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W4215: Aegean Art and Architecture Aegean Art and Architecture is a lecture course designed for upper level undergraduates and graduate students. There are no prerequisites, but will be helpful to have had some background in the archaeology, art history, or history of Greece/Rome, the Mediterranean, and/or the Near East. The course is a detailed chronological and topical examination of the art and architectural forms of the Aegean, as taken broadly to refer to a central and even western perspective on the Mediterranean sea region. The first half of the semester covers the Neolithic through the art and culture of the Minoans. The second half investigates the Late Bronze Age, or the Mycenaean period. During the course, in addition to site-specific and chronologically pertinent readings, there are topical readings designed to inspire critical thought about gender, figural art forms, complex society, the use of space, trade, and other subjects. The three main thematic ideas that run through the course are art, trade, and power; art, cult, and the divine; and art, the artisan, and the figural form. Students are expected to attend class lectures and to participate in discussions. Some classes will include collections in the archaeology lab on the sixth floor of Schermerhorn Hall. There will be one group fieldtrip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There are midterm and final exams, inclusive of maps, slide identifications, and essay questions. The written component of the class is a project of the student's selection that should be submitted as a rough draft and then revised for a final project paper. Those projects should derive from work with a primary excavation report of a site in the area of study in the class, making use of architectural plans, stratigraphy, and finds to address a question of interest to the student. A list of suggested sites that are published in English appears at the end of the syllabus. Paper topics should be discussed with Prof. Smith before the midterm date. For requirements, readings, and schedule, download the syllabus above |
