Art 416: Near Eastern Art
Spring 2015
Prof. Owen Doonan
Office hrs.: T 2:00-4:00; Th 6-7
e-mail owen.doonan@csun.edu
Time: T., 4:00-6:45 pm
Place: SG 103
Office: SG 238
Tel. 677-6753
Class Syllabus
Catalog description:
Prerequisite: Upper division standing. Study of the architecture, sculpture, and related art
forms of the ancient Near East, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Iran from prehistoric times to
the beginning of the Sassanian Empire. In addition we will cover Islamic Art of the region
from the 7th c. CE to the present.
Art Department SLOs addressed in Art 416:
1. Acquire a basic knowledge, theories, and concepts about art; communicate ideas and
concepts through writing.
2. Broaden knowledge of ancient through contemporary art; develop an understanding of the
theoretical, cultural, and historical contexts of art.
3. Apply processes of generating and solving problems in art; analyze, interpret and question
traditional methodologies and preconceived notions of art and art making.
5. Develop an appreciation and tolerance of diverse perspectives dealing with art, culture,
teaching and learning.
6. Become involved in both individual and collaborative art experiences with other
students, faculty, and community.
Goals of the course
To introduce the student to the diverse artistic and historical heritage of the Near East and
its impact on western culture over the past 10000 years. For thousands of years the great
civilizations of the Near East have inspired western culture through direct cultural emulation
and rivalry. This was the region where the first permanent settlements, first cities, first
writing and first legal systems emerged. We will study the visual expressions that enabled
the development of many of the cultural forms that became fundamental to the development
of western culture-:law-based societies, imperial power, intensive and extensive cultural and
economic exchange among many others.
To explore the potentials and challenges of modern cultural heritage management and
archaeology. Modern archaeology tries to understand art and material culture in a
comprehensive social and cultural context. We will try to understand the role art played in
creating the social and cultural structures of this influential region from early prehistory
through contemporary times.
To understand the how the images of the past affects life in the present in one of the most
critical and dynamic regions of the world. The monuments we will look at have real
significance to the people who are trying to create national cultural structures in the Near
East. Pre-Islamic art has been a particularly valuable tool in creating secular regimes, while
these same images have been suppressed and vandalized by recent fundamentalist responses
to colonialism and globalization. The carting off of vast quantities of ancient art to western
museums and collectors has been a powerful symbol of domination and repression in the
region. We will try to understand the implications of cultural heritage in the real
contemporary world of the Near East.
Art Department SLOs met by this course (see: http://www.csun.edu/art/overview.html)
2) Art Knowledge
Broadening knowledge of ancient through contemporary art and to develop an
understanding of art within theoretical, cultural, and historical contexts.
3) Critical Thinking
Analyzing, interpreting, and questioning traditional methodologies and pre-conceived
notions of art and art making through the process of generating and solving problems.
4) Interdisciplinary Connections
Exploring and engaging in interdisciplinary forms of art making.
5) Global Perspectives
Promoting an appreciation and tolerance of diverse perspectives dealing with art, culture,
teaching and learning.
How will these goals be achieved?
Readings, lectures and discussions: each week readings will be due from the primary texts
(Liverani, Roaf, Brend) and supplementary texts available on MOODLE or on reserve at the
library. Whenever appropriate we will be using information from the Internet in support of
class activities, so all students should have access to a computer with Explorer/ Safari or a
similar browser program. If you do not have a computer available at home the public
computing sites in the library and in other locations around campus will be available.
Discussions in class will be based on the readings due each week – participation will be
noted.
How to study: Learning is a social process and we do it best when we work with other
people. If possible I suggest that you meet regularly in small study groups (3-4 people) and
go over the material covered in class. Make this fun yet serious – get together over coffee or
pizza, in a relaxed but focused session. Come to class prepared and take notes; if you have
time rewrite your notes after class or following your discussions with your study groups.
Ask questions and participate in discussions- this helps keep you focused during the long
evening sessions.
Behavior: Students are expected to behave courteously and pay attention in class. Students
who engage in disruptive behavior such as talking, making noise or other actions that
distract other students will be given a warning and if the behavior persists, the student will
be asked to leave the class for the day. Class-related activities may not be made up if a
student has been dismissed from class. Cheating will not be tolerated – use of unauthorized
sources of information during an exam or class activity will result in a grade of 0 for the
assignment with no make-up option. Plagiarism on a paper or project will be treated in a
similar manner (see below). If you have any questions about whether you might be
plagiarising, ASK ME FIRST.
How will student performance be evaluated?
Exams (two exams, 25% each): students will complete midterm and final exams as part of
the fulfillment of class requirements. These exams cannot be made up except by prearrangement with the instructor or presentation of a doctor's note or similarly documented
serious excuse. I see exams as an opportunity to pull together the information and ideas
covered over several weeks. Each exam will consist of half identification questions (both
image IDs and terms) and half essay. A list of the potential slide and term IDs will be
provided two weeks before each exam, along with study tips for the exam.
Project/Paper (25%): Each student is required to complete a project, either a paper about 8
double spaced pages in length (plus 8+ item scholarly bibliography and relevant
illustrations) or a creative project involving a similar amount of research, but presented in a
different format. Topics will be chosen in consultation with the instructor. Projects need
not take the form of written essays -- a student might wish to design a web page for an
archaeological site, or research and compose an essay on antiquities stolen from their home
country to be presented as a movie, etc... Each project must involve research by the student,
careful documentation of the sources of information used and original thinking. An artists
statement is required (three pages double-spaced plus bibliography) that details your
research and creative process and specifically how your research has informed your creative
process.
Class participation (maximum 25%: 10% attendance + 15% class-related activities) is an
important component of this course. You are expected to attend class regularly and to
contribute in an informed and productive manner to class discussions. Attendance will be
taken at five class meetings (at the teacher's discretion) through the course of the term.
Attendance at each of these classes is worth 2 points towards your attendance score of 10
points. Discussions, essays and in-class activities will make up the balance of the class
participation grade. Although more than 15 points will be available based on the various
class-related activities (group presentations, quizzes, discussions and so on), no more than
15 points will be applied to your grade (i.e. no "extra credit" for this part of the grade).
Weighting of class assignments will be as follows
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Project (n.b. 5/25 points for 1st draft due 4/14)
Class Participation (10% attendance + 15% other)
Total
25 %
25 %
25 %
25 %
_____
100%
Provisional schedule of readings and class topics
Week 1 (1/20): Introduction to the course; geographical and cultural overview
film: Legacy; Reading: Liverani 17-33;
Week 2 (1/27): From Village to Town: Before 3000 B.C.;
Readings: Roaf, 18-35; 38-39; 42-56 (MOODLE); Liverani 34-58; Dietrich 2012
(MOODLE)
Internet: Çatal Höyük web page http://www.catalhoyuk.com/ (MOODLE)
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/06/gobekli-tepe/mann-text
Week 3 (2/3): Temple, Cemetery and Palace: The 3rd Millennium B.C. Geography Quiz.
Readings: Roaf, 58-91 (MOODLE); Liverani 61-80; 93-114.
Met Museum, Art of the First Cities:
http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/First_Cities/death_meso.htm
Week 4 (2/10): The royal cemetery of Ur; Third Dynasty at Ur;
Readings: Liverani 133-70; University of Pennsylvania Museum (Royal Cemetery @
Ur): http://www.penn.museum/sites/iraq/?page_id=26
Week 5 (2/17): The 2nd Millennium B.C.; Old Assyrian Empire; Old Babylonian Empire
Readings: Liverani 207-20; 240-67; Roaf, 96-157 (MOODLE)
Week 6 (2/24): The Hittite empire; Troy; Ulu Burun shipwreck; the great collapse of
civilizations ca. 1200 BC
Readings: Liverani 271-89; 303-24; 281-89.
Week 7 (3/3): Phoenicians, Neo-Hittites
Readings: Liverani 420-33; 448-72.
Week 8 (3/10): Great Mesopotamian Empires, 1st Millennium B.C. (Neo-Assyrians;
Babylon; Persia); Kingdoms and cultures in Anatolia; Readings: Roaf 158-223
(MOODLE); Liverani 475-502; 518-36; 549-53; 562-70.
Kerkenes excavations : http://www.metu.edu.tr/home/wwwkerk/index.html
Week 9 (3/17): Parthians and Sassanians beyond the Euphrates: 238 B.C.-A.D. 651;
Readings: Collon, Ch. 5; Afghanistan 81-105 (Ai Khanum); 145-161 (Begram); 210-31
(Tilya tepe); (all MOODLE)
Week 10 (3/24): Midterm Exam
Week 11 (3/31): Cesar Chavez Day, no class.
Week 12: SPRING BREAK: 4/6 – 4/11
Week 13: (4/14): Early Islamic Art to the 12th c.; Umayyad Spain; FIRST DRAFT OF
PAPER/ PROJECT DUE
Brend Ch. 1.
Week 14 (4/21): Fatimid Egypt; Seljuks in western Asia
Readings: Brend, Ch. 2, 3.
Week 15 (4/28): Ottoman Empire; Safavids
Readings: Brend, Ch. 6, 7
student group report on manuscript illumination
Week 16 (5/5): Student projects/ papers due; Colonial, Post-colonial and Contemporary
art in the Near East; student group report on Contemporary Portraiture
Readings: O’Kane Ch. 6; Eigner 18-31 (both MOODLE)
Final exam May 12, 5:30-7:30 pm
Bibliography:
Primary course texts
B. Brend, Islamic Art. Harvard University Press (1992) ISBN-10: 067446866X; ISBN13: 978-0674468665
Eigner, S. 2010. Art of the Middle East: Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab
World and Iran. London, Merrell. ISBN 978-1-8589-4500-2
M. Liverani, The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy. Routledge; 2014.
ISBN-10: 0415679060; ISBN-13: 978-0415679060
Roaf, M. The Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. Checkmark
Books 1990. ISBN 0816022186
Additional bibliography (selections will be made available in the library or via the
MOODLE site as links or .pdf files):
Akkermans, P. M. M. G., G. M. Schwartz. The Archaeology of Syria : From Complex
Hunter-Gatherers to Early Urban Societies (c.16,000-300 BC). Cambridge
University Press 2004. ISBN: 0521796660. DS94.5 .A45 2003
Algaze, G. The Uruk World System (Chicago 1993).
Bohrer, F. N. Orientalism and Visual Culture: Imagining Mesopotamia in
Nineteenth-Century Europe. Cambridge University Press 2003. ISBN:
0521806577. # NX650.E85 B64 2003
Dietrich, Oliver, Manfred Heun, Jens Notroff, Klaus Schmidt and Martin Zarnkow, 2012.
“The role of cult and feasting in the emergence of Neolithic communities. New
evidence from Gobekli Tepe, south-eastern Turkey ,”Antiquity. 86.333: 674-95.
Frankfort, H. The Art and Architecture of the Ancient Orient (Yale University Press
Pelican History of Art, 5th ed. 1997. ISBN 0300064705. N5345/ .F7/ 1970
Joukowsky, M. Early Turkey: An Introduction to the Archaeology of Anatolia from
Prehistory Through the Lydian Period. Kendall-Hunt Publishing 1996. ISBN
0787221414.
Mack, Rosamond E., Bazaar to piazza : Islamic trade and Italian art, 1300-1600.
Berkeley: University of California Press, c2002. NK959 .M267 2002
Matthews, R. The Archaeology of Mesopotamia (Routledge 2003). ISBN 0-415-253179
Meyers, Eric M. (ed.); 1997. The Oxford Encyclopedia of archaeology in the Near
East, 5 volumes., Oxford University Press: New York DS56/ .O9/ 1997
Potts, D.T.; 1999. The archaeology of Elam: Formation and transformation of an
Ancient Iranian state, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge and New York.
Sagona, A. and P. Zimansky, Ancient Turkey (Routledge 2009).
Shaw, Wendy M. K., Possessors and Possessed: Museums, Archaeology, and the
Visualization of History in the Late Ottoman Empire. University of California
Press 2003. AM79.T8 S53 2003
Smith, A. The Political Landscape : Constellations of Authority in Early Complex
Polities. University of California Press 2003. ISBN 0520237501
Van De Mieroop, M. History of the Ancient Near East: Ca. 3000-323 Bc (Blackwell
History of the Ancient World, 1). Blackwell Publishers 2003. ISBN:
0631225528
Wilkinson, 2004. Archaeological Landscapes of the Near East. University of Arizona
Press 2004. ISBN 0816521743
Web sites:
Francis Deblawe, Effects of 2003 War in Iraq on Archaeological Heritage
http://cctr.umkc.edu/user/fdeblauwe/iraq.html
CANeW- Central Anatolian Neolithic e-Workshop
http://www.canew.net/
Mesopotamia in the Age of State Formation
http://www.science.widener.edu/ssci/mesopotamia/
TAY: Register of prehistoric sites in Turkey
http://www.tayproject.org/enghome.html
MAGIS: GIS database of survey archaeology projects in the Mediterranean
http://cgma.depauw.edu/MAGIS/
University of Chicago, Oriental Institute
 Recommended readings
o http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/DEPT/RA/RECREAD/REC_READ.html
 ABZU: Internet resources for Near Eastern Archaeology
 http://www.etana.org/abzu

Archaeological Institute of America
http://www.archaeological.org
Museums:
New York Metropolitan Museum, Near Eastern Section
http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/department.asp?dep=3
British Museum
http://www.thebritishmuseum.ac.uk/ane/anehome.html
University of Chicago, Oriental Institute Museum
http://oi.uchicago.edu/OI/MUS/OI_Museum.html
University of Pennsylvania
http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/exhibits/galleries/mesopotamia.html
UPenn Royal Tombs of Ur http://www.museum.upenn.edu/new/exhibits/ur/index.shtml
Museum of Islamic Art, Doha
http://www.mia.org.qa/english/index.html
Anatolian Civilizations Museum, Ankara
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museum_of_Anatolian_Civilizations
Istanbul Modern Art Museum
http://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/f_index.html
Baghdad Museum
http://www.baghdadmuseum.org/
Excavations:
Hamoukar, evidence of the first warfare
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/05/051216.hamoukar.shtml
Catal Hoyuk
http://www.catalhoyuk.com/
Hasanlu excavations
http://www.hasanlu.org/
Kerkenes Dagi excavations
http://www.metu.edu.tr/home/wwwkerk/index.html
Gordion excavations
http://home.att.net/~gordion/