The Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World is dedicated to the academic study and public promotion of the archaeology and art of the ancient Mediterranean, Egypt, and the Near East (the latter broadly construed as extending from Anatolia and the Levant to the Caucasus); our principal research interests lie in the complex societies of the pre-modern era.
Although the core efforts of the Joukowsky Institute are archaeological in nature and are located within this broadly defined zone, close ties with all individuals interested in the ancient world, and with archaeologists of all parts of the globe, are welcome and actively encouraged. Joukowsky Institute faculty and students are from a wide range of countries and backgrounds -- and Brown University's fieldwork and research in archaeology and the ancient world reflects and builds on that multiplicity of perspectives.
The goal of the Institute is to foster an interdisciplinary community of interest in the archaeology of the ancient world, and in the discipline of archaeology more generally. Its mandate is to promote research, fieldwork, teaching, and public outreach, with the Institute’s associated faculty, students, and facilities serving as a hub for this activity.
For additional information, please visit the Institute's website: http://brown.edu/go/archaeology
ARCH 0030. Art in Antiquity: An Introduction.
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.
ARCH 0033. Past Forward: Discovering Anthropological Archaeology (ANTH 0500).
Interested students must register for ANTH 0500.
ARCH 0050. Archaeological Field Work.
Focuses on the aims, scope, and tools of field archaeology, and the nature of archaeological evidence. Emphasizes interdisciplinary field work techniques and the composition, function, and responsibilities of an excavation staff. Examines systematic versus ad hoc excavations and their respective problems of preservation. Students excavate model sites in a laboratory and present a team report upon completion.
ARCH 0100. Field Archaeology in the Ancient World.
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.
ARCH 0150. Introduction to Egyptian Archaeology and Art.
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.
ARCH 0152. Egyptomania: Mystery of the Sphinx and Other Secrets of Ancient Egypt.
The pyramids, tombs, and mummies discovered during the first excavations in Egypt created a colorful but highly romanticized image of this Land of the Pharaohs. More recent archaeological research has unearthed new details about the daily lives of the workers who built those pyramids, or Egypt’s cultural and economic connections throughout the Mediterranean. This course will explore how both early and recent archaeology has enriched our perception of the Gift of the Nile, while still leaving more mysteries yet to solve.
ARCH 0153. The Pyramids in Context: Archaeology of Life and Religion of Death in Old Kingdom Egypt (EGYT 0500).
Interested students must register for EGYT 0500.
ARCH 0154. Black Pharaohs: Nubian Kings and Queens of Ancient Egypt (EGYT 0550).
Interested students must register for EGYT 0550.
ARCH 0155. People Without History: Archaeology of Atlantic Africa and the Diaspora.
Too often 'Western' historical narratives consider Africans and African Diasporans as 'People Without History'. Such a notion also refers to peoples who cultures do not, or possess few formally written histories. This class employs archaeological evidence in order to dismantle the colonial library, exploring local histories that have been erased, silenced and marginalized, investigating histories of imperialism, colonialism, genocide, slavery, resistance and black nationalism. Enrollment limited to 50.
ARCH 0156. Architecture and Urbanism of the African Diaspora (HIAA 0770).
Interested students must register for HIAA 0770.
ARCH 0160. Buried History, Hidden Wonders: Discovering East Asian Archaeology.
What do Peking Man, human sacrifice, buried armies, lost cities, and silk routes have to do with one another? All are part of the rich and varied legacy of East Asian archaeology, which is today being re-written by spectacular new discoveries little known to the West. Beginning with Asia’s earliest hominin inhabitants, this course will explore the origins of agriculture, early villages and cities, ancient writing systems, and changes in ritual practice through time. We will also discuss the current state of archaeological research in Asia, focusing on site preservation and the political roles of archaeology.
ARCH 0162. Introduction to Chinese Art and Culture (HIAA 0040).
Interested students must register for HIAA 0040.
ARCH 0200. Sport in the Ancient Greek World.
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.
ARCH 0201. Sport in the Ancient Greek World (CLAS 0210O).
Interested students must register for CLAS 0210O.
ARCH 0201L. Who Owns the Classical Past? (CLAS 0210L).
Interested students must register for CLAS 0210L.
ARCH 0220. Fake! History of the Inauthentic.
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.
ARCH 0230. Myriad Mediterraneans: Archaeology, Representation and Decolonization.
As debates rage about the Classical roots of Western society, the ancient Mediterranean itself is largely overlooked and continues to be seen in stereotypes. Because the ancient Mediterranean was not just white, male and colonizing, this course will explore the extensive archaeological evidence for cultural, gender, ethnic, economic and other forms of diversity during the first millennium BCE. Can archaeology contribute to current debates about decolonization? Conversely, can contemporary debates about indigenous ways of being shine a fresh light on ancient evidence?
ARCH 0250. Intimate Stories, Imagined Landscapes.
Stories carry us to imaginary worlds other than our own. An arresting story engages us deeply, opening the doors to fantastic places and times. Such enthralling narratives have even shaped archaeology’s assumptions about places and the people who inhabit them -- and, in turn, archaeological discoveries have influenced ideas about real landscapes through fiction. This course explores novels and narrative fiction as a way of understanding how people and cultures imagine landscapes and these places' roles in human lives past and present.
ARCH 0255. Monsters.
This course probes the origins and histories of creatures such as dragons, centaurs, griffins, sirens, and werewolves, using textual and material evidence drawn primarily from the ancient Mediterranean and Near East. We survey the cultural domains in which these and similar monstrous creatures held sway, and we reflect about their impact on ancient (and modern) ideas about “nature”, “race”, “gender”, “identity”, and what it means to be “human”.
ARCH 0270. Troy Rocks! Archaeology of an Epic.
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. Enrollment limited to 19 first year students.
ARCH 0293. Postcolonial Matters: Material Culture between Colonialism and Globalization (ANTH 0066T).
Interested students must register for ANTH 0066T.
ARCH 0295. Crafts and Production in the Ancient World: Making Material Culture.
The manufacture of artifacts distinguishes us from all other species. However, archaeologists often struggle with interpreting material culture without understanding its origins and production. This course will examine how things are made, considering craftsmanship and agricultural production, from raw materials to finished objects: sculpture and mosaics, bricks and concrete, ceramic and glass, metallurgy, tanneries, oil, wine, and perfumes. Through case studies and hands-on activities, students will consider the importance of the technological processes that produce artifacts for archaeology’s investigation of our human past.
ARCH 0297. Material Culture: Material Nature.
We are living in a material world (Madonna, 1984). Why do you love your phone, or car, or shoes so much? Each week this course explores a moment in the human experience: childhood and coming of age, marriage and divorce, home-making and transience, grief, death, and burial. In thinking about the material culture of past societies, we will challenge archaeological concepts of acculturation and cultural appropriation. And, in examining our own everyday objects we will contemplate how style impacts identity -- or vice versa.
ARCH 0300. 13 Things: Archaeology, Material Culture, Science Studies and Design.
The course will explore a range of approaches -- material culture studies, science studies, design studies, consumption studies, the sociology of technology, archaeology, phenomenology -- in dealing with 13 things: the wheel, a Neolithic Megalith, an Ancient Greek perfume jar, the castle of Acrocorinth, Greece, a Moroccan watermill, a map, the pocket watch, barbed wire, the light bulb, a surgical blade, the portable radio, a Leica IIIc 35mm camera, and the personal computer. Returning to the etymology of a thing, the course argues that things are best conceived as gatherings of achievements that are neither wholly exclusive to any single era nor any immediate set of relations.
ARCH 0302. Object Histories: The Material Culture of Early America (HIST 0550A).
Interested students must register for HIST 0550A.
ARCH 0303. tiny: Miniature Might and Meaning.
Egyptian pyramids, Roman aqueducts, Easter Island heads—colossal artifacts are immediately recognizable as embodiments of power. The diminutive—though less theorized among archaeologists, anthropologists, and art historians—is just as potent and alluring. Even across vast stretches of space and time, tiny things enchant and incite wonder. A microscopic Bible, a Renaissance micro-mosaic, a sculpture of hell complete with sinners carved out of a human tooth. This course is a cross-cultural exploration of the power of the miniature, the undersized, the teeny-weeny.
ARCH 0305. Glass from the Past: Glimpses into the History, Technology, and Artistry of Molten Material Culture.
Glass is unquestionably a fundamental part of modern life, but what is the story of glass and what makes it special? We will trace the 5000-year history of glass, from its discovery in the third millennium BC to its mass production in the 19th-20th centuries, exploring themes like technology, innovation, and craft. Archaeological and art historical evidence will be combined with anthropological and ethnographic approaches, including discussions with artisans, museum visits, and trips to the RISD "hot shop" to see glassblowers in action. Enrollment limited to 20.
ARCH 0307. Gold: The Culture of a “Barbarous Relic” (ANTH 0250).
Interested students must register for ANTH 0250.
ARCH 0310. Interactions with the Dead: Past and Present.
Eventually, face it, you are going to die. Death is an inevitable, and an inescapable component of life. There are, however, certain moments that bring the living closer to the dead, which this course will explore by analyzing interactions between the dead and the living in a range of contexts -- including religious, cultural, commercial, legal, and ethical. We will survey the diversity of human reactions to death and dead bodies by considering examples from the ancient and modern world.
ARCH 0311. Death and the Afterlife in the Ancient World (RELS 0750).
Interested students must register for RELS 0750.
ARCH 0312. History of Medicine I: Medical Traditions in the Old World Before 1700 (HIST 0286A).
Interested students must register for HIST 0286A.
ARCH 0315. Heritage In and Out of Context: Museum and Archaeological Heritage.
We understand the past in part through a complex blend of artifacts, monuments, and landscapes. Yet each of these categories poses major issues regarding their preservation, conservation and curation, and how we use them to educate and to indoctrinate. This course will not preach any specific line, but encourage students to debate these highly complicated issues. Case studies will include the international diaspora of antiquities from the Enlightenment to the present, the impact of war and revolution, and numerous aspects of museum practice. Enrollment limited to 50.
ARCH 0317. Heritage in the Metropolis: Remembering and Preserving the Urban Past.
Urban heritage – from archaeological sites and historic architecture to longstanding cultural practices – is increasingly threatened by the exponential growth of cities around the globe. Most critically, the complex histories and lived experiences of the diverse communities who have inhabited and shaped cities are often in danger of being erased and forgotten today. This course examines how we might remember and preserve this urban past – and the tangible sites and artifacts that attest to it – in light of the social and political dynamics of cities in the present.
ARCH 0320. Media in Archaeology, or Archaeology in Media?.
Indiana Jones, Lara Croft, the Discovery Channel: media has, to an unprecedented degree, shaped public perceptions of the discipline of archaeology, its practices and its values. This course will build critical awareness of how the media uses archaeology and how archaeologists use the media, for good and ill. Students will create digital narratives from their own research, and become competent ambassadors for presenting archaeological research and work in a scientific and engaging way. Enrollment limited to 40.
ARCH 0322. Somewhere Back in Time: Archaeology, the Ancient World, and Heavy Metal Music.
Iron Maiden’s “Alexander the Great”, Ex Deo’s “The Rise of Hannibal”, Septic Flesh’s “Prometheus” – few musical genres are as interested in history as heavy metal. The sounds, lyrics, images, films, and live performances of many bands from around the world center on stories and mythologies from past cultures. This class examines these phenomena from an archaeological and historical point of view, centering discussion on the music and its stories while contextualizing these modern elements within an archaeologically and historically accurate past.
ARCH 0325. Dead White Guys: Greco-Roman Civilization and American Identity.
Why does classical antiquity matter? How did a group defined as white and European come to represent America's ancestors? And by emphasizing this "heritage," who do we exclude? This course looks at film, popular non-fiction, education policy, public art, architecture, and archaeology, to understand how the myth of Greco-Roman origins was adopted by America's founders, and how this affects issues of race and belonging today.
ARCH 0330. Archaeology Under the Volcano.
Disasters, lava, explosions! Communities from around the world throughout the history of our species have had to contend with the hazards, risks, and benefits of living in the shadow of active volcanoes. This class will take you on a tour of some of the most exciting and archaeologically important examples of human-volcano interactions from around the world – including Pompeii, of course! Students will be introduced to the anthropological, archaeological, and scientific methods that have been utilized to study human-volcano interactions, beyond just doomsday scenarios.
ARCH 0332. Classic Mayan Civilization (ANTH 0520).
Interested students must register for ANTH 0520.
ARCH 0334. Introduction to South American Archaeology (ANTH 0505).
Interested students must register for ANTH 0505.
ARCH 0335. Archaeology of the Andes.
Provides a survey of the archaeology of the Andean region of South America (parts of modern-day Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, and Argentina). From the arrival of the first Americans to the transformation of indigenous societies under Spanish rule, the course will introduce vital "new World" civilizations such as the Moche and Inka. The course will also explore the politics and practice of archaeological research in the region today. Enrollment limited to 55.
ARCH 0338. An Archaeology of Native American Art (ANTH 0066U).
Interested students must register for ANTH 0066U.
ARCH 0340. Bad Things: Archaeologies of New World Vices.
Drinking, smoking, prostitution, gambling, chocolate, and witchcraft – this may sound like a lot of fun, but are these bad things? Since the first European contact in the Americas, colonists were introduced to new substances, practices, and worldviews and brought their own vices to new territories. This course will use material culture to analyze the everyday lives of these New World inhabitants who were so good at being so bad; we will also discuss how colonial discourse and histories affect our lives today.
ARCH 0351. Introduction to the Ancient Near East (ASYR 0800).
Interested students must register for ASYR 0800.
ARCH 0353. Thunder-godsDragon-slayers: Mythology + Cultural Contact - Ancient MediterraneanNear East(ASYR 0310).
Interested students must register for ASYR 0310.
ARCH 0360. East Meets West: Archaeology of Anatolia.
The crossroads between East and West in the ancient Mediterranean, Anatolia (modern Turkey) gave rise to the great Hittite Empire, the legendary kings Croesus and Midas, and was the scene of battles between Greeks, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, and Turks for world supremacy. In this course, we survey the archaeological history of human settlement in Anatolia from the Ice Age to the Middle Ages, tracing changes in art, economy, landscape, and religion.
ARCH 0370. Before the Islamic State: The Archaeologies of Ancient Mesopotamia.
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.
ARCH 0372. Meeting with Mesopotamia.
This is a class about first impressions. Since the 19th century, excavations in and around Iraq have provided us with significant finds that both enlighten us and challenge us with new insights on life in the ancient world. Using some of these finds, such as the Code of Hammurabi and the Cyrus Cylinder, this class will explore thousands of years of Iraq’s culture, power relations, religion, and science. We will also discuss how these finds have been used and abused in modern contexts, and how our own experiences color our understanding of their world.
ARCH 0380. Archaeology of Iran.
An archaeological survey of the origins and development of the Iranian civilizations. Analysis of settlements, history, art, architecture, and characteristics of specific archaeological sites and their artifacts ranging from prehistoric to the Hellenistic period.
ARCH 0382. Pre-Islamic Empires of Iran (HIAA 0031).
Interested students must register for HIAA 0031.
ARCH 0390. Archaeology of Palestine.
Traces the prehistory of Palestine (modern Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan) from its beginnings in the Paleolithic to 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.
ARCH 0400. City and Sanctuary in the Ancient World.
Examines the physical dimensions of the ancient city and the ancient sanctuary through archaeological evidence with special attention to aesthetic planning, urban planning and management, and the concept of public monumental art as developed in the ancient world.
ARCH 0402. Muslims, Jews and Christians in Medieval Iberia (HIAA 0460).
Interested students must register for HIAA 0460.
ARCH 0405. State of Siege! Walls and Fortifications in the Greek and Roman World.
Warfare was endemic in the ancient world, and walls were therefore ubiquitous. This course will examine the most spectacular fortifications of the Graeco-Roman world, from Bronze Age citadels in Greece to the Roman frontiers. We will learn how to build walls and fortresses, how to defend them, and how to breach them by studying some of the best walls and famous sieges of Antiquity. Enrollment limited to 50.
ARCH 0407. Hadrian's Wall: Soldiers and Civilians on Rome's Northern Frontier.
Explore the archaeology of one of Great Britain’s grandest monuments, Hadrian’s Wall, and follow its path through the history and archaeology of Roman Britain. Using the fortification as both inspiration and guide, students will learn about the life on Rome’s northern frontier, from Rome’s first occupation in the Iron Age to Roman withdrawal centuries later. The wall’s symbolic and real impact will illuminate the tangible ways archaeology can teach us about religion, race, the military, politics, art, architecture, and the everyday lives of people in one of Rome's most distant provinces.
ARCH 0410. Mediterranean Bronze Age.
Snake goddesses and bull leaping, labyrinths and gold masks, Linear B and Homeric heroes: these are only some of the most famous things about the Minoan and Mycenaean cultures of Bronze Age Crete and Greece. This class will also explore questions about the historicity of the Trojan War, trade and exchange; ritual landscapes; the origins of writing; death and burial; the eruption of the Theran volcano; and the collapse of the Mycenaean palaces.
ARCH 0412. From Gilgamesh to Hector: Heroes of the Bronze Age.
Swift-footed Achilles, god-like Hektor, and Gilgamesh the tall, magnificent, and terrible! They are heroes of the Bronze Age, which produced the world’s first cities, empires, and texts. This class explores the concept of “hero” by placing it within its eastern Mediterranean Bronze Age context, using archaeological evidence alongside contemporary and later textual evidence.
ARCH 0420. Archaeologies of the Greek Past.
The Onion once reported that ancient Greek civilization was a complete modern fraud, since obviously no one culture could have invented so much, not least all that Great Art and Architecture. But they did. This course will explore the material world of ancient Greece, from the monumental (the Parthenon) to the mundane (waste management), and everything in between. Enrollment limited to 50.
ARCH 0423. Monuments and Monsters: Greek Literature and Archaeology (COLT 0811H).
Interested students must register for COLT 0811H.
ARCH 0425. The Agora: History at the Heart of Athens.
Part city hall, part church, part mall, part stadium, part law court, part red light district, the Agora of ancient Athens has seen it all, from Neolithic to modern times. This "marketplace" is most famous for its Classical history, when figures such as Pericles, Socrates, and Demosthenes walked and talked there. This course, however, will consider the long life and impact of this civic space, including its ongoing and often problematic archaeological heritage. Enrollment limited to 50.
ARCH 0440. Goats, Grains, and Gilgamesh: Archaeology of the Ancient Near East.
Ziggurats of forgotten gods, epics in lost languages, cosmopolitan cities bustling with traders from distant lands: the ancient Near East features the world’s earliest agriculture, writing, and empires. From these developments grew diplomacy and commerce – but also inequality and conflict. This course offers an introduction to the ancient Near East through art and archaeology spanning modern Turkey, Iraq, Iran, the Arabian Peninsula, and Central Asia. It also explores the influence of archaeology within modern nationalism, colonialism, Orientalism, memory, geopolitics, and the use of Near Eastern antiquity in contemporary pop culture.
ARCH 0446. War and Peace in the Hebrew Bible and its Environment (JUDS 0670).
Interested students must register for JUDS 0670.
ARCH 0450. Archaeology of Jerusalem.
Examines the archaeology of the city of Jerusalem from David's conquest in ca. 1000 B.C.E. through the Crusaders' defeat in 1187 A.D. The contemporary literary sources as well as the more recent scholarly debates and discoveries help us understand the material remains of the relevant periods.
ARCH 0520. Roman Archaeology and Art.
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.
ARCH 0523. Roman Art and Architecture: From Julius Caesar to Hadrian (HIAA 0340).
Interested students must register for HIAA 0340.
ARCH 0524. Art and Architecture of the Roman Empire (HIAA 0032).
Interested students must register for HIAA 0032.
ARCH 0525. The Other Side of Rome: Daily Life in the Roman Empire.
What did the Romans ever do for us? Toilets, bars, firefighters, and dry cleaning, to name just a few things. Surprisingly, daily life in the Roman empire was not too different from our own. This course will examine numerous aspects of Roman life – including housing, street life, shopping, military, sanitation, and even sex – largely from the perspective of the archaeological evidence, especially from some of the best preserved cities, Rome and Pompeii.
ARCH 0526. Behind Closed Doors? Domestic Life in the Roman World.
This course explores the archaeological remains of domestic life across the Roman world from Pompeii to Britain to Syria and attempts to reconstruct the private lives of Romans, particularly the women, children, servants, and slaves who were less visible in more public spheres. We will consider the methodological complexities of interpreting artifact assemblages and reflect on our own houses and notions of private lives both as sources of inspiration and stumbling blocks for understanding Roman domestic life as we open doors and re-people Roman houses.
ARCH 0528. Living on the Edge: The Archaeology of Frontier Communities in the Roman Empire.
The Roman Empire was surrounded by over 3,100 miles of frontier that marked the end of Roman territory. These regions are often discussed solely from a military standpoint, but soldiers were only a small part of a much larger frontier community that included women and children, locals and foreigners, and Romans and non-Romans. This course explores how these communities, often marked by asymmetrical power relationships between the Roman State and local communities, developed, investigating social structures, religion, art and architecture, and economies in order to understand what it was like to live on the edge of the Roman world.
ARCH 0529. Swords, Sandals, and Saunas: The Roman Army in War and Peace.
The Roman legionary is often seen as synonymous with the power of the Roman Empire: heavily armored, spear and shield in hand, marching unrelentingly forward against enemies. But the military was more than a menacing State institution, and this class shifts the focus to the lives of the men who filled the ranks, exploring their languages, religions, clothing, equipment, and fighting styles. We will draw upon evidence of all sorts, including archaeological material from fortifications and battlefields, inscriptions on tombstones and other monuments, and iconographic depictions.
ARCH 0530. Hannibal ad Portas! Fact and Fiction on Carthage and the Punic World.
"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. Enrollment limited to 50.
ARCH 0535. Labor and Technology in the Roman World.
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. Enrollment limited to 20.
ARCH 0537. Making and Unmaking the World: Ancient Empires and Their Aftermath.
The Romans built a world of their own: they constructed infrastructure that spanned the empire, built cities, roads, aqueducts, and monuments, and even reshaped the natural environment itself -- often at great cost. By looking at the impact of such imperial projects on the built environment and the natural world, this course highlights the costs of building ancient civilizations and the aftermaths they left behind. We will learn about how these features were built, what they became after the empire’s fall, and how they changed the world for better… or worse.
ARCH 0540. Ancient Rome: Art, Archaeology and Civic Life from the End of the Republic through the Early Empire.
This survey course will familiarize students with the art and architecture of Rome during the early Imperial era (ca. 40 BC – AD 140), through investigation of significant sites, monuments and museum collections in Rome and locations throughout southern Italy. Items considered will include both monumental and domestic architecture, wall painting, mosaics, sculpture, coins, epigraphic evidence, as well as maps and ancient sources.
ARCH 0542. The Visual Culture of Early Modern Rome (HIAA 0560).
Interested students must register for HIAA 0560.
ARCH 0550. Late Roman and Early Christian Art and Architecture.
An introduction to the relationship between Roman art and the art of emerging Christianity. The course begins with the Pantheon and ends with the Hagia Sophia.
ARCH 0563. Toward a Global Late Antiquity: 200-800 CE (HIAA 0321).
Interested students must register for HIAA 0321.
ARCH 0600. Archaeologies of the Muslim World.
Muslim societies are built upon a rich archaeological heritage that spans a region from Spain to China. Since the spread of Islam in the 7th century, its legacy of cities, monuments, and artifacts trace more than a millennium of cultural transformations among the various peoples and traditions of the Mediterranean, Middle East and beyond. Through discussion of major sites and hands on work with a collection of artifacts this course explores that heritage for what it can tell us about the social practices and historical processes that have formed the Muslim world.
ARCH 0650. Islamic Civilizations.
This introduction to early Islamic civilization will examine the interrelationship between the emerging Islamic religious tradition and the development of specifically Muslim social institutions, the role of ethnic and religious minorities, and the flowering of Islamic thought and material culture. Students will study archaeology, political and social histories, visual arts, and textual traditions to explore the evolution and institutionalization of Islam from Spain to Central Asia.
ARCH 0666. Cult Archaeology: Fantastic Frauds and Meaningful Myths of the Past.
The pyramids and Stonehenge built by aliens? The power of the Mummy's Curse? These myths couldn't be true... or could they? Cult Archaeology examines popular and fantastic interpretations of archaeological remains presented in the press and popular media. This course finds the logical flaws in pseudoscientific explanations and the biases that underlie them. Discover the "truth" about archaeology!
ARCH 0676. Pirates of the Caribbean: Scalawags, Sailors, and Slaves.
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.
ARCH 0677. Pirates! Archaeologies of Piracy in the Atlantic World (ANTH 0515).
Interested students must register for ANTH 0515.
ARCH 0678. Underwater in the Mediterranean: An Introduction to Maritime Archaeology.
Shipwrecks, sunken cargoes, coastal ports: all contribute to our understanding of the maritime world of the past, not least that of the Mediterranean Sea. This course will explore the Mediterranean’s ancient seafaring heritage over time, in particular by studying ancient ships and harbors as remarkable examples of social and technological innovation and enterprise. The methodological challenges faced by archaeologists working on underwater and coastal 'sites' will also be examined. Enrollment limited to 50.
ARCH 0679. The Ocean in Global History (HIST 0150J).
Interested students must register for HIST 0150J.
ARCH 0680. Water, Culture and Power.
Water is the source of life. In the midst of global climate change, environmental crises over water resources, and increasingly ubiquitous political debates over water, we are beginning to recognize humans' complete dependence on water. This course investigates our long-term attachment and engagement with water from the point of view of archaeological, environmental, visual, literary, and historical sources. From flowing rivers to churning seas and from aqueducts to public fountains, we will explore the cultural and environmental aspects of water in the Near East, Mediterranean, and Europe beginning with the Last Ice Age and ending in the modern day.
ARCH 0682. Powering the Past: Environmental Histories of Energy Use and Social Change (ENVS 0710).
Interested students must register for ENVS 0710.
ARCH 0683. From Fire Wielders to Empire Builders:Human Impact on the Global Environment before 1492(HIST 0270A).
Interested students must register for HIST 0270A.
ARCH 0717. Architecture of the House Through Space and Time (HIAA 0081).
Interested students must register for HIAA 0081.
ARCH 0720. Pilgrimage and Travel in the Ancient World.
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. Enrollment limited to 20.
ARCH 0730. The Secrets of Ancient Bones: Discovering Ancient DNA.
New analyses of ancient DNA preserved for millennia in bones and soils have revolutionized the field of archaeology. Suddenly, archaeologists have gained new insight into human origins and migrations, diseases, agriculture, and even the slave trade. Recent genetic case studies will provide a lens for learning about the archaeology of diverse world regions and time periods, from Oceania to Mesoamerica and from the Paleolithic through recent history. Topics will include: genetic relationships between humans, Neanderthals, and Denisovans; the peopling of the globe; diasporas; extinction and de-extinction; and plant and animal domestication.
ARCH 0740. Revolutions and Evolutions in Archaeology.
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). Enrollment limited to 50.
ARCH 0750. Women in the Ancient Mediterranean World.
Women represent half of humanity, but they have been greatly underrepresented in studies of past cultures. This course examines not only what women of the Near East, Egypt, Greece, and Rome actually did and did not do, but also how they were perceived in society. Focusing on material and visual cultures, but also incorporating historical and literary evidence, we will investigate the complexities of women’s lives in the ancient Mediterranean, as well as the roots of modern conceptions and perceptions of women.
ARCH 0755. Engineering and Technology in the Ancient World.
Enter the world of Greek and Roman engineers whose monumental works and technologies impressed audiences, both ancient and modern. Explore the technologies of art and construction that led to some of the most extensive building programs undertaken by pre-modern states. Through case studies ranging from particular structural elements and technologies (e.g. columns, domes, cranes, catapults) to overall structural systems (palatial complexes, temples, infrastructure), this class investigates the history of materials, methods, and knowledge behind ancient innovations, and the role of art, architecture, and engineering in shaping socio-cultural and political identity.
ARCH 0760. Palaces: Built to Impress.
Ancient palaces capture the imagination as grand, breathtaking manifestations of power and wealth. These were the residences of kings, queens, and courtiers, built to impress with their echoing halls, exquisite paintings and statuary, fragrant gardens, and sumptuous reception rooms. This course explores the palaces of ancient Egypt, Sudan, Syria, Israel, Turkey, Greece, and beyond, delving into how these monumental structures manipulated the senses, the body, behavior, and the mind. We also visit “palaces” in and around Providence, exploring firsthand how such architecture is designed to inspire awe, respect, and subservience.
ARCH 0763. The Private Life of the Privy: A Secret History of Toilets.
It’s usually unspoken, but we all know the truth: everybody poops. This class starts with some basic questions: what is poo; what are toilets, cesspits, and latrines; and how have these changed over time. But where we go, what "equipment" we use, what goes into the loo, and the morals and ideals imbued in that act vary vastly between cultures – touching on complex questions of gender, religion, disease, technology, and science. Combining advanced scientific approaches with material and cultural analyses, this course will demonstrate that even a seemingly simple biological act can reveal a culture’s most fundamental secrets.
ARCH 0770. Archaeology of Eating and Drinking.
Everybody eats -- but patterns of eating and drinking vary dramatically from culture to culture. This course will examine the social roles and meanings of eating and drinking from prehistory to the present, using case studies from the Mediterranean and other parts of the world. How are identity, gender, and power negotiated through food and drink? What are the roles of the body, the senses, and memory? What does a history of humanity look like from the point of view of the consuming body?
ARCH 0775. Farm to Table: Foodways and Gastro-Politics in the Ancient Near East.
This course provides an introduction to the culture, economy, and politics of food in the ancient Near East. We will not only investigate the day-to-day mechanics of food production, cooking, and consumption; we will also develop an appreciation for changing food fashions, for the etiquette of eating and drinking, and for the complex world of gastro-politics. We will even explore the ancient kitchen using our own hands, mouths, and stomachs as a guide.
ARCH 0785. Of Dice and Men: Games in Human Societies Past and Present.
From ancient dice games, marathons, and gladiator battles to virtual worldbuilding and mobile phone games, students in this course will explore the roles of competition and play in cultures. But, equally importantly, students will play games! We will consider games through the lenses of anthropology, archaeology, psychology, and philosophy. And by playing games, both ancient and modern, students will question how games are a distinctly human phenomenon and play essential parts in human lives, in ways that are not entirely obvious or expected.
ARCH 0800. Alexander the Great and the Alexander Tradition.
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.
ARCH 0801. Alexander the Great and the Alexander Tradition (CLAS 0810A).
Interested students must register for CLAS 0810A.
ARCH 1049. Settler-Colonial Placemaking: From Vikings to the Homestead Act (HIAA 1626)..
Interested students must register for HIAA 1626.
ARCH 1050. Old World and New World Perspectives in Archaeology.
This course examines how archaeologists working on different sides of the world study the past. Archaeology in the Old World and New World has developed on parallel, but separate, trajectories. While these approaches share methods and theories, they often interpret archaeological data in alternative or even contradictory ways. In this course we will view archaeological topics from both perspectives, using examples from the Mediterranean and Mesoamerica, to try to better understand, and perhaps bridge the gap between, some of our differences. Prerequisite: An introductory course in archaeology, either through the Joukowsky Institute or the Anthropology department.
ARCH 1051. Archaeology of Settler Colonialism (ARCH 1622).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1622.
ARCH 1052. Global Historical Archaeology (ANTH 1620).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1620.
ARCH 1053. Global Origins of Plant and Animal Domestication (ANTH 1670).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1670.
ARCH 1054. Indians, Colonists, and Africans in New England (ANTH 1624).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1624.
ARCH 1100. Archaeology in the Age of Augustus.
Rome's first Emperor, Gaius Octavian Augustus, ruled an empire stretching from Spain to Syria, from Britain to Egypt. Students will explore the social, artistic, and political successes and failures of this "golden age" of Rome's past. The course will assess a broad range of topics -- such as the creation of empire, art as propaganda, and the role of women -- within the context of Augustan ideology and history.
ARCH 1101. Age of Augustus: Topography, Architecture, and Politics (CLAS 1120T).
Interested students must register for CLAS 1120T.
ARCH 1105. The Face of Power: Representing Roman Emperors.
The infallible Augustus; Nero fiddling as Rome burns; Constantine the Christian emperor: the roster of Roman rulers includes some of ancient history’s most beloved and notorious characters. Meet the men (and women!) who ran the Roman state, discover how art and architecture were used to craft a public impression of imperial power, and learn how material and literary sources have shaped emperors’ post-classical reputations. This course will give special attention to how emperors attempted to appeal to diverse factions at home, while ensuring their power was legible to enemy competitors abroad.
ARCH 1107. Spectacle! Games, Gladiators, Performance, and Ceremony in the Roman World (HIAA 1304).
Interested students must register for HIAA 1304.
ARCH 1108. Politics and Spectacle in the Arts of Ancient Rome (HIAA 1307).
Interested students must register for HIAA 1307.
ARCH 1109. Games and Spectacles of Ancient Greece and Rome (CLAS1120N)..
Interested students must register for CLAS 1120N.
ARCH 1120. Under Pompeii’s Ashes: Contesting Roman Identities.
Everybody knows Pompeii, the city that was buried under the ashes of the Vesuvius in AD 79. No site, it seems, preserved the daily life of the Romans as well. But how "Roman" was Pompeii? This course will challenge existing views on Roman cultural and social identities and material remains, using Pompeii as a case study. Pompeii, in fact, offers a unique playground to test ideas about the relationships between material culture, style, and societies in the past and the present.
ARCH 1121. Pompeii: Art, Architecture, and Archaeology in the Lost City (HIAA 1303).
Interested students must register for HIAA 1303.
ARCH 1122. Pompeii: Life and Death in the Shadow of Vesuvius (CLAS 1750S).
Interested students must register for CLAS 1750S.
ARCH 1125. Building an Empire: The Sacred and Civic Architecture of Ancient Rome.
The Colosseum, Pantheon, and imperial palaces loom large in our impression of Roman civilization. Roman architecture set the standard for some of the most iconic buildings in the West. This course will examine the rise and development of Roman architectural principles and analyze how they were employed to create such a lasting image of empire. We will consider technological advancements and territorial expansion, as well as the shifting political and religious dynamics that shaped Rome’s buildings.
ARCH 1127. Arts of Memory in Ancient Rome (ARTS 1127)..
Interested students must register for HIAA 1308.
ARCH 1128. The Long Fall of the Roman Empire (HIST 1205).
Interested students must register for HIST 1205.
ARCH 1130. A Burglar's Guide to Rome.
The Roman city, epitome of order or a burglar’s delight? On the surface we see grid-planned cities with demarcated city centers governed by endless rules: who was allowed in a space, what time one could use the baths, drive down main streets, and on and on. What if we take a different view? This course explores Roman cities through the eyes of those who broke the rules and lived off the grid. From sneaking in to steal a trinket to sacking an entire city, the burglars of the ancient world show how cities functioned and where they broke down.
ARCH 1140. The Death of the Ancient City? Roman Cities After the Fall of Rome.
As in our own increasingly urban-based world, cities were the engines driving the political and economic success of the Roman empire. But what happened to such places after the empire disintegrated and "fell"? This course will explore the varied fate of Roman cities in Late Antiquity (4th-7th centuries C.E.), a period witnessing numerous changes — from political fragmentation and "barbarian" invasion to "Christianization" — that directly impacted both the roles of cities and the organization of urban space.
ARCH 1143. Experiencing the Roman Empire: Life in the Roman Provinces (CLAS 1120P).
Interested students must register for CLAS 1120P.
ARCH 1150. Cities and Urban Space in the Ancient World.
Using contemporary approaches to cities and urban space, this course will explore cities of the ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean world. What makes a city and how do we define “urban”? How do cities start? Do cities die? What are the primary factors that affect their development? We will analyze not only how the development of cities responded to specific historical and geographical conditions, but also how cities in different times and places were surprisingly similar in form and social activity.
ARCH 1151. Provisioning Cities.
Urbanism goes hand-in-hand with increased population and demand for provisions, so how did cities feed their residents? This course explores subsistence strategies used by residents of ancient urban areas through case studies that span the Old and New Worlds. We explore topics such as sustainable food raising, the role of markets in cities, water management, trash disposal, cuisine as environmental adaptation, and diet as identity. We will also investigate cities as multispecies biomes, in which urban dwellers shared their space with the animals and plants that eventually landed on their plates.
ARCH 1152. Bandits and Barbarians: Exploring Subaltern Resilience and State Power (ANTH 1145).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1145.
ARCH 1153. Cities by the Sea: An Economic, Structural, and Social Examination of Mediterranean Ports.
Athens, Alexandria, Carthage, Ostia. Ports circled the ancient Mediterranean, and the sea infused these cities’ hierarchies, structures, and daily patterns. This course will analyze the architecture and economy of key harbor cities of the Roman Empire by discussing their genesis or antecedents, their dynamics, and their role in the imperial era. To contextualize urban maritime landscapes across both time and space, we will consider issues pertaining to urbanism, trade, production, infrastructure, epigraphy, and iconography. Students will evaluate the traditional “port model” and other theoretical approaches, to reach a more complex understanding of these cities by the sea.
ARCH 1155. Cities, Colonies and Global Networks in the Western Mediterranean.
How did cities develop? This course will explore the connections between colonialism and urbanism in the West Mediterranean of the first millennium BCE. Should we see the profound changes in Iron Age societies of the western Mediterranean primarily as a response to external contacts and colonial interference, or did they represent long-term indigenous developments? How can we understand regions, where urban development was much more limited or absent?
ARCH 1160. The World of Museums: Displaying the Sacred.
This course will examine critically the collection and display of ancient objects, especially those of a sacred nature. Through functional, historical, material and aesthetic lenses an analysis of the relationships between the cultural contexts of objects will be examined. Case studies, guest lectures and site visits (virtual and real) will be used to demonstrate evolving theory, practice, and ethical implications of displaying archaeological objects. Enrollment limited to 15 undergraduates.
ARCH 1162. Anthropology in/of the Museum (ANTH 1901).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1901.
ARCH 1164. Methods in Public Humanities (AMST 1550).
Interested students must register for AMST 1550.
ARCH 1170. Community Archaeology in Providence and Beyond.
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. Much of the learning for this course will come as part of hands-on projects undertaken in collaboration with community partner organizations. These engaged scholarship projects are designed to link students with community members and practitioners as co-learners and co-creators to create positive change in our community, and to help students form deep ties to Providence and Rhode Island beyond the walls of Brown University, and to offer students a hands-on perspective on how archaeology can effect change in our communities.
ARCH 1175. Archaeology Matters! Past Perspectives on Modern Problems.
This is not the first era to face many of today’s global problems – rising temperatures, sea-level change, sustainability, pollution, fire, water scarcity, urban blight, social violence, and more. Archaeology is more than the understanding of peoples long ago and far away, but a discipline whose long-term perspective could offer potential solutions to current crises. Through case studies and discussion of key issues, this class asks how archaeology – and archaeologists – might just change the world.
ARCH 1177. Occupy Archaeology! Interrogating Inequality, Past and Present.
We are the 99%! Black Lives Matter! These rallying cries bring inequality to the front-and-center of western political and media discourses. Yet a social system dividing the haves and have-nots is hardly a modern phenomenon. This course considers injustice diachronically and on a global scale, examining ways in which the material world studied by archaeologists creates -- and is created by -- social divisions, and critiquing the ways that archaeology as a discipline is a part of the problem.
ARCH 1178. Archaeology and Social Justice: Un-disciplining the Past, Changing the Present.
The contemporary world is at a breaking point. Deepening social inequality, environmental crises, and neo-colonialism exacerbate global injustices. The stories that archaeologists tell about the past, more often than not, contribute to these injustices. In this course, we will use global case studies to explore the possibilities for other, decolonial archaeologies which can liberate the material past from its colonial/racial disciplinary straightjacket, and at the same time provide essential tools for the necessary struggles for social justice today.
ARCH 1200A. Early Italy.
Focuses on the Bronze Age background to the emergence of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan Italy in the Iron Age. Emphasizes the results of recent excavations, the problems of contact between the Aegean and Tyrrhenian areas in the Bronze Age, Greek colonization, and the urban development of the Etruscan/Latian region.
ARCH 1200C. Roman Iberia.
The archeology, art, and architecture of Iberia during the Roman presence from the Punic Wars to the beginning of the Arab conquest. The artifacts and monuments discussed will not only represent artistic production from Roman administrative expressions, but also a mixture of styles between indigenous art (such as Celtic) or expressions of syncretism or other cultural symbioses.
ARCH 1200E. Topography and Monuments of Rome.
Rome has been the scene of notable recent discoveries. This course will concentrate on the evidence for the so-called "regal period" but other topics, among them commemorative arches, the topography of the Campus Martius, and Christian basillicas, will also be taken up. A reading knowledge of Italian is highly recommended.
ARCH 1200F. City and the Festival: Cult Practices and Architectural Production in the Ancient Near East.
This course will explore urbanization, formation of urban space, and architectural projects in relation to cult practices and commemorative ceremonies in the Ancient Near East. Investigating case studies from early cities of fourth millenium BC Mesopotamia to Iron Age Syria and Anatolia, we will study the processes of the making of urban and extra-urban landscapes in the socio-religious context of festivals.
ARCH 1200G. Arabia and the Arabs: The Making of an Ethnos.
This course will survey the archaeology and history of the Arabs and Arabia from before their emergence in the historical record to the modern period. Our particular focus concerns their relationship with the rise of Islam as well as the imperial politics of the pre-Islamic Near East. A major issue that frames these inquires is the concept of ethnicity and its projection into the past.
ARCH 1200H. Islamic Landscapes: Cities, Frontiers and Monuments.
This course will examine the built environments of the Islamic Period Middle East through the growing archaeological and historical record of its cities, monuments, and other spaces. We will explore what these landscapes tell us about the diverse nature of Muslim societies, relations between Muslim and non-Muslim inhabitants, and ways in which cultures engage with space and place through their physical, emotional, and intellectual resources. Prerequisites: At least two courses in either archaeology, anthropology, art history, or Middle East studies.
ARCH 1200I. Material Worlds: Art and Agency in the Near East and Africa.
This course investigates technological processes of artifact production in the material culture of ancient and contemporary Near East and Africa. Archaeological and ethnographic case studies will be explored to understand the social relations behind skilled craftsmanship in architecture and "art". Circulation of craft knowledge, cultural biography of artifacts, constitution of cultural identities and memory through material processes will be central topics. Enrollment limited to 20.
ARCH 1209. The Visual Culture of Medieval Women (HIAA 1430A).
Interested students must register for HIAA 1430A.
ARCH 1211. The Body and the Senses in Medieval Art (HIAA 1440E).
Interested students must register for HIAA 1440E.
ARCH 1220. Byzantine Archaeology and Art: Material Stories of a Christian Empire.
The world of Byzantium is often considered as a dark age separating the glories of Rome and the Renaissance. Yet Byzantium was among the longest living empires in world history, with an artistic and cultural impact felt far beyond its borders. The course will introduce students to a series of art works, architectural masterpieces, and archaeological discoveries that illuminate our understanding of the much underestimated, and much misunderstood, Byzantine Empire. Enrollment limited to 50.
ARCH 1231. Kings, Courts, and Aristocracy (ANTH 1231).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1231.
ARCH 1232. The City, the Maroon and the Mass Grave (ANTH 1630).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1630.
ARCH 1234. Lost Languages: The Decipherment and Study of Ancient Writing Systems (ANTH 1820).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1820.
ARCH 1235. Vertical Civilization: South American Archaeology from Monte Verde to the Inkas (ANTH 1505).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1505.
ARCH 1236. Maize Gods and Feathered Serpents: Mexico and Central America in Antiquity (ANTH 1640).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1640.
ARCH 1237. Pre-Columbian Art and Architecture: A World That Matters (ANTH 1030).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1030.
ARCH 1242. Amazonia from the Prehuman to the Present (HIST 1360).
Interested students must register for HIST 1360.
ARCH 1250. Minoans and Mycenaeans: Greece in the Bronze Age.
This class offers an introduction to the archaeology and art of the civilizations that arose on mainland Greece, Crete, the Aegean and Cyprus in the third and (especially) the second millennium B.C. The principal emphasis is on understanding the rise and collapse of palatial/state-level societies in these regions, with consideration of their sociopolitical, ideological and economic organization, and their interactions with neighboring cultures.
ARCH 1282. Mediterranean Culture Wars: Archaic Greek History, c. 1200 to 479 BC (CLAS 1210).
Interested students must register for CLAS 1210.
ARCH 1283. Society and Population in Ancient Greece (CLAS 1130).
Interested students must register for CLAS 1130.
ARCH 1287. Holy Places and Sacred Spaces in Ancient Greece (CLAS 1750R).
Interested students must register for CLAS 1750R.
ARCH 1300. Greek Architecture.
This course will trace the history of Greek Architecture from the Bronze Age through the Hellenistic Period. Emphasis is placed on the Archaic and Classical Periods and on the formation and implementation of the three major Greek orders (Doric, Ionic, Corinthian). Importance is placed on understanding construction techniques and the intricate relationship between form and function of the Greek orders.
ARCH 1305. Myth and Narrative in Greek Art.
From Homeric epics to Athenian tragedies, masterpieces of mythological narrative form the backbone of Greek literature. But myth and storytelling were also powerful forces in Greek art — from vase painting to monumental sculpture. This class asks how myth in art responded to social realities or political developments, and what was the role or agency of the artist as a creator of content? How did myths evolve over time or take on new meanings in different contexts? Our class will look at many mythological stories in art and learn to “read” Greek visual narrative within its artistic, social, economic, and political setting.
ARCH 1310. Ancient Painting.
Examines selected topics in ancient painting with emphasis on the remains of ancient fresco decoration. Topics are Palaeolithic Painting, Aegean Bronze Painting, Etruscan Painting, Greek Painting of the Fifth and Fourth Centuries (text evidence), Roman Painting, Roman Painting as reflected in Mosaic.
ARCH 1430. The Philistines.
The Philistines were long considered to be trouble-makers and uncultured; however, recently their true character has been revealed. The origin, culture, social organization, political affiliations, religion, artwork, and technology of the Philistines, who inhabited Palestine during the Iron Age (ca. 1200-734 B.C.E.), will be elucidated through the examination of archaeological data and some textual evidence and pictorial representations.
ARCH 1436. The Archaeology of Jerusalem: From the Origins to the Ottomans (JUDS 1610).
Interested students must register for JUDS 1610.
ARCH 1437. The Archaeology of Palestine (JUDS 1615).
Interested students must register for JUDS 1615.
ARCH 1438. Jerusalem since 1850: Religion, Politics, Cultural Heritage (JUDS 1620).
Interested students must register for JUDS 1620.
ARCH 1439. Jerusalem Divided: Politics and Cultural Heritage (URBN 1870K).
Interested students must register for URBN 1870K.
ARCH 1440. Synagogues, Churches, and Mosques.
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.
ARCH 1441. Ancient Synagogues, Churches, and Mosques in Palestine (JUDS 1670).
Interested students must register for JUDS 1670.
ARCH 1443. Pilgrimage and Sacred Travel in the Lands of Islam (RELS 1520).
Interested students must register for RELS 1520.
ARCH 1448. Digging for the Bible: Science, Religion, and Politics (JUDS 1974).
Interested students must register for JUDS 1974.
ARCH 1450. Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Examines the scholarly interpretations of the site and the scrolls. Attempts to determine the relationship between the archaeological and textual evidence.
ARCH 1475. Petra: Ancient Wonder, Modern Challenge.
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. Enrollment limited to 15. Not open to first or second year students.
ARCH 1481. The Silk Roads, Past and Present (HIST 1974A).
Interested students must register for HIST 1974A.
ARCH 1482. Power, Profit, and Pillage: The Rise and Fall of Trading Kingdoms in Asia (ANTH 1540).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1540.
ARCH 1484. Attachment to Objects in Chinese Literature (EAST 1950P).
Interested students must register for EAST 1950P.
ARCH 1486. The Bureaucracy of Hell: Envisioning Death in East Asian Art (HIAA 1213).
Interested students must register for HIAA 1213.
ARCH 1487. Environmental History of East Asia (HIST 1820B).
Interested students must register for HIST 1820B.
ARCH 1490. Ancient Central Asia in the Shadow of Alexander.
Popular imagination frames Central Asia as a marginal area whose relevance emerged only after the conquest of Alexander the Great – a faulty interpretation influenced by Orientalist bias. In contrast, this course turns its focus to the global and lasting impact of ancient indigenous cultures of Central Asia -- Afghanistan and the former Soviet Republics -- before and after the arrival of Greco-Macedonian colonialism, through the lenses of archaeology, art, and history. We will also consider Central Asia as a case study for broader approaches to issues around state power, identity, migration, resilience, and inequality in the ancient world.
ARCH 1492. The Priest-Kings and Village Life of Ancient Pakistan and India.
The Indus Civilization was the largest culture in the Bronze Age, extending over Pakistan and much of India. It produced sculptures of priest-kings and dancing girls, seals imprinted with magical beings, vast water systems, and monumental structures. But it remains such a mystery that archaeologists can’t even read its texts: the Indus script is still undeciphered. This course will look at the remarkable material culture of the Indus and famous sites like Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, but will also introduce current research examining grassroots change effected by villagers in their daily lives.
ARCH 1494. Southeast Asia’s Entangled Pasts: Excavated, Curated, and Contested.
Behind the caricature of Southeast Asia as an exoticized land of temples and tradition lies a conflicted past entangled with competing claims to power, identity, and territory. This course explores the history of that region (Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines), examining how ancient ruins were used to justify postcolonial national states; how museums and monuments have bolstered authoritarian regimes and sparked democratic protests; and how circulation of artifacts and artworks sets off diplomatic disputes and connects diasporic communities. Students will also engage with relevant material cultures and artistic practices in the Providence area.
ARCH 1500. Classical Art from Ruins to RISD: Ancient Objects/Modern Issues.
Our class will use RISD Museum’s ancient Greek and Roman collection as a framework to discuss art history, museum studies, heritage management, and world affairs. We will move beyond the pleasing aesthetics of classical art to grasp the objects’ social and cultural contexts, and their role in structures of power, privilege, and colonialism – particularly examining issues of race, class, gender, sexuality, migration, and cross-cultural contact. What are the ethical responsibilities of museums – and universities – within this discourse?
ARCH 1515. The Fair Sex: Female Body and Sexuality in the Ancient World.
Maidens, wives, goddesses, prostitutes, monsters. This course examines constructed concepts and stereotypes of “femininity”, “gender”, and “sexuality” and considers how – or even whether – they might be applied to art, archaeology, and literature of the ancient Mediterranean and Near East. Topics include representations of the female body and sexuality in art; notions of aesthetics, beauty, and perfection; nudity and taboo; women in myth, literature, and ritual; burials and funerals; gender roles and tropes of femininity; zones of female agency and authority; and multiply marginalized women (immigrants, enslaved workers).
ARCH 1518. Women and Families in the Ancient Mediterranean (HIAA 1302).
Interested students must register for HIAA 1302.
ARCH 1520. Encountering the Foreign: The Archaeology of Diplomacy.
Human societies have long been both intrigued and frightened by the foreign and exotic, from objects, peoples, and practices that appear “different”. Out of these encounters with the unknown evolved a way to manage these interactions: what we now call diplomacy. This course focuses on the earliest forms of diplomacy in the societies of the Bronze Age eastern Mediterranean, examined through the lens of material culture, texts, and art, while also considering how disciplines such as sociology, psychology, and anthropology might expand our understanding.
ARCH 1525. Struggle and Domination in the Prehistoric Mediterranean: Sex Power God(s).
Humans seek to survive, adapt, develop, and thrive. Yet our species is also prone to power struggles, violence, and domination. This strife can be seen in the findings of the latest archaeological and ethnographic research – which casts doubt on the peaceful, egalitarian societies sometimes imagined in the prehistoric past. This course will examine power and inequality in the prehistoric Mediterranean, considering such vectors as religion, human-nonhuman relationships, monument building, technological innovations, death, and sexuality.
ARCH 1536. Archeological Ethnographies: Heritage and Community in the Mediterranean (ANTH 1126).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1126.
ARCH 1538. Heritage Under Fire: From Conflict to Understanding, Memory, and Reconciliation.
This course examines the intricate relationships among the past, politics, and contemporary archaeology in conflict zones, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa regions. Discussions will include the political and moral agendas entangled in cultural heritage advocacy, the biases inherent in interpreting cultural heritage, and the use of history and archaeological evidence to legitimize societal divisions, as well as how factors such as colonialism, nationalism, terrorism, and armed conflicts impact heritage. How can archaeology contribute to fostering reconciliation and healing?
ARCH 1540. Cultural Heritage: The Players and Politics of Protecting the Past.
From Antarctica to Zimbabwe, cultural heritage encompasses the very old and the still in use, the man-made and the natural, the permanent and the ephemeral -- even the invisible and the edible. This course will explore issues of modern threats to cultural heritage such as tourism and development, questions of authenticity and identity, and archaeology's intersection with law, ethics, public policy, and economics.
ARCH 1541. Cultural Heritage in Crisis (HIAA 1010).
Interested students must register for HIAA 1010.
ARCH 1543. Decolonizing Classical Antiquity:White Nationalism,Colonialism, Ancient Material Heritage(MGRK 1220).
Interested students must register for MGRK 1220.
ARCH 1544. Heritage in the Metropolis: Remembering and Preserving the Urban Past (URBN 1871A).
Interested students must register for URBN 1871A.
ARCH 1549. Art and Crime: The History and Hazards of Collecting the Classical (HIAA 1306).
Interested students must register for HIAA 1306.
ARCH 1550. Who Owns the Classical Past?.
The purpose of this course is to offer a forum for informed discussion of a variety of difficult questions about access to the classical past, and its modern-day ownership and presentation, seen primarily from the perspective of material culture (archaeology, art, museum displays, etc.).
ARCH 1570. Cold Hard Cash: The Materiality of Money in Ancient and Modern Finance.
Now more than ever we are in need of new perspectives on the value and meaning of money. This course examines the origins of a metal-based financial system in ancient Mesopotamia and the development of finance over time -- including not only the valuation of metal but also of gifts and other commodities. We will prioritize archaeological and anthropological approaches as a way to offer both time depth and insight into today's troubled financial climate. Enrollment limited to 50.
ARCH 1572. Economy of Ancient Greece: New Approaches (CLAS 1930E).
Interested students must register for CLAS 1930E.
ARCH 1575. Lost and Found: Coinage and Culture in the Roman Empire.
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.
ARCH 1600. Archaeologies of the Near East.
Writing, urbanism, agriculture, imperialism: the ancient Near East is known as the place where earliest agriculture flourished, cities were developed and writing was invented. This course offers a detailed examination of the region's archaeological history and current archaeological practice, in connection with its political engagements including Western colonialism and the formation of nation states. The social and cultural history of the Near East from prehistory to the end of Iron age (300 BC) will also be discussed. Studying the material remains of the ancient past, we wil investigate various interpretive approaches and concepts used within Near Eastern archaeology. The main goal of the course is to develop a critical understanding of ancient societies and their material culture from an interdisciplinary, post-colonial perspective.
ARCH 1603. Color and Culture in the Ancient Near East (ASYR 1160).
Interested students must register for ASYR 1160.
ARCH 1604. Borderlands: Art and Culture between Rome and Iran (HIAA 1432)..
Interested students must register for HIAA 1432.
ARCH 1605. Holy Spirits: Ancestor Worship in the Ancient Near East and Beyond.
Looking at ancestor veneration in both the ancient and the modern world – from Mesopotamia and Egypt, to the Classical World and the Americas – this course will focus on three different angles: individual, communal, and material. We will consider grief, mourning, loss, and death’s impact on families, kin, or elites. How did ancestors shape communities’ social memories, identities, and religious practices? Finally, we will explore spirits’ material traces, examining specific ancestral monuments and landscapes.
ARCH 1606. Imagining the Gods: Myths and Myth-making in Ancient Mesopotamia (ASYR 1100).
Interested students must register for ASYR 1100.
ARCH 1609. Ancient Babylonian Magic and Medicine (ASYR1500).
Interested students must register for ASYR 1500.
ARCH 1615. Art/Artifact: The Art and Material Culture of Africa.
The course introduces students to the central ideas and controversies in African art and material culture (pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial). We will explore visual and spatial representations of Africa, such as personal adornment, utilitarian objects, sculpture, textiles, painting, masquerade, rock art, and architecture. Paying attention to issues such as identity, religion, politics, collecting practices, and activist art, students will examine African material culture through the multiple lenses of cultural biography, primitive art, tourist art, heritage ethics, and repatriation. Students will have the opportunity to study, handle, and curate African objects from the Haffenreffer Museum's collections. Enrollment limited to 20. First year students require instructor permission to enroll.
ARCH 1616. Between Sahara and Sea: North Africa from Human Origins to Islam.
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.
ARCH 1618. Barbarians, Byzantines, and Berbers: Early Medieval North Africa, AD 300-1050 (HIST 1963L).
Interested students must register for HIST 1963L.
ARCH 1620. Conquest to Conversion: The Formation of the Islamic World.
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.
ARCH 1621. Pyramids, Power, Propaganda: Ancient Egyptian History to 1300 BCE (EGYT 1430).
Interested students must register for EGYT 1430.
ARCH 1623. Ancient Egyptian Art and Architecture (EGYT 1500).
Interested students must register for EGYT 1500.
ARCH 1625. Temples and Tombs: Egyptian Religion and Culture.
Religion was central to life in ancient Egypt, and this course will examine Egyptian religion through its material culture. Students will explore temples and tombs as the physical settings for priestly ritual and private devotion, including feeding and clothing the gods and communication with the dead. The course will also address evidence for private domestic cult and the overlap between religious and magical practice.
ARCH 1627. Daily Life In Ancient Egypt (EGYT 1465).
Interested students must register for EGYT 1465.
ARCH 1630. Fighting Pharaohs: Ancient Egyptian Warfare.
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. Enrollment limited to 55.
ARCH 1633. Black Pharaohs: Nubian Rule over Egypt in the 25th Dynasty (EGYT 1455).
Interested students must register for EGYT 1455.
ARCH 1635. The Great Heresy: Egypt in the Amarna Period.
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. Enrollment limited to 50. Not open to graduate students.
ARCH 1636. Collapse! Ancient Egypt after the Pyramid Age (EGYT 1030)..
Interested students must register for EGYT 1030.
ARCH 1637. Egypt After the Pharaohs: Archaeology and Society in the Coptic and Early Islamic Periods (EGYT1470).
Interested students must register for EGYT 1470.
ARCH 1650. The Etruscans: Italy before the Rise of the Romans.
The Etruscan people dominated the Italian peninsula for centuries before the Romans became a Mediterranean power, but left behind little textual evidence of their culture. Focusing on architecture, artistic production, and funerary practice, we will study the "enigmatic" Etruscans and their contacts with the Greeks and early Romans, and consider their impact on Rome and on modern Italian archaeological scholarship.
ARCH 1666. Archaeologies Out of the Mainstream: Representing the Past from Ancient Aliens to Modern Nationalism.
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.
ARCH 1670. The Beginning of the End? Neolithic "Revolutions" and the Shaping of the Modern World.
How did the first farmers and settled human communities live their lives? How did they reshape the landscape, invent new forms of elaborate dwelling, and establish new relationships with plants and animals? And are the roots of some of our contemporary problems, including social inequality and patriarchy, to be found in the Neolithic? These are some of the questions we will be exploring in this course, using material from the European and Anatolian Neolithic and other, global, contexts.
ARCH 1700. Architectural Sculpture of Ancient Greece and Rome.
What would Times Square or Rockefeller Center have looked like in antiquity? What would have been advertised, and by whom? This course examines the themes, style, and contexts of the sculptural programs that decorated public buildings from the Greco-Roman world, their connections to other visual media and to the landscape, and their reflections of different cultural, civic, and elite identities.
ARCH 1705. The Palaces of Ancient Rome (HIAA 1301).
Interested students must register for HIAA 1301.
ARCH 1707. Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (CLAS 1120Q).
Interested students must register for CLAS 1120Q.
ARCH 1708. Sacred Sites: Law, Politics, Religion (RELS 1610).
Interested students must register for RELS 1610.
ARCH 1709. Places of Healing: Memory, Miracle, and Storytelling (HMAN 1970D).
Interested students must register for HMAN 1970D.
ARCH 1710. Architecture and Memory.
Buildings and monuments have been mediators of the past, with their powerful presence and often turbulent histories. Stories cling to their stones, which become residues of the human lives that shape them. Memories, imaginations and experiences, collectively shared or individual, give meaning to architectural spaces. This course explores the intersections of memory and architecture through various archaeological case studies from the ancient world.
ARCH 1713. Architectural Reuse: The Appropriation of the Past (HIAA 1440F).
Interested students must register for HIAA 1440F.
ARCH 1715. Building Big! Supersized Architectural and Engineering Structures From Antiquity.
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? Enrollment limited to 50.
ARCH 1720. How Houses Build People.
Archaeologists usually worry about how people in the past built houses. This course will flip the question on its head and ask: how do houses build people? Just what is a 'house'? What is a 'home'? Making use of an array of regional case studies, from different time periods, we will question how cultural values and norms can be extracted from, and explore the idea of the domestication of humans through architecture. Enrollment limited to 50. Not open to first year students.
ARCH 1764. Under the Microscope: 250 Years of Brown's Material Past.
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.
ARCH 1765. Pandemics, Pathogens, and Plagues in the Greek and Roman Worlds.
Terror of mass illness is nothing new; as long as there have been humans, there has been disease. These pandemics and plagues have had mortal impacts on past societies, much as contemporary plagues affect today’s economies, social and political structures, and populations. This class considers disease and society in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, beginning with the Plague of Athens in 430 BC and continuing to the outbreak of the ‘first pandemic’ of bubonic plague in AD 541. We will examine these case studies through archaeological material, written accounts, DNA analysis, palaeoclimate reconstruction, and palaeopathology.
ARCH 1768. The Culture of Death in Ancient Rome (CLAS 1420).
Interested students must register for CLAS 1420.
ARCH 1769. Unearthing the Body: History, Archaeology, and Biology at the End of Antiquity (HIST 1835A).
Interested students must register for HIST 1835A.
ARCH 1770. Grave Matters: The Archaeology of Death, Decay, and Discovery.
How do archaeologists study coffins, tombs, and human remains to learn about ancient societies? This course will explore the theory and practice of the archaeology of death. Topics will include the inference of social organization from mortuary remains, the experience of death and dying, social memory, identity, and others. Students will learn approaches to mortuary excavation and consider the politics and ethics of conducting burial archaeology globally. Enrollment limited to 55. Not open to first year students.
ARCH 1774. Microarchaeology.
Sediment – informally called ‘dirt’ or ‘soils’ – is a rich source of untapped information on ancient natural, animal, and human activity: the foundations of microarchaeology. This course will introduce students to key microarchaeological concepts including site-formation processes, human-environmental interactions, and chemical and microremain assemblages. Case studies will include the geoarchaeological fingerprints of destruction; lifeways in cave shelters, pastoral encampments, and urban households; origins of agriculture and use of fire; and – everyone’s favorite topic – what can be learned from human and animal excrement. Hands-on archaeological experiments, field collection, and laboratory methods will be introduced.
ARCH 1775. Animals in Archaeology.
Food, foe, friend: animals play all these roles, and more, in their relationship to humans, in the past as well as the present. This course will explore how zooarchaeology -- the study of animal remains (bones, teeth, and shells) -- allows us to reconstruct ancient human-animal-environmental interactions. We will cover a range of topics and analytical techniques, including hands-on sessions for the identification and quantification of faunal remains. Additional topics will include ancient DNA in zooarchaeology, bone stable isotope analyses, human-caused extinctions, animal domestication, bone artifact production, and animal sacrifice. Enrollment limited to 20. Not open to first year students.
ARCH 1777. Animals in the Ancient City: Interdependence in the Urban Environment (ERLY 1155).
Interested students must register for ERLY 1155.
ARCH 1778. Animal, Vegetable, Mineral: Environmental Histories of Non-Human Actors (HIST 1976C).
Interested students must register for HIST 1976C.
ARCH 1780. Violence and Civilization: A Deep History of Social Violence.
Why do we do violence to one another? This course will foster a sustained and critical reflection on social violence, history and humanity. We will explore social orders through time, together with their practices and moral economies of permissible and impermissible violence. Different conceptions of violence ("symbolic," "structural," and "routine") will be considered, in conjunction with their intersections with the many, ambivalent meanings of "civilization." No prerequisites required.
ARCH 1787. Alcohol in the Ancient World.
From the earliest Neolithic experiments with fermentation to the elaborate drinking cultures of the Classical world, alcohol has infused and influenced social life for thousands of years. This course provides an introduction to the production and consumption of beer, wine, and other beverages in the ancient world. Case studies from across the globe demonstrate that alcohol was (and is) a uniquely potent form of material culture, embedded within complex webs of social, political, economic, and ritual activity.
ARCH 1790. The Nature and Culture of Disaster.
Our view of nature forms the basis of environmental studies, ecotourism, heritage management, and contemporary debates over global warming that impact both public policy and the very way we lead our lives. This course draws from theorists (such as Douglas, Latour, Strathern and Spivak), as well as recent anthropological test cases from Amazonia, Papua New Guinea, and South Africa to look at how humans in the 21st century view nature in terms of stability, instability and disaster. How should we assess the ‘risk culture’ in which we currently live?
ARCH 1791. Slavery, Materiality, and Memorialization (AFRI 1050X).
Interested students must register for AFRI 1050X.
ARCH 1792. The Archaeology of Slavery.
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.
ARCH 1793. Slavery in the Ancient World (CLAS 1120E).
Interested students must register for CLAS 1120E.
ARCH 1794. Questions of Remembrance: Archaeological Perspectives on Slavery in the New World (ANTH 1625).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1625.
ARCH 1795. Living and Material Landscapes of the African Diaspora (HIAA 1191).
Interested students must register for HIAA 1191.
ARCH 1797. A Migration Crisis? Displacement, Materiality, and Experience (MGRK 1210).
Interested students must register for MGRK 1210.
ARCH 1800. Contemporary Issues in Archaeological Theory.
Why does archaeology matter? Archaeology, the study of the human past through the analysis of material remains, has historically been entangled with various social or political agendas. Who "owns" the past? What is an “expert”? Theory allows us to clarify the lenses through which we view the past to account for subjectivity in our research as we work to answer such questions. In this course, we engage with multiple theoretical approaches, such as queer theory, phenomenology, agency, and post-colonialism, as a means for understanding archaeology’s impact across disciplines.
ARCH 1805. The Archaeology of Us: A Material Approach to the Contemporary World.
Archaeology is traditionally seen as exclusively concerned with the past. However, the budding field of contemporary archaeology considers that our own material culture and built environment are equally important to examine archaeologically. This course explores materially-oriented approaches to analyzing our contemporary world, from the study of garbage to the destruction of heritage sites by ISIS. Course material will examine geopolitical crises including migration, militarism, inequality, and environmental devastation. Students will engage with local communities and the Providence area.
ARCH 1810. Under the Tower of Babel: Archaeology, Politics, and Identity in the Modern Middle East.
Present-day political ideologies profoundly impact our understanding of the past. Here we will explore the use and abuse of archaeological pasts in the modern nation states of the Middle East. What do pharaohs mean to modern Egyptians? Why did Saddam Hussein consider himself the last Babylonian king? This course will explore the role of imagined ancient pasts and cultural heritage in the making of collective identities and state ideologies.
ARCH 1816. The Ancient Body: Past Ideas about Human Physicality (ANTH 1660).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1660.
ARCH 1817. Ancient Christianity and the Sensing Body (RELS 1300).
Interested students must register for RELS 1300.
ARCH 1821. (De)Constructing the Other: The Subjectivity of Objects.
Archaeologists rely on interpretation of material remains to construct conceptions of humans in the past. This course explores this creation of archaeology’s subjects, with a critical eye toward the inherently political nature of this inventive process. Topics include the deconstruction of the “pots to people” analogy, racial and gendered disciplinary bias, and exposing the problems of unequal representation in the discipline. In connecting past, present, and future, this course seeks to develop strategies for building a more equitable and inclusive brand of archaeological method and thought.
ARCH 1830. Fake! History of the Inauthentic.
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
ARCH 1835. Inventing the Past: Amulets, Heirlooms, Monuments, Landscapes.
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. Enrollment limited to 50.
ARCH 1850. Comparative Empires and Material Culture.
The political, military, and cultural unit of "empire" has, by now, been the subject of numerous and varied studies. This seminar will explore the tangible effects of empires, that is, the art and architecture created when societies are engaged in what can be viewed as asymmetrical power relationships. In order to understand how conditions specific to empire influence the creation, dissemination, and reception of material culture, this course will examine the artifacts of a range of different empires -- the Roman, the Chinese, the British, and the American -- and their unique political, social, and cultural contexts. Enrollment limited to 25.
ARCH 1854. Handmade: An Archaeological Exploration of Materials and Making.
This interactive course provides an introduction to the archaeology of materials and making. With the goal of developing an embodied appreciation for the archaeological record, we will engage in a series of hands-on activities, each dedicated to the exploration of a different type of material (e.g., clay, stone, wood, and bone). We will also examine theoretical perspectives on the topic and archaeological case studies that highlight the range of techniques employed to transform these materials into objects of use and value. Enrollment is limited to 15.
ARCH 1855. Archaeology and Craft: Experimental Archaeology and the Materials Science of Ancient Technologies.
How did people in the past make the things that archaeologists find today? How can archaeologists learn about processes of design, engineering, and technological change from ancient objects? Students will approach production questions cross-culturally through firsthand involvement with craft processes and materials analysis - from raw materials to finished objects. Practicums will range from participation in blacksmithing and kiln design to learning about pyrotechnology, mechanical properties, and archaeometric techniques. The final class project will be an exhibit affiliated with the Haffenreffer Museum. Enrollment limited to 15. First year students require instructor permission.
ARCH 1860. Engineering Material Culture: An Introduction to Archaeological Science.
Unlikely bedfellows? No way! This course demonstrates how well archaeology (the humanities) and engineering (the hard sciences) can do business together. An introduction to the world of archaeological science, presented from the dual perspectives of material culture studies and materials science. Students will be introduced to a range of methodologies, instrumentation, and interpretive approaches through a combination of hands-on laboratory work, guest lectures, and interdisciplinary group research. Student must have already completed at least two university courses in archaeology, engineering, or any related discipline. Enrollment is limited to 20. Priority will be given to admitting a proportional number of students from archaeology, engineering and related fields.
ARCH 1867. Pastoralism and Power: Lush Lives of Arid Landscapes.
Deserts are often viewed as harsh, unwelcoming landscapes. However, human activity flourishes on these arid margins of civilization. Beginning with the physical landscape – the geology, geography, and hydrography – this class will then trace its influence on deserts’ social and political landscapes: communities, kinship and tribes, pastoral nomadism, trade, and territorial power struggles. Through case studies from the Negev, Sinai, and Arabian Deserts, we will explore how archaeology and archaeological science inform us about desert people, their world views and ideologies, and their strategies for thriving in arid landscapes.
ARCH 1870. Environmental Archaeology.
From Neanderthals on the brink of extinction to the smog of the Industrial Revolution, humans have been impacted by the environment for millions of years. How has climate change affected the development of human society? How have people adapted to their environments in the past? What does "sustainability" mean over the long term? Environmental archaeology is the study of these questions through the use of scientific techniques to analyze soils, plants, artifacts, and human and animal remains from ancient archaeological contexts. These methods will be introduced with an eye toward how they allow us to interpret human-environmental interactions in the past, as well as the present and future.
ARCH 1873. Imperialism and Environmental Change (HIST 1976I).
Interested students must register for HIST 1976I.
ARCH 1874. The Anthropocene: The Past and Present of Environmental Change (ENVS 1910).
Interested students must register for ENVS 1910.
ARCH 1875. Sustainability - Past and Present.
Our daily lives -- and our national politics -- are increasingly impacted by both fears and effects of global warming and climate change. However, ours is not the first society that has struggled with issues of conservation, governance, infrastructure, and resilience. This course will introduce students to the social and ecological challenges of sustainability, past and present, through the lenses of archaeology and political ecology -- including scientific, technological, and social strategies. This includes asking, "sustainable for whom?" -- who benefits from (or is harmed by) environmental policies and transformations?
ARCH 1878. Illustrating and Interpreting the Past: Visual Representation in Archaeology (ANTH 1470).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1470.
ARCH 1879. A World in Color: Seeing and Experiencing Colors in Ancient Times.
Filtered through the lens of western aesthetics, history books often describe the past in black and white. Scholars even receive death threats for asserting that marble statues were not pristine white in antiquity. But imagining the ancient world in all its colors is to see a fuller picture of the art, fashion, values, and struggles of the past. This class investigates the meaning of color as a culturally mediated and charged phenomenon, using not just art historical approaches, but contemporary critical theory, linguistics, and economics.
ARCH 1880. Archaeo-Geophysical Survey and Visualization.
Geophysical survey data act as primary information for locating archaeological sites, and contribute new perspectives when investigating existing sites. This course will develop students' understanding of basic geophysical processes, through hands-on field-based data acquisition with ground penetrating radar, magnetometry, and resistance survey techniques. We will also experiment with approaches to data management and visualization. The course will conclude with students conducting a comprehensive multi-technique field survey of an archaeological site. Enrollment limited to 20 juniors, seniors, and graduate students.
ARCH 1881. An Introduction to GIS and Spatial Analysis for Anthropologists and Archaeologists (ANTH 1201).
Interested students must register for ANTH 1201.
ARCH 1882. Introduction to Geographic Information Systems for Environmental Applications (GEOL 1320).
Interested students must register for GEOL 1320.
ARCH 1883. Global Environmental Remote Sensing (GEOL 1330).
Interested students must register for GEOL 1330.
ARCH 1884. Remote Sensing of Earth and Planetary Surfaces (GEOL 1710).
Interested students must register for GEOL 1710.
ARCH 1900. The Archaeology of College Hill.
A hands-on training class in archaeological 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 (i.e., actually dig and analyze the results!) through the investigation of local historical and archaeological sites in the College Hill area (e.g. the First Baptist Church of America and Brown University's Quiet Green).
ARCH 1970. Individual Study Project in Old World Archaeology and Art.
Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course.
ARCH 1990. Senior Honors Thesis in Archaeology and the Ancient World.
Honors students in Archaeology and the Ancient World who are completing their theses should enroll in this course in their final semester. The subject of the thesis and program of study will be determined by the needs of the individual student. Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course.
ARCH 2000. Research Methods in Archaeology.
Familiarizes beginning old world archaeology and art graduate students and graduate students from neighboring disciplines, as well as advanced undergraduate students, with the methods, history, and bibliography of the field.
ARCH 2010A. Ancient Numismatics.
Deals with problems in ancient numismatics from these topics: introduction of coinage, major coinages of archaic Greece, coinage of 4th C.B.C. in the Greek west and Roman coinage of 3rd C.B.C.
ARCH 2010B. Approaches to Archaeological Survey in the Old World.
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.
ARCH 2010C. Architecture, Body and Performance in the Ancient Near Eastern World.
This seminar investigates the relationship between bodily practices, social performances, and production of space, using case studies drawn from ancient Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and Syria. Employing contemporary critical theories on the body, materiality, and social practices, new theories of the making of architectural spaces and landscapes will be explored with respect to multiple geographical, historical contexts in the Ancient Near East.
ARCH 2010D. Archaeology and Religion: Excavating the Sacred from Prehistory to Islam.
This course explores methodological approaches and theoretical underpinnings of scholarly (and sometimes unpopular) interpretations of the archaeological record as evidence for the religious life of past societies, considering how archaeologists have treated the analytical categories of ritual, religion, ideology, and the sacred. These discussions will be examined through Mediterranean case studies as a key region in the archaeology of religion.
ARCH 2010E. Archaeology in the Information Age.
Archaeology must circulate the material past in two dimensions. The right combination of image (maps, plans, photographs) and text has long defined professional archaeology. However, the current explosion of digital media has spurred profound shifts in all domains of archaeological practice and documentation. This course encourages reevaluation of archaeological media, which pertains to information technology across the humanities and sciences.
ARCH 2010F. GIS and Remote Sensing: Advanced Applications in Archaeology.
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and various forms of remote sensing are increasingly essential components of good archaeological practice. This advanced course is intended primarily for students with some background in GIS software, and who have evolved a relevant research project to develop over the course of the term. Less advanced graduate students may enroll with permission of the instructor and will be provided with additional tutorial instruction.
ARCH 2010G. Ethical Issues in Archaeology.
Graduate students will certainly confront ethical, legal, and professional issues in the course of their own doctoral research and subsequent careers. This seminar offers a forum for open, but well-informed, discussion of a variety of significant ethical problems and dilemmas currently facing the discipline of archaeology worldwide. We will give attention to practical matters arising from archaeological field research, as well as a wide range of difficult questions concerning ownership and presentation of the past. Open to graduate students only.
ARCH 2020A. Greek Vase Painting.
No description available.
ARCH 2020B. Topography of the City of Athens.
No description available.
ARCH 2020D. Greek Painting.
Major developments in the history of Greek painting with special emphasis on archaic and classical Greek culture as reflected in vase painting. There will be field trips to area museums which may take longer than class time.
ARCH 2020E. Economy and Trade in the Later Bronze Age Aegean and East Mediterranean.
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).
ARCH 2030A. Late Roman and Early Christian Mosaics.
Study of Christian, Jewish, and secular mosaics of the Late Roman period.
ARCH 2030G. Wall Paintings from Pompeii.
Interpretations of Campanian frescoes.
ARCH 2040D. Genealogies of Complexity in East Asia (3000-221 BCE).
Despite East Asia's rich archaeological and historical record, its early political (pre)histories have been more sites for theoretical projection than theoretical innovation. Focusing on mainland East Asia, we will engage political theory and its applications in case studies from the Neolithic to the first Empires. Topics will range from mortuary rituals to practices of social violence and sources include both material culture and text.
ARCH 2040E. International Cultural Heritage: Creating a Future for the Past.
From the Parthenon to Puccini to pizza, cultural heritage can be defined as places, objects, and ideas from the past that have survived to the present. This course will examine the theories, methods, and questions that shape the effort to protect and interpret cultural heritage today as well as responses to them. We will explore issues such as current threats to cultural heritage, the role of tourism and impacts of development, questions of authenticity and identity, international law, ethics, and emerging and non-traditional areas of the field.
ARCH 2040F. Public Culture and Heritage in Postapartheid South Africa.
This course examines the complex processes whereby issues of culture, race, identity/ subjectivity, globalization, memory and heritage are being reframed and rethought in post-apartheid South Africa. We will be guided by three broad themes: public histories; archives and knowledges; and questions of performance. Of all possible settings, post-apartheid South Africa may present one of the most challenging - at times troubling - contexts through which to consider such public negotiations and meanings.
ARCH 2040G. Designing Heritages: From Archaeological Sensibilities to Relational Heritages (AMST 2654).
Interested students must register for AMST 2654.
ARCH 2040H. Imperial Cities.
What does Athens have to do with Jerusalem? Tenochtitlan with London? Beijing with Rome? Cuzco with Persepolis? All are capital cities of imperial systems, each shaping and reflecting the nature of the empire, its ruling ideology, and its social and economic infrastructure. The category of "imperial cities", however, must extend beyond these primate centers, to consider the urban networks in play across each empire’s territorial reach, and beyond.
ARCH 2041. Mesoamerican Archaeology and Ethnohistory (ANTH 2520).
Interested students must register for ANTH 2520.
ARCH 2100. Things! The Material Worlds of Humanity.
This course explores the relationships between people and things. From archaeology to material culture studies, from philosophy to science studies, we will examine a wide variety of approaches to the world of objects, artifacts, and material goods. Perspectives will include materialist approaches, consumption studies (including notions of fetish), phenomenology, social constructivism, cognitive approaches, actor-network-theory, and more.
ARCH 2105. Ceramic Analysis for Archaeology.
The analysis and the interpretation of ceramic remains allows 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. This course will include hands-on, lab-based materials analysis of ceramics and their raw materials.
ARCH 2110F. Greek Palaeography and Premodern Book Cultures (GREK 2110F).
Interested students must register for GREK 2110F.
ARCH 2140. The Marriage of Archaeological Science and Social Theory.
What do ceramics, lithics, building materials and metals tell us about the people who used them? Do high-tech analytical methods contribute to a deeper understanding of the past or simply muddy the waters? Theoretically, we will challenge the objectivity of 'science' and the value of archaeological taxonomies, as they relate to the construction of archaeological narratives. The ultimate objective in this course is to access the symmetrical social relationships between people and things, through the medium of the archaeological materials, as understood through the application of scientific techniques. Enrollment limited to 15.
ARCH 2141. Biomolecular Approaches in Archaeology.
This seminar will focus on the key principles of biomolecular techniques used in archaeological research. Topics will include residue analysis, collagen fingerprinting, stable isotopes, and ancient DNA. We will discuss recent advancements in these scientific methods, best practices for collecting samples, how to build collaborations between archaeologists working in the field and in the laboratory, and new possibilities for using cutting-edge methods to address archaeological and anthropological research questions.
ARCH 2143. Asian Reprographics A Long History of Impression (ARCH 2143)..
Interested students must register for HIAA 2210.
ARCH 2145. Technology and Production in Archaeology: Anthropological Foundations and Contemporary Theory.
An intensive focus on theoretical approaches to technology and production that have shaped archaeological thinking over the past century and have formed the basis of many of the contemporary issues in the field. Students will read and critically assess key works about concepts of production and technology in various cross-cultural archaeological contexts. Seminar themes include political economy, specialization, technology transfer, cross-craft production, power dynamics, ritual, and tool use. Enrollment limited to 20 seniors and graduate students.
ARCH 2150. Theoretical Issues in Archaeology.
The goal of this seminar is to examine the state of archaeological theory, with special emphasis on archaeological practice and interpretation in the Mediterranean, Egypt and ancient western Asia. While providing some measure of historical overview, the class chiefly offers an opportunity for students to read and critique recent writings that exemplify the variety of contemporary approaches to this subject.
ARCH 2151. Slow Archaeology: Thinking Things through in Archaeological Theory and Philosophy.
This course questions the so-called paradigm shifts in archaeology -- "the spatial turn", "the material turn", or the "the ontological turn" – and analyzes the way archaeological theory has developed in our discipline. Students will explore theoretical angles other than the "usual suspects" in archaeological theory to creatively rethink individual research. We will take a philosophical approach to critically and carefully discuss academic archaeology and our roles, our engagement, and future as scholars within an institutional culture that often seems to be dominated by individual achievement, speed, and efficiency. What ideas might emerge if we all just slowed down?
ARCH 2153. Archaeological Ethnography: A Multi-Temporal Contact Zone.
In this course, we will examine the emerging field of archaeological ethnography, a shared space of interaction between social anthropologists and archaeologists, and between scholars and the various local communities around archaeological sites. Our main focus will be the Sanctuary of Poseidon on the island of Poros in Greece, the epicenter of a long-term archaeological ethnography project, started in 2007. We will place the site in global comparative perspective, and debate together the challenges in producing an archaeological ethnography monograph.
ARCH 2155. History, Anthropology, and Archaeology: Disciplinary Dialogues.
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.
ARCH 2157. Subaltern Communities: Archaeological Perspectives Beyond Domination and Resistance.
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.
ARCH 2160. The Archaeology of Democracy: Social Transformations in Ancient Greece, ca. 900-323 BCE.
Between 900 and 600 BCE, profound social transformations took place in Greece, setting the stage for a revolution in political form: by 500, Athens was collectively goverend by its citizen body. This course engages with the everyday materialities underlying Greek democracy of this era. Focusing on relationships among people and things, students will reassess the composition of the demos from the ground up.
ARCH 2165. The "Second Sophistic": Archaeological and Literary Approaches.
The cultural phenomenon of the "Second Sophistic" affected both the material fabric and the intellectual life of the eastern Roman empire of the second/third centuries CE. This course will examine how awareness of "Greek" learning (paideia) and the "Greek" past informed people's literary and artistic tastes, as well as their responses to changing political and religious pressures, affecting everything from civic coinage to elite dining habits and even bodily comportment. Enrollment limited to 15.
ARCH 2170. Archaeology of Greek and Punic Colonization.
This course investigates cultural interaction at local and regional scales between 'colonists' and locals, introducing students to a range of case study material across the Mediterranean. This will focus on material from the eighth to sixth centuries BC from Iberia, France, Italy, North Africa, and the Black Sea. Examples of Etruscan colonization will also be explored. The concept of 'colonization' will be critically examined, along with how it has been treated by archaeologists and ancient historians over the past century. Enrollment limited to 15 juniors, seniors, and graduate students.
ARCH 2176. The World of Late Antiquity (CLAS 2100G).
Interested students must register for CLAS 2100G.
ARCH 2178. Architectural Reuse: The Appropriation of the Past (HIAA 2440D).
Interested students must register for HIAA 2440D.
ARCH 2180. Memory and Materiality.
What is the difference between memory, facts, and knowledge? This course uses memory as a lens through which to view recent critical theory and questions how theories of memory and materiality can be used by archaeologists to better understand the past.
ARCH 2184. Material Culture and the Bodily Senses: Past and Present.
How do the senses shape our experience? How many senses are there? How do ancient and modern art and material culture relate to bodily senses? What is material and sensorial memory, and how does it structure time and temporality? Using media and objects, including archaeological and ethnographic collections at Brown and beyond, this course will study how a sensorial perspective on materiality can reshape and reinvigorate research dealing with past and present material culture. Furthermore, we will explore how sensoriality and affectivity can decenter the dominant western modernist canon of the autonomous individual.
ARCH 2185. Sensing Antiquity: New Approaches to Ancient Aesthetics and Sensoria.
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.
ARCH 2225. Beyond Decline and Fall: New Perspectives on the Late Antique Mediterranean.
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, Christianization and ethnic, social and religious identities, and compare the different trajectories of Europe, Northern Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean in this period.
ARCH 2235. One Sea for All: Economic, Social and Artistic Interaction in the Medieval Mediterranean.
This seminar explores the phenomenon of interaction in the Medieval Mediterranean. We will study how, even in times of conflict, Byzantines created and maintained networks of ideological, commercial and artistic communication with the Arabs, the Slavs, the Latins, and the Ottomans. How did such encounters, among people of such different faiths, languages, and world-views, influence the political, economic and social transformations of the Medieval world? Enrollment limited to 15 juniors, seniors, and graduate students.
ARCH 2240. Key Issues in Mediterranean Prehistory.
This course's scope is the entire Mediterranean basin, from its first peopling until ca. 500 BC. The focus is on key transformations in economic, social, and political structures and interactions; on explanations for these changes; and on current issues where fresh data or new approaches are transforming our understanding. This seminar is intended for students both with and without prior knowledge of this field, and particularly for those preparing for the Joukowsky Institute's Mediterranean Prehistory field exam. Enrollment limited to 15 juniors, seniors, and graduate students.
ARCH 2245. Rural Landscapes and Peasant Communities in the Mediterranean.
The aim of this course is to explore rural settlement and agrarian production in the Mediterranean, both in the ancient and the recent past. The archaeological starting-point is provided by the numerous scatters of surface remains that archaeological surveys across the Mediterranean have collected and that are usually interpreted as 'farmsteads' broadly datable to Classical Antiquity. We will look beyond these scatters to examine the social and economic significance of rural settlement through comparison with ethnographic and historical rural studies from across the Mediterranean and to explore household and community organisation and agrarian production in Classical Antiquity. Enrollment limited to 15.
ARCH 2250. Island Archaeology in the Mediterranean.
The Mediterranean is a world of islands, par excellence, and the island cultures that have developed there over the millennia have great archaeological distinctiveness. This seminar will consider the concept of insularity itself, in cross-cultural archaeological, anthropological, and historical perspective. We will then turn to the rich, specifically Mediterranean literature on island archaeology (exploring issues of colonization, settlement, interaction).
ARCH 2255. Coastal Values: Archaeology and Paleoecology of Coastal and Island Environments.
People like to live by the water. What characteristics (social, economic, environmental) make coastal environments so attractive? What are the effects of human settlement on these environments? How do societies adapt (or not) to changing coastal environments? This seminar takes an interdisciplinary approach to these questions, applying the lessons of the past to the challenges of the present through an explicitly diachronic, cross-cultural, and data-driven approach to examining human-environmental interaction in coastal settings. Enrollment limited to 15.
ARCH 2265. Nature and Society in the Ancient World.
What is ‘nature’? Is human society separate and distinct from the ‘natural’ world, or a closely-entwined part? Historical investigations often simplify this relationship to one-sided explanations of social or environmental determinism, missing the lived reality of people in their landscapes. This class explores the ecological reality of the ‘natural’ world in Antiquity, using archaeological, historical, and palaeo-environmental data to investigate these questions, focusing especially on the Roman and late-Roman periods.
ARCH 2300. The Rise of the State in the Near East.
A seminar on the origins of food production and complex societies in the period from ca. 9000 to 2200 B.C. Topics will include: the first domestication of plants and animals, the earliest village communities in the Levant, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia, and the economic and social transformations accompanying the emergence of urbanized state societies in fourth and third millennia B.C. Mesopotamia.
ARCH 2310. Cities in the Sand: The Archaeology of Urbanism in Mesopotamia.
Images of legendary Mesopotamian cities, now wired with explosives or pockmarked with looters’ pits, flit daily across our screens. For more than a century, archaeologists have been working to uncover these early urban centers in Iraq and Syria, where the very idea of the city was first imagined. This seminar offers an introduction to the archaeology of urbanism and a detailed examination of the cities of Mesopotamia – from Uruk and Ur to Babylon and Baghdad.
ARCH 2320. Household Archaeology in the Ancient Near East and Beyond.
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.
ARCH 2330. Roman Asia Minor: The Empire Goes East.
If one is curious about the dynamics of life within the Roman empire, the province of Asia makes an excellent case study. Its numerous urban centers and rural landscapes were socially and economically differentiated and frequently monumentally elaborated, as an increasing amount of varied archaeological data reveal. Asia offers a rich laboratory for exploring issues of provincial development, and ultimately decline, over the course of the empire.
ARCH 2335. In the Wake of Empire: Anatolia After the Hittites, Before Alexander.
Kings Croesus, Midas, and the much lesser known Warpalawas... Who were these people, when and where did they rule, and why does any of this matter? During the first millennium BCE, Anatolia was an astonishingly varied, multicultural and multilingual environment. This course will tackle head on the myriad archaeological, historical, and even linguistic challenges posed by this fascinating, but often-overlooked period in the history of the region. Enrollment limited to 15 juniors, seniors, and graduate students.
ARCH 2340. The Archaeology of the Assyrian Empire: Cities, Landscapes and Material Culture.
Ritual, war and conquest! The Assyrian Empire was a powerhouse in the ancient Near East with fearsome military expeditions, sumptuous cult festivals, grand cities, and complex governing systems. This course investigates the archaeology of Assyria from the trading center of Ashur in the second millennium BCE to the collapse of the empire in the 7th c. BCE. Using published excavations, surveys, and texts, we will explore Assyria’s material culture, landscape, cult practices and state ideology. Enrollment limited to 15 seniors and graduate students.
ARCH 2350. Archaeology of the Caucasus.
The goal of this seminar is to provide students with an overview of the long-term archaeological record from the Caucasus and its near neighbors, as well as an understanding of the history of research in this area during Imperial Russian, Soviet, and contemporary times. Readings will cover a range of periods, prehistoric and historic, following the interests of the class.
ARCH 2400. Sacred Space: Archaeological and Religious Studies Perspectives.
Innumerable cultures, past and present, have singled out specific locales and even whole landscapes as powerful vectors for communicating with the divine. This course will analyze such spaces for their ability to transform body, escape the material plane, and reconstitute social relations and bodily practice. Case studies will largely be drawn from the Mediterranean world and will employ an archaeological attention to the materiality of these sacred spaces. Key concepts will include: ritual practice, landscape production, memory and agency. Prerequisites: three upper-level courses in Archaeology and the Ancient World, Religious Studies, or Anthropology.
ARCH 2406. The Body in Medieval Art and Architecture (HIAA 2440E).
Interested students must register for HIAA 2440E.
ARCH 2407. Lived Bodies, Dead Bodies: The Archaeology of Human Remains (ANTH 2560).
Interested students must register for ANTH 2560.
ARCH 2410. Archaeologies of Place.
Places are understood as sites of human interaction in and with the material world. This course explores how archaeological and ethnographic research addresses material complexities and cultural meanings of places in the context of broader landscapes. We will investigate critical theories of place and landscape, while working with fieldwork data from the ancient Near East, particularly Hittite Anatolia. Enrollment limited to 20.
ARCH 2425. In Ruins: Traces of the Past in the Present.
Ruins -- the debris and skeletons of monuments from the past -- constitute the leftovers of people and places that once were. Yet archaeologists have not thought critically about this seemingly essential concept. Ruins and ruination are fundamental to deeper understandings of culture contact, the rise and fall of civilizations, state power and political factionalism, urbanism, colonialism, capitalism, and deindustrialization. This course will examine, across a broad geographic and temporal scope, ruins as things, as well as ongoing processes, that affect the landscape.
ARCH 2450. Comparative Empires and Material Culture.
The political, military, and cultural unit of "empire" has, by now, been the subject of numerous and varied studies. This seminar will explore the tangible effects of empires, that is, the art and architecture created when societies are engaged in what can be viewed as asymmetrical power relationships. In order to understand how conditions specific to empire influence the creation, dissemination, and reception of material culture, this course will examine the artifacts of four different empires - the Roman, the Chinese, the British, and the American - and their unique political, social, and cultural contexts. The creation of a "virtual exhibit" of a range of illustrative artifacts is currently envisioned as an outcome of the class.
ARCH 2500. Art and Archaeology of Civic Identity.
Every urban community in the Greco-Roman world presented itself in a specific way to other communities and to foreign entities. Looking at coins, public monuments, programmatic sculpture, and epigraphic and textual evidence, we will address different concerns related to the formation and propagation of civic identities. Comparative material from other historical periods and theoretical and anthropological literature on group identity, social cohesion, and empire will contextualize the visual and archaeological evidence. Prerequisites: three previous courses in Archaeology and the Ancient World.
ARCH 2501A. Problems in Archaeology: Archaeology of Colonialism (ANTH 2500A).
Interested students must register for ANTH 2500A.
ARCH 2501C. GIS and Remote Sensing in Archaeology (ANTH 2500C).
Interested students must register for ANTH 2500C.
ARCH 2502. Historical Archaeology: From Colony to City (ANTH 2540).
Interested students must register for ANTH 2540.
ARCH 2535. The Levant and Egypt: Cultural Contacts and Connections.
A land steeped in story and history, the Levant (now Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Jordan) was a dynamic crossroads of ancient civilizations, from Mesopotamia and Anatolia and stretching across Europe. But this region is nearly always viewed through the lens of its larger, well-known neighbor: Egypt. This course will shift this viewpoint by exploring the nature and agency of trade, colonization, diplomacy, migration – and even war – between the Levant and ancient Egypt, paying particular attention to the archaeological record in reconstructing these interactions and cultural interconnections.
ARCH 2540. Roman, Byzantine and Early Islamic Jerusalem.
Jerusalem constitutes one of the most important archaeological sites connected to the origins of Judaism, Christianity, and Early Islam. Early and recent studies and discoveries, as well as old and new theories, will be examined in the seminar with special emphasis on the Roman, Byzantine, and Early Islamic periods. Prerequisite: knowledge in archaeological methodology.
ARCH 2550. Qumran and its Archaeological Context.
This course is structured as a seminar on the archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls. The site will be examined in its larger geographical, historical, and archaeological context. The goal is to become familiar with the different scholarly interpretations of the site. Prerequisites: solid background in at least one of three fields: archaeology, Judaism, and Early Christianity.
ARCH 2551. Archaeological Research Methods, Theory and Practicum (ANTH 2550).
Interested students must register for ANTH 2550.
ARCH 2552. Museums in Their Communities (AMST 2220D).
Interested students must register for AMST 2220D.
ARCH 2553. Introduction to Public Humanities (PHUM 2010).
Interested students must register for PHUM 2010.
ARCH 2554. Decolonizing Publ Hman:Intersectional Approaches to Curatorial Work + Community Organizing(AMST2694).
Interested students must register for AMST 2694.
ARCH 2555. Museum Interpretation Practices (PHUM 2014).
Interested students must register for PHUM 2014.
ARCH 2557. Critical Approaches to Architectural Preservation and Cultural Heritage (AMST 2685).
Interested students must register for AMST 2685.
ARCH 2558. Methods in Public Humanities (PHUM 2020).
Interested students must register for PHUM 2020.
ARCH 2600. Gender and Sexuality in Roman Art.
The study of the body and embodiment in Roman art encourages us to make use of multiple theoretical models for interrogating both the art and the bodies involved. Gender and sexuality provide the lenses through which this course will explore a variety of topics (for example, the homoerotic gaze, sexualized spectacles of pain, gendered architectural typologies, and the body in rabbinic imagery) in Roman imperial art. Open to graduate students only.
ARCH 2601. Approaching Women and Gender in Roman Culture.
Gender as a hierarchical concept was a fundamental basis of Roman culture, but women often played active roles in shaping political, religious, and social ideologies in both public and private contexts. Drawing on material, visual, and literary evidence, as well as theoretical concepts of gender in the ancient world, this course will examine not only how the concepts of women and gender were constructed and perpetuated, but also how they were simultaneously resisted and subverted.
ARCH 2610. From Hilltop to Caput Mundi: The Archaeology of the Roman World.
From an iron age village atop a hill overlooking the Tiber to the largest land empire prior to the Mongols of the 13th century, Rome has a deep and storied past. This class examines the current methods, theories, and major debates in Roman archaeology. We especially focus on material from outside the city of Rome and emphasize the geographical and chronological breadth of the Roman Empire. Topics may include colonialism, imperialism, Romanization, settlement, economy, religion, environmental change, violence, technology, and military life.
ARCH 2620. All Italia: City and Country in Ancient Italy.
This seminar approaches the urban and rural landscapes of peninsular Italy from the Early Iron Age until the Gothic Wars, with the goal being to examine key points of intersection (and departure) between the spheres of 'town' and 'country'. Overall the seminar aims to contextualize Italian landscapes across both time and space and to that end we will consider issues pertaining to urbanism, economy, production, infrastructure, administration, architecture, and iconography. Enrollment limited to 20 seniors and graduate students.
ARCH 2635. An Empire without Bounds: The Roman Empire in Its ‘Global’ Context.
The Roman world did not stop at the Empire’s borders; its influence spread through sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, India, central Asia, China, and northern Europe – and these interactions shaped the Roman Empire, in turn. This course aims to de-center the Roman and Mediterranean experience of Antiquity by considering archaeological and historical evidence from places as far-reaching as Parthian Mesopotamia, Kushan India, and Han China, as well as the Saharan oases, the Indian Ocean monsoon routes, and the many intertwined land routes of the ‘Silk Road(s)’ across central Asia.
ARCH 2640. Hispania: the Making of a Roman Province.
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. Restricted to Juniors, Seniors, and Graduate students.
ARCH 2710. The Archaeology of Nubia and Egypt.
Egypt and Nubia share the distinction of ancient civilizations along the Nile river, but Nubia remains much more poorly known than Egypt. This seminar will examine the archaeology of Nubia, including its relationship to Egypt, from the introduction of ceramics and agriculture to the medieval period. This long-term perspective will allow comparative study of issues such as state formation, imperialism and religious change. Enrollment limited to 15 graduate students.
ARCH 2725. The Making of Egypt.
In the late 4th millennium, a state and culture recognizably pharaonic in structures rose in the Nile Valley. How was Egypt made, and how can we study the process? This seminar will examine this exceptional convergence of the development of monumental architecture, writing, canonical art, and kingship during Egypt’s formative centuries from c. 3200-2600 BC. We will study the rapid changes at the start of the First Dynasty in the context of state formation over the longer span of late-Predynastic to Old Kingdom Egypt.
ARCH 2740. Social Life in Ancient Egypt.
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 on 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.
ARCH 2851. Skills Training in Material Culture Studies I.
When dealing with material culture, one must possess a solid foundation in a range of skills. How does one document and analyze artifacts, architecture and landscapes; what techniques are appropriate in what cases? How should all this information be securely stored and promulgated? This "hands on" class, intended for students in multiple disciplines, will consider the study of particular types of material or bodies of evidence (e.g., pottery, lithics, epigraphy, numismatics). This is a half-credit course, meeting for the first seven weeks of the semester only. S/NC.
ARCH 2852. Skills Training in Material Culture Studies II.
When dealing with material culture, one must possess a solid foundation in a range of skills. How does one document and analyze artifacts, architecture and landscapes, what are the appropriate techniques? How should all this information be securely stored and promulgated? This "hands on" class, intended for students in multiple disciplines, will revolve around techniques of documentation and analysis (e.g. architectural drawing, GIS [Geographic Information Systems], data bases and digital media). This is a half-credit course, meeting for the first seven weeks of the semester only. S/NC.
ARCH 2950. Intensive Readings in Ancient Language for Archaeologists.
In this course, students with some previous training in an ancient language will have an opportunity to hone their linguistic skills while reading ancient texts that are specially relevant to archaeologists. The primary purpose of the course is to prepare students to take doctoral ancient language exams and to identify weak spots in individuals' knowledge of the ancient language. Emphasis will be placed on identification and justification of morphology and syntax, as well as on reading comprehension and idiomatic translation.
ARCH 2970. Preliminary Examination Preparation.
For graduate students who have met the tuition requirement and are paying the registration fee to continue active enrollment while preparing for a preliminary examination.
ARCH 2980. Individual Reading.
Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course.
ARCH 2981. Thesis Research.
Individual reading for the Master's degree. Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course.
ARCH 2982. Individual Reading for Dissertation.
Reading leading to selection of the dissertation subject. Single credit. Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course.
ARCH 2983. Dissertation Research.
Section numbers vary by instructor. Please check Banner for the correct section number and CRN to use when registering for this course.
ARCH 2990. Thesis Preparation.
For graduate students who are preparing a thesis and who have met the tuition requirement and are paying a registration fee to continue active enrollment.
Archaeology and the Ancient World
The concentration in Archaeology and the Ancient World provides an opportunity to explore the multi-faceted discipline of archaeology while examining the critical early civilizations of the so-called ‘Old World’– that is, the complex societies of the Mediterranean, Egypt, and the Near East. Students will learn about the art, architecture, and material culture of the ancient world, exploring things of beauty and power, as well as the world of the everyday. Concentrators will also learn "how to do" archaeology - the techniques of locating, retrieving, and analyzing ancient remains - and consider how material culture shapes our understanding of the past. Concentrators are encouraged to pursue research opportunities through summer fieldwork, museum experience, or independent study projects.
The undergraduate concentration in Archaeology and the Ancient World provides students with an opportunity to explore the multi-faceted discipline of archaeology, and encourages an interdisciplinary approach to engaging with the ancient world. While the core focus of Archaeology and the Ancient World at Brown University is archaeology and art of the ancient Mediterranean, Egypt, and the Near East, this concentration encourages students to reach beyond this geographic area, to engage with Brown’s many strengths in history, epigraphy, art, ethics, engineering, religious studies, and the sciences – to name just a few. The concentration, with its three distinct but overlapping tracks, is intended to allow students flexibility in structuring their own path through this diverse field of study. All three tracks begin with the same foundation. Students are then expected to experiment with and define their own areas of specialty, establishing expertise in topics such as cultural heritage, archaeological theory, or materials analysis, or in particular regions or time periods. The concentration is also designed to allow students to build progressively upon what they have learned, moving from introductory courses to upper-level seminars.
It is expected that, in completing the requirements for this concentration, students will incorporate courses that offer new perspectives on the complex dynamics of social inequity, exclusion, and difference, and which encourage engagement with the community – both by enrolling in classes designated as Diverse Perspectives in Liberal Learning (DPLL) and through non-DPLL classes that explore similar themes. Research opportunities, through summer fieldwork, internships, museum experience, or independent study projects, are strongly encouraged.
Within this concentration, the three tracks are:
- Archaeology and the Ancient World: the most flexible of the concentration tracks, allowing students to explore any region or time period, and to develop their own areas of focus, such as museum studies, ethics and politics of the past, engineering and materials analysis, cultural heritage, or environmental studies.
- Classical Archaeology: for those interested chiefly in the ‘classic’ civilizations of the Mediterranean (especially Greece and Rome), as well as for those interested in both earlier (prehistoric) and later (medieval) periods in that geographic region.
- Egyptian and Near Eastern Archaeology: for those interested chiefly in the cultures of Egypt and the ancient ‘Near East’ – Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia – from prehistoric through Islamic times.
Required Courses:
The student must take a total of 10 courses, including:
| CORE REQUIREMENTS: | 4 | |
All three tracks share four Core Requirements: two introductory courses providing an overview of archaeology’s two central aspects (field methodologies, and art history); and two introductory courses in the core geographical focus of the Joukowsky Institute (Classical/Mediterranean archaeology and Egyptian/Near Eastern archaeology). | ||
| One introductory course in archaeological methodology and/or scientific approaches, preferably: | 1 | |
| Field Archaeology in the Ancient World | ||
or a course that addresses similar methodological/scientific topics, which must be approved by the concentration advisor. Appropriate courses could include, for example: | ||
| The Archaeology of College Hill | ||
| Past Forward: Discovering Anthropological Archaeology | ||
| One introductory course in ancient art history, preferably: | 1 | |
| Art in Antiquity: An Introduction | ||
or an ancient art history course approved by the concentration advisor. Appropriate courses could include, for example: | ||
| Introduction to Egyptian Archaeology and Art | ||
| Roman Archaeology and Art | ||
| One introductory ARCH course in Egyptian or Near Eastern archaeology, art, and/or architecture, for example: | 1 | |
| Egyptomania: Mystery of the Sphinx and Other Secrets of Ancient Egypt | ||
| East Meets West: Archaeology of Anatolia | ||
| One introductory ARCH course in Classical or Mediterranean archaeology, art, and/or architecture, for example: | 1 | |
| Troy Rocks! Archaeology of an Epic | ||
| Archaeologies of the Greek Past | ||
| TRACK REQUIREMENTS: | ||
In addition to the Core Requirements above, each of the three tracks requires six additional courses, which allow students to define their own areas of geographic and/or topical specialty. | ||
| Archaeology and the Ancient World: | 6 | |
| One ARCH course, of any level, that focuses on a particular thematic or theoretical topic pertaining to archaeology, for example: | 1 | |
| Heritage In and Out of Context: Museum and Archaeological Heritage | ||
| Contemporary Issues in Archaeological Theory | ||
| One ARCH course, of any level, that focuses on a part of the world OTHER than Mediterranean, Egyptian, or Near Eastern, for example: | 1 | |
| An Archaeology of Native American Art | ||
| Buried History, Hidden Wonders: Discovering East Asian Archaeology | ||
| Two additional ARCH courses, on any aspect of archaeology and art, at the 1000 level (or above). Students are encouraged to use these upper-level courses to define a particular core specialty or track, such as a focus on archaeological theory, museum studies, archaeological ethics, materials analysis, cultural heritage, or climate change, for example: | 2 | |
| Who Owns the Classical Past? | ||
| The Human Skeleton | ||
| Two non-ARCH courses which EITHER relate to the study of the ancient world OR to the discipline of archaeology. Outside courses are chosen with the approval of the Concentration Advisor from appropriate 1000 level (or above) offerings in other departments such as, but not limited to: Anthropology, Classics, Egyptology and Assyriology, Environmental Studies, Geological Sciences, History, History of Art and Architecture, Religious Studies. One term of language study, in any relevant (usually ancient) language, may also be counted toward this requirement. | 2 | |
| Classical Archaeology: | 6 | |
| One course in ancient Greek or Roman history, for example: | 1 | |
| Mediterranean Culture Wars: Archaic Greek History, c. 1200 to 479 BC | ||
| The Fall of Empires and Rise of Kings: Greek History 478 to 323 BC | ||
| Roman History I: The Rise and Fall of an Imperial Republic | ||
| Roman History II: The Roman Empire and Its Impact | ||
| One course in either Ancient Greek or Latin, at a level beyond the first year of study, for example: | 1 | |
| Introduction to Greek Literature | ||
| Introduction to Latin Literature | ||
| Two courses in Mediterranean (prehistoric, Greek, Roman, medieval) archaeology and art, at the 1000 level (or above). | 2 | |
| One ARCH course, of any level, that focuses on a part of the world OTHER than Mediterranean, Egyptian, or Near Eastern OR focuses on a particular thematic topic pertaining to archaeology, for example: | 1 | |
| Ancient Central Asia in the Shadow of Alexander | ||
| Cultural Heritage: The Players and Politics of Protecting the Past | ||
| One non-ARCH course which EITHER relates to the study of the ancient world OR to the discipline of archaeology. Outside courses are chosen with the approval of the Concentration Advisor from appropriate 1000 level (or above) offerings in other departments such as, but not limited to: Anthropology, Classics, Egyptology and Assyriology, Environmental Studies, Geological Sciences, History, History of Art and Architecture, Religious Studies. | 1 | |
| Egyptian and Near Eastern Archaeology: | 6 | |
| Two courses in Egyptian and Near Eastern archaeology and art at the 1000 level (or above). | 2 | |
| Two terms of course work in a pertinent ancient language (such as Akkadian, Coptic, Classical Hebrew, Middle Egyptian). | 2 | |
| One ARCH course, of any level, that focuses on a part of the world OTHER than Mediterranean, Egyptian, or Near Eastern OR focuses on a particular thematic topic pertaining to archaeology, for example: | 1 | |
| Archaeology of the Andes | ||
| Community Archaeology in Providence and Beyond | ||
| One non-ARCH course which EITHER relates to the study of the ancient world OR to the discipline of archaeology. Outside courses are chosen with the approval of the Concentration Advisor from appropriate 1000 level (or above) offerings in other departments such as, but not limited to: Anthropology, Classics, Egyptology and Assyriology, Environmental Studies, Geological Sciences, History, History of Art and Architecture, Religious Studies. | 1 | |
| TOTAL (including Core and Track Requirements): | 10 | |
| 1 | All formally cross-listed courses, regardless of home department, can be considered ARCH courses and can fulfill the relevant concentration requirement(s). There is no limit on the number of cross-listed courses that can count toward the completion of a concentration. |
| 2 | Students who are doing a double concentration are allowed up to two courses that are also counted toward (i.e., overlap with) their second concentration to fulfill Archaeology concentration requirements. |
Fieldwork, Study Abroad, and Capstone Experiences
Students are strongly encouraged to consider participating in a field project, most typically after sophomore or junior year. The Joukowsky Institute's Assistant Director and other faculty members can provide suggestions about how to explore and fund possible field projects. For each of the tracks, a capstone experience may be substituted for one of these required courses. With the permission of the Assistant Director or the Director of Undergraduate Studies, up to three successfully completed courses, from relevant and accredited study abroad programs, may be counted towards the concentration requirements. Field school courses that provide formal university transfer credit, and official transcripts, may also be used to fulfill concentration requirements.
Honors Concentrations
An Honors concentration in any of these tracks requires the successful completion of all the standard requirements with the addition of an Honors thesis. For the preparation of this thesis, students will ordinarily enroll in ARCH 1970 during the first semester of the senior year and ARCH 1990 during the second semester of the senior year (these courses may not be taken S/NC, nor may they be used to satisfy the standard requirements of the concentration). In order to qualify for honors, students must have received more A’s than B’s in concentration courses completed.
Honors concentrations are recommended for students considering graduate work in the discipline of archaeology. Any student interested in a course of graduate study should speak to the Joukowsky Institute's Assistant Director and faculty members as soon as possible,, not least for advice about additional forms of preparation. Graduate work in the archaeology of the ancient world, for example, requires knowledge of appropriate ancient, as well as modern, languages. Students should start work on acquiring these skills as early as possible.
The Honors Thesis
The Honors thesis is an extended essay, usually of between 40 and 60 pages in length, researched and written under the supervision of a faculty advisor and second reader during the senior year (during which the student must be enrolled in ARCH 1970 in the Fall and ARCH 1990 in the Spring semester).
Where appropriate, the advisor or the reader, but not both of them, may be in a unit other than the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World. The specific topic and approach of the thesis are worked out between the student and the thesis advisor, with assistance from the student's second reader. This process should begin in the latter part of the student's junior year.
A preliminary title and one page outline of the proposed Honors thesis is due to the Joukowsky Institute's Assistant Director and the thesis advisor by May 15th of the junior year.
The deadlines for thesis drafts, and for final thesis submission, will be agreed between the student and the faculty advisors. It is expected that students will have submitted at least one full chapter to their primary advisor by the end of the student's penultimate semester. The deadline for final thesis submission typically should be on or before April 15th, and must be no later than the first day of Reading Period in the final semester of senior year. Both a bound and an electronic version of the final thesis must be submitted to the Joukowsky Institute by May 1, via email to joukowsky_institute@brown.edu.
The completed thesis will be evaluated by the advisor and second reader, who will discuss its strengths and weaknesses in a joint meeting with the student; they will then make a recommendation concerning Honors, and also agree a grade for ARCH 1990.
The Honors concentrators will be asked to make a short public presentation about their work; this event will be organized by the Joukowsky Institute's Assistant Director, and usually occurs during or shortly after Reading Period.
Evaluation
The Director of Undergraduate Studies will review the student’s overall record, in addition to the thesis evaluations. If all requirements have been successfully met, the recommendation will be made that the student graduates with Honors.
Archaeology and the Ancient World
The Joukowsky Institute offers graduate study leading to the Master of Arts (A.M.) degree and the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Archaeology and the Ancient World.
For more information on admission and program requirements, please visit the following website:
http://www.brown.edu/academics/gradschool/programs/archaeology-and-ancient-world-0