Ancient Near Eastern Art and Architecture

Catalog description

This course surveys the visual and architectural material culture of the ancient Middle East, defined loosely as the geographic region stretching from Anatolia to Iran–including Mesopotamia and the Eastern Mediterranean. It spans the time period ranging from the emergence of civilization in the fourth millennium BCE to the arrival of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE. After an orientation to history, geography, and archaeological practice, we examine regional and chronological trends in content and style, definitions of and relationships between “art” and architecture, scholarly approaches to text-image relationships, and the role of archaeology and the understanding of provenance and provenience in the study of visual material culture in these periods and places. We conclude with a look at the role of this material in the creation and development of modern national narratives and identities.