printer friendly pageARCHLGY 75Q: Mad Dogs and Englishmen: Archaeology and the Modern History of the Ancient Near East
The decades between the early-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries saw substantial change in the region Europeans referred to as the Near East, characterized by the decline of the Ottoman empire, the disarray of World War I, and the establishment of modern national borders. You will learn to analyze, interpret, and critically evaluate archaeological data and the ways in which that data is used to construct an historical narrative. Readings include ancient texts in translation; archaeological field records and reports; travelogues, personal letters and autobiographies; and scholarly articles on the art and archaeology of the Near East.
Last offered: Spring 2020
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II
ARCHLGY 83: Pots, People, and Press: Greek Archaeology in the Media (CLASSICS 93)
Archaeological discovery has long captured the popular imagination, and the media undoubtedly plays a crucial role in this phenomenon. In the case of Greek archaeology, much of this imagination has been intertwined with the legacies of ancient Greek culture(s) in the construction of modern identities and ideologies, including the concept of ¿Western Civilization.¿ This course explores the intersections between academic research, media narratives, and the social, political, and cultural context of Greek archaeology from the 19th century to the present. Through a diachronic range of case studies, we will engage with a selection of media accounts and representations, alongside scholarly work and commentaries. In doing so, the class will more broadly examine issues surrounding archaeological evidence and interpretation, narrative formation, the reception and appropriation of the past, conceptualizations of race and ethnicity, nationalism and archaeology, and cultural heritage management. No prior knowledge of Greek archaeology is required.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Duray, A. (PI)
ARCHLGY 96: The Secret Lives of Statues from Ancient Egypt to Confederate Monuments (ARTHIST 104A, CLASSICS 96)
Statues, human-shaped sculptures, walk a fine line between being inert matter and living entities. Throughout human existence, humans have recognized that statues are not alive even as they understand that statues are capable of becoming potent allies or enemies. They are capable of engendering profound emotional responses, embodying potent ideas, and co-opting the past in service of the present. However, the same materiality that endows statues with these exceptional capacities also makes them vulnerable to humans intent on acquiring otherwise-expensive materials cheaply, commiting sectarian violence by proxy, and obliterating the material manifestations of others¿ memories.nnIn this course, we will study sixteen (groups of) statues thematically. To do this, we will draw on a wide variety of disciplines, including archaeology, art history, history, law, media studies, museum studies, and religious studies, to articulate how people in diverse places and times have revered and reviled statues precisely because they are uncanny objects that seem to have an all-too-human kind of agency. In so doing, we will gain appreciation for and insight into how and why the statues in our own lives are significant.
Terms: Aut
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Gisch, D. (PI)
ARCHLGY 109: Religions of Ancient Eurasia (CLASSICS 165)
This course will explore archaeological evidence for the ritual and religions of Ancient Eurasia, including Greco-Roman polytheism, early Christianity, and early Buddhism. Each week, we will discuss the most significant themes, methods, and approaches that archaeologists are now using to study religious beliefs and rituals. Examples will focus on the everyday social, material, and symbolic aspects of religion. The course will also consider the role of archaeological heritage in religious conflicts today and the ethical dilemmas of archaeology in the 21st century.
Last offered: Spring 2019
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ARCHLGY 118: Engineering the Roman Empire (CLASSICS 168)
Enter the mind, the drafting room, and the building site of the Roman architects and engineers whose monumental projects impressed ancient and modern spectators alike. This class explores the interrelated aesthetics and mechanics of construction that led to one of the most extensive building programs undertaken by a pre-modern state. Through case studies ranging from columns, domes and obelisks to road networks, machines and landscape modification, we investigate the materials, methods, and knowledge behind Roman innovation, and the role of designed space in communicating imperial identity.
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, GER:DB-Hum
ARCHLGY 127: HERITAGE POLITICS (ANTHRO 127D, ARCHLGY 227)
Heritage is a matter of the heart and not the brain, David Lowenthal once said. It does not seek to explore the past, but to domesticate it and enlist it for present causes. From the drafting of the first royal decrees on ancient monuments in the 17th century, political interests have had a hand in deciding which traditions, monuments and sites best represent and best serve the needs of the nation. The sum of these domestication efforts, the laws, institutions and practices established to protect and manage heritage, is what we call heritage governance. In this seminar you will learn about the politics of 21st century heritage governance at national and international level. Students will become familiar with key conventions and learn about the functioning of heritage institutions. We will also examine the hidden practices and current political developments that impact heritage governance: how UNESCO heritage sites become bargaining tools in international relations, how EU heritage policies are negotiated in the corridors of Brussels, and how the current re-nationalization of Western politics can affect what we come to know as our common past.
Last offered: Spring 2019
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
ARCHLGY 131: The Use and Abuse of Prehistory (ANTHRO 131A, CLASSICS 138)
To borrow Glyn Daniel¿s phrase, the ¿Idea of Prehistory,¿ invokes notions of deep time, human origins, and mysterious monuments. While the origins of prehistoric research in the 19th century were connected to the emerging sciences of geology, evolution, and archaeology, they were just as intertwined with nation-state building, colonialism, and race science. This course examines the development of prehistory through a thematic and critical lens. How have Western conceptualizations of time and writing affected the definition and study of prehistory? What are some of the colonial legacies in both research agendas and museum collections? Do new methods always provide new answers? What role has gender played in prehistoric interpretation? Drawing from case studies in the Mediterranean, the Americas, Europe, and Africa, we will explore various archaeological approaches to prehistory from the late 19th century to the present, as well as how the idea of prehistory itself has evolved, expanded, or been abandoned altogether.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Duray, A. (PI)
ARCHLGY 134: Museum Cultures: Material Representation in the Past and Present (ARCHLGY 234, ARTHIST 284B)
Students will open the "black box" of museums to consider the past and present roles of institutional collections, culminating in a student-curated exhibition. Today, museums assert their relevance as dynamic spaces for debate and learning. Colonialism and restitution, the politics of representation, human/object relationships, and changing frameworks of authority make museum work widely significant and consistently challenging. Through thinking-in-practice, this course reflexively explores "museum cultures": representations of self and other within museums and institutional cultures of the museum world itself.n3 credits (no final project) or 5 credits (final project). May be repeat for credit
Terms: Spr
| Units: 3-5
| UG Reqs: WAY-CE, WAY-A-II
| Repeatable
3 times
(up to 15 units total)
Instructors:
Hodge, C. (PI)
ARCHLGY 151: Ten Things: An Archaeology of Design (CLASSICS 151)
Connections among science, technology, society and culture by examining the design of a prehistoric hand axe, Egyptian pyramid, ancient Greek perfume jar, medieval castle, Wedgewood teapot, Edison's electric light bulb, computer mouse, Sony Walkman, supersonic aircraft, and BMW Mini. Interdisciplinary perspectives include archaeology, cultural anthropology, science studies, history and sociology of technology, cognitive science, and evolutionary psychology.
Terms: Win
| Units: 3
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-SocSci, WAY-A-II, WAY-SI
Instructors:
Shanks, M. (PI)
;
Lamar, A. (TA)
ARTHIST 1A: Decolonizing the Western Canon: Introduction to Art and Architecture from Prehistory to Medieval (CLASSICS 56)
Traditional Art History viewed the Renaissance as its pinnacle; it privileged linear perspective and lifelikeness and measured other traditions against this standard, neglecting art from the Near East, Egypt, the Middle Ages, or Islam. This course will disrupt this colonizing vision by conceptualizing artworks as "methexis" (participation, liveliness, or enactment) as opposed to mimesis (imitation or lifelikeness). We will study the development of the Western canon and its systematic eradication of difference through a renewed understanding of what an artwork is.
Terms: Win
| Units: 5
| UG Reqs: GER:DB-Hum, GER:EC-GlobalCom, WAY-A-II, WAY-EDP
Instructors:
Pentcheva, B. (PI)
;
Terss, M. (TA)
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