ART 365-01, Women in the Arts in the Ancient Mediterranean, Fall 2001

Abstract

This course seeks to explore how women were represented in the arts in the Mediterranean from ancient Sumeria of the third millenium BCE to Late Antique Rome, ca. 300 CE. Our goals are to introduce students to current debates and discussions about both the condition of women in the ancient world and the manner in which a woman was represented, particularly in the material culture of antiquity. We shall grapple with the paucity of evidence generated by women themselves and we will consider to what extent the images in texts and art constitute the foundation of contemporary notions of a womanís identity. Readings geared towards analyses of the visual and literary arts will provide students with a cultural and historical context useful for classroom discussion.