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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "AH 290-2"
COURSE NAME: "Ancient Rome and Its Monuments"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Spring 2015
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Inge Hansen
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: TH9:15 AM 12:00 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: On-site; activity fee: €40 or $52
OFFICE HOURS: By appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This on-site course considers the art and architecture of ancient Rome through visits to museums and archaeological sites. The course covers the visual culture and architecture of Rome beginning with the Iron Age and ending with the time of Constantine. A broad variety of issues are raised, including patronage, style and iconography, artistic and architectural techniques, Roman religion, business and entertainment.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

The course engages students in diverse analyses of the city of ancient Rome by drawing on approaches that are artistic, historical and topographic in nature. Hence, it provides an in-depth appreciation of the multifaceted nature of Roman material culture and the context for the world in which it was created.

Taking advantage of the on-site format emphasis is placed on the visual impact of monuments and artworks for a deeper understanding of their social meaning. The course examines the development of Rome and the importance of public monuments for the visualization of the city, and it analyses these as dynamic spaces of social interaction.

It considers the urban articulation of ‘being Roman’: the city as memory theatre; the interplay between emperor and city; the impact of empire on the city of Rome. The course asks questions about public imaging, cultural integration, and the perceived merits of peace and warfare for a nuanced examination of what it meant to be Roman.

The city’s topography, monuments and artworks are used as the primary sources for an examination of the historical and political development of the city, and of the social and cultural meaning of its visual culture. The course discusses the impact of the origins (c. 753 BC) and early history of Rome, but historically focuses on the period from c. 100 BC-AD 300, the late Republic and Empire.


Course information
For specific inquiries or to set up an appointment please contact me via email on [email protected]
Changes, additional course information, etc. will be posted on MyJCU. Please check this regularly and, certainly, in advance of each class.
Make-up work is not offered, except in exceptional circumstances and after consultation with the Dean of Academic Affairs.

Study guides
Study guides to help you organise your notes and gain an overview of the material - and hence to assist you revise - will be posted weekly, in advance of each class, on MyJCU.




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 and ability 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 TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
Rome. Oxford Archaeological Guide (2010)Claridge, AmandaOxford University PressISBN 9780199546831DG62.C53    
Art History Course ReaderDept. of Art History, JCU---    
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberComments
A full bibliography for the course will be provided at the start of term---- 

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberComments
Further reading suggestions for the course will be provided at the start of term---- 
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Class PresentationResearch presentation to class (10 minutes)15%
Term paperResearch paper (8-10 pages)25%
Mid-term exam (two parts)Image identifications and analytical essays25%
Final examImage identifications and analytical essays30%
Academic participationContribution to class discussions and reviews, sharing of ideas, collaborative behaviour 5%

-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 c
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:
All scheduled classes are mandatory.
Absences will be noted and may affect your final grade. 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 and may affect your final grade. You are responsible for identifying the location of, and route to, the meeting points of the classes. You should calculate around 40-50 minutes travel time to our meeting points. Note that most classes will end at on-site locations different from the meeting point. For bus/subway route planner see www.atac.it.

Class will take place no matter the weather.
Please dress accordingly and appropriately for visiting public sites and museums in the city.

No recording (of any type) of the class is permitted.
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. Thurs. Jan 22 - Introduction to the course and to Rome
Themes/works: Course requirements & logistics. Rome: mythological & topographical origins. Tiber Island; Forum Boarium; Circus Maximus; Palatine and Capitoline Hills.
Meeting place: JCU, Guarini Campus, room G.K.1.3
Assigned reading: None


2. Thurs. Jan 29 - Regal and Republican Rome: memory and triumph
Themes/works: City foundation; survival of Regal period monuments; Republican period expansion; the military triumph. Forum Romanum (Temples of Vesta, Saturn and Castor); Palatine Hill (Romulus); Capitoline Hill (Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus); Forum Boarium (Round temple; Temple of Portunus); Circus Flaminius area
Meeting place: Piazza del Campidoglio, statue of M. Aurelius (Claridge 2010: fig 109).
Assigned reading:
Claridge 2010: 4-9 (history), 39-41, 52-53 (materials & orders), 63-67, 75-77, 83-84, 105-11 (Forum Romanum), 132-3 (hut of Romulus), 259-62, 268-70 (Capitoline, Temple of Jupiter), 285-8 (Forum Boarium), 250-1, 253-6 (Circus Flaminius area); Stamper 2005: 6-10, 38-40, 49-50 (Kings, politics and authority, triumph).


3. Thurs. Feb 5 - Late Republican Rome: private patronage and public space
Themes/works: Rome and the Hellenistic world; display, competition and influence; patronage and civic space. Theatre of Pompey, Victory temples at Largo Argentina, Forum of Caesar, Forum Romanum
Meeting place: Entrance to the Forum Romanum, Via Fori Imperiali/Via Cavour (Claridge 2010: figs 1, 60)
Assigned reading:
Claridge 2010: 9-12 (history), 63-75, 85-87, 92-95 (Forum Romanum), 71-75, 161-9 (Forum of Caesar), 239-46 (Theatre of Pompey, victory temples); Stamper 2005: 49-50, 84, 90-92 (triumph, Pompey, Caesar).


4. Thurs. Feb 12 - Augustus: the triumph of peace             
Themes/works: The creation of the principate: the princeps as role model; senators as stakeholders in a new order. Campus Martius; Mausoleum of Augustus; Ara Pacis Augustae; Horologium; Pantheon and building works of Agrippa
Meeting place: Entrance to the Ara Pacis Augustae, Piazza Augusto Imperatore (Claridge 2010: fig 77).
Assigned reading:
Claridge 2010: 9-15, 40-43 (history & materials), 197-216, 232-3 (Campus Martius, Augustan monuments); Kleiner 1992: 59-60 (intro to Augustus), 90-99 (Augustus, Ara Pacis Augustae)


5. Thurs. Feb 19 - Late Republic to Imperial Rome: portraits of power     
Themes/works: Portraiture and cultural identity; portraiture and political ideology; Roman traditions and impact of Greek art; Augustan painted interiors. Republican works: veristic portraiture, statue of general from Tivoli; Imperial works: Augustan and Vespasianic portraiture; statue of Augustus from Via Labicana; Garden painting from Prima Porta; Villa Farnesina paintings
Meeting Place: Entrance to Palazzo Massimo Museum, Piazza dei Cinquecento (near Termini station / Piazza Republica) (Claridge 2010: fig 180).
Assigned reading:
Claridge 2010: 12-18 (History); Kleiner 1992: 7-11, 31-40 (Republican), 59-69, 75-78 (Augustan), 171-9 (Flavian); Schneider 2008: 279-84 (the Augustan image).


6. Thurs. Feb 26 - Mid-term exam and Library Study Session            NB note changed class schedule: 08.30 – 11.15
Themes: Source evaluation, reference use, bibliographic formatting reated to writing the term paper
Meeting place: JCU, place to be established – please bring laptop/tablet
Assigned reading: Details will be posted on MyJCU


7. Thurs. March 5 - Augustus: father figure for a world city?
Themes/works: Patronage, politics, and history; performing politics, depicting power. Forum of Augustus; statue of Augustus from Prima Porta
Meeting Place: Forum of Augustus, Via Fori Imperiali/Via Cavour (Claridge 2010: fig 60).
Assigned reading:
Claridge 2010: 10-15 (history), 69-70, 100-103 (Forum Romanum), 177-80 (Forum of Augustus); Kleiner 1992: 63-67 (Prima Porta statue); Schneider 2008: 270-8 (Augustan Rome).


8. Thurs. March 12 - Nero and the Flavians: the emperor and Rome
Themes/works: Articulating imperial status in Rome; positive and negative role models: father-figures and tyrants; Hellenism and tradition. Domus Aurea; Templum Pacis; Flavian amphitheatre; Arch of Titus; Palace of Domitian; equestrian statue of Domitian; Forum Transistorium [Forum of Nerva]
Meeting Place: Entrance to the Palatine, Via di S. Gregorio (Claridge 2010: figs 50 and 153).
Assigned reading:
Claridge 2010: 16-18 (history), 82-83, 118-9, 121-3 (Forum Romanum), 125-8, 145-56 (Palatine), 169-76 (Temple of Peace, Forum of Nerva), 301-6, 312-9 (Domus Aurea, Colosseum); Hales 2003: 72-79 (Domus Aurea, Palatine)


9. Thurs. March 19 – Trajan and Hadrian: the emperor and the Empire
Themes/works: Articulating the role of emperor: head of empire or co-regent of Jupiter; depictions of war and non-Romans; culture and cosmopolitan outlook. Forum and Column of Trajan; Temple of Venus and Rome; Pantheon; portraiture of Trajan and Hadrian; Arco di Portogallo reliefs
Meeting Place: Column of Trajan (Claridge 2010: fig 60).
Assigned reading: Claridge 2010: 18-21 (history), 118-21 (Temple of Roma and Venus), 180-96 (Forum and markets of Trajan), 226-31 (Pantheon); Kleiner 1992: 207-8, 212-20 (Forum and Column of Trajan), 238-42 (Hadrian)


10. Thurs. March 26  - Hadrian to Commodus: ruling a secure world          
Themes/works: Depictions of war and peace; commemoration and dynastic policies. Pantheon, Mausoleum of Hadrian, Hadrianeum, Columns of A. Pius and M. Aurelius, Stadium and Odeum of Domitian
Meeting Place:  Piazza Navona, near southern fountain (Claridge 2010: fig 77).
Assigned reading: Claridge 2010: 18-21 (history), 197-204 (Campus Martius), 216-21 (Columns of A. Pius & M. Aurelius), 223-38 (Hadrianeum, Pantheon, stadium and odeum of Domitian); Kleiner 1992: 283-88 (Hadrianeum, column of A. Pius), 295-301 (column of M. Aurelius)


11. Thurs. April 2  - The Severans: making a new Rome          Term Paper due
Themes/works: Depicting dynasty and history; reconstructing Roman / making a new Rome; water and popular luxury; popular participation in imperial messages. Arch of Septimius Severus, Temple of Vesta, Arch of the Argentarii, Baths of Caracalla, Septizodium
Meeting point: Piazza Campidoglio, statue of M. Aurelius (Claridge 2010: fig 109)
Assigned reading:
Claridge 2010: 21-24 (history), 78-79 (Arch of S. Severus), 292-3 (Arch of the Argentarii), 356-65 (Septizodium, Baths of Caracalla)


Thursday April 9 - no class (Spring Break)


12. Thurs. April 16 - Antonines, Severans and Constantine: ruling a world city           
Themes/works: Portraiture and imperial identity; being Roman, acting Greek; values and morals. Portraiture: Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, Septimius Severus, Caracalla, Constantine; Equestrian statue of M. Aurelius; panel reliefs of M. Aurelius; Temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina
Meeting Place: Piazza Campidoglio, statue of M. Aurelius (Claridge 2010: fig 109)
Assigned reading:
Claridge 2010: 18-29 (history), 111-13 (Temple of Antoninus); Kleiner 1992: 267-80 (Antonine portraits), 288-95 (reliefs of M. Aurelius), 319-25 (Severan portraits), 438-41 (Constantine).


13. Thurs. April 23 - Tetrarchs to Constantine: a Roman Rome   
Themes/works: Imperial rule and Roman history; art quoting history; triumph and tradition; a new role for the emperor in Rome? The late imperial Forum; Arch of Constantine; Basilica of Maxentius; Temple of Venus and Roma
Meeting Place: Entrance to the Forum Romanum, Via Fori Imperiali/Via Cavour (Claridge 2010: figs 1, 60)
Assigned reading:
Claridge 2010: 21-29 (history), 78-79, 85-87, 115-7 (monuments in the Forum), 308-12 (Arch of Constantine); Kleiner 1992: 444-55 (Arch of Constantine).


14. Thurs. April 30 - Review class                             NB note changed class schedule: 8.30 – 11.15
Overview and discussion of course content Meeting Place: JCU, place to be established
Assigned reading:
Course reader page 9 – identify monuments discussed in class. Pose 3-5 questions, based on your revision study, for which you would like clarification and further detail.


15. May 2-7 - Final exam
Meeting place: Date, time and place to be announced