Art History 1A
Introduction to Ancient Mediterranean Art
Tuesday, Thursday 1:40-3:00 PM, Everson 176
Instructor - Lynn E. Roller, Professor of Art History
Office – 164 Everson, tel. 752-7801 (my office); 752-0105 (Art Department
office);
Email: leroller@ucdavis.edu
Office hours - Wednesday 10AM-noon and by appointment
Required books: Gardners Art Through the Ages, A Global History, Enhanced
14th edition, by Fred Kleiner (published by Cengage), chapters 1-5, 9-10;
Christina Maranci, A Survival Guide for Art History Students
This is a lower division course that will introduce the students to the art and
architecture of the ancient cultures that developed around the Mediterranean
Sea in Europe, western Asia, and northern Africa. No prior knowledge of the
subject is assumed. We will cover the time periods from the development of the
earliest complex societies in the region, ca. 3500 BCE, to the late Roman
Empire, 313 CE. The course fulfills the General Education requirements for
breadth in Arts and Humanities, Visual Literacies, and World Cultures.
The course consists of two illustrated lectures of one hour and twenty minutes
each plus one additional hour of discussion section per week. The slide lectures
in the regular Tuesday/Thursday class meetings are designed to illustrate the
major monuments of ancient art and discuss the major tools used to interpret
them. In addition to the lectures, each student is expected to attend a one-hour
discussion section every week. The discussion section gives the students an
opportunity to review the material in greater depth and ask questions.
Participation in discussion sections is important and can help improve your
grade. Regular attendance at discussion sections is expected and will be
recorded.
The main textbook for the class is Gardners Art Through the Ages, A Global
History, enhanced 14th edition (2012). Copies of this book are available for
purchase in the Bookstore. It is also available
online: http://www.cengage.com/search/productOverview.do?N=0&Ntk=P_Isb
n13&Ntt=9780495915423. This link allows the student to purchase the book
for $98.99 (for 180 days use) or 4.99 per chapter, through
CourseSmart.com. The advantage of purchasing the online edition is that it is
less expensive than the actual book. The disadvantage is that you cannot sell
the book after the course(s) and recoup a portion of your cost, as you can if you
buy the actual textbook. Also, the online web version is only good for six
months, so if you decide to take another lower division Art History course
(AHI 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D all use the same book), you may have to pay for the
online book again.
Students are also strongly encouraged to get a copy of A Survival Guide for Art
History Students by C. Maranci. This inexpensive paperback book offers a
number of valuable tips to enhance your learning experience in an Art History
class, including how to look at art and how to study, especially for those allimportant image identification tests. In addition, a number of books on ancient
Mediterranean art have been placed on reserve in the Reserve section of Shields
Library. They will provide material to supplement the lectures and the texts,
and will prove useful in preparing for the exams.
You should check the class web page regularly. It contains much important
information for the course, including the syllabus, reading assignments, reserve
book list, announcements, and guidelines for the exams. Lists of all images
shown in class with dates and other pertinent information about the objects we
discuss in class will be posted before each lecture; these can be accessed by
clicking on the lecture date on the Syllabus. The images shown in lecture will
usually be available for viewing about 24 hours before the lecture. Click on the
link for Image Review, and then enter the User ID and Password given in class.
Important note: this course has a ten day drop deadline. Beginning in fall
2012 (i.e. now) students will no longer be able to receive the notation of
Enrolled-No Work Submitted (ENWS) on their transcript. A student who
enrolls in the class and does not complete the class but does not drop the class
by the tenth day of instruction will automatically receive a failing grade.
Grades will be based on participation in your discussion section, two midterms,
scheduled Thursday, October 18 and Thursday, November 15, and the final
exam, scheduled on Monday December 10, 3:30 - 5:30 PM. Examinations will
include the identification and discussion of individual objects, as well as essay
questions on more general subjects.
Grading will be as follows:
Midterms: 25% each x 2 = 50%
Final exam
= 40%
Discussion section
= 10%
Lectures and Reading Assignments: Weekly Schedule
Below you will see a reading assignment for each class from the textbook;
these should be read thoroughly before the day’s lecture. We will also look at
many images that are not illustrated in the textbook, so students should think of
the reading assignments in the text as a supplement to the lectures. The
textbook is not a substitute for attending class regularly.
Thursday, September 27 - Introduction: The earliest artistic creations of
human beings; the origins of Egyptian art; Kleiner, Gardners Art Through the
Ages, A Global History, Introduction, pp. 1-13; Chapter 1, pp. 15-29, Chapter
3, pp. 53-56.
Tuesday, October 2 - the art of Egypt, the Old Kingdom Kleiner, Gardners Art Through the Ages, A Global History, Chapter 3, pp. 5664.
Thursday, October 4 - Egypt, the Middle and New Kingdoms Kleiner, Gardners Art Through the Ages, A Global History, Chapter 3, pp. 6477.
Tuesday, October 9 - Art in the ancient Near East: the Sumerians
and Akkadians - Kleiner, Gardners Art Through the Ages, A Global History,
Chapter 2, pp. 30-41.
Thursday, October 11 - Art in the ancient Near East:
Babylonia, Assyria, Persia - Kleiner, Gardners Art Through the Ages, A Global
History, Chapter 2, pp. 41-49.
Tuesday, October 16 - Aegean art: Crete and Mycenae Kleiner, Gardners Art Through the Ages, A Global History, Chapter 4, pp. 8097.
Thursday, October 18 - first midterm
Tuesday, October 23 –the origins of Greek art- Kleiner, Gardners Art Through
the Ages, A Global History, Chapter 5, pp. 99-112.
Thursday, October 25 - the Archaic period: Archaic Greek sculptureKleiner, Gardners Art Through the Ages, A Global History, Chapter 5, pp. 99112.
Tuesday, October 30- the Archaic and early Classical periods: vase painting Kleiner, Gardners Art Through the Ages, A Global History, Chapter 5, pp.
114-116.
Thursday, November 1– Archaic and early Classical Greek art: the sixth and
early fifth centuries BCE - Kleiner, Gardners Art Through the Ages, A Global
History, Chapter 5, pp. 113-118.
Tuesday, November 6- Classical Greek art: the fifth century BCE Kleiner, Gardners Art Through the Ages, A Global History, Chapter 5, pp.
118-126.
Thursday, November 8 - Classical Greek art: the later fifth and fourth
centuries BCE - Kleiner, Gardners Art Through the Ages, A Global History,
Chapter 5, pp. 126-140.
Tuesday, November 13 - Hellenistic Greek art - Kleiner, Gardners Art
Through the Ages, A Global History, Chapter 5, pp. 140-154
Thursday, November 15 – second midterm
Tuesday, November 20 - Etruscan art - Kleiner, Gardners Art Through the
Ages, A Global History, Chapter 9, pp. 165-177.
Thursday, November 22 - Thanksgiving, University holiday.
No discussion sections this week.
Tuesday, November 27 - Roman art during the Republic Kleiner, Gardners Art Through the Ages, A Global History, Chapter 10, pp.
178-193.
Thursday, November 29– Roman art under Augustus and the early Empire Kleiner, Gardners Art Through the Ages, A Global History, Chapter 10, pp.
193-202.
Tuesday, December 4- The art of Imperial Rome - Kleiner, Gardners Art
Through the Ages, A Global History, Chapter 10, pp. 203-207.
Thursday, December 6- Later Roman art - Kleiner, Gardners Art Through the
Ages, A Global History, Chapter 10, pp. 207-231.
Monday, December 10, 3:30 -5:30 PM - final examination (in Everson
176)