"Here, surely, is the key to the current--and perennial--obsession with Egypt of the pharaohs. Nothing, in the last resort, not even gold, is more insidious than unshakable belief." P. Green

COURSE DESCRIPTION
An investigation of the social history and art of ancient Egypt, the Near East (including Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian, and Hittite cultures), and the Aegean (Minoan, Mycenaean, and Cycladic) as seen through the archaeological evidence.

BOOKS ORDERED FOR THIS COURSE
C. Aldred, Egyptian Art or G. Robins, The Art of Ancient Egypt; H. Frankfort, The Art and Architecture of the Ancient Orient; S. Hood, The Arts in Prehistoric Greece

COURSE WEBSITES
http://www.oberlin.edu/~skane/Courses_9900/Art_220/Intro.html
http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/DEPT/RA/RECREAD/REC_READ.html

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
A $4.00 lab fee is required for the carving project. All work must be completed in order to pass this course. Any late work will be penalised.

PROJECTS: Carving Project (CR/NE) due 22 Feb

VISUAL ANALYSIS PAPER (15 % of grade) - 02 March

EXAMINATION I (25 % of grade) -16 March

EXAMINATION II (25 % of grade) - 18 April

FINAL PAPER (due by end of reading period; 30 % of grade): Either a 10 page critique of a novel or film dealing with the chronological period of the course (list of potential choices to be handed out); or a research paper on a topic of your choice.

SUMMARY OF A TALK BY A VISITING LECTURER (05 % of grade): a 1-2 page summary of a talk by Prof. Lynn Meskell, "Archaeologies of Identity," Sunday 13 Feb, 8:00 pm, Classroom I, Art Building

COURSE SCHEDULE

PART I: EGYPT

Read Aldred, Egyptian Art or Robins, The Art of Ancient Egypt

FEBRUARY

08 - INTRODUCTION

10 - UNDERSTANDING EGYPTIAN ART

13 - Lecture by Professor Lynn Meskell, Columbia University, "Archaeologies of Identity"

15 - PREDYNASTIC

17 - OLD KINGDOM

22 - OLD KINGDOM (CARVING PROJECT DUE)

24 - "THIS OLD PYRAMID" 29 - "OBELISK"

MARCH

02 - FIRST INTERMEDIATE AND MIDDLE KINGDOM (VISUAL ANALYSIS PAPER DUE)

07 - NEW KINGDOM

09 - NEW KINGDOM

14 - THE LATE PERIOD

16 - EXAMINATION I

PART II: MESOPOTAMIA, ASIA MINOR, AND THE LEVANT

Read Frankfort, The Art and Architecture of the Ancient Orient

21 - PROTOLITERATE, EARLY DYNASTIC

23 - AKKADIAN, UR

SPRING BREAK

APRIL

04 - BABYLON

06 - ASSYRIA

11 - HITTITE, NORTH SYRIAN AND THE LEVANT

13 - ACHAEMENID PERSIAN

18 - EXAMINATION II

PART III: THE AEGEAN

Read Hood, The Arts in Prehistoric Greece

20 - NEOLITHIC AND EARY HELLADIC

25 - CRETE: THE PALACES

27 - MINOAN PAINTING, SCULPTURE, AND MINOR ARTS

MAY

02 - THERA AND THE CYCLADES

04 - MAINLAND GREECE: THE PALACES

09 - MYCENAE: THE SHAFT GRAVES

11 - TROY AND THE POST-BRONZE AGE

CARVING PROJECT (CR/NE)

DUE: 22 February

USEFUL READING:
See hand-out for a brief explanation of the Egyptian process of making a statue, which involved using a canon of proportions (expressed in a grid system) that was scratched or painted on the surface of the work before the carving process was begun.

ASSIGNMENT:
Carve a statue of a human figure (either seated or standing) out of your assigned foam block.

VISUAL-ANALYSIS PAPER

DUE: 02 March
LENGTH: 5 pages

This paper has two parts: I) a visual-analysis and II) a contextual restoration.

Choose one of the three works listed below and now on display in the Goblet Room of the Allen Memorial Art Museum:

Egyptian Head of a Man, ca 2040-1640 B.C. (basalt) R.T. Miller Jr Fund 1943.115

Egyptian Burial Figure, ca 332 B.C. - A.D. 395 (faience) Purchase Show Fund 1957.9

Egyptian Relief with Man Holding a Vase c 1353 - 1347 B.C. (sandstone with red pigment) R.T. Miller Jr Fund 1990.1

Part I:
You are to write a visual-analysis of your chosen object. Begin with a brief description of the work's medium, material, approximate dimensions, condition, and subject. Then describe the piece in detail, as if you are writing about it to someone who has never seen it. Emphasize the major compositional or stylistic features: point out what makes it an effective work of art. Be concise and clear. Think the dynamics of the piece through before you begin to write your observations.

Helpful reference:
Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide To Writing About Art

Part II:
Contextual restoration. What was the original appearance of the object? What was its original use? Describe how the object was intended to look and how it might have functioned in its original setting.