Minor in Archaeology & Classics

This is an introductory course on the material culture of the ancient Mediterranean, focusing on the city of Rome and its relationship to earlier, contemporaneous, and later related cultural traditions. The course focuses primarily on the artworks and artifacts produced by ancient Greece and Rome, with some sessions also treating the influence of Egyptian, Near Eastern, and Etruscan cultures and the afterlife of classical material culture post-antiquity. The course will be taught as a mixture of classroom lectures and on-site classes, enabling students to see as much ancient material culture as possible at first hand. 3 credit hours. Students are responsible for all entry fees.

This course in archaeological techniques introduces students to the principles of survey, excavation, post-excavation analysis, scientific testing, and heritage through a mixture of on-site visits, classroom lectures, practical classes, and fieldwork. The course will begin with a consideration of the ‘idea’ of the past and examine the historical development of archaeology. The course will then explore the key fieldwork techniques used to survey, excavate and record sites and monuments before considering how scientific techniques can date and analyze artifacts and environmental evidence. Contemporary issues of heritage practice, with particular reference to Rome, will be ad- dressed in conjunction with a group project. The course will make use of ongoing excavation and research in Rome and Italy, and it is possible that this will necessitate some weekend fieldwork. 3 credit hours.

See the full course catalog or the main Archaeology & Classics pages for details.

This course discusses the material remains of North Africa from Morocco to Libya and from the foundation of Carthage around 800 BC until the conquest of the same city by the Arabs in 698 AD. Special attention will be paid to the cultural interactions of native and foreign populations that shaped its identity: Numidians, Phoenicians, Romans, Berbers, Vandals, Byzantines, and Arabs. Major themes that will be treated are religion, economy, urban culture, art and architecture, and the administration of the territory. 3 credit hours. Pre-requisites: A lower-level Archaeology & Classics or Art History course or permission of the instructor.

This course is an introduction to the history and civilization of Egypt. The aim of the course is to provide a broad overview of Egyptian society and culture as revealed through art and archaeology. The first half of the course will follow a chronological path covering the emergence and decline of Egyptian civilization. After the midterm exam, the class will explore themes. The course will also cover the West's re-discovery of Egypt and the dilemmas modern Egypt faces in caring for this remarkable heritage. 3 credit hours. Pre-requisites: ENG 100 or ENG 101.

Berlin is re-emerging as a cultural capital of Europe, and its museums showcase that. This excursion course to Berlin will review its history of collecting art and antiquities, examine the buildings designed to house them, and analyze the cultural conditions inflected by their changing political contexts, from the 18th century to the present. Conflicting issues of a past of cultural nationalism and imperialism and a present driven by historical conscience and revisionism will be discussed on a case-by-case basis. We will exercise analytical skills relevant to visual culture within complex historical contexts, with comparative material drawn from our experience of Rome and its museums. This course is run over a three-day weekend excursion. 1 credit. Pre- or co-requisites: A 100-level course in Art History or permission of the instructor.

Roman Imperial Art and Architecture is a study of ancient Roman architecture, sculpture, painting and minor arts from 27 BC to AD 193. The focus is on the city of Rome and the ancient capital’s imperial dominion in the peninsula and Mediterranean. The approach to the material is at technical, stylistic and iconographical levels understood within the historical context. On-site visits in Rome alternate with class lectures and a possible excursion outside Rome. The goals are to create a thorough preparation for critical analysis of artifacts and source material, to develop research techniques and skills of interpretation of ancient art and architecture. 3 credit hours. Pre-requisites: A 100-level Art History course. An additional fee may be collected in the event of a required excursion.

This is an upper-level course studying the art and archaeology of the Etruscans from their emergence at the beginning of the first millennium BC until their absorption by the Romans. The course will take full advantage of the rich museum collections of Etruscan material in Rome and may include a field trip to the sites of Cerveterii and Tarquinia. The course will look at the origins of the Etruscans, their art and material culture, their interactions with other groups, and their eventual absorption by the Romans. 3 credit hours. Pre-requisites: A previous course in classics, classical studies, ancient art history, or archaeology or permission of the instructor. Students are responsible for all entry fees.

This course introduces upper-division students to the field of museum studies, both as a career option and a scholarly field by considering the ways in which museums can explore the relationships between the cultural contexts of viewer, object, and other public and private stakeholders. The course will cover the basics of museum acquisitions, collections, exhibitions, and installations across a variety of museums, with a particular focus on art and archaeology museums based in Rome. Additional rotating issues and case studies may explore themes of gallery management, cultural heritage, the business of art, fakes and forgeries, decolonialization, curation, and auction houses. The course may include site visits, internships at museums, and the production of an original exhibition show on campus as a final student project. 3 credit hours. Pre-requisites: Any 200-level Humanities course. Students must pay their own entrance fees when required.

ARCL 100: This course introduces students to the social and cultural history of ancient Greece and Rome via the major works of historiography, literature, art, and architecture produced by those cultures. This course is classroom-based, but an off-campus visit of historical and/or cultural importance may be required. 3 credit hours.

GRK 101: This course provides an introduction to ancient Greek grammar, syntax, and vocabulary. Over the course of the semester students will gain the basic skills to read and analyze adapted selections from classical Greek authors and the New Testament. Comparative linguistic issues, including the influence of ancient Greek on modern languages, and Greek prose composition will also be studied. 4 credit hours.

The city of Rome is full of Latin inscriptions which can be found both on standing monuments and in museums. This introductory Latin course acquaints students with the basic rudiments of Latin language with a particular emphasis on learning to read inscriptions. This course will include explorations of Rome to analyze inscriptions in situ and in museums. The course divides in two sections: an introduction to basic grammar and an examination of epigraphic texts of progressive difficulty and length, in which the historical, topographical and social context of the inscription will also be examined. This course is an alternative to LTN 101. 3 credit hours.

Open to students with no previous training in Latin, this course offers an introduction to the fundamentals of the language. Major emphasis is given to grammar and syntax, composition and reading. The course develops direct reading comprehension of Latin from graduated texts, short stories and dramas; and through them provides an introduction to ancient Roman civilization. The course also aims at building a grammatical foundation to develop further levels of proficiency. This course is an alternative to LTN 100. 4 credit hours.

See the full course catalog or the main Archaeology & Classics pages for details.

This course discusses the material remains of North Africa from Morocco to Libya and from the foundation of Carthage around 800 BC until the conquest of the same city by the Arabs in 698 AD. Special attention will be paid to the cultural interactions of native and foreign populations that shaped its identity: Numidians, Phoenicians, Romans, Berbers, Vandals, Byzantines, and Arabs. Major themes that will be treated are religion, economy, urban culture, art and architecture, and the administration of the territory. 3 credit hours. Pre-requisites: A lower-level Archaeology & Classics or Art History course or permission of the instructor.

This course will explore the sites, monuments and artifacts of the Bronze Age Aegean – illuminating the Early Bronze Age culture of the Cyclades and the Minoan and Mycenaean palace cultures that evolved there. It will also examine their relationships with other peoples with whom they shared the Mediterranean sea – such as the Egyptians, Assyrians, Hittites and the inhabitants of Troy. This course will be mainly classroom-based but will include a required field trip to Greece. On this field trip – one night in Athens and two nights in Nafplio – students will visit the National Archaeological Museum and Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens, the archaeological sites of Mycenae and Tiryns and the Nafplio Archaeological Museum. 3 credit hours. Pre-requisites: ENG 102. An additional fee will be collected for the compulsory fieldtrip. Students arrange their own transportation to Athens.

Roman Imperial Art and Architecture is a study of ancient Roman architecture, sculpture, painting and minor arts from 27 BC to AD 193. The focus is on the city of Rome and the ancient capital’s imperial dominion in the peninsula and Mediterranean. The approach to the material is at technical, stylistic and iconographical levels understood within the historical context. On-site visits in Rome alternate with class lectures and a possible excursion outside Rome. The goals are to create a thorough preparation for critical analysis of artifacts and source material, to develop research techniques and skills of interpretation of ancient art and architecture. 3 credit hours. Pre-requisites: A 100-level Art History course. An additional fee may be collected in the event of a required excursion.

This is an upper-level course studying the art and archaeology of the Etruscans from their emergence at the beginning of the first millennium BC until their absorption by the Romans. The course will take full advantage of the rich museum collections of Etruscan material in Rome and may include a field trip to the sites of Cerveterii and Tarquinia. The course will look at the origins of the Etruscans, their art and material culture, their interactions with other groups, and their eventual absorption by the Romans. 3 credit hours. Pre-requisites: A previous course in classics, classical studies, ancient art history, or archaeology or permission of the instructor. Students are responsible for all entry fees.

This is an introductory off-campus class on ancient technology. The course will alternate classroom sessions with on-site visits. Students will be introduced to the principles of construction and water technology and will visit examples in and around Rome. After a general introduction to ancient technology, monuments related to water will be visited and discussed; these include aqueducts and sewers, bath buildings and fountains, ports and ships. Technology serving the navy and the army will follow: weapons and armor, walls and streets. Construction techniques lead to the architectural remains: quarries, stone and brick work, opus caementicium. Ceramics and metal production can be studied in several museums by means of pottery and bronze artifacts. Theatres and amphitheaters had special technical installations for entertainment, and also during antiquity mechanical art (automata) was much appreciated. The course will also analyze the impact of Roman technology on the economy and social systems. 3 credit hours.

This is a survey course of the archaeology of Greece covering the period from the Greek Bronze Age to the absorption of Greece into the Roman Empire. It will cover the material within a chronological framework and class room lectures will be supplemented by a visit to the Greek collection at the Vatican Museums. Particular attention will be paid to issues of cultural transmission and the wider influence Greece had on surrounding communities. The course will finish with an examination of the role of archaeology in the formation of modern Greece and issues within contemporary Greek heritage. 3 credit hours. Pre-requisites: Sophomore standing or permission of the instructor.

This upper-level off-campus course examines the archaeological remains of Rome from the perspective of the different ethnic, cultural and social groups that populated the city and whose interaction created Roman identity. Roman society has often been presented as a uniform monoculture but developments in archaeological theory have allowed us to recognize diverse influences and to chart the evolving construction of Roman identity which underlay political power. What was considered ‘Roman’ was not static but changed according to period, class and setting and nearly always involved negative judgments of “others” who were perceived as displaying non-Roman characteristics. 3 credit hours. Pre-requisites: An Archaeology or Ancient History (including HST 201) or Classical Studies course or permission of the instructor.