Spring Term

(Jump to Fall Term)


Primarily for Undergraduates


ARCH 0033  Past Forward: Discovering Anthropological Archaeology (ANTH 0500)   [CRN: 24438]
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. LILE MWF 1:00-1:50. Instructor: Andrew Scherer

ARCH 0100  Field Archaeology in the Ancient World   [CRN: 24139]
Always wanted to be Indiana Jones? This course, focusing on the Mediterranean world and its neighbors in antiquity, interprets field archaeology in its broadest sense. In addition to exploring "how to do" archaeology – the techniques of locating, retrieving and analyzing ancient remains – we will consider how the nature of these methodologies affects our understanding of the past. MWF 11:00-11:50. Instructor: Susan E. Alcock

ARCH 0365  Byzantium-Constantinople-Istanbul: A City in Deep Time   [CRN: 24138]
Istanbul is one of the largest urban conglomerations in the world, and the only city straddling two continents. It lies on either bank of the Bosphorus, which has been for millennia a bustling maritime thoroughfare. From a boat on the strait one can see not only rising skyscrapers, but also minarets and church-domes, colossal suspension bridges and ancient city walls. This course will explore the rich and turbulent history and archaeology of this enchanting city from the Neolithic to the present. It will offer an in-depth look at urban topography and a survey of the vibrant literature written about Byzantium-Constantinople-Istanbul. WRIT. MWF 10:00-10:50. Instructor: Felipe Rojas

ARCH 0420  Archaeologies of the Greek Past   [CRN: 24140] [Course Website]
From Bronze Age palaces to the Acropolis in Athens and on the trail of Alexander the Great, this course explores the ancient Greek world through archaeology—using  art, architecture, and everyday objects to learn about ancient Greek society, from the mysterious to the mundane.  It also considers how we experience ancient Greece today, including questions about archaeological practice, the antiquities trade, and cultural heritage. WRIT. MWF 1:00-1:50. Instructor: Fotini Kondyli


For Undergraduates and Graduates


ARCH 1056  Indigenous Archaeologies (ANTH 1125)   [CRN: 25037]
Interested students must register for ANTH 1125.
This course is an introduction to Indigenous archaeology, sometimes defined as archaeology "by, for and with Indigenous peoples." These approaches combine the study of the past with contemporary social justice concerns. However, they are more than this. In addition to seeking to make archaeology more inclusive of and responsible to Indigenous peoples, they seek to contribute a more accurate understanding of archaeological record. They thus do not reject science, but attempt to broaden it through a consideration of Indigenous epistemologies. This course covers topics as the history of anthropological archaeology, Indigenous knowledge and science, decolonizing methodologies, representational practices and NAGPRA. TTh 9:00-10:20. Instructor: Robert Preucel

ARCH 1162  Anthropology in/of the Museum (ANTH 1901)  [CRN: 25861]
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 3:00-5:20. Instructor: Jennifer Stampe

ARCH 1201  Roman Art/Arch Mosaics (HIAA 1200C)  [CRN: 25724]
CANCELLED

ARCH 1436   The Archaeology of Jerusalem: From the Origins to the Ottomans (JUDS 1610)   [CRN: 25044]
Interested students must register for JUDS 1610.
Jerusalem has earned a special eminence among the famed ancient cities of the world. Its sanctity to Jews, Christians, and Moslems has made the city a focus of discussions and controversies regarding the evolving and changing identities throughout its long urban history. More than 1700 archaeological excavations and surveys in and around the Old City have been conducted over the last 150 years. In this seminar we will examine the material remains of the city from the beginnings in the Chalcolithic period through the end of the Ottoman period in 1917 CE. The contemporary literary sources as well as the more recent scholarly debates and discoveries help us understand the material remains of the relevant periods. T 4:00-6:20. Instructor: Katarina Galor

ARCH 1575  Lost and Found: Coinage and Culture in the Roman Empire   [CRN: 26011]
Coins tend to be overlooked as sources of information about the ancient world, being used principally to date other objects. This is quite short sighted, for coins are themselves rich and revealing archaeological artifacts. Evidence of how coins were made, used, and lost will be explored during the seminar, in connection with recent debates about the ancient economy, the expression of identity through material culture, Roman colonialism and ethics of collecting cultural property. WRIT. TTh 2:30-3:50. Instructor: Alicia Jimenez

ARCH 1602   The Age of Empires: The Ancient Near East in the First Millennium BC (AWAS 1300)   [CRN: 24364]
Interested students must register for AWAS 1300.
The first millennium BC saw a series of empires vying for control of the Near East: the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, and the Greeks of Alexander the Great and his successors. The course will explore the political, social and cultural history of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East under these empires, using evidence drawn from archaeology and ancient texts (in translation). TTh 10:30-11:50. Instructor: John Steele

ARCH 1609  Ancient Babylonian Magic and Medicine (AWAS 1500)   [CRN: 24365]
Interested students must register for AWAS 1500.
A survey of ancient magic and medicine focusing on Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq, ca. 2500-300 BCE), with an emphasis on beliefs about the body, health, illness, and the causes of disease, such as witchcraft or angry gods. Topics will include the training of healers, exorcists, and herbalists; concepts of contagion and plague, modalities of treatment, incantations, prayers, and empirical remedies like prescriptions; ancient perceptions of problems like sexual dysfunction, the perils of pregnancy, tooth decay, epilepsy, and mental illness. Readings will be drawn from ancient texts (in translation), archaeology, and parallels with ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, and the Bible. No prerequisites. Not open to first year students. WRIT. MWF 2:00-2:50. Instructor: Matthew Rutz.

ARCH 1620   Conquest to Conversion: The Formation of the Islamic World   [CRN: 26012]
How did the Arabs, originally a small group of tribes, come to conquer and rule a vast region from Spain to Iran? And how did their faith – Islam – become a major world religion? Moving between past to present, we will use the evidence of texts, landscapes, architecture and images to examine how an Arab state emerged, to explore what it meant to be Muslim and/or Arab, and to follow the spread of Islam. WRIT. TTTh 10:30-11:50. Instructor: Corisande Fenwick.

ARCH 1621   History of Egypt I (EGYT 1430)   [CRN: 24368] [Course Website]
Interested students must register for EGYT 1430.
A survey of the history and society of ancient Egypt from prehistoric times to the end of the Eighteenth Dynasty (ca. 5000-1300 BC). Readings include translations from the original documents that serve as primary sources for the reconstruction of ancient Egyptian history. WRIT. MWF 12:00-12:50. Instructor: Laurel Bestock

ARCH 1627  Daily Life in Ancient Egypt (EGYT 1465)   [CRN: 25236]
Interested students must register for EGYT 1465.
Ancient Egypt is remembered for its grand temples and enduring tombs. Histories too often favor these examples of grandeur, forgetting the daily lives of non-royal ancient Egyptians. This class will investigate the daily lives of these underrepresented ancient Egyptians - craftsmen, servants, women, children - and address concerns such as illness, status, economy, magic and death. Additionally, we will look at the individual and discuss sexuality, love, style and fashion, religious practice and the family. Class format will include lectures and discussions, presentations, and tours through virtual temples which will enable us to reconstruct the daily lives of Ancient Egyptians. MWF 1:00-1:50. Instructor: Julia Troche

ARCH 1630  Fighting Pharaohs: Ancient Egyptian Warfare   [CRN: 24143] [Course Website]
When and why did the ancient Egyptians engage in war? Who was fighting? What were their weapons like and what were their military strategies? What were the political situations that caused them to go to war? How did warfare impact Egyptian society? In studying Egyptian history and society through the pervasive motif of war, we will gain an understanding of the forces that shaped Egyptian culture. TTh 1:00-2:20. Instructor: Laurel Bestock

ARCH 1707 The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (CLAS 1120Q)   [CRN: 24686] [Course Website]
Interested students must register for CLAS 1120Q.
"Everyone has heard of the Seven Wonders of the World," wrote Philo of Byzantium two millennia ago, and it's still true today. But what is a "Wonder"? And why seven of them? Why make such a list anyway, then or now? This class will use ancient texts, explorers' accounts, and archaeological investigations to travel through several thousand years of history in the Mediterranean and Near Eastern world. We will consider how the Seven Wonders captured past imaginations; the aura of technological achievements; the intersections of history, memory, invention, and myth; and how members of one culture view another culture's monuments. MWF 2:00-2:50. Instructor: John F. Cherry

ARCH 1764 25 Things! 250 Years of Brown’s Material Past   [CRN: 26074] [Course Website]
Did you know the house of the first president of Brown lies under what is today the Quiet Green? That the statue currently in front of the Ratty has lost his arm — twice? That a network of secret tunnels connects the Rockefeller Library to Carrie Tower? To commemorate the University’s 250th anniversary, this course will explore objects from Brown’s material past (art works, maps, trees, dining hall trays), using perspectives from a wide variety of disciplines, humanistic and scientific. By its end, the class will choose 25 Things to tell stories of both Brown’s history and its future. WRIT. T 4:00-6:20. Instructor: Claudia Moser.

ARCH 1768  The Culture of Death in Ancient Rome (CLAS 1420)   [CRN: 24670]
Interested students must register for CLAS 1420.
This course examines the way that death and dying were perceived and managed in ancient Roman culture. Primary source readings will include selections from philosophers, poets, inscriptions, and a variety of prose literature (consolations, epistolography, historiography, novels). Secondary literature will focus on demography and social relations, the anthropology of funerary ritual, and material culture, which will be integrated systematically throughout the course, and which will include consideration of artistic representations and iconography, as well the archaeology of Roman mortuary practices. TTh 10:30-11:50. Instructor: John P. Bodel

ARCH 1771  Archaeology of Death (ANTH 1623)   [CRN: 24512]
Interested students must register for ANTH 1623.
Examines death, burial, and memorials using comparative archaeological evidence from prehistory and historical periods. The course asks: What insight does burial give us about the human condition? How do human remains illuminate the lives of people in the past? What can mortuary artifacts tell us about personal identities and social relations? What do gravestones and monuments reveal about beliefs and emotions? Current cultural and legal challenges to the excavation and study of the dead are also considered. MWF 12:00-12:50. Instructor: Patricia Rubertone

ARCH 1772  The Human Skeleton (ANTH 1720)   [CRN: 24513]
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. MWF 11:00-11:50. Instructor: Andrew Scherer

ARCH 1777  Animals in the Ancient City: Interdependence in the Urban Environment (ERLY 1155)  [CRN: 26017] [Course Website]
Interested students must register for ERLY 1155.
In the past, as in the present, humans and animals were city dwellers, living side by side in urban environments. This course will focus on five ancient cities – in India, China, Egypt, Italy and Mexico – to examine the places where human and animal lives intersected in these early metropolises. We will explore how these complex relationships had a pervasive influence on nearly every aspect of urban life: from religious practices, to city planning, to entertainment, to health. LILE WRIT. TTh 1:00-2:20. Instructor: Susan Curry

ARCH 1870  Environmental Archaeology   [CRN: 25980] [Course Website]
How are our lives shaped by the environment around us? And, as scientists argue about whether or not we've entered a new age called "The Anthropocene", how great an impact have humans really made on the environment, from prehistory right up until today? This course will consider the complexities of human-environment interactions using a diachronic and comparative perspective only possible through an archaeological lens. It will explore the ecological relationships between people, animals, and plants in the past and discuss the implications of these dynamic relationships an increasingly globalized world. MWF 2:00-2:50. Instructor: Suzanne Pilaar Birch

ARCH 1883  Global Environmental Remote Sensing (GEOL 1330)  [CRN: 24771]
Interested students must register for GEOL 1330.
Introduction to physical principles of remote sensing across electromagnetic spectrum and application to the study of Earth's systems (oceans, atmosphere, and land). Topics: interaction of light with materials, imaging principles and interpretation, methods of data analysis. Laboratory work in digital image analysis, classification, and multi-temporal studies. One field trip to Block Island. Recommended preparation courses: MATH 0090, 0100; PHYS 0060; and background courses in natural sciences. TTh 1:00-2:20. Instructor: John F. Mustard


Primarily for Graduates


ARCH 2147 Ancient Technology and Culture: An Exploration
CANCELLED.

ARCH 2178  Architectural Reuse: The Appropriation of the Past (HIAA 2440D)   [CRN: 24331]
Interested students must register for HIAA 2440D.
This seminar will consider the survival, revival and adaptive reuse of older objects, texts and built spaces in the visual and material culture of successor cultures. We will look critically at the literature on the archaeology of memory, "Renaissance and revival, spolia studies and adaptive reuse." The seminar will examine selected case studies, including the reuse of sculptural elements in the Arch of Constantine, the conversion of Pantheon into a church and Hagia Sophia into a mosque, appropriated elements in the Qutb mosque in Delhi and the adaptation of the Bankside Power Station as the Tate Gallery. Enrollment limited to 20. W 3:00-5:20. Instructor: Sheila Bonde

ARCH 2185  Sensing Antiquity: New Approaches to Ancient Aesthetics and Sensoria   [CRN: 25839]
How did the Greeks and Romans perceive and discuss the beautiful and the ugly? The fragrant or malodorous? The ticklish and the tart? These may seem like difficult questions, even bizarre, and yet, in many ways, those past opinions inform our own experience of the world. This course is an exploration, through archaeological and literary primary sources, of the many ways in which ancient men and women interacted through their senses with the world around them and how they reflected upon that interaction. M 3:00-5:20. Instructor: Felipe Rojas

ARCH 2230 Material Networks: Migration and Trade in the Ancient West Mediterranean   [CRN: 24145] [Course Website]
This course investigates trans-regional and trans-cultural practices of Mediterranean peoples of the first millennium BC on a comparative basis through the combined lenses of materiality, migration, trade, colonial encounters, hybridization and connectivity or insularity. We will explore how 'things' mediated the experience of ancient Mediterranean peoples, both helping to shape and informed by long-term collective memories of movement, colonization and localization. W 3:00-5:20. Instructor: Peter van Dommelen

ARCH 2295 State Formation in the Prehistoric Aegean   [CRN: 24146]
Outside the Near East and Egypt, Crete and mainland Greece were arguably the first areas within the Mediterranean to witness the appearance in the early second millennium BC of state-level societies. This seminar will critique some classic archaeological and anthropological texts on state formation, before turning to examine the available data on emerging complexity in the Minoan and Mycenaean worlds and theories to account for it. Th 4:00-6:20. Instructor: John F. Cherry

 

Fall Term

(Jump to Spring Term)
 

Primarily for Undergraduates


ARCH 0150 Introduction to Egyptian Archaeology and Art   [CRN: 14885] [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 10:00-10:50. Instructor: Laurel Bestock

ARCH 0251  Intimate Stories: Narrative in Ancient Visual Culture (AWAS 0400)
CANCELLED.

New!   ARCH 0253  Haunted Universe: Monsters and Demons at the Dawn of Civilization (AWAS 0350)   [CRN: 16489]
Interested students must register for AWAS 0350.
What exactly do monsters do for us? Why do we create, deploy, and ultimately destroy them? What might they tell us about the peoples among whom they sprang up and roamed? This first year seminar explores the rise of monsters in the visual and literary arts of the first cities in human history, and their development alongside the growing urbanization of the ancient Near East. W 3:00-5:20. Instructor: Karen Sonik.

ARCH 0270  Troy Rocks! Archaeology of an Epic   [CRN: 14879] [Course Website]
What do Brad Pitt, Julius Caesar, Dante, Alexander the Great, and countless sports teams have in common? The Trojan War! This course will explore the Trojan War not only through the archaeology, art, and mythology of the Greeks and Romans but also through the popular imaginings of cultures ever since, to figure out what "really" happened when Helen ran off and Achilles got angry and the Greeks came bearing gifts. This is a first-year seminar. Other students may register with the permission of the instructor, which will be given after the first day of class. TTh 9:00-10:20. Instructor: Fotini Kondyli

ARCH 0293  Postcolonial Matters: Material Culture between Colonialism and Globalization (ANTH 0066T)   [CRN: 16157]
Interested students must register for ANTH 0066T.
This course is about things - 'stuff' - as it is about people past and present and their entanglements in and through colonial situations. It explores colonialism past and present through the combined lenses of postcolonial theory and material culture - the emphasis is thus not so much on literary and figurative representations of colonial conflicts and engagements but rather on the material surroundings of people living those colonial worlds. In other words, this course is about what people did and about the things they used to construct their daily lives in colonial situations across the globe and through time. Enrollment limited to 20 first year students. FYS. W 9:30-11:50. Instructor: Peter van Dommelen.

ARCH 0302   Object Histories: The Material Culture of Early America (HIST 0970A)   [CRN: 14545]
Interested students must register for HIST 0970A.
History is not just about people; it is also about things! Come explore the world of early America through the lens of objects--boats, dresses, plows, houses, wagons, watches, silver cups, wigs, blankets, land, gardens, hammers, desks--and the cultures that produced and consumed them. As a sophomore seminar (firsts years also welcome), this course is designed to engagingly introduce students to the basic concepts of historical study. Over the course of the semester we will explore local historical resources and take several field trips to historical sites, both on and off campus. Enrollment limited to 20 first and second year students. Th 4:00-6:20. Instructor: Linford Fisher

ARCH 0332  Classic Mayan Civilization (ANTH 0520)   [CRN: 15247]
Interested students must register for ANTH 0520.
Examines the history, culture, and society of the Classic Maya, with special emphasis on Preclassic precursors, dynasties, environmental adaptation, imagery, architecture, urban form, and the Maya Collapse. TTh 10:30-11:50. Instructor: Stephen Houston

ARCH 0535  Labor and Technology in the Roman World   [CRN: 15061] [Course Website]
Recent television programs like the History Channel's Engineering an Empire depict the Romans as geniuses pursuing a "remarkably advanced" lifestyle, but who were the people behind these technological accomplishments and what were the implications for the average Roman? This course investigates the implications of Roman technology on daily life and labor. Topics include transportation and trade, agriculture, crafts production, mining, sanitation, and warfare. We will also explore issues concerning ancient and modern perspectives on Roman technology and labor. WRIT. MWF 2:00-2:50. Instructor: Elizabeth Murphy

New!   ARCH 0720  Pilgrimage and Travel in the Ancient World   [CRN: 16543] [Course Website]
From Canterbury to Mecca, Rome to Lake Titicaca, throughout history people have traveled far and wide, often under difficult conditions, to visit sacred places. But who were these people, where and why did they go, and how did they get there? This course will explore the practice and pragmatics of pilgrimage, relying on material and literary evidence from modern and ancient case studies around the world. WRIT. TTh 2:30-3:50. Instructor: Sarah Craft

New!   ARCH 0740  Revolutions and Evolutions in Archaeology   [CRN: 16295] [Course Website]
Humankind has had a revolutionary past -- or so archaeology would lead us to believe. The earliest evidence for language, ritual, and the arts -- dating back to the extinction of the Neanderthals -- is known as the "Human Revolution". The time when hunter-gatherers became farmers? The "Neolithic Revolution". And when they started living in cities? The "Urban Revolution". This course will explore the historical reasons for these revolutionary labels, and consider instead these "revolutions" as gradual processes (or evolutions). WRIT. MWF 12:00-12:50. Instructor: Suzanne Pilaar-Birch

ARCH 0770  Food and Drink in Classical Antiquity   [CRN: 14877] [Course Website]
Everybody eats - but patterns of eating (and drinking) vary dramatically from culture to culture. This course traces the mechanics of food production and consumption in the ancient Mediterranean world, considers how diet marked symbolic boundaries and gender differences, and in general explores the extent to which the ancient Greeks and Romans "were what they ate." MWF 11:00-11:50. Instructor: Susan E. Alcock


For Undergraduates and Graduates


ARCH 1054  Indians, Colonists, and Africans in New England (ANTH 1624)   [CRN: 15168]
Interested students must register for ANTH 1624.
The course explores the colonial and capitalist transformation of New England's social and cultural landscapes following European contact. Using archaeology as critical evidence, we will examine claims about conquest, Indian Extinction, and class, gender and race relations by studying the daily lives and interactions of the area's diverse Native American, African American, and European peoples. TTh 10:30-11:50. Instructor: Patricia Rubertone

ARCH 1128  The Long Fall of the Roman Empire (HIST 1030)
CANCELLED.

ARCH 1212  Charlemagne: Conquest, Empire, and the Making of the Middle Ages (HIST 1976Z)
CANCELLED.

ARCH 1234  Lost Languages: The Decipherment and Study of Ancient Writing Systems (ANTH 1820)   [CRN: 15283]
Interested students must register for ANTH 1820.
Humans make many marks, but it is writing that records, in tangible form, the sounds and meanings of language. Creating scripts is momentous; writing facilitates complex society and is a crucial means of cultural expression. This course addresses the nature of writing in past times. Topics include: the technology of script; its precursors and parallel notations; its emergence, use, and "death"; its change over time, especially in moments of cultural contact and colonialism; writing as a physical object or thing; code-breaking and decipherment, including scripts not yet deciphered; and the nature of non-writing or pseudo- or crypto-scripts. TTh 2:30-3:50. Instructors: Stephen Houston and Felipe Rojas

ARCH 1680  Exploring Different Iron Ages: Of Chiefs, Princesses and Warriors   [CRN: 14882]
The indigenous communities of the Mediterranean Iron Age (the first millennium BC) are typically viewed as a series of stereotypes. This course will critically assess such conventional representations of different Iron Age societies by exploring the region's ever-increasing social complexity, the rise of princely burials and warriors, and the appearance of the urban settlements and monumental architecture that allegedly mark the transfer of 'civilization' from East to West. TTh 1:00-2:20. Instructor: Peter van Dommelen

ARCH 1703  Water and Architecture (HIAA 1910D)   [CRN: 14531]
Interested students must register for HIAA 1910D.
The seminar explores the varied ways in which water is manipulated in architecture and urban planning. We examine several case studies, including Roman aqueducts such as the Pont du Gard, medieval urban and monastic hydraulic systems, Renaissance and early modern garden (and fountain) design, and the local examples of Slater Mill and the Providence water supply. W 3:00-5:00. Instructor: Sheila Bonde

ARCH 1715  Building Big! Supersized Architectural and Engineering Structures From Antiquity   [CRN: 14880] [Course Website]
Sometimes size does matter. The need and desire to "build big", to create colossal architectural or sculptural things, was a constant feature of antiquity, from temples to portraits, from tunnels to fortifications. Who and what lay behind this apparent architectural megalomania? What practical challenges to construction had to be overcome? And how have such monuments affected our understanding, both of the ancient world and of modern means of self-representation? TTh 10:30-11:50. Instructor: Felipe Rojas

New!   ARCH 1776  Animal Acts (ERLY 1150)   [CRN: 16653]
Interested students must register for ERLY 1150.
From the blood-soaked amphitheaters of the Roman Empire to tattooing and other forms of body modification, this course will explore how people, ancient and modern, view animals and what looking at animals reveals about what it means to be human. Examining evidence from a variety of disciplines (archaeology, religious studies, history, philosophy, art, and literature), we will investigate the problematic boundary between "man" and "animal" and challenge the presumed superiority of the "human". WRIT LILE. MWF 1:00-1:50. Instructor: Susan Curry

ARCH 1793  Slavery in the Ancient World (CLAS 1120E)   [CRN: 15389]
Interested students must register for CLAS 1120E.
Examines the institution of slavery in the ancient world, from Mesopotamia and the Near East to the great slave societies of classical Greece and (especially) imperial Rome; comparison of ancient and modern slave systems; modern views of ancient slavery from Adam Smith to Hume to Marx to M.I. Finley. Readings in English. TTh 10:30-11:50. Instructor: John Bodel

ARCH 1882  Introduction to Geographic Information Systems for Environmental Applications (GEOL 1320)   [CRN: 15316]
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. Enrollment limited to 20. After pre-registration, instructor permission is required to register or get on wait-list. Please see or email instructor. S/NC. TTh 1:00-2:20. Instructor: Lynn Carlson

ARCH 1884  Remote Sensing of Earth and Planetary Surfaces (GEOL 1710)   [CRN: 15293]
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: 14878] [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).  This course is restricted to advanced undergraduate students, and permission to register will be given by instructor after the first class meeting.  M 3:00-5:20.


Primarily for Graduates


ARCH 2006  Principles of Archaeology (ANTH 2501)   [CRN: 15174]
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. T 6:00-8:20 pm. Instructor: Andrew Scherer

New!   ARCH 2225  Beyond Decline and Fall: New Perspectives on the Late Antique Mediterranean   [CRN: 16628] [Course Website]
This seminar will examine the Mediterranean from the fall of Rome to the Arab conquests (AD400-700), interrogating models of decline, catastrophe and transformation through the most recent archaeology of the region. We will explore key themes such as decline and fall, post-Roman state-formation, urbanism, rural settlement, Christianisation and ethnic, social and religious identities, and compare the different trajectories of Europe, Northern Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean in this period. Th 4:00-6:20. Instructor: Corisande Fenwick

ARCH 2410  Archaeologies of Place
CANCELLED.

ARCH 2502  Historical Archaeology: From Colony to City (ANTH 2540)   [CRN: 15179]
Interested students must register for ANTH 2540.
Examines historical archaeology as a complex field of inquiry that engages multiple sources of evidence and incorporates a wide range of theoretical and methodological approaches. The seminar will consider the range of evidence available to historical archaeologists, and draw on examples from colonies and cities around the world to explore how the richness and diversity of the evidence is used. W 6:00-8:20. Instructor: Patricia Rubertone

New!   ARCH 2640  Hispania: the Making of a Roman Province   [CRN: 16652]
How were Roman provinces created and incorporated into the Roman Empire? What traces exist in the archaeological record of the bonds between the provinces and the metropolis? This course approaches the complex issue of colonialism, material culture, change and continuity in connection with the Roman conquest of new territories in the Mediterranean, taking as an example the impressive pool of new archaeological data available from Roman Spain. T 4:00-6:20. Instructor: Alicia Jimenez

ARCH 2740  Social Life in Ancient Egypt   [CRN: 14883]
This course will draw upon recent discussions in anthropology and sociology that explore issues of identity by examining hierarchies of difference - age, sex, class, ethnicity. We will focus on linking theory with data and discussing modern and ancient categories of identity. Taking the lifecycle as its structure, the course covers conception to burial, drawing on a range of data sources, such as material culture, iconography, textual data and human remains. The very rich material past of ancient Egypt provides an excellent framework from within which to consider how identity and social distinctions were constituted in the past. W 3:00-5:20. Instructor: Laurel Bestock


Additional Resources

You may also visit Courses@Brown listings for up-to-date information on courses and room assignments. Check under: Area of Study: "Archaeology and the Ancient World

For a listing of all courses ever taught in Archaeology and the Ancient World (or in Old World Archaeology, its predecessor), please visit the "All Courses" page on this website. To browse the web pages and Canvas sites -- including syllabi -- for most ARCH courses, please see our "Course Websites" page.