FROM REPUBLIC TO EMPIRE: INVENTING ROMAN ART

Credit Hours: 3 · Graduate

Rome’s rise entailed the conquest and absorption of countless indigenous populations. In the heterogeneous landscape of Late Republican and Early Imperial Italy, is it possible to distinguish a “Roman” visual culture? This course traces the spread of Roman power from the 5th century BCE to the 1st century CE, asking how colonization, cross-cultural interaction, and aristocratic competition shaped what we now call “Roman” art and architecture. Students will be assigned readings for each class, and part of their final grade will be based on in-class discussion of these readings. Each student will also write a research paper and give an in-class presentation. Graduate students will give an in-class presentation of c. 30 minutes and will write a research paper (about 15-20 pages in length) arguing an original thesis. Graduate students will read six additional scholarly articles (of a more theoretical and methodological nature) that will be assigned to them over the course of the semester, and will write an annotated bibliography of these readings. Graduate/Undergraduate Equivalency: HART 360 . Mutually Exclusive: Cannot register for HART 550 if student has credit for HART 320 .