ARTH 466
Hellenistic Art and the Beginning of Art History Spring 2015
Division I
Cross-listed
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

The Hellenistic period begins with Alexander the Great’s extension of the borders of the Greek world from the central Mediterranean to the banks of the Indus River. Kingdoms replaced city-states as important centers of power. Increased trade and movement of individuals between Greece, Egypt and the Near and Middle East, encouraged a cross-cultural examination of religion, philosophy, literature and art. The new cosmopolitan attitude brought about not only a revolution in sculptural ideals and forms but in the approach towards art in general. Museums and libraries are established for the first time, and the concept of collecting art takes hold. We see a historical self-consciousness, and a self-referential quality in sculpture and painting as well as a new interest in theatricality and the diversity of human nature and experience. This course will explore Hellenistic sculpture and painting through the close study of individual works of art of the fourth through first centuries B.C.E., as well as the broader philosophical, religious, literary and political forces that encouraged its innovations. Reading material includes ancient literature in translation, recent surveys of Hellenistic sculpture, and recent critical essays.
The Class: Format: seminar
Limit: 14
Expected: 14
Class#: 3066
Grading: OPG
Requirements/Evaluation: students are responsible for participation in class discussion, a short midterm paper, and two short reports which will form the basis for a term paper, 18-20 pages in length, due at the end of the semester
Extra Info: a field trip to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is likely
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: graduate students, Art majors, and students of any major interested in art and thought in the ancient Mediterranean world (with permission of instructor)
Distributions: Division I
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
ARTH 512 Division I ARTH 466 Division I
Attributes: ARTH pre-1400 Courses
ARTH pre-1800 Courses

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