JCU Logo

JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "AH 141"
COURSE NAME: "World Art I: Visual Culture of the Ancient World"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Fall 2015
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Inge Hansen
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS: MW 10:00 AM 11:15 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This survey course begins with the very birth of visual representation in the middle and late Stone Age (ca. 32,000 - 11,000 BC) and ends with Late Antiquity (ca. AD 250-400). The focus of this course is on the art and architecture of the Mediterranean, Near East and Europe, including the first flowering of art on the islands of Greece and the spread of Roman art throughout the entire Mediterranean area. The different media, aesthetics, functions, and subjects chosen for representation in each culture will be studied in terms of the particular social, religious, political and geographical contexts of which they are a product. Students will also be introduced to the contemporary developments in other areas of the world: Asia, Africa, Americas. The course will also assist students in cultivating basic art-historical skills, in particular description, stylistic analysis, and iconographic and iconological analysis.

SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

Focused on the material culture of the ancient Mediterranean (approximately 2500 BC - AD 300), the course investigates the material culture of the diverse cultural groups that shaped this world: Sumerians, Assyrians, Minoans/Myceneans, Egyptians, Greeks, Etruscans, Persians, Italics and Romans.

The course establishes a nuanced appreciation of the cultural characteristics and value systems of these peoples and how they developed over time. An important focus of investigation is the cultural interconnectivity between these and the dynamic relationships of inspiration within a cosmopolitan and multicultural world.

Thematic discussions of religious and urban topography, temple architecture, domestic space, religious votives, and "self-representation" will investigate the articulation of civic, social and individual identities, and the responses to new inspirations and political structures.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

Understanding of salient developments in the history of the ancient world
Identify major monuments of the various peoples and cultures of the ancient Mediterranean: Greeks, Etruscan, Romans and well as those of the Near East and Egypt.

Ability to analyze, and contextualize, the historical development of human cultures
Consider developments over time and changes in the expression of material culture within cultural groups and across the Mediterranean world

Ability to analyze primary sources and assess secondary sources
Describe and analyze works of art from those periods and cultures, with particular attention to their iconographies, period meanings, materials, and social functions.

Ability to articulate historical and cultural developments as affected by cultural factors
Develop an awareness of cultural interaction and an ability to analyze these as dynamic interactions of inspiration, response and emulation

Ability to analyze, and contextualize, the historical development of human cultures
Appreciate the distinctive character of works used for public display, commemoration and honor as evidence both of requirements of context and of social stratification / access to public visibility


TEXTBOOK:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberCommentsFormatLocal BookstoreOnline Purchase
Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Global History, International EditionKleiner, Fred S. CengageISBN-10 1111771154, ISBN-13 9781111771157 This textbook also serves for other courses in the World Art sequence (AH140-144). If the book is available in two volumes, students may choose to buy volume 1 only. It is essential to obtain the "International" edition.   
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
Participation and acacdemic professionalismContribution to the academic milieu of the class: contribution to class discussions, willingness to share own observations, and collaborative behavior10%
Visual analyses journalVisual analysis of four works of your choice based on first hand observation. A variety of periods, cultures and media must be addressed20%
Research paper Short research paper: independent research, ability to evaluate and interpret materials and their inherent interests, and capability for discussing these in a nuanced manner in writing20%
Final examIdentifications and discussions of individual works, term definitions, analytical essays 30%
Mid-term examIdentifications and discussions of individual works, term definitions, analytical essay20%

-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
ASuperior work directly addresses the question or problem raised; provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information; demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory; and has an element of originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of readi
BGood work is highly competent; directly addresses the question or problem raised; demonstrates some ability to critically evaluate theory and concepts and relate them to practice; and discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture and reference material. The work provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CSatisfactory work provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings only; it may have some significant structural flaw, absence of information or research background, or too casual and imprecise a treatment, or contain only a minimum of interpretation.
DPoor work lacks a coherent grasp of the material; fails to support its argument with sufficient evidence; indicates a hasty or unconsidered preparation, and/or fails to fulfil the assignment in some way; omits important information and includes irrelevant points.
FFailure 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 are expected to participate in all scheduled classes; absences will be noted and may affect your grade.
All classes start promptly; 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

Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam.
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.

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.

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



Week 1 – Representing the world 5000-1500 BC

1. Mon. Aug. 31 Introduction to the course and to Rome
Themes/works         Course requirements & logistics.
Assigned reading:       None

2. Wed. Sept. 2 Agriculture and technology
Themes/works        
Far East: Zhang and Zhou (China); Jomon (Japan); Harappa, Indus civilization. Describing art
Assigned reading:      
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 424-8; 451-3; 476-7


Week 2 – City-states and kings (c 3000-2300 BC)


3. Mon. Sept. 7
Writing and city-states
Themes/works        
Near East: Mesopotamia. Standard of Ur, Ziggurat of Uruk, tomb of Puabi, cuneiform writing, harps and figurines
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 31-42

4. Wed. Sept. 9 Cities and rulers

Themes/works        
Egypt: pre/early dynastic and old kingdom; Europe: Cyclades. Funerary architecture: pyramids and sphinx at Gizeh, sculpture, reliefs and painting; Cycladic figurines
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 55-66, 86-88 


Week 3 – Cities and administration
(c 2000-1000 BC)

5. Mon. Sept. 14
Palace and city – religion
Themes/works        
Egypt and Europe: Middle Kingdom; Minoans. The human figure and the natural world: wall painting and pottery; Knossos, Thera
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 67-69, 89-95

6. Wed. Sept. 16
Queens and kings – leadership and administration
Themes/works        
Egypt and Europe: New Kingdom, Myceneans. Hatshepsut funerary temple; Amarna Period; painted scenes
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 69-80, 95-102 


Week 4 – Polis and royalty (c 1000-700 BC)

7. Mon. Sept. 21
Image and narrative
Themes/works        
Europe: Geometric and Orientalizing Greece. Writing and technologies, depicting myth. Dipylon krater/amphora; votive figurines; Lefkandi heroon; loutherion, Thebes; ‘Chigi olpe’; Aristonothos krater
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 108-11

8. Wed. Sept. 23
Royal pursuits and heroic ideals
Themes/works        
Near East and Far East: Babylonia and Assyria. Palace of Ashurnasirpal; epic of Gilgamesh; royal ideals: palace structure and decoration
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 43-48


Week 5 – Colonies and peer-polity relationships  (c 700-600 BC)

9. Mon. Sept. 28 Colonies

Themes/works        
Europe: Orientalizing and Archaic Magna Graecia and Greece. Pithekoussai (settlement); Poseidonia/Paestum (city and temples); Temple of Artemis, Corcyra, temple plans
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 115-8

10. Wed. Sept. 30
International elite values
Themes/works        
Europe: Orientalizing and Archaic Etruria. International trade and exchange of technology; grave goods assemblages; status of women; rock-cut tombs, Caere; Couple sarcophagi, Caere
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 166-67


Week 6 – Changing social mobility (600-500 BC)


11. Mon. Oct. 5
New styles of government: tyranny and democracy

Themes/works        
Europe: Archaic Greece. Kouros and kore figures, experimentation with movement; Black-figure and Red-figure pottery; ‘hekatompedon temple’
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 111-14, 120-3, 129-31

12. Wed. Oct. 7
Aristocratic and mercantile elites
Themes/works        
Europe: Archaic and Classical Etruria, Latium and Magna Graecia. Painted tombs, Tarquinia; Pyrgi sanctuary; Portonaccio sanctuary, Veii; Temple of Jupiter, Rome
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 167-72, 173-6, 180-1


Week 7 – Sanctuaries and cities (700-400 BC)

13. Mon. Oct. 12
Civic and Pan-Hellenic sanctuaries

Themes/works        
Europe: Archaic and Classical Greece. Heraion (Perachora, Argos), Epidauros, Delphi, Olympia
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 119, 123-8, 151-2

14. Wed. Oct. 14
Polis and civic architecture – palace centres

Themes/works        
Europe: Archaic and Classical Greece; Near East: Persia. Priene and Athens: agora and theatres; Persepolis palace and apadana
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 48-53, 153-5


Week 8 – Civic representation (500-400 BC)


15. Mon. Oct. 19
Acropolis, Athens

Themes/works        
Europe: Classical Greece. Parthenon temple and decoration; Erechtheion; Temple of Nike
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 133-41

16. Wed. Oct. 21 Sculpture

Themes/works        
Europe: Classical Greece. Doryphoros (Polykleitos); Aphrodite of Knidos (Praxiteles); Apoxyomenos (Lysippos); bronze- and stone working technique
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 132-3, 145-48


Week 9 – Empire builders (400-100 BC)


17. Mon. Oct. 26       Kingdoms and cities in the Greek world

Themes/works        
Europe: Hellenistic world. Depicting kings, making a new ‘world’ city. Portrait of Alexander the Great; mausoleum of Mausolos; Pergamon
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 148-9, 153-60

18. Wed. Oct. 28 Italy and the Greek Hellenistic world

Themes/works        
Europe: Hellenistic Italy, Egypt 2nd-1st century BC. Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, Praeneste; House of the Faun, Pompeii, Sarcophagus of Lars Pulena, statue of Aule Metele; Theatre of Pompey, Rome; Paris-Munich relief
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 150, 172-76, 183


Week 10 – Empire builders (100 BC-AD 100)

19. Mon. Nov. 2 Rome: world city and new style of government
   Visual analyses journal due
Themes/works        
Europe: 1st-century BC/AD Rome. Veristic and Augustan portraiture; Tivoli general; Prima Porta Augustus; Ara Pacis Augustae
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 182, 185-7, 197-202

20. Wed. Nov. 4 Midterm exam

Details on exam format and study aids will be available on MyJCU



Week 11 – Patrons and viewers (100 BC – AD 200)


21. Mon. Nov. 9 The Roman house as social theatre

Themes/works         Europe: Pompeii, Herculaneum and Ostia: atrium house, peristyle house, medianum house 1st century BC-2nd century AD. House of Neptune and Amphitrite (Herculaneum);
House of the Menander, House Sallust, House of the Faun, House of Octavius Quartio, Villa of the Mysteries (Pompeii); House of the Yellow Walls (Ostia)
Assigned reading:      
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 190, 192, 196, 213-4

22. Wed. Nov. 11 Roman painted interiors

Themes/works         Europe: Rome, Pompeii, Boscotrecase. Domestic painted programs. 1st century BC-1st century AD. Villa of Livia (Prima Porta, Rome); Farnesina villa (Rome); House of Sallust, House of the Faun, Villa of the Mysteries (Pompeii); Villa of Agrippa Postumus (Boscotrecase)

Assigned reading:      
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 191-6


Week 12 – Cosmopolitan Empire (AD 100-200)

23. Mon. Nov. 16 A Greco-Roman world

Themes/works         Roman Empire: cosmopolitan styles, international influences. 2nd century AD. Temple of Venus and Roma (Rome), Olympeion (Athens),
mummy portraits (Fayum, Egypt), portraiture of Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius
Assigned reading:      
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 210-2, 216, 218

24. Wed. Nov. 18 Boundaries of the Roman world

Themes/works         Roman Empire: depictions of non-Romans, depictions of warfare and victories, defining a Roman world. 1st-2nd century AD. Arch of Titus; Column of Trajan, Column of Marcus Aurelius (Rome); Statue of Hadrian (
Hierapytna, Crete)
Assigned reading:      
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 205-9


Week 13 – Reconfigured images (AD 200-400)

25. Mon. Nov. 23 Traditional images – new meanings

Themes/works        
Europe, Africa and the Near East: 3rd-century AD Rome, Leptis Magna and Dura-Europos. Arch of the Argentarii, Baths of Caracalla (Rome); Arch of Septimius Severus (Leptis Magna)
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 219-21, 234-36

26. Wed. Nov. 25 New images – remaining Roman

Themes/works        
Europe: 4th-century AD Rome. A new style of emperor, Christian funerary imagery. Portrait of Constantine, Arch of Constantine, catacomb paintings
Assigned reading:    
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 224-30, 237-48


Week 14 – Assessment


27. Mon. Nov. 30 Old world, new powers

Themes/works         Americas: Olmec ruler portraits, Teotichuacan, Paracas; Africa: Nok cultures; China: Quin dynasty; South Asia: Buddism

Assigned reading:      
Gardner’s (14th ed.): 428-30, 454-5, 491-8, 507-9, 524-5

28. Wed. Dec. 2         Review

Themes/works       

Assigned reading:       None



29/30. Dec. 5-11 Final exam

Date, time and place to be announced