Course Syllabus

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "AH 291"
COURSE NAME: "Medieval Rome and Its Monuments"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2014

SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Lila Yawn
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: W9:15 AM 12:00 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS:
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

COURSE AIMS:
In AH291 students acquire a first-hand knowledge of the art and architecture of Rome in the period between 250 and 1350, i.e. between the rise of Christianity as a major cultural force in the city and the turbulent fourteenth century, when Rome was wracked by the Avignon papacy and the bubonic plague. Through direct group and individual explorations of monuments in Rome, lectures, readings, and two examinations, students in the course practice basic art-historical methods, especially iconographic and functional analysis; learn about materials and media; imaginatively reconstruct a selected Roman monument (e.g. St. Peter's Basilica) as it existed at a particular moment in late antiquity or the Middle Ages; and become conversant with Rome's late ancient and medieval history and topography and the dramatic changes that the city underwent during the thousand-year 'Age in the Middle'.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

AH 291 surveys Roman monuments of art and architecture surviving from the thousand-year ‘Age in the Middle’ between Classical Antiquity and the Early Modernity, i.e. the Renaissance. The class meets entirely on location in Rome, allowing for first-hand study of buildings, paintings, mosaics, sculpture, and other objects. Class meetings will consist of lectures, group activities, and discussions, for which students are expected to prepare in advance.

IMPORTANT: You may not be registered for a class that immediately precedes or follows this one, given the time required for travel to and from the monuments.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:
In this course, you will learn to:

° Describe the socio-political-stylistic periods through which Roman art and architecture passed between A.D. 300 and 1300, citing and dating specific, exemplary monuments;

° Analyze the symbolic and aesthetic content of works of late ancient and medieval art and architecture with respect to their intended uses and purposes and in light of the modes of thought and taste to which they responded;

° Describe the transformations of the ancient Roman cityscape and of individual monuments within it in response to the cultural, social, and demographic realities of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages.

TEXTBOOK:

Book Title	Author	Publisher	ISBN number	Library Call Number	Comments	Format	Local Bookstore	Online Purchase
Rome: Profile of a City, 312-1308	Richard Krautheimer	Princeton University Press	9780691049618

REQUIRED RESERVED READING:

NONE

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:

NONE

GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:

Assignment	Guidelines	Weight
Midterm essay	Take-home, open-book essay	15
Final examination	Written, in-classroom, closed-book exam, consisting of monument identifications and essays	30
Monument identification quiz (in class)	This quiz requires that you identify ten works of art or architecture that we have studied together. From a photograph of the work, be prepared to specify its title, location (current location for works still in situ; original location for others, where the information is known), medium, and date. The quiz will be administered in class. No books or notes may be consulted during the quiz.	5
Research project	Components: project summary and bibliography (8 source minimum) with content summaries (150 to 300 words per summary, one summary per source); final paper (2000 words)	35
Professionalism	Class participation, obvious preparation, outside reading, attendance, collegiality, facilitation of positive class dynamic	15
Professionalism	Class participation, obvious preparation, outside reading, attendance, collegiality, facilitation of positive class dynamic	15

-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 and punctuality (i.e. ready to start 9:15 am for all on-site meetings) are mandatory and will count heavily in your participation/professionalism grade. So will your obvious level of active intellectual engagement in the course content throughout each class meeting. Meeting points for classes are indicated in the schedule below. Please plan to arrive well before the departure time given in the schedule, as classes depart at precisely 9:15. If you arrive at the meeting point and the group has already left, then it is your responsibility to try to find the group—generally not an easy task, given that the order of our visits to the monument, depending on reservations and other factors, may not be precisely the order listed in the syllabus. In short: plan carefully so that you arrive well before the meeting time indicated in the schedule.

The professor reserves the right to modify meeting times, places, and the monuments visited as necessary for the educational benefit of the class or due to constraints imposed by unforeseen circumstances, such as strikes. Communication about such changes will be effected either by announcement in class or by postings to our class webpage in MyJCU. For that reason YOU MUST CHECK our page in MYJCU BEFORE EACH CLASS MEETING, preferably late the previous evening or in the morning before you depart.

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

Class number	Meeting Point	Area of the City	Theme	Principal Monuments	Readings / Assignments Due
1	JCU Guarini Campus - Room to be announced.	Trastevere; Campus Martius	Shape of the course; the changing cityscape	Aurelian Wall; Museo della Crypta Balbi
2	Front entrance of Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, Piazza della Repubblica	Area of Stazione Termini	Classical heritage & the earliest Christian imagery	Baths of Diocletian; Roman National Museum of Palazzo Massimo alle Terme; Museo delle Terme	Final course syllabus (read thoroughly); Krautheimer, Ch. 1; Bible: Gospel of John, Ch. 10: http://www.drbo.org/chapter/50010.htm . Email instructor research topic preferencs (see instructions) by class meeting 3.
3	Arch of Constantine, large triumphal arch on the piazza adjacent to the Colosseum, facing into Via di San Gregorio	Via Sacra; Lateran	The triumph of Christianity	Arch of Constantine; Lateran Baptistery & Basilica	Krautheimer, Ch. 1 (cont.); Eusebius on Constantine's conversion: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/conv-const.asp
4a	JCU - Evening class, time and classroom TBA	Trastevere	Old St. Peter's Basilica	Classroom lecture: Vatican Necropolis; Old St. Peter's Basilica	Krautheimer, Ch. 1 (cont.)
5	Via Nomentana, 349. We will meet early (8:30) at Torre Argentina (Cafffé Camerino) and take a bus together. Class will end as usual at 12:00 on site.	Via Nomentana	Early Christian funerary and martyrial architecture	S. Agnese fuori le mura complex: Mausoleum of Constantina; catacomb; covered cemetery; martyrial church	Krautheimer, Ch. 2; Bible - Gospel of Matthew, Bk. 16: http://www.drbo.org/chapter/47016.htm; Ambrose on St. Agnes: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf210.iv.vii.ii.ii.html
6	Caffé Fantini, Piazza dell'Esquilino, 36. Hint: with your back to the exterior of the apse of S. Maria Maggiore (not the entrance), Caffé Fantini is across the street and on your left. Bus 75 from Induno is a good option for getting there.	Viminal & Esquiline Hills	Churches & mosaics in the age of the Visigothic Sack, pt. 1	S. Pudenziana; S. Maria Maggiore	Bible: Book of Revelation (entire): http://www.drbo.org/chapter/73001.htm; Procopius on the Sack of Rome: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/410alaric.asp
7	Entrance of S. Sabina, Pzza Pietro d'Illiria, in Via di S. Sabina on the Aventine. NOTE: STUDY YOUR MAP WELL IN ADVANCE. This is one of the more difficult sites to find, but it can be done (!).	Aventine & Caelian	Churches & mosaics in the age of the Visigothic Sack, pt. 2; the end of the Western Empire and the Greco-Gothic War	S. Sabina; SS. Cosma e Damiano; S. Stefano Rotondo (time allowing)	Midterm, pt. 1: image; Krautheimer, Ch. 3
8	Metro B stop "EUR-Fermi," just outside the metro station, at street level.	EUR	Ancient metalwork and the art of the Migrations	Museo della Civiltà Romana, EUR; Museo dell'alto medioevo	Topic summary & bibliography due; midterm exam, pt. 2 (take-home essay) assigned; Krautheimer, Ch. 3
9	Column in front of the main entrance of S. Maria Maggiore	Esquiline; Imperial fora	The Carolingian renovatio; the early medieval cityscape	S. Prassede; Markets of Trajan/Museo dei Fori Imperiali	Krautheimer, Ch. 5; midterm exam, pt. 2 )take-home-essay) due
10	Piazza Sonnino, small piazza at intersection of Via della Lungaretta and Viale di Trastevere, adjacent to entrance of S. Crisgono	Trastevere	Papal Schisms and monumental rhetoric, pt. 2	S. Benedetto in Piscinula; S. Crisogono; S. Maria in Trastevere	Krautheimer, Chs. 7; Bible - Canticles (entire): http://www.drbo.org/chapter/24001.htm ; Gregory the Great on St. Benedict (esp. Prologue and Chs. 1 and 26: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/g1-benedict1.asp
11	Obelisk in Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano	Lateran & Caelian	The Duecento, pt. 1; the Jubilee of 1300	S. Sanctorum Chapel; Lateran cloister; SS. Quattro Coronati	Krautheimer, Ch. 8; Kessler, Rome 1300; A. Draghi, Gli Affreschi dell'Aula Gotica del monastero dei Santi Quattro Coronati - study the pictures (!)
12	Courtyard of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere	Trastevere	The Duecento, pt. 2	S. Cecilia in Trastevere; S. Maria in Trastevere (Cavallini)	Krautheimer, Chs. 12-13; Thomas of Celano, Life of St. Francis of Assisi: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/stfran-lives.html; research paper due
13	S. Paolo fuori le mura, base if the belltower	San Paolo; Esquiline	The Duecento, pt. 3	San Paolo fuori le mura; Santa Maria Maggiore	Krautheimer, Ch. 14; Yawn, "Fields of Dreams" (in MyJCU)
4b	Evening class (review session) - time and classroom TBA
14	Capitoline Square at the statue of Marcus Aurelius	Capitoline	The Duecento, pt. 4, and the Avignon papacy	Santa Maria in Aracoeli; Capitoline Museums	Ron Musto, Apocalypse in Rome, selections TBA