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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY

COURSE CODE: "AH 399"
COURSE NAME: "Special Topics in Art History: Politics and Power in Roman Architecture"
SEMESTER & YEAR: Summer Session I 2016
SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: Laura Foster
EMAIL: [email protected]
 HOURS: TTH 9:00 AM 12:45 PM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS: 45
CREDITS: 3
PREREQUISITES: Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor
OFFICE HOURS:
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Specialized courses offered periodically on specific aspects of concern in the field of Art History. Courses are normally research-led topics on an area of current academic concern.
This course may be taken more than once for credit with different topics.
SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:

Power and Politics in Roman Architecture: The Making of a Capital

This combined seminar and on-site course will examine the idea of Rome as a modern capital from the Renaissance to the 20th century through architecture and urban design. Each class meeting will focus upon a specific historical moment and the architectural and urban works produced within it. While the class meetings are given a title by individual rulers who had a specific architectural or urban program, we will look beyond the relationship of patron, architect, and building to explore the social and cultural implications of the works. We will consider the works as specific representations of political power and also explore the way architecture and urban spaces shape social relations.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:

•in-depth understanding of individual monuments from aesthetic, historical and theoretical perspectives.

•broader understanding of art historical method and the application of critical theory

•familiarity with modern urban theory
TEXTBOOK:
NONE
REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
Book TitleAuthorPublisherISBN numberLibrary Call NumberComments
Streets: Critical Perspectives on Public SpaceÇelik, Zeynep, Diane Favro and Richard IngersollUniversity of California Press9780521581455  
The Villa in the Life of Renaissance RomeDavid CoffinPrinceton University Press9780691039428  
The Urban Development of Rome in the Age of Alexander VIIDorothy Metzger HabelCambridge University Press9780521772648  
Papal Art and Cultural Politics: Rome in the Age of Clement XIChristopher M.S. JohnsCambridge University Press9780521416399  
The Culture of the High Renaissance: Ancients and Moderns in Sixteenth-Century RomeIngrid RowlandCambridge University Press9780521581455  
The Architecture of Modern Italy, Vol. 1Terry KirkPrinceton Architectural Press9780521581455  
Modernism in Italian Architecture, 1890-1940Richard EtlinMIT Press9780262050388   

RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
NONE
GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
AssignmentGuidelinesWeight
Class Discussion and Assigned Reading PresentationsLecture attendance and active participation in discussions are essential. Students will be assigned readings to lead class discussion and produce a class presentation on a particular monument. Students will be evaluated on organization and clarity of the presentation as well as comprehension of the texts. 25%
Term PaperStudents will produce a term paper of 8-10 pages on a specific building, urban space, or program of patronage from the period discussed in class. A list of suggested topics will be provided, though students may suggest their own topics, to be approved by the professor.50%
Final Colloquium In lieu of a final exam, we will hold a colloquium in which students present a synthesis of the term paper in front of class. Students should be prepared with slide presentations and will be evaluated on the organization and professional presentation of the research.25%

-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

Tues, May 24             Course introduction / Lecture and Site Walk: Building Alliances

                                    under Pope Sixtus IV

Meeting Place             Classroom

Works Discussed        Ponte Sisto and 15th-century urban infrastructure; Palazzo della

                                    Cancelleria; Ospedale S. Spirito in Sassia

 

Thurs May 26             The New Caesars: Pope Julius II and Agostino Chigi

Meeting Place             Classroom

Works Discussed        Planning of the new St. Peter’s Basilica; Villa Farnesina; Via Giulia &

                                    Via della Lungara       

 

Reading for                 Ingrid Rowland, “Sweating Toward Parnassus,” in The Culture of the

Discussion                   High Renaissance: Ancients and Moderns in Sixteenth-Century Rome,

                                    pp. 141-192.

 

                                    Butters, Suzanne B. and Pier Nicola Pagliara, “The Palazzo dei

                                    Tribunali and Via Giulia in Rome.” Zodiac 14 (1995-1996): 15-29.

 

Additional                   David Coffin, The Villa in the Life of Renaissance Rome, Pt. 2 on

Reading                       the Villa Farnesina. On Frohring Reserve NA7755.C6

 

Tues May 31               Pope Paul III and the Architecture of Authority

Meeting Place             Piazza Farnese

Works Discussed        Palazzo Farnese, the Jewish Ghetto, the Campidoglio

 

Readings for               Richard Ingersoll, “Piazza di Ponte and the Military Origins of Discussion              Panopticism,” in Streets: Critical Perspectives on Public Space. On

                                    library reserves.

 

                                    Guido Rebecchini, “After the Medici. The New Rome of Pope Paul III,”

                                    in I Tatti Studies in the Italian Renaissance 11 (2007), pp. 147-200.

                                    Available through JSTOR.

 

Background                 James Ackerman, The Architecture of Michelangelo. Available on

Reading                       library reserves.

 

Thurs June 2 Holiday – No class meeting (makeup day Friday June 10)

 

Tues June 7                 The New Jerusalem of Pope Sixtus V

Meeting Place             Piazza S. Maria Maggiore

Works Discussed        S. Giovanni in Laterano, S. Maria Maggiore

 

Readings for               Charles Burroughs, “Opacity and Transparence: Networks and Discussion             Enclaves in the Rome of Sixtus V,” RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics

                                    41 (Spring 2002), pp. 56-71. Available through JSTOR.

 

Background                 Steven Ostrow, Art and Spirituality in Counter-Reformation Rome: The

Reading                       Sistine and Pauline Chapels of S. Maria Maggiore. On library reserves.

 

                                    Jack Freiberg. The Lateran in 1600. Christian Concord in Counter-

                                    Reformation Rome. On library reserves.

 

                                    Christopher Witcombe, “Sixtus V and the Scala Santa,” Journal of the

                                    Society of Architectural Historians 44, 4 (Dec 1985), pp. 368-379.

                                    Available through JSTOR.

 

Thurs June 9                The Symbolic Landscapes of Popes Urban VIII Barberini and Innocent

                                    X Pamphili

Meeting Place             Piazza Barberini

Works Discussed        Palazzo Barberini, Piazza Navona, S. Ivo alla Sapienza

 

Readings for               Joseph Connors, “S. Ivo alla Sapienza: The First 3 Minutes,” Journal of

Discussion                   the Society of Architectural Historians 55, 1 (March 1996), pp. 38-57.

                                    Available through JSTOR

           

                                    Laurie Nussdorfer, “The Politics of Space in Early Modern Rome,”

                                    Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome 42 (1997), pp. 161-186.

                                    Available through JSTOR.

 

Background                 Patricia Waddy, Seventeenth-Century Roman Palaces:  Use and Art of

Reading                       the Plan, pp. 3-13.  On Course Reserves, DG797.9.W33.

 

                                    Laurie Nussdorfer, Civic Politics in the Rome of Urban VIII. Princeton,

                                    NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992.

 

Fri June 10                  Pope Alexander VII and the City as Façade

Meeting Place             Piazza S. Pietro

Works Discussed        Piazza S. Pietro, Piazza del Popolo, S. Andrea della Valle

 

Readings for               Dorothy Metzger Habel, The Urban Development of Rome in the Age Discussion              of Alexander VII, Chs. 2 and 4. On library reserves.

 

Background                 Dorothy Metzger Habel, When All of Rome Was Under Construction: Reading                   The Building Process in Baroque Rome. University Park: Penn State

                                    University Press, 2013.

 

                                    Richard Krautheimer, The Rome of Alexander VII, 1655-1667. On

                                    library reserves.

 

Tues June 14               Pope Clement XI and Restoring the Social Body

Meeting Place             Classroom

Works Discussed        Ospizio Apostolico di S. Michele, Restoration of Paleochristian and

                                    Medieval Churches (S. Maria in Trastevere, S. Cecilia)

 

Readings for               Christopher M.S. Johns, Papal Art and Cultural Politics: Rome in the

Discussion                   Age of Clement XI. On library reserve.

 

                                    Luigi Cajani, “Surveillance and Redemption: The Casa di Correzione of

                                    San Michele a Ripa in Rome.” In Institutions of Confinement:

                                    Hospitals, Asylumns and Prisons in Western Europe and North

                                    America, 1500-1950. Photocopy will be made available.

 

Background                 TBA

Reading

 

Thurs June 16              Reframing Monuments under Napoleon

Meeting Place             Piazza del Popolo

Works Discussed        Piazza del Popolo, the excavation and restoration of archeological

                                    monuments (Column of Trajan, Arch of Titus)

 

Background                 Ronald T. Ridley, The Eagle and the Spade: The Archeology of Rome Reading                    during the Napoleonic Era, 1809-1814. On library reserves.

 

Tues June 21               The Liberal State and the Re-appropration of Rome’s Legacy,

1870-1922

Meeting Place             Classroom

Works Discussed        Palazzo di Montecitorio, Galleria Sciarra, Monument to Vittorio

                                    Emanuele and Piazza Venezia

 

Reading for                 Spiro Kostof, The Third Rome: Traffic and Glory. Photocopy will be Discussion                   provided.

 

Background                 Terry Kirk, The Architecture of Modern Italy. Vol. 1., Ch. 4. On library

Reading                       reserves.

           

Thurs June 23              Mussolini and the City as Machine

Meeting Place             Metro B Garbatella stop

Works Discussed         Garbatella and EUR Districts

 

Readings for               Diane Yvonne Ghirardo, “Italian Architects and Fascist Politics: An

Discussion                   Evaluation of the Rationalist's Role in Regime Building,” Journal of

                                    the Society of Architectural Historians 39.2 (1980), 109-27. Available

                                    through JSTOR.

 

                                    Diane Ghirardo, “Architects, Exhibitions and the Politics of Culture in

                                    Fascist Italy,” Journal of Architectural Education 45, 2 (Feb 1992),

                                    pp. 67-75.  Available through JSTOR.

 

Background                 Richard A. Etlin, Modernism in Italian Architecture, 1890-1940, Ch. 7

Reading                       “The Birth of Italian Rationalism”, pp. 225-254, and Ch. 10 “The

                                    Rationalist Discovery of Fascism, pp. 377-390. On library reserves.

 

Friday June 24            Course Colloquium