Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World Course Offerings 2014-2015
Fall Term
(Jump to Spring Term)
Primarily for Undergraduates
ARCH 0150 Introduction to Egyptian Archaeology and Art [CRN: 16142] [Course Website]
An introductory survey of the archaeology, art and architecture of ancient Egypt, ranging in time from the prehistoric cultures of the Nile Valley through the period of Roman control. While the course will examine famous features and characters of ancient Egypt (pyramids, mummies, King Tut!), it will also provide a wide-ranging review of the archaeology of this remarkable land. MWF 1:00-1:50. Instructor: Laurel Bestock.
ARCH 0156 Architecture and Urbanism of the African Diaspora (HIAA 0770) [CRN: 14894]
Interested students must register for HIAA 0770.
This lecture course introduces the built environments in and of "Africa," from the earliest known examples to the contemporary moment. Through a consideration of texts and images, we will interrogate "Africa" as both a construct and concrete geographical entity characterized by diverse cultures, contexts, and histories. In addition to exploring the content of various architectural and urban traditions, we will approach our topic from the point of view of the theoretical paradigms that have governed the historiographical interpretation of particular periods, regions, and cultures. Readings will be arranged thematically and according to chronology and geography. Weekly one-hour section required. TTh 10:30-11:50. Instructor: Itohan Osayimwese.
ARCH 0220 Fake! History of the Inauthentic [CRN: 16487] [Course Website]
What is a fake? Who gets to decide what is authentic? Greek statues, Chinese bronzes, Maya glyphs. Have fraudulent objects always existed? Galileo’s signature, a centaur’s skeleton, Buddhas bearing swastikas. Are all fakes the same? If not, how are they different? Why do people make forgeries? This course revolves around the history of the inauthentic through a diachronic exploration of objects. WRIT. FYS. TTh 9:00-10:20. Instructor: Felipe Rojas.
ARCH 0338 An Archaeology of Native American Art (ANTH 0066U) [CRN: 16472]
Interested students must register for ANTH 0066U.
This seminar is an introduction to the art and material culture of the indigenous peoples of North America. The regional coverage includes the continental United States and Canada, focusing on the peoples of Northeast, Midwest, Southwest, Plains, Pacific Northwest, and the Arctic and Subarctic. Topics addressed include art and artifact, function and symbol, innovation and tradition, and museums and representational practices, ethics and repatriation. Special attention will be given to the changing relations between museums and contemporary Native peoples. The seminar will make extensive use of the archaeological and ethnographic collections of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology. FYS LILE. F 9:00-11:30. Instructor: Robert Preucel.
ARCH 0351 Introduction to the Ancient Near East [CRN: 15154]
Interested students must register for AWAS 0800.
This course offers an introduction to the study of the political, social and cultural history of the ancient Near East, from prehistory to the end of the Iron age (ca. 330 BC). Both literary sources and archaeological evidence are examined as relevant. Near East is understood here in its widest geographic extent, including primarily the Mesopotamian lowlands, Iranian and Syro-Anatolian highlands, as well as the Levantine coast. The course not only offers a foundational survey of the historical developments in the region, but also addresses the broader methodological and historiographic problems involved in Near Eastern studies. State formation and the development of complex societies, cult practices and cuneiform literary traditions, art, architecture and material culture, issues of landscape and settlement systems, agricultural production, regional and interregional trade, and craft production will constitute the central issues in the course. WRIT. TTh 2:30-3:50. Instructor: Ann Shafer.
ARCH 0382 Pre-Islamic Empires of Iran (HIAA 0031) [CRN: 16909]
Interested students must register for HIAA 0031.
Introduction to art and architecture of the Ancient Near Eastern empires that flourished between the 6th century BCE and the Islamic conquests of c. 630 CE. We will consider the material culture of the Achaemenids, Seleucids, Parthians, and Sasanians, empires that inhabited primarily the areas of Mesopotamia and the Persian plateau, but spread at times as far afield as the Mediterranean coast, Egypt, the Caucasus, and the Indus Valley. Lectures will prioritize close analysis of the most illuminating art and architecture, so that you leave the course knowing not only the material evidence but also current approaches to interpreting it. WRIT. TTh 9:00-10:20. Instructor: Anne Hunnell Chen.
ARCH 0676 Pirates of the Caribbean:
Scalawags, Sailors, and Slaves [CRN: 16824] [Course Website]
Avast ye scurvy dogs! Come study the barbarous buccaneers that roved the high seas of the Caribbean from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century: their daily lives and plundered goods, their ships and hideaways. We will explore the havoc piracy caused, and the legends left behind -- Blackbeard, Captain Morgan, and even Captain Jack Sparrow. Just as importantly, we will investigate the economics and geopolitics behind the rise of piracy, with an emphasis on the trans-Atlantic slave trade. MWF 2:00-2:50. Instructor: Matt Reilly.
ARCH 0725 Great Migrations: Mobility, Displacement and Material Culture in the Ancient Mediterranean [CRN: 16330] [Course Website]
Migrations are the stuff that (pre)history was made of. This course will track some of the largest and most momentous displacements and movements around the Mediterranean, from earliest prehistory to the Middle Ages. Not all migrations consisted of marauding hordes, so this course will run the gamut from pastoral mobility to island colonization. MWF 10:00-10:50. Instructor: Peter van Dommelen.
ARCH 0801 Alexander the Great and the Alexander Tradition (CLAS 0810A) [CRN: 16676] [Course Website]
Interested students must register for CLAS 0810A.
This course focuses on a single historical figure, Alexander the Great, using him as a point of departure for exploring a wide range of problems and approaches that typify the field of Classical Studies. How knowledge of Alexander has been used and abused provides a fascinating case study in the formation and continuous reinterpretation of the western Classical tradition. MWF 11:00-11:50. Instructor: John Cherry.
For Undergraduates and Graduates
ARCH 1052 Global Historical Archaeology (ANTH 1620) [CRN: 16727]
Interested students must register for ANTH 1620.
The course examines historical archaeology as a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the historic past. Draws in recent research from different parts of the world, including North America, South Africa, Australia, the Caribbean, and South America, to illustrate historical archaeology's contributions to interpreting peoples' everyday lives and the diversity of their experiences in the post-1500 era. TTh 2:30-3:50. Instructor: Emily Button.
ARCH 1128 The Long Fall of the Roman Empire (HIST 1030) [CRN: 14867]
Interested students must register for HIST 1030.
Once thought of as the "Dark Ages," this period of western European history should instead be seen as a fascinating time in which late Roman culture fused with that of the Germanic tribes, a mixture tempered by a new religion, Christianity. Issues of particular concern include the symbolic construction of political authority, the role of religion, the nature of social loyalties, and gender roles. TTh 10:30-11:50. Instructor: Jonathan Conant.
ARCH 1170 Community Archaeology in Providence and Beyond [CRN:16580] [Course Website]
Modern archaeology is about far more than just digging in the dirt. During this seminar, we will discuss how archaeologists can engage with the public -- including collaborations with indigenous and local communities, increased multivocality in interpretations, the mass media, museums, educational outreach programs, and the use and abuse of the past by governments and others in power. The second half of this course will involve a hands-on project in the Providence public school system. Enrollment limited to 15. TTh 10:30-11:50. Instructor: Katherine Harrington.
ARCH 1212 Charlemagne: Conquest, Empire, and the Making of the Middle Ages (HIST 1976Z) [CRN: 14879]
Interested students must register for HIST 1976Z.
The age of Charlemagne sits at the nexus of antiquity and the middle ages. For two hundred years Charlemagne's family, the Carolingians, welded together fragments of the splintered Roman imperial tradition and elements from the Germanic world to forge a new, medieval European civilization. This seminar examines that process by exposing students to the primary sources, archaeological evidence, and modern scholarly debates surrounding the Carolingian age. Topics include the Carolingians' rise to power; Charlemagne's imperial coronation; interactions with the Islamic and Byzantine worlds; the revival of classical learning; the Church; warfare; the economy; Vikings; and the collapse of the Carolingian Empire. Enrollment limited to 20. Not open to first year students. Th 4:00-6:20. Instructor: Jonathan Conant.
ARCH 1283 Society and Population in Ancient Greece (CLAS 1130) [CRN: 16015]
Interested students must register for CLAS 1130.
This interdisciplinary course stresses the importance of social and demographic themes for our understanding of ancient Greek socio-economic history. The course addresses topics that are fundamental to historical demography (mortality, birth rates, and factors that affect them). It draws directly on primary sources (documentary, literary and archaeological) and readings of modern historians that allow us respectively to analyze evidence and contextualize the issues relating to social history and historical demography. The course takes a longue durée approach and incorporates ancient Greek communities in Greece, the Balkans, Asia Minor, and the Black Sea, from the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods. WRIT. TTh 10:30-11:50. Instructor: Graham Oliver.
ARCH 1441 Ancient Synagogues, Churches, and Mosques in Palestine (JUDS 1440) [CRN: 15104]
Interested students must register for JUDS 1440.
Reviews the discoveries and related scholarship of ancient synagogues, churches, and mosques in ancient Palestine. Focuses on their architectural and decorational as well as their spiritual and religious characteristics, and examines how those institutions influenced each other throughout their history of development. T 4:00-6:30. Instructor: Katharina Galor.
ARCH 1475 Petra: Ancient Wonder, Modern Challenge [CRN: 16138] [Course Website]
The rose-red city of Petra in southern Jordan is a movie star (Indiana Jones
and the Last Crusade). It is a tourist mega-hit (over half a million
visitors annually). It was recently voted one of the New 7 Wonders of the
World. This class will explore the history and archaeology of Petra and
debate how best to present and preserve the site, as well as discussing (and
planning!) Brown's ongoing fieldwork at this beautiful, but fragile, place. Th 4:00-6:30. Instructor: Susan Alcock.
ARCH 1536 Archeological Ethnographies: Heritage and Community in the Mediterranean (ANTH 1126) [CRN: 16442] [Course Website]
Interested students must register for ANTH 1126.
Archaeologists study objects and (socio-cultural) anthropologists investigate culture is how stereotype and conventions have long had it. As material culture studies have increasingly blurred these boundaries, the distinction is entirely meaningless when it comes to archaeological heritage. Taking its cue from material culture studies, this course explores how local communities experience the material remains from the past and (re)incorporate them into their contemporary lives. DPLL LILE. M 3:00-5:30. Instructor: Peter van Dommelen.
ARCH 1705 The Palaces of Ancient Rome (HIAA 1301) [CRN: 16848]
Interested students must register for HIAA 1301.
This seminar addresses the palatial art and architecture of the ancient Roman Empire. Key themes include the architectural articulation of political power; the role of international relations in expressing cultural power; the interplay of influence among palaces and villas; the art of adornment, luxury, and collecting; the interaction of architecture and landscape, including interior gardens and urban environments; the critical analysis of archaeological evidence, reconstruction, and legacy. WRIT. T 4:00-6:30. Instructor: Anne Hunnell Chen.
ARCH 1616 Between Sahara and Sea: North Africa from Human Origins to Islam [CRN: 16849] [Course Website]
From the early stages of human evolution to the present, this course explores the deep past of North Africa. Rejecting the colonialist perspectives typical of the study of the region, we will study its indigenous peoples and their long-term relationships with the Mediterranean, the Near East, the Sahara and Tropical Africa. Students are encouraged to bring their own interests (art, music, literature, technology) to their experience of the class. TTh 1:00-2:20. Instructor: Brett Kaufman.
ARCH 1840 Ceramic Analysis for Archaeology [CRN: 16293] [Course Website]
The analysis and the interpretation of ceramic remains allow archaeologists to accomplish varied ends: establish a time scale, document interconnections between different areas, and suggest what activities were carried out at particular sites. The techniques and theories used to bridge the gap between the recovery of ceramics and their interpretation within anthropological contexts are the focus of this seminar. Registration limited to Archaeology and Egyptology concentrators. Others can enroll with permission of instructor, given on the first day of class. F 3:00-5:30. Instructor: Laurel Bestock.
ARCH 1882 Introduction to Geographic Information Systems for Environmental Applications (GEOL 1320) [CRN: 16049]
Interested students must register for GEOL 1320.
Introduction to the concepts of geospatial analysis and digital mapping. The principles of spatial data structures, coordinate systems, and database design are covered. Related work in image databases also discussed. Extensive hands-on training in ESRI-based geographic information system software will be provided. Focal point of class is the completion of student-selected research project employing GIS methods. TTh 1:00-2:20. Instructor: Lynn Carlson.
ARCH 1884 Remote Sensing of Earth and Planetary Surfaces (GEOL 1710) [CRN: 16055]
Interested students must register for GEOL 1710.
Geologic applications of remotely sensed information derived from interaction of electromagnetic radiation (X-ray, gamma-ray, visible, near-IR, mid-IR, radar) with geologic materials. Applications emphasize remote geochemical analyses for both terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments. Several spectroscopy and image processing labs. GEOL 0230, PHYS 0060, or equivalent recommended. TTh 1:00-2:20. Instructor: Ralph E. Milliken.
ARCH 1900 The Archaeology of College Hill [CRN: 16134] [Course Website]
A training class in field and laboratory techniques. Topics include the nature of field archaeology, excavation and survey methodologies, archaeological ethics, computer technologies (such as GIS), and site and artifact analysis and conservation. Students will act as practicing archaeologists through the investigation of local historical and archaeological sites in the College Hill area (e.g. the First Baptist Church of America and the John Brown House). M 3:00-5:20. Instructor: Andrew Dufton.
Primarily for Graduates
ARCH 2010B Approaches to Archaeological Survey in the Old World [CRN: 16825] [Course Website]
Recent decades have witnessed a marked development of interest in regional approaches to the ancient world and its landscapes. This seminar will explore the history of this development, as well as survey’s impact on the work of both ancient historians and archaeologists. Topics to be covered include survey design and methodology, and the wider implications and lessons of regional analysis. W 3:00-5:20. Instructor: John Cherry.
ARCH 2112 Roman Epigraphy (LATN 2120A) [CRN: 15493]
Interested students must register for LATN 2120A.
A practical introduction to the study of Latin inscriptions, with emphasis on the reading, editing, and interpretation of texts on stone. Class time will be divided between discussion of various categories of texts in the light of the 'epigraphic habit', literacy, and the sociology of reading in antiquity and hands-on experience with editing inscriptions on stone. M 3:00-5:20. Instructor: John Bodel.
ARCH 2155 History, Anthropology, and Archaeology: Disciplinary Dialogues [CRN: 16929] [Course Website]
Archaeology has always occupied an uneasy space between the fields of anthropology and history. This seminar examines the interplay of theories and methods in all three spheres of scholarship, with an emphasis on current inter- and trans- disciplinary research. Several fundamental 20th century dialogues between anthropologists and historians will be reviewed, and key topics in contemporary archaeology explored in relation to those debates. Th 4:00-6:20. Instructor: James Osborne.
ARCH 2320 Household Archaeology in the Ancient Near East and Beyond [CRN: 16928] [Course Website]
House, home, household, family: defining these terms is not as easy as it might seem, especially across space and through time. After introducing the principles of household archaeology, this class will explore the state of this growing archaeological subfield in the Near East and eastern Mediterranean. We will also draw on developments in New World archaeology in analyzing the potential and problems of household archaeology and in articulating its future directions. T 4:00-6:20. Instructor: Miriam Müller.
ARCH 2553 Introduction to Public Humanities (AMST 2650) [CRN: 15098]
Interested students must register for AMST 2650.
This class, a foundational course for the MA in Public Humanities with preference given to American Studies graduate students, will address the theoretical bases of the public humanities, including topics of history and memory, museums and memorials, the roles of expertise and experience, community cultural development, and material culture. Enrollment limited to 20 graduate students. W 3:00-5:20. Instructor: Steven Lubar.
Spring Term
(Jump to Fall Term)
Primarily for Undergraduates
ARCH 0030 Art in Antiquity: An Introduction [CRN: 25388]
What went into the creation of the Parthenon? Who lived in the Tower of Babel? Why do we still care? This course offers an introduction to the art, architecture, and material culture of the ancient world. Things of beauty and of power will be explored, from Egyptian pyramids and Near Eastern palaces, to the 'classical' art of Greece and Rome. MWF 12:00-12:50. Instructor: Anne Hunnell Chen.
ARCH 0033 Past Forward: Discovering Anthropological Archaeology (ANTH 0500) [CRN: 25479]
Interested students must register for ANTH 0500.
This course offers a broad journey through the human past, from material culture crafted by our evolutionary ancestors to the remnants of the recent historic past. To facilitate this journey, the class explores the methods, concepts, and theories that anthropologists employ in the study of past peoples, places, and things. Case studies stretch across the globe. As a hands-on endeavor, archaeology focuses on tangible evidence. In this course, small-group discussion, laboratory, and field exercises will complement lectures, leading to an understanding of how anthropologists study the past and how that knowledge affects the present. TTh 9:00-10:20. Instructor: Andrew Scherer.
ARCH 0201 Sport in the Ancient Greek World (CLAS 0210 O) [CRN: 25136] [Course Website]
Interested students must register for CLAS 0210O.
Athletics and sports were as popular and significant in the ancient Greek world as they are today, and so offer an excellent introduction to its archaeology and history. This class will discuss the development of Greek athletics, the nature of individual events, the social implications of athletic professionalism, women and athletics, and the role of sport in Greek education. MWF 2:00-2:50. Instructor: John Cherry.
ARCH 0203 Who Owns the Past? (ANTH 0066D) [CRN: 24422]
Interested students must register for ANTH 0066D.
Examines the role of the past in the present. Using examples from the U.S. and other parts of the world, we will look at how archaeological evidence is implicated in contemporary cultural and political issues. Students will learn that the past is not just the focus of archaeologists' interest and scientific inquiries, but is also a subject romanticized by antiquarians, mobilized in nation-building, marketed for profit, re-enacted as entertainment, consumed by tourists, and glorified in commemoration. Understanding these different and competing valuations, claims, and uses of the archaeological past will provide an introduction to why the past matters in the present and to the future. Enrollment limited to 20 first year students. FYS. M 3:00-5:20. Instructor: Patricia Rubertone.
ARCH 0307 Gold: The Culture of a “Barbarous Relic” (ANTH 0250) [CRN: 25894]
Interested students must register for ANTH 0250.
An object of obsession for millennia, gold has recently witnessed a polarizing cultural politics. In congressional testimony former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke labeled it a “barbarous relic.” Meanwhile a growing minority clamor for a return to the gold standard. Whether among medieval alchemists or modern financial wizards, whether in the eyes of Egyptian Pharaohs or Indian peasants, gold’s special qualities have shaped cultural practice. This course explores the shiny yellow metal’s cultural history, from its emergence as an object of desire, to the contemporary rejection of its role as the store of wealth resulting in its demotion to just another commodity. DPLL LILE. TTh 10:30-11:50. Instructor: Ian Straughn.
ARCH 0334 Introduction to South American Archaeology (ANTH 0505) [CRN: 26079]
Interested students must register for ANTH 0505.
The course examines the development of human cultures in South America, from the first Ice Age settlers to the arrival of the Spanish. Drawing on archaeological and historical evidence, it covers the complex civilizations of the Andex, including the Moche and Tiwanaku polities and the expansionist Inca empire. It also explores the archaeology of foraging societies throughout the continent and of sedentary societies in the Amazon region and northern South America whose complexity has only recently begun to be understood. The course concludes with a study of the Spanish Conquest and the transformation of indigenous societies during the Colonial period. DPLL LILE. MWF 1:00-1:50. Instructor: Nicholas Carter.
ARCH 0370 Before the Islamic State: The Archaeologies of Ancient Mesopotamia [CRN: 26073] [Course Website]
Front-page news stories report the often-horrific actions and assertions of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). This part of the world -- ancient Mesopotamia, the “cradle of civilization" -- is home, however, not only to modern geopolitical conflict, but to the world’s often equally violent earliest states and empires. This class introduces students to the archaeology and history of this extraordinarily rich region, whose cultures also pioneered the development of writing, astronomy, mathematics, urbanism, and beer. LILE MWF 1:00-1:50. Instructor: James Osborne.
ARCH 0520 Roman Archaeology and Art [CRN: 25378] [Course Website]
Anyone who has ever watched “Gladiator”, “Spartacus”, “Life of Brian”, or “Bugs Bunny: Roman Legion Hare” has some image of Rome, the Romans and their empire. This course, while exploring and assessing these influential popular preconceptions, introduces a more balanced view of Roman archaeology and art, examining not only the “eternal city” of Rome, but its vast and diverse imperial domain. MWF 11:00-11:50. Instructor: Susan Alcock.
ARCH 0530 Hannibal ad Portas! Fact and Fiction on Carthage and the Punic World [CRN: 25452] [Course Website]
"Hannibal stands at the gates": Roman parents would terrify their children
with these words. And many others have been haunted by Hannibal Barca: the
Carthaginian general still fascinates the European imagination, not least
his epic trek over the Alps with three dozen elephants. This course explores
fact and fiction about Hannibal and his world, holding up historical and
mythical records against hard archaeological evidence. MWF 10:00-10:50. Instructor: Peter van Dommelen.
ARCH 0717 Architecture of the House Through Space and Time (HIAA 0081) [CRN: 26114]
Interested students must register for HIAA 0081.
This undergraduate lecture course focuses on one building type, the house, through time in Mesopotamia, China, Japan, the Islamic world, the African diaspora, India, Britain, Rhode Island, and Germany and France. Houses can be minute or monumental, vernacular or high art, provide minimal shelter or afford the material and psychic satisfaction of home. By studying houses, we can bypass some of architectural history’s biases, and explore some of the major debates in the discipline: What is architecture? Who determines what is included/excluded in this category? And on what basis do they make these claims? WRIT A. MWF 11:00-11:50. Instructor: Itohan Osayimwese.
For Undergraduates and Graduates
ARCH 1121 Pompeii: Art, Architecture, and Archaeology in the Lost City (HIAA 1303) [CRN: 26166]
Interested students must register for HIAA 1303.
Buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE, Pompeii stands as a time capsule of city life in the Roman Empire of the 1st century. Exploring the city’s grand public baths, theaters, and amphitheaters, its seedy bars and businesses, its temples for Roman and foreign gods, and its lavishly decorated townhomes and villas, this seminar will reconstruct a panoramic view of Roman daily life and consider the Vesuvian region’s modern reception since its rediscovery in the 18th century. WRIT. T 4:00-6:30. Instructor: Anne Chen.
ARCH 1150 Cities and Urban Space in the Ancient World [CRN: 26074] [Course Website]
This course investigates ancient cities from a comparative perspective. Using contemporary approaches to cities and the production of urban space, we will explore side-by-side cities of the ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean world, with comparisons drawn as well from other regions such as Mesoamerica. We will investigate how cities were planned in the past and their monumental architecture shaped, with a special focus on Egyptian case studies such as the productive prehistoric site of Tell el-Daba. WRIT. TTh 2:30-3:50. Instructor: Miriam Müller.
ARCH 1162 Anthropology in/of the Museum (ANTH 1901) [CRN: 26023]
Interested students must register for ANTH 1901.
This course will provide an introduction to the history, purposes, transformations, and internal workings of museums from an anthropological perspective. Students will learn about museums that focus on natural and cultural history related to anthropological studies of archaeology, human evolution, and world ethnography. It will cover the relevance of anthropological training to careers in the museum field, as well as the importance of conducting anthropological investigations in the museum environment. Enrollment limited to 20. W 3:0-5:30. Instructor: Christy A. Delair.
ARCH 1213 The Medieval Monastery (HIAA 1440B) [CRN: 25134]
Interested students must register for HIAA 1440B.
The seminar examines the medieval and early modern monastery as a research problem. The course examines the development of the monastery, and investigates the religious and functional aspects of monastic architecture. We will explore historical, art historical and archaeological approaches to monasticism. Instructor permission required. Enrollment limited to 20. W 3:00-5:30. Instructor: Sheila Bonde.
ARCH 1214 The Viking Age (HIST 1031) [CRN: 24188]
Interested students must register for HIST 1031.
For two centuries, Viking marauders struck terror into the hearts of European Christians. Feared as raiders, Norsemen were also traders and explorers who maintained a network of connections that stretched from North America to Baghdad and who developed a complex civilization that was deeply concerned with power and its abuses, the role of law in society, and the corrosive power of violence. This class examines the tensions and transformations within Norse society between AD 750 and 1100 and how people living in the Viking world sought to devise solutions to the challenges that confronted them as their world expanded and changed. MWF 1:00-1:50. Instructor: Jonathan Conant.
ARCH 1437 The Archaeology of Palestine (JUDS 1615) [CRN: 24806]
Interested students must register for JUDS 1615.
Traces the prehistory of Palestine (modern Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan) from its beginnings in the Paleolithic to the end of the Byzantine period. Surveys history of archaeological research in this area, emphasizing significant excavations and their artifacts. Develops an understanding of the art, architecture, and modes of life of humankind from age to age, the changes introduced from one period to another, and causes and effects of those changes. T 4:00-6:30. Instructor: Katharina Galor.
ARCH 1606 Imagining the Gods: Myths and Myth-making in Ancient Mesopotamia (AWAS 1100) [CRN: 24464]
Interested students must register for AWAS 1100.
Creation, the Flood, the Tower of Babel--well-known myths such as these have their origins in ancient Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Using both ancient texts in translatioin and archaeology, this course will explore categories of Mesopotamian culture labeled "myth" and "religion" (roughly 3300-300 BCE), critically examining the ancient evidence as well as various modern interpretations. Topics will include myths of creation and the flood, prophecy and divination, death and the afterlife, ritual, kingship, combat myths and apocalypses, the nature and expression of ancient religious experience, and representations of the divine. MWF 2:00-2:50. Instructor: Matthew Rutz.
ARCH 1635 The Great Heresy: Egypt in the Amarna Age [CRN: 25451] [Course Website]
At the height of Egypt’s power in the New Kingdom, King Amenhotep IV initiated a religious revolution that affected all aspects of Egyptian high culture. Declaring the sun-disc, Aten, to be the sole god, this king changed his name to Akhenaten and moved the capital city to a new site at Amarna. Along with this move came massive shifts in everything from temple worship to art, international relations to funerary religion. This course will set the Amarna period in its context, examining remains from the reign before Akhenaten to the restoration of traditional Egyptian religion under his immediate successors, including King Tutankhamun. TTh 10:30-11:50. Instructor: Laurel Bestock.
ARCH 1666 Archaeologies Out of the Mainstream: From Ancient Aliens to Modern Nationalism [CRN: 26205] [Course Website]
Have you ever wondered what's beyond academic archaeology? Have you ever watched Ancient Aliens or Searching for the Lost Giants, or read Chariots of the Gods? "Alternative" archaeologies are the most popular form of presenting the human past. This course will take a critical look at different types of alternative archaeologies, both past and present, to understand how they intersect and interface with academic understandings of archaeology and human history. Be prepared to quell academic prejudices and rattle your comfort zone.... T 4:00-6:30. Instructor: Alexander Smith.
ARCH 1764 Under the Microscope: 250 Years of Brown's Material Past [CRN: 26075] [Course Website]
An archaeologist will tell you that to learn a university’s history, you must uncover and investigate its treasures, trash, tools and toys. An engineer will tell you that to understand such objects, you must study how these things were made, in what materials and with what technologies. This co-taught course unites these two disciplines for a unique exploration of Brown’s past, combining interdisciplinary discussions, hands-on laboratory work, and individual historical and material analysis of an artifact selected from 250 years of life on College Hill. M 3:00-5:30. Instructors: Clyde Briant and Brett Kaufman.
ARCH 1772 The Human Skeleton (ANTH 1720) [CRN: 26142]
Interested students must register for ANTH 1720.
More than simply a tissue within our bodies, the human skeleton is gateway into narratives of the past--from the evolution of our species to the biography of individual past lives. Through lecture and hands-on laboratory, students will learn the complete anatomy of the human skeleton, with an emphasis on the human skeleton in functional and evolutionary perspective. We will also explore forensic and bioarchaeological approaches to the skeleton. By the course conclusion, students will be able to conduct basic skeletal analysis and will be prepared for more advanced studies of the skeleton from medical, forensic, archaeological, and evolutionary perspectives. Enrollment limited to 20. Not open to first year students.MWF 12:00-12:50. Instructor: Sarah E. Newman.
ARCH 1792 The Archaeology of Slavery [CRN: 26170] [Course Website]
No one would question that slavery leaves invisible and painful marks on all individuals and societies touched by it. But slavery leaves behind many physical, recoverable traces as well: plantations, slave forts, slaving wrecks, burial grounds. From such evidence, this course will explore four centuries of slavery in the Atlantic world, asking not only about how people coped in the past, but about the legacy of slavery in our world today. TTh 1:00-2:20. Instructor: Matt Reilly.
ARCH 1835 Inventing the Past: Amulets, Heirlooms, Monuments, Landscapes [CRN: 25381] [Course Website]
Long before archaeology and art-history were academic disciplines, individuals and communities manipulated the physical traces of the past in order to imagine and explain their own antiquity. Who cared about these objects and why? What did pre-modern excavations, catalogues, and collections look like and what do they tell us about our own engagements with antiquities? This course delves into the origins of antiquarianism and archaeology, from pre-history to the Renaissance. TTh 1:00-2:20. Instructor: Felipe Rojas.
ARCH 1878 Illustrating and Interpreting the Past: Visual Representation in Archaeology (ANTH 1470) [CRN: 26080]
Interested students must register for ANTH 1470.
Archaeologists investigate culture using material artifacts as evidence about the past, but in order to communicate and compare that evidence, they must turn to technologies of reproduction and representation. This course traces the evolution of archaeological illustration, and its contributions to our knowledge of the past, in the context of technological and intellectual change over time. It explores the most up-to-date methods of archaeological illustration and their current place and future directions in the digital humanities. Working with objects from the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology, students will acquire experience in traditional and cutting-edge illustration techniques. DPLL LILE. TTh 6:40-8:00. Instructor: Nicholas Carter.
Primarily for Graduates
ARCH 2006 Principles of Archaeology (ANTH 2501) [CRN: 24439]
Interested students must register for ANTH 2501.
Examines theoretical and methodological issues in anthropological archaeology. Attention is given to past concerns, current debates, and future directions of archaeology in the social sciences. F 9:00-11:30. Instructor: Robert Preucel
ARCH 2020E Economy and Trade in the Later Bronze Age Aegean and East Mediterranean [CRN: 25928] [Course Website]
Beginning with an examination of the workings of the Mycenaean palace economy, including the evidence of Linear B documents, this seminar will then turn to a more inclusive consideration of trade and exchange involving Aegean states and their counterparts further east, and of the nature and extent of cultural interaction between them during the later Bronze Age (ca. 1600-1100 BC). Th 4:00-6:30. Instructor: John F. Cherry.
ARCH 2157 Subaltern Communities: Archaeological Perspectives Beyond Domination and Resistance [CRN: 26087] [Course Website]
Mediterranean (pre)history is usually cast in terms of an inexorable rise of state domination and colonial exploitation under the euphemistic label of ‘social complexity’. This seminar will examine and highlight the role of ‘people without history’ not by simply pitching them as rebels against dominant powers but by exploring the subtle and manifold connections that interweave subaltern communities with hegemonic groups. W 3:00-5:30. Instructor: Peter van Dommelen.
ARCH 2407 Lived Bodies, Dead Bodies: The Archaeology of Human Remains (ANTH 2560) [CRN: 24440]
Interested students must register for ANTH 2560.
Bioarchaeology is the study of human remains from archaeological contexts. We will survey the "state of the art" in bioarchaeology, while exploring its relevance and application to the archaeology of complex societies. We will study a range of bioarchaeological methods and applications, including paleopathology, stable isotope analysis, population affinity/ancient DNA, perimortem trauma, and body modification. In turn, we will explore how bioarchaeology can be used to approach a wide range of archaeological problems relative to complex societies, including subsistence, economy, migration, urbanism, social inequality, conflict and warfare, and identity. Open to graduate students only. S/NC. LILE. M 5:00-7:20. Instructor: Andrew Scherer.
ARCH 2501A Problems in Archaeology: Culture, Contact and Colonialism (ANTH 2500A) [CRN: 24438]
Interested students must register for ANTH 2500A.
Explores the theoretical discourses shaping anthropological approaches and defining archaeological projects on culture contact and colonialism. Attention will be given to examining colonial encounters between Europeans and indigenous peoples as ongoing processes rather than particular historical moments, and to looking at recent efforts at decolonizing archaeological practice. Th 4:00-6:30. Instructor: Patricia Rubertone.
ARCH 2730 Images, Ideology, and Egyptian Warfare (EGYT 2850) [CRN: 26086] [Course Website]
Interested students must register for EGYT 2850.
Images of violence and warfare are pervasive in Egypt, but their interpretation is not straightforward. What relationship is there between such images and historical events, ritual events, and royal ideology? How do such images function? This seminar will examine Egyptian images of violence and warfare from before the New Kingdom. It will take a contextual and comparative approach to discern patterns in the ways such images are used, with the goal being to understand why they were made rather than how they can be used to answer historical questions. Th 1:00-3:50. Instructor: Laurel Bestock.
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