefs, paintings, mosaics and personal adornment. These are investigated for their intrinsic artistic value and stylistic expression, and as part of their original setting. In other words, discussions of urban topography, domestic space and (self)representation frame and contextualize the works.

The course considers how Romaness was articulated, and the response to this in the provinces. It raises questions on Rome’s relationship with Greek art and provincial responses to Rome; on the status of the emperor and the participation in power-relationships within Rome and in provincial cities; on the diverse concerns evident in elite and non-elite art; and on the depictions of non-Romans in both Rome and the provinces. It invites considerations about ‘multiculturalism’ and ‘cultural globalization’; about public imaging; and about tradition and the perceived merits of being Roman.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
Proficiencies
Ability to analyze – and contextualize – characteristics of ancient cultures over time
•   Understanding of key aspects of Greco-Roman art – and ability to analyze motives in their creation and reception
•   Ability to identify trends and long-term developmental aspects, as well as to follow the complex reasoning inherent in their particular discourses
•   Awareness of cultural individuality and cross-cultural inspirations – within and between cultural and social groups
Ability to analyze art, architecture and material culture as primary sources
•   Awareness of the impact of form, style, medium and material, and ability to interpret diverse artistic media and their impact
•   Familiarity with relevant historical, art historical and architectural terminology to deploy these with precision and to effect
•   Understanding of the socio-political context of public and private art and architecture – and the ability for comparative analyses of these as expressions of culture and acculturation
Ability to articulate interests and developments as affected by cultural factors
•   Awareness of avenues and motivations for socio-political participation by the elite, as well as appreciation of the relationship between ruler and community
•   Appreciation of directions of artistic inspiration – and of the expression of provincial and non-elite participation in a dominant culture (the world of Rome)
Ability to analyze the construction and articulation of cultural identities
•   Ability for analyzing material culture as dynamic interactions of inspiration, response and emulation – not simply imperialism or control
•   Awareness of how the image of the ‘other’ is shaped by a culture’s (Rome’s) perception of ‘self’ and sense of security within a wider world
•   Ability to see the selectivity in adoption of non-traditional forms, and a capacity for identifying a permanence of cultural outlook/identity within mutable artistic forms and foreign inspirations

Skills
Communicative skills – writing and oral competence
•   Term paper: Skills of organization of material, focus on topic, and nuance in discussion
•   Exams: Aptitudes for contextualization and nuanced discussion of works, as well as for focused presentation of data
•   Class presentations: Skills of public speaking (presentation of material, development of argument, illustration of evidence) and didactic methods (engaging audience through description, posing questions, responding to answers)
•   Participation: Skills of formulating reviews and analytical responses; participating in debates; posing questions
Cognitive skills – critical thinking and interpretation
•   Class presentation: Skills of evaluation and consideration of evidence; analysis of information gathered from observation; and skillful reflection on significance
•   Participation: Skills of reasoned consideration of evidence and methods; willingness to adapt/revise ways of thinking; and openness to alternative perspectives
•   Term paper and exams: Development of subtlety and engagement of mental approach to the topic at hand
•   Lectures and class presentations: Adeptness at visual analysis. That is, the formal analysis of an object, the contextualization of this in space and history, and the formulation of an interpretative thesis, as well as ability to draw out observations on the cultural outlook, norms and histories that inform the making of the object
Collaborative and shared inquiry skills
•   Lectures and participation: Development of investigative response-skills; collaborative contributions; and open debate – ability to test, explore and communicate complex ideas
•   Class presentations: Skills of thoughtful dialogue; sharing of observations; and active contribution to an academic milieu Investigative skills and evaluation of data
•   Term paper and class presentations: Skills of using and evaluating secondary texts of diverse focus, specialism and target audience; as well as of interpreting both the inherent interests of these and the arguments presented
•   Lectures and participation: Skills of evaluation of context, impact and patronage of objects and spaces

TEXTBOOK:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments	Format	Local Bookstore	Online Purchase
A History of Roman Art	Kleiner, Fred	Boston, Wadsworth (2010)	978-0-495-90988-0	N5760 .K54

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments
A full bibliography for the course will be provided at the start of term	-	-	-	-

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments
Further reading suggestions for the course will be provided at the start of term	-	-	-	-

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
Academic participation	Exchange of ideas and the contribution to the academic environment of the class	0
Two class presentations	Short research presentations delivered to the class (each worth 12.5%)	25%
Two mid-term exams	Identification and analysis of works discussed in class (each worth 10%)	20%
Term paper	Research paper (8-10 double-spaced pages, excluding bibliography and illustrations).	25%
Final exam	Identification and analysis of individual works, and analytical essays	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
•   All scheduled classes are mandatory. Please refer to the university catalogue for the attendance and absence policy.
•   All classes will start promptly. You must always be punctual; late arrival will be noted. You are expected to have dealt with food, drink and bathroom needs before class.
•   Make-up work is not offered, except in exceptional circumstances and after consultation with the Dean of Academic Affairs.

Revision aids
•   An overview of works studied, accompanied by thematically organized questions to help you organize your notes and gain an overview of the material, will be posted on MyJCU in advance of each exam.

Changes to / cancellation of class
•     Changes, additional course information, etc. will be posted on MyJCU. Please check this regularly and, certainly, in advance of each class.
•     In case of unavoidable cancellations of class, notification will be posted at the front desk at both Tiber and Guarini campuses. A suitable date and time for a make-up class will subsequently be established.

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

Details of further reading suggestions as well as a relevant bibliography for the course will be provided at the start of term

1. Mon. Sept. 1           Introduction to the course
Theme Course requirements, logistics and resources
Assigned reading        None

2. Wed. Sept. 3           Back-story. Rome between Etruria and Magna Graecia
Theme Geographical and mythological origins. Demaratos, Aeneas, Romulus. Pithekoussai, Tarquinia/Caere, Praeneste
Assigned reading        Familiarity with the syllabus; Kleiner 2010: xxi-viii (Magna Graecia, Etruria), xxxiv-v, xliv (Tomb of the Augurs, Tomb of the Leopards, Lars Pulena)

3. Mon. Sept. 8         Back-story. Etruscan influence in Rome / Classical Athens
Theme Rome and Athens in the 6th/5th century BC; displaying civic identity. Rome: Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, Forum Romanum, Forum Boarium; Athens: Parthenon
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 1-4; Stamper 2005: 6-10, 38-40 (the kings of early Rome, politics and authority)

4. Wed. Sept. 10         Back-story. Greek influence in Rome / Hellenistic Pergamon
Theme Rome and Pergamon in the 3rd/2nd century BC; the Hellenistic world and Alexander the Great; styles and international inspirations. Rome: Temple of Portunus, Temple of Hercules Victor, Forum Romanum (basilicas, atrium houses); Pergamon: Great Altar of Altar of Zeus, Pergamene dedication in Athens
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 5-8, 11-12

5. Mon. Sept. 15         Cultural worlds. Hellenistic Italy
Theme Pompeii and Praeneste in the 2nd century BC; Hellenistic inspirations. Pompeii: Forum area, House of the Faun, Alexander mosaic; Praeneste (Palestrina): Sanctuary of Fortuna, Nile mosaic
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 12-15, 18-22, 37

6. Wed. Sept. 17         Cultural worlds. Hellenized Rome
Theme Rome in the 2nd/1st-century BC; impact of expansion; celebration of victory. Rome: Triumph and spectacle; Theatre of Pompey, Porticus Metelli; Delphi: Monument of Aemilius Paulus
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 47-50, 56-57

7. Mon. Sept. 22         Cities. Cosmopolitan Rome
Theme Impact of Greek art in 2nd/1st-century BC Rome; Cultural code-switching, Greek sculpture in Rome, Roman eclecticism. Paris–Munich reliefs, School of Pasiteles, Theatre of Pompey, Delos
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 47, 49-52

8. Wed. Sept. 24         Cities. Making imperial Rome – Caesar and Augustus
Theme Rome in the late 1st-century BC; tradition and individualism; city and leader. Forum Romanum, Forum of Caesar, Mausoleum of Augustus
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 58-64, 74, 79-80

9. Mon. Sept. 29            Individuals. Roman Republican portraiture
Theme Portrait representation in 1st-century BC Rome, cultural and social identity, nudity, clothing and status. Veristic Republican style, statue of general from Tivoli, portraiture of Pompey and Caesar
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 52-56, 58

10. Wed. Oct. 1          Cities. Making imperial Rome – Augustus
Theme Late 1st-century BC Rome; mythologized history; tradition transformed – emperor as image of city; depicting Rome as a world city. Forum of Augustus, garden painting from Prima Porta
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 64-66; Kleiner 1992: 82-84 (Temple of Apollo)

11. Mon. Oct. 6          Mid-term exam 1

12. Wed. Oct. 8        Individuals. Participating in power
Theme Late 1st-century BC Rome; honoring the emperor; depicting a new, world city. Ara Pacis Augustae; Agrippa’s Pantheon; Temple of Apollo Medicus Sosianus
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 70-72, 73; Kleiner 1992: 75, 84-86 (Agrippa, Apollo Sosianus)

13. Mon. Oct. 13        Individuals. Portraiture and dress codes
Theme Augustan period (27 BC-AD 14) Rome; reconfigured portrait styles; the Roman toga; non-elite styles. Portraiture of Augustus, statues of Augustus from Via Labicana and Prima Porta, freedmen reliefs
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 67-70, 81-83

14. Wed. Oct. 15        Cities. Roman Pompeii
Theme Pompeii between 80 BC and AD 79; Roman colony and imperial city; civic identity; elite participation in power. Forum area, amphitheater, Building of Eumachia, Temple of Apollo
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 20-27, 97 (box)

15. Mon. Oct. 20        Cities. Roman Athens and Roman Aphrodisias
Theme Athens and Aphrodisias in the 1st century AD; civic and cultural identity; participation in Romaness. Athens: monopteros of Augustus and Roma, gladiatorial shows; Aphrodisias: Sebasteion
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 113; Rose 2005: 50-53 (Athens)

16. Wed. Oct. 22        Individuals. The Roman House
Theme The early imperial domus (1st century BC-first century AD); the house as a stage for social interaction; the impact of atrium and peristyle; loci of work/culture, Romaness/greekness. House of the Menander, House Sallust, House of the Vetii, House of the Faun, House of Octavius Quartio, Villa of the Mysteries
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 31-39, 143-4

17. Mon. Oct. 27        Individuals. Domestic wall painting
Theme Decorative schemes of the early empire (1st century BC-first century AD); fashion or politics? Villa of the Mysteries, Villa della Farnesina, Villa at Boscotrecase
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 39-45, 75-77, 146-50

18. Wed. Oct. 29        Individuals. Roman mosaic pavements
Theme Decorative schemes and style in the Roman Empire (1st-4th centuries AD); context and viewing; imperial traditions and cultural inspirations. Baths of Neptune, Ostia; Great Hunt mosaic, Piazza Armerina; Dominus Julius mosaic, Carthage; Gladiator mosaic, Nennig; Marine Venus mosaic, Rudstone
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 206-7; Clarke 1979: 26-29 (Baths of Neptune)

19. Mon. Nov. 3         Individuals. The emperor and Rome
Theme Late 1st-century AD Rome; articulating the position of the emperor in Rome; the imperial palace and cultural patronage; Roman identity and social cohesion. Domus Aurea, Palatine palace, Templum Pacis, Colosseum, Stadium of Domitian
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 115-18, 121, 126-8, 132-4

20. Wed. Nov. 5         Mid-term exam 2

21. Mon. Nov. 10       Cultural worlds. Rome depicting non-Romans
Theme Late 1st to late 2nd century AD; depictions of non-Romans, depictions of warfare. Arch at Orange, Columns of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius, Victory monument at Adamklissi
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 95, 153, 156-62, 187, 199-201

22. Wed. Nov. 12       Cities. Philhellenic Rome
Theme Hadrianic Rome (mid 2nd-century AD); creating a cosmopolitan city; depicting a unified imperial world. Rome: Temple of Venus and Rome, Pantheon, Hadrianeum; Athens: Olympieion
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 171, 178-85

23. Mon. Nov. 17       Individuals. Portraiture in Rome, Greece and Egypt (Term paper due)
Theme 2nd-century AD portrait styles and use in Rome, Athens and Fayum; Roman traditions–Greek inspirations; Greek/Egyptian traditions–Roman inspirations. Portraiture of Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius; kosmetai depictions, Athens; mummy portraits, Fayum
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 171-5, 190-1, 227-9; D’Ambra 2002: 201-3, 213

24. Wed. Nov. 19       Cities. Rome and Leptis Magna
Theme Early 3rd-century Rome and North Africa; civic participation in power; diversity in depictions of the emperor; display of Roman tradition? Arches of Septimius Severus in Rome and Leptis Magna; Arch of the Argentarii, Rome; the Severan forum, Leptis Magna
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 231, 238-41, 247-52

25. Mon. Nov. 24       Cities. Roman Ostia / the medianum house
Theme Ostia between 1st-3rd centuries AD. Trade as civic identity; civic individuality and Romaness; the late imperial domus – new social interactions. Piazzale delle Coporazione; forum area (Capitolium, Temple of Rome and Augustus); insulae and the medianum house
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 17-18, 203-6, 208-10

26. Wed. Nov. 26       Individuals. The beautiful city – bathing and parks
Theme Severan Rome (early 3rd century); luxurious provisions for inhabitants; baths and parks as images of Rome/Romaness; dynastic imaging as civic display. Baths of Caracalla; Zeptizodium; provisions of aqueducts and parks
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 90-2, 237 (box), 242-5; Claridge 2010: 171-3, 356-65

27. Mon. Dec. 1          Cities. Roman Rome
Theme Constantinian Rome (early 4th century AD); formalizing the past as imperial image; Rome referencing Rome . Arch of Constantine; portraiture of Constantine
Assigned reading        Kleiner 2010: 291, 293-8

28. Wed. Dec. 3          Review class
Theme    Overview and discussion of course content
Assigned reading:       Pose 3-5 questions, based on your revision study, for which you would like clarification and further detail

29/30. Dec. 6-12         Final exam
Date, time and place to be announced