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Crosslistings: ARHA 212 |
Viewing Greek painted pots in museums, perched securely in their vitrines, we think of them as fine art objects of great value-both for us and to the ancients. But before plastic, glass, and cardboard, there was clay.
Our main focus will be Athenian
black- and red-figure vases; the elaborately painted pots we all too frequently assume are the acme of Greek vases. We will examines these objects in several different ways: from artifact excavated in archeological
trenches to antiquities stolen to fuel
the art trade; from object d'art (for us) to fine, sympotic dinnerware (for ancient Greeks); finally from representations to ancient daily life. We will glance at utilitarian (plain) pottery, considering the shapes and
their daily uses; to establish a
sense of historical development and antecedents, we will consider earlier, Geometric and Corinthian, wares. We shall explore the varieties of ways these pots have been studied, familiarizing ourselves with the standard
research tools (CORPUS VASORUM
ANTIQUORUM, Beazley's ATHENIAN BLACK-FIGURE VASES and ATHENIAN RED-FIGURE VASES, LEXICON ICONOGRAPHICUM MYTHOLOGIAE CLASSICAE, among others), and some of the more illuminating studies of these pots in the various
scholarly domains (attribution, form &
iconographic studies, among others). Aiming to additional, more in-depth studies of Greek painted pots.
This course serves as an introduction to the visual wealth of ancient Greek painted pots (commonly called
"vases"), and to several schools of s
tudying these material artifacts. We will consider questions of attribution, style, form and function, original use or context for these objects, and the cultural studies made possible by a reading of the images painted
on these pots. We take as our pri
mary objective the task, simultaneously banal and profound, learning to look at Greek vases, to read these objects, and to read and interpret these images. This course will complement courses in ancient Greek history,
ancient Greek language and literatur
e, Classical Greek civilization, as well as courses in Art History.
Unless preregistered students attend the first class meeting or communicate directly with the instructor prior to the first class, they will be dropped from the class list. NOTE: Students must still submit a completed Drop/Add form to the Registrar's Office.
COURSE FORMAT: Lecture/Discussion
Level: UGRD Credit: 1 Gen Ed Area Dept: HA CLAS Grading Mode: Student Option
Prerequisites: NONE
Last Updated on MAR-19-2002
Copyright Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 06459