Intro to Ancient Rome

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Taught at a host institution. Portraiture is often seen as a particularly Roman genre, and had a significant influence on subsequent Western approaches to individualized representation. The strong link between image and individual meant that portraits could attain an almost magical quality as substitutes for the individual. The course will discuss approaches to portraiture in the Roman world, the formulation and impact of figure depictions, and how images were shaped, honoured, copied, changed - and punished. The course will provide students with an in-depth knowledge of key artworks and monuments, and their multifaceted connotations. The aim is develop a contextualized appreciation of the multifaceted visual and artistic culture within which portraiture is displayed. The course will familiarize students with portraits across a broad range of artistic media and develop the ability to analyze the impact of technique and material. The aim is for a nuanced understanding of the interests shaping the material culture of a complex visual world. The course will foster a firm understanding of developments and traditions in the history of late Republican to late Imperial Rome. The aim is to develop an awareness of cultural characteristics and an ability to analyze trends and changes. The course will familiarize students with the rhetoric of forms and styles, and the inherent narrativity of objects, and it will foster an understanding of the impact of viewing. The aim is for an awareness of portraits as dynamic intermediaries of social interaction. The course will present students with works of diverse patronage and consider the transmission of inspiration and influence. The aim is to further understanding of the impact of patronage and of social interaction in Rome.