Art History 201: Survey of Western Art-Ancient

Winter 2022

MWF 1:00-2:20pm

ART 229

Prof. Levin-Richardson (you can call me Professor Levin-Richardson, Professor L-R, or just Professor)

Pronouns: she/her/hers

sarahlr@uw.edu

Office Hour: Wednesdays 3-4pm via Zoom: https://washington.zoom.us/j/9019806802

Office: Denny 227; enter the main doors of Denny, pass the water fountain and elevator, and it’s the

first office on the left

Description:

This course surveys select developments in architecture, sculpture, painting, and other arts in Southern Europe, Southwest Asia and Northeast Africa from the bronze age to the 4^th century. There are no prerequisites.

Learning Objectives:

1. identify and correctly apply art-historical terminology and concepts
2. locate ancient art and architecture within its geographic context
3. discuss ancient art and architecture within its historical, cultural, and social contexts
4. engage the ways in which ancient art and architecture influences, and is influenced by, modern cultures

Supporting your learning and well being

If you know of something that might affect your learning (technology problems; health or family crisis; religious observance) please contact me as soon as possible, ideally at the beginning of the quarter, so that I can make appropriate accommodations. Below you can find further resources:

• UW has a Student Technology Loan Program to increase student access to technology needed for class!
• UW Academic Support: http://depts.washington.edu/aspuw/more/campus-resources/
• UW Counseling Center: http://www.washington.edu/counseling/
• Husky Health and Well-Being: http://wellbeing.uw.edu
• Disability Resources for Students: http://depts.washington.edu/uwdrs/
  • If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course.
  • If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to: mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at uwdrs@uw.edu or uw.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions.  Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS.  It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.
• Religious Accommodations:
  • Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy . Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form .

Required Readings:

The required text for this class is listed below; a digital version can be rented from the University Bookstore (https://www.ubookstore.com/) for around $35 (you can rent or purchase copies from online retailers, as well). Please be sure to get the right edition of this textbook (the easiest way to do that is to use the ISBN number below to search for the book). Other required readings can be found on the course canvas site. Each meeting in the schedule below has one or more assignments to be completed before that class session.

These readings are a starting point for class lectures, which often will expand upon the assigned readings and/or present new material. Thus, I strongly recommend careful reading of the assigned material (using the posted study guides to direct your focus) as well as attending class lectures.

Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner’s Art through the Ages: The Western Perspective, Volume I. 16^th Edition. Wadsworth, 2013. ISBN: 978-0357370384  

Assignments and Grading:

• Quizzes: see schedule below. The lowest quiz will be dropped: 30%
• Exam 1: Monday January 31^st. Covers readings, lectures, and other assigned material from January 3^rd to January 28^th: 25%
• Exam 2: Friday March 4^th. Covers readings, lectures, and other assigned material from February 2^nd to March 2^nd: 35%
• Final assignment: Monday March 14 by 4:20pm (upload to Canvas; cover readings, lectures, and other assigned material from the whole course): 10%

All assignments (quizzes, exams, and final assignment) will be submitted via Canvas. Quizzes will be multiple choice or true/false and will assess vocabulary/terminology and geography (see learning objectives 1 and 2, above). Exams will be open-note, short-answer and will focus on analyzing ancient art and architecture in its historical, cultural, and social contexts (see learning objective 3 above). The final assignment asks you to respond (in any way you like, from drawings to audio recordings to short written answers) to four things that you learned in class (at least one of these must be from week 10 material; see learning objective 4 above).

Your final course grade is calculated from these assignments in the proportions given. Please prepare carefully for these assignments and please contact me in advance if you have any questions about how to best prepare. There is no extra credit.

Further Expectations:

• For the health and safety of our community, masks covering both nose and mouth are required in the classroom at all times: UW COVID Face Covering Policy [pdf].
• If you have any symptoms of COVID-19, do not come to class! Recordings of class lectures will be made available.
• No posting of course materials of any kind is permitted without my written authorization.
• The University of Washington prohibits the selling of notes online or through any other channels.
• Getting in touch with each other
  • Please check your UW email daily; this is how I will communicate with you about pertinent information. You are responsible for all information disseminated over email and through the course website.
  • I’m available in office hours for you! If you are anxious about assignments, please set up a time well in advance of the assignment or exam so we can discuss strategies. I’m also happy to chat about any other class-related concerns you have, or (on a happier note), study abroad opportunities, how to follow your interest in archaeology or ancient history, etc. I am happy to answer questions over email, but please check the syllabus first to see whether the answer is there.
  • I will respond to emails by the end of the next working day (which means that if you email me on Friday afternoon, I may not respond until Monday afternoon).
• Grading
  • Students are expected to adhere to ethical behavior in their work, including following guidelines posted for each assignment concerning group work and plagiarism/cheating. Failure to adhere to these policies will be considered an academic integrity violation and will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct, and you will receive a zero on the assignment. If you have any questions about what is or is not allowable for an assignment, I’d be more than happy to clarify!
  • I’d be happy to discuss any of your graded work with you, but I ask that you wait twenty-four hours after receiving your assignment back in order to begin to process my feedback. After the twenty-four-hour period, please feel free to email me to set up a time for a meeting. Unfortunately, I cannot discuss grades over email.

Schedule of Topics and Required Readings:

Week 1: Introduction

Jan 3: Introduction to ARTH 201 (via Panopto lecture; will be available to watch at our normal

class time and will remain available after that)

Jan 5: Introduction to Antiquity (via Panopto lecture; will be available to watch at our normal class

time and will remain available after that)

• Homework to do in preparation for this class: watch PBS’s Africa’s Great Civilizations, hosted by Prof. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Episode 1: “Origins” [note: captions are available]: https://video-alexanderstreet-com.offcampus.lib.washington.edu/watch/origins-2

Jan 7: NO CLASS [Prof. L-R attending annual meeting of the Archaeological Institute of America]

Part I: Select Civilizations in the Bronze-Age Mediterranean

Week 2: Southwest Asia in the Bronze Age; Northeast Africa in the Bronze Age

Jan 10: Mesopotamia: Sumer and Akkad

• Kleiner chapter 2: beginning through section on Akkad

Jan 12: Mesopotamia:  Third Dynasty of Ur, Babylon, Elam; Anatolia: Hattusha / The Hittites

• Kleiner chapter 2: sections on Mesopotamia: Third Dynasty of Ur, Babylon, Elam
• Jürgen Seeher. Hattusha Guide: a Day in the Hittite Capital. Revised Edition. Istanbul: Ege Yayinlari, 2002. Read pages 155-170 [available in week 2 folder]

Jan 14: COMPLETE 1^ST QUIZ BY CLASS TIME. Pre-dynastic and Old Kingdom Egypt

• Kleiner chapter 3: beginning through section on Old Kingdom: Architecture

Week 3: Northeast Africa in the Bronze Age

Jan 17: NO CLASS [MLK day]

Jan 19: Old and Middle Kingdom Egypt

• Kleiner chapter 3: sections on Old Kingdom: Sculpture and on Middle Kingdom

Jan 21: COMPLETE 2^ND QUIZ BY END OF DAY [covers vocab and locations from Week 2 F and Week 3 W]. New Kingdom Egypt

• Kleiner chapter 3: section on New Kingdom

Week 4: Southeast Europe in the Bronze Age

Jan 24: Aegean: Cycladic Cultures and Minoans

• Kleiner chapter 4: beginning through sections on Minoan Art

Jan 26: [Class will meet on Zoom today] Aegean: Mycenaeans; Conflict and Gender in the Bronze Age Mediterranean

• Kleiner chapter 4: Sections on Mycenaean Art

Jan 28:  COMPLETE 3^RD QUIZ BY END OF DAY [covers vocab and locations from Week 3 F, Week 4 M and Week 4 W]. Optional virtual office hours [=no class].

Part II: Select Civilizations in the Iron-Age Mediterranean

Week 5: Southeast Europe in the Iron Age

Jan 31: EXAM 1 due via submission to Canvas by the end of class time (2:20pm); optional virtual office hours [= no class].

Feb 2:  Greek Geometric, Orientalizing and Archaic Period (Statuary)

• Kleiner chapter 5: beginning through section on Archaic Period: Statuary

Feb 4: Greek Archaic Period (Architecture and Architectural Sculpture; Vase Painting; Aegina and the

Transition to the Classical Period)

• Kleiner chapter 5: remaining sections on Archaic period (see topics above)

Week 6: Southeast Europe in the Iron Age

Feb 7: Greek Classical Period (The Athenian Acropolis)

• Kleiner chapter 5: section on Early and High Classics Periods: The Athenian Acropolis [note section!]

Feb 9: Greek Classical Period (Statuary and Painting) and Greek Late Classical Period (Sculpture and

Architecture)

• Kleiner chapter 5: sections on Early and High Classical Periods: Statuary; Early and High Classics Periods: Painting; Late Classical Period: Sculpture; Late Classical Period: Architecture [note the sections—we’re not reading all of them!]

Feb 11: COMPLETE 4^th QUIZ BY END OF DAY [covers vocab and locations from Week 5 W, Week 5 F, Week 6 M and Week 6 W].  Greek Hellenistic Period

• Kleiner chapter 5: Hellenistic Period
• Yousuf Chughtai. “Revisiting the ‘Hellenistic’ Period.” Eidolon. May 21 2018. https://eidolon.pub/revisiting-the-hellenistic-period-5ff7e96b9fad

Week 7: Southern Europe in the Iron Age

Feb 14: Roman Republic

• Kleiner chapter 7: beginning through section on Republic

Feb 16: Roman Republic and Early Roman Empire (Pompeii and the Cities of Vesuvius)

• Kleiner chapter 7: section on Pompeii and the Cities of Vesuvius

Feb 18: COMPLETE 5^TH QUIZ BY END OF DAY [covers vocab and locations from Week 6 F, Week 7 M and Week 7 W].  Early Roman Empire

• Kleiner chapter 7: section on Early Empire

Week 8: Southern Europe in the Iron Age

Feb 21: NO CLASS [Presidents Day]

Feb 23: High Roman Empire  

• Kleiner chapter 7: section on High Empire [skip section on Ostia]

Feb 25: COMPLETE 6^TH QUIZ BY END OF DAY [covers vocab and locations from  Week 7 F, and Week 8 W].  Late Roman Empire

• Kleiner chapter 7: section on Late Empire

Week 9: Southwest Asia and Northeast Africa in the Iron Age

Feb 28: Mesopotamia: Assyria and Neo-Babylonia; Persia: Achaemenid and Sasanian Empires

• Kleiner chapter 2: sections on Mesopotamia: Assyria, Neo-Babylonia; and on Persia

March 2: [Class will meet on Zoom today] Nubia

• Kleiner chapter 3: section on First Millenium BCE

March 4: EXAM 2 due via submission to Canvas by the END OF DAY (11:59PM); optional virtual office hours during class time [= no class].

Part III: Legacies, Afterlives, Connections

Week 10: Legacies, Afterlives, Connections

March 7: Legacies and Afterlives

• Margaret Talbot. “The Myth of Whiteness in Classical Sculpture.” New Yorker. October 29 2018. [in week 10 folder]
• Sarah Derbew. “An Investigation of Black Figures in Classical Greek Art.” The Iris. April 25 2018. http://blogs.getty.edu/iris/an-investigation-of-black-figures-in-classical-greek-art/

March 9: The West

• Kwame Anthony Appiah. “There is no such thing as western civilisation.” The Guardian November 9 2016. [in week 10 folder or here https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/09/western-civilisation-appiah-reith-lecture]
• Michael Press. “Who Really Owns Hagia Sophia?” Hyperallergic July 28 2020. [in week 10 folder or here: https://hyperallergic.com/578925/who-really-owns-hagia- sophia/?fbclid=IwAR3x7mUiwHFy_apGUM2Pr3tyOnn3D9DxaHp5PvJL8BfPK8vjMsndI8T-2SQ ]

March 11: Monuments and memory

• LaVaughn Belle, Nicholas Galanin, Dell Upton, Tsione Wolde-Michael, Tiffany Cain. “As the Statues Fall: A Conversation about Monuments and the Power of Memory.” Society of Black Archaeologists webinar, July 23 2020. [2 hours]: https://vimeo.com/439042290 [start at 4:10]

Final assignment due Monday March 14 by 4:20pm by uploading to Canvas

Grade scale for this course: