CCIV114

[Wesleyan Home Page] [Wesmaps Home Page] [Availability Statistics Search] [Course Description Search] [Dept. Search]

CCIV114

Reading the Greeks: Texts, Images, and Context CCIV114 SP

Crosslistings: ARHA104

Next Offered in 9899 SP

This is an FYI seminar designed to provide an intensive introduction to the ancient Greek world through its ceramics. Several strategies will be used to approach this medium: literary, for historical and narrative frameworks; iconography, to decode the images frequently found on Greek ceramics and discuss aspects of myth, religion, and daily life; archaeology, providing context and methodology to discuss material culture production and its role in the culture; art history, which provides frameworks of identitification, attribution, and aesthetics. This will be a hands-on course, involving direct examination of objects from Wesleyan's collection, part of a collaborative publication project. We will also utilize collections nearby (New Haven, Hartford, Boston, and New York). Students will be trained to do serious research, using both traditional sources (Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, Corpus Vasorum Antiquorum) and Perseus, the new hypermedia resource for Macintosh computers.

MAJOR READINGS

Berard et al., A CITY OF IMAGES
Hastorf et al., USES OF STYLE ARCHAEOLOGY
Nelson, ed. DECODING PREHISTORIC CERAMICS
Noble, THE TECHNIQUES OF PAINTED ATTIC POTTERY
Rice, POTTERY ANALYSIS, A SOURCEBOOK
Rice, ed. POTS AND POTTERS: CURRENT APPROACHES IN CERAMIC
ARCHAEOLOGY
Spivey, LOOKING AT GREEK VASES

EXAMINATIONS AND ASSIGNMENTS

Research objects in Wesleyan's collection; several short papers on topics mentioned in description. Special Emphasis on Writing.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS and/or COMMENTS

Priority to first year students; some sophomores may enroll. Expect regular attendance and serious participation. 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: Discussion Fieldwork Laboratory Seminar

REGISTRATION INFORMATION

Level: UG Credit: 1.00 Gen Ed Area & Dept: HA CLAS

Prerequisites: None

Last Updated on MAR-10-1997

About the Photo:

A 5th century BC vase painting

Reference:

Browning, Robert, THE GREEK WORLD, Japan: Thames and Hudson Inc., 1985

Contact wesmaps@wesleyan.edu to submit comments or suggestions.