University Bulletin
Undergraduate Degree Programs
ART H 301
(GA;IL)
Egyptian and Mesopotamian Art (3) Art of the Ancient Near East, including Egypt, Mesopotamia, and neighboring civilizations.
ART H 301 Egyptian and Mesopotamian Art (3)
(GA;IL)
(BA) This course meets the Bachelor of Arts degree requirements.
Art history 301 provides an introduction to the arts of the Ancient Near East including those of Egypt and Mesopotamia. The class is dealt with chronologically. Works studied in class include papyri, seals, fabric, codices as well as sculpture, architecture, and painting. Additional readings of primary sources focused on mythology, and religion will form a key element in the structure of the class. The course is designed to meet two principal goals. The first is to increase students' powers of visual analysis and help them build a critical vocabulary for discussing an art object's medium, composition, style, and iconography. The second is to foster an understanding of the deep implication of the visual arts in their social and cultural contexts. The course therefore involves significant material relating to political, economic and religious issues. It investigates problems in patronage, function, reception and censorship. It considers such intra- and cross-cultural issues as representations of gender. Requirements include essay exams and at least one paper. As a general education course in the arts, this course provides an introduction to Ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian art to a student of any major. This course has no prerequisite, and presumes no prior exposure to fine art. Students majoring in Art History will learn in it both the common vocabulary of the field and the outlines of the field that form the foundation for future study.