Global Arc

The course will focus on the formation of new artistic traditions in the ancient Near East and late-period Egypt after 1000 B.C.E. and then investigate their interrelationships with early Greece and the controversial theories of modern scholars of the dependence of early Greece on the ancient Near East. For department majors, this course satisfies the Group 1 distribution requirement. Two 90-minute classes.

The course will survey the Roman monuments for the commemoration of the dead, and the social and cultural practices that inform them. Emphasis will be given to a comprehensive view of all related evidence, so as to interpret those major works of Roman art--notably, tombs and carved marble sarcophagi--in their proper historical setting.

A hands-on introduction to the methods and theories of excavation and to the archaeology of ancient Greece. Students participate in a 6-week excavation season, where they will learn how to excavate and survey, and how to record, analyze, and interpret what they find. Onsite training and discussion complemented by seminars, guest lectures, and regional trips.

An examination of the culture and institutions of classical Athens, its buildings, monuments, and works of art, set against the historical background of the city's growth. Aspects of government, religious festivals, society, and daily life are investigated. The archaeological record is enriched by study of ancient historical sources in translation. For department majors, this course satisfies the Group 1 distribution requirement. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

Survey of the transformations in Greek art beginning with the decline of the Classical period (fifth century BCE) and continuing through the period of Alexander the Great's unification of the Mediterranean world, up to and including the Roman conquest of the east. Emphasis on sculpture, painting, and mosaic.

Roman urban and suburban architecture throughout the Roman provinces from the late Republic to late Empire, focusing upon the Romanization of the provinces from Britain in the northwest to Arabia in the southeast. Town planning, imperial monuments, villas and sanctuaries, domestic and public architecture, and interior decoration considered. For department majors, this course satisfies the Group 1 distribution requirement. One three-hour class.

The course will briefly treat the development of Greek wall painting from the Classical and Hellenistic periods, and then focus on Roman developments - architectural styles and figural styles.The houses of Pompeii will be the main focus. Topics will include: the representation of Greek myths; historical subjects; the origins of still life.

In this class we will examine the history, function, theory and meaning of the icon. We will also examine the icon's influence upon the discourses of Modernism. A more practical aspect of this class is that participants in the course will work with the Princeton University Art Museum's icon collection and with its collection of icon painter's preparatory drawings. The class will provide participants with a broad grounding in questions pertaining to the icon.

This course explores the technology and function of books in historical perspective, asking how illuminated manuscripts were designed to meet (and shape) cultural and intellectual demands in the medieval period. Surveying the major genres of European book arts between the 7th-15th centuries, we study varying approaches to pictorial space, page design, and information organization; relationships between text and image; and technical aspects of book production. We work primarily from Princeton's collection of original manuscripts and manuscript facsimiles. Assignments include the option to create an original artist's book for the final project.

Water in the bathroom, gas in the kitchen, heat in the living room: what Western Europe and North America consider basic needs in obvious, purpose-based, domestic spaces are relatively new. All appeared between the late 17th and early 20th centuries. What dynamic between society and family that made the emergence of the apartment building possible? What motivated authorities and private developers to support public infrastructures, from sewage systems to street lights, gas and water networks? This course will provide students with tools to criticize the notion of domestic comfort, public efficiency, urbanism, and "progress."