ART 420: History of Greek Art and Architecture

ART 420: History of Greek Art and Architecture

Fall 2017Time: T 7:00-9:45 pm

Prof. Owen DoonanPlace:SG 103

Office hrs.: Office hrs.: T 12:30-2:00, 6-7; W 12-1Office: SG 238

e-mail el. 677-6753

Class Syllabus

Catalog description:

Prerequisite: Upper division standing. Art and architecture of the Aegean area from the early Archaic to the end of the Hellenistic Periods.

Art Department SLOs met by this course (see:

1. Students will acquire competent knowledge and skills in various art media, concepts and methodologies.

2. Students will produce a competent body of individual and collaborative work suitable for a liberal arts degree, for the local, national and global marketplace.

4. Students will utilize and apply critical thinking skills to communicate ideas for their intended audience at a competent level in visual, oral, and written formats.

5. Students will acquire historical and contemporary knowledge of diverse cultural and aesthetic contexts, including political, visual and material culture.

Course SLOs:

A.To identify and characterize the art the Bronze Age, early urban, Classical and Hellenistic cultures of ancient Greece

B.To interpret the art works of ancient Greeks with an awareness of their cultural contexts; to understand the social/ cultural implications of Greek visuality through analysis and practice

C.To characterize the western artistic, intellectual and political roots in ancient Greek culture.

D.To critique and assess the cultural and political agendas of those who see antiquities as their unique cultural heritage.

E.To understand how information is generated about ancient Greek material culture and how the process affects our understanding of art, culture and history

Course related activities: how will these goals be achieved?

Readings, lectures and discussions: each week readings will be due from the primary text and supplementary texts on reserve at the library. All readings are required. Whenever appropriate we will be using information from the Internet in support of class activities, so all students should have access to a computer with Explorer/ Firefox or a similar browser program. If you do not have a computer available at home the public computing sites in the library and in other locations around campus will be available. Discussions in class will be based on the readings due each week.

How to study: Learning is a social process and we do it best when we work with other people. If possible I suggest that you meet regularly in small study groups (3-4 people) and go over the material covered in class. Make this fun yet serious – get together over coffee or pizza, in a relaxed but focused session. Come to class prepared and take notes; if you have time rewrite your notes after class or following your discussions with your study groups. Ask questions and participate in discussions- this helps keep you focused during the long evening sessions.

Behavior: Students are expected to behave courteously and pay attention in class. Students who engage in disruptive behavior such as talking, making noise or other actions that distract other students will be given a warning and if the behavior persists, the student will be asked to leave the class for the day. Class-related activities may not be made up if a student has been dismissed from class. Cheating will not be tolerated – use of unauthorized sources of information during an exam or class activity will result in a grade of 0 for the assignment with no make-up option. Plagiarism on a paper or project will be treated in a similar manner (see below). If you have any questions about whether you might be plagiarizing, ASK ME FIRST.

How will student performance be evaluated?

Mastery of Content: you are expected to learn about the works we study in a number of different ways in pursuit of the course goals and department SLOs:

1) Identify images and terms by culture, importance, relevant physical or other properties. (Course goal A, SLO 2).

2) Compose essays on set topics (Course goal B, C, SLO 3)

3) Complete activity assignments (Course goal D, SLO 4, 5)

4) Discussion and analysis of images (Course goal , SLO 3)

Exams (two exams, 25% each): students will complete midterm and final exams as part of the fulfillment of class requirements. These exams cannot be made up except by pre-arrangement with the instructor or presentation of a doctor's note or similarly documented serious excuse. I see exams as an opportunity to pull together the information and ideas covered over several weeks. Each exam will consist of half discussion questions (both images from the book and images not previously seen) and half essay. The “unseen images” portion of the exam will be open book, while the image analysis and essay portions will be closed book on a topic chosen from a set of previously announced alternatives. N.B.The Final Exam will include an essay that you will be expected to research and write based on a visit to the Getty Villa.

Project/Paper (25%): Each student is required to complete a project, either a paper of eight or more double spaced pages in length (including notes and bibliography but excluding illustrations) or a creative project involving a similar amount of research, but presented in a different format. Topics will be chosen in consultation with the instructor by week 2. Projects need not take the form of written essays. In recent classes students have projected a series of drawings onto buildings that tell a story in the manner of architectural sculptures, develop a typeface based on Greek handwriting, and adapted and staged acts from ancient Greek plays for presentation as videos. Each project must involve research by the student and careful documentation of the sources of information used and original thinking in a brief (three-page plus one-page bibliography) artist’s statement and bibliography. Important: grades for the creative projects will depend on the student making a clear case in the artist’s statement that s/he has researched and incorporated aspects of Greek visuality into the creative project. A step-by-step process will be followed by each student in completing this assignment, including initial proposal, initial bibliography, thesis statement, rough-draft, and the final paper. Each step in the process is an important opportunity for feedback that will improve your paper/ project in the end. Late submissions of the final paper/project will not be accepted without a serious documented excuse (similar to missing an exam).

Class participation (maximum 25%: 10% attendance + 15% class-related activities) is an important component of this course. You are expected to attend class regularly and to contribute in an informed and productive manner to class discussions. Attendance will be taken at the teacher's discretion through the course of the term. Attendance at each of these classes counts towards your class participation score of 25 points. Discussions and in-class activities will make up the balance of the class participation grade. Readings should be completed before the class in which they are discussed; from time-to-time I will announce a discussion, quiz or other activity that is worth between 1-3 points. A high quality understanding of the material and the readings provided during such a discussion will be awarded points. Other in-class assignments include short essays and presentations on pre-arranged topics. Although more than 15 points will be available based on the various class-related activities, no more than 15 points will be applied to your grade (i.e. no "extra credit" for ordinary class activities).

Weighting of class assignments will be as follows:

Midterm Exam25 %

Final Exam25 %

Project25 %

Class Participation (10% attendance + 15% other)25 %

_____

Total100%

Schedule of readings and lectures (subject to change)

Week 1: Introduction to the course; History of Greek archaeology; basic concepts in Greek archaeology; Third millennium BCE.

readings: Neer, Introduction.

Week 2: Minoan art and architecture; the Late Bronze Age; assignment of student papers

readings: Neer, Ch. 1;Ulu Burun web site (se below)

Class discussion, the masks of the early Mycenaean kings:

Week 3: Troy and the Trojan War; in-class reconstruction of the “Shield of Achilles;” project proposal due on MOODLE.

Readings: Neer, Ch. 2; liad, excerpts (Moodle);

Week 4: The great crash: a Dark Age to Orientaizing

readings: Neer, Ch. 3, 4, 6;

Week 5: Class to meet at the Getty Villa (4-6 pm) for performance of Euripides Iphigenia at Aulis

readings:

Week 6: Workshop on library research, CSUN Library. Class meets in Computer lab (TBA), Oviatt library. Development of project bibliography during class.

Week 7: Archaic Period

readings: Neer, Ch. 5, 7; Cultural Map of Hellas: Olympia; Delphi (esp. Siphnian Treasury); Athens, Acropolis Museum.Initial Project bibliography due on MOODLE.

Week 8: Midterm examination

readings: none. See review sheet and weekly pdfs on MOODLE.

Week 9: Artistic evidence for Greek women’s lives

readings: film in class, Pandora’s Box with worksheet and discussion.

Week 10: Towards a Greater Greece: the early Fifth century; Athenian Agora

readings: Neer, Ch. 8, 9; Boardman, Diffusion, ch. 5; Camp 1986: ch. 4; Miller in Cohen; Cultural Map of Hellas: Olympia.Thesis statement due

Week 11: Athens of Perikles; Elgin marbles (in-class discussion);

Readings: Neer, Ch. 11, 12; Hurwit, Acropolis, selections; Elgin marbles internet links (see Moodle).

Week 12: Greek drama; Greek Religion

readings: Simon, 55-72; Oakley in Cohen; Aylen 41-83.

Week 13:The Fourth century

readings: Neer, Ch. 13; Stewart, Desire, selections; Cultural Map of Hellas: Delphi. Compare monuments and layout to selections from Pausanias, Book X (see links on MOODLE).Rough draft due

Week 14: Hellenistic Art

readings: Neer, Ch. 14; Pollitt, Hellenistic Age: Introduction; Ch. 1; Ch. 11; Pergamon Homepage

Week 15: Student presentations. Student papers due.

Week 16: Final ExaminationDec. 12 8 - 10 pm.

Bibliography:

Main course text (for sale at the bookstore):

Neer, R., Greek Art and Archaeology, (Thames and Hudson 2012). This is the primary text for the course. It is extremely valuable because it attempts to integrate the study of visual arts with the study of culture, and it takes into the account the incredible geographic and chronological diversity of ancient Greek culture.

Supplementary readings available through MOODLE or on reserve:

Aylen, L. 1985. The Greek Theater (Cranbury NJ: Associated University Presses). A recent summary of one of the most important expressions of Greek artistic and intellectual life.

PA 3201 .A95 1985

Boardman, J. 1999. The Greeks Overseas: their early colonies and trade 4th ed. (New York, Thames and Hudson). This is the most comprehensive text treating the cultural and economic consequences of Greek colonization.

DF251 .B6 1999

Boardman, J. 1994. The Diffusion of Greek Art (Cambridge 1994). A somewhat biased (Helleno-centric) study of how Greek styles were used and adapted by other cultures in Eurasia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean.

N5340 .B59 1994

Camp, J. McK. 2010. The Athenian Agora: site guide (Princeton U. Press).

Cohen, B. 2000. Not the Classical Ideal (Leiden, Brill). A collection of essays on the representation of marginalized groups in Greek culture.

N 7625.5 .N68 2000

Hurwitt, J. 1985. Art and Culture of Early Greece (Cornell 1985). An important study drawing together mythological, artistic and archaeological sources to synthesize a comprehensive picture of early Greek Art.

NX551.A1 H87 1985

Hurwit, J. 1999. The Athenian Acropolis : history, mythology, and archaeology from the Neolithic era to the present. (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press). A thorough study of one of th4e most important sites of ancient Greek culture.

DF287.A2 H87 1999

Lexicon iconographicum mythologiae classicae (Zurich, Artemis 1981-).

*Available at LACMA and the Getty Research Institute.

THE fundamental resource for studying images of myths in Greek art.

Palagia, Olga and J J Pollitt. Personal styles in Greek sculpture (Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1996).

Studies of six major ancient Greek sculptors by leading experts.

Osborne, R., 1998. Archaic and Classical Greek Art (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press).

Pollitt, J. J. 1986. Art in the Hellenistic Age (Cambridge UP). (on reserve). This is a rich exploration of how Hellenistic artistic culture was entangled with contemporary political and philosophical developments.

N5630 .P55 1986

Pollitt, J. J. 1990. The Art of Greece: Sources and Documents (Cambridge UP). Many of the most important documentary sources relevant to the study of Greek art are collected in this useful volume.

N5630 .P56 1990

Simon, E. 1983. Festivals of Attica (Madison WI: University of Wisconsin Press). An investigation of the archaeological evidence pertinent to some of Athens’ most important religious festivals.

DF123 .S55 1983

Stewart, A., Greek Sculpture, an Exploration (Yale UP 1990). (on reserve). A rich and sophisticated look at Greek sculpture from multiple standpoints (artists/ producers; viewers/ consumers; political and social contexts).

NB90 .S74 1990vols. 1-2

Stewart, A., Art, Desire and the Body in Ancient Greece (Cambridge UP 1997). A new look at this controversial topic- did the Greeks represent beautiful bodies in response to rarified aesthetic sensibilities or did they respond to this kind of beauty in a more physical way? Extends the debate about art and pornography into pre-modern art.

N5633 .S74 1997

Van Keuren, Frances, Guide to research in classical art and mythology (Chicago : American Library Association, 1991).

Articles for review listed on each week’s handout

Internet sites :

J. Rutter's outstanding course on Bronze Age Greece at Dartmouth

Ulu Burun Bronze Age Shipwreck Excavation web page: an engaging introduction to one of the most important monuments for the study of Bronze Age trade.

PERSEUS (preeminent site on Greek art and literature: 1000's of images, excellent searchable database)

Cultural Map of Hellas (clickable map w/ links to many sites & museums) Outstanding site that gives basic introductory information about many of the major monuments, sites and museums of Greece.

Elgin marbles controversy (week 10)

D. Shapiro, "Repatriation: A Modest Proposal," International Law and Politics 31 (1998): 95-108 available at:

The Elgin Marbles (Powerhouse Museum, Sydney Australia)

Hellenic Ministry of Culture's position on the return of the Elgin Marbles

Pergamene altar, Telephos frieze (illustrated tour of one of the most important Hellenistic monuments)

Focus on Home Page (Anatolian Civilizations page):

Diotima (Materials for the study of women and gender in the ancient World.)

Grading principles on exams (discussions and essays)

"A": Outstanding

Well-founded original thinking; well organized; superior understanding of the subject matter leading to strong analysis and synthesis; shows broad and deep knowledge base.

"B": Very Good

Good understanding of the subject matter; some capacity to analyze and synthesize; basic understanding of the relevant knowledge base.

"C": Average passing

Basic understanding of the subject matter; limited ability to analyze and synthesize.

"D": Barely passing

Limited familiarity with the subject matter; little or no ability to analyze or synthesize information.

"F": Failing

Some familiarity with fragments of the subject matter; attempts to synthesize/ analyze show confusion or limited familiarity with the knowledge base.

Grading criteria for written assignments/ projects/ artists’ statements

• Has a clear purpose/ goal that is stated from the outset and fulfilled
• Organization, including effective introduction and conclusion
• Statements are backed up with well-explained specific examples (papers)
• Sources of ideas and information are documented and acknowledged
• Language is well-chosen; spelling and grammar have no errors
• Well-founded original and creative approaches to the topic

"A" projects are nearly perfect in all of these respects

"B" projects do a good job at 1-5; little originality in thesis or approach

"C" projects generally decent but show errors; need revision; lack a clearly defined thesis

"D" projects have serious flaws.

"F" projects show little or no understanding of the subject matter; overall weak structure and documentation; plagiarism