Archaeology

The course introduces students to the hieroglyphic script and familiarizes them with a basic working vocabulary of Ancient Egyptian language. It focuses on classical Middle Egyptian which remained in use from ca. 2000 BCE through to the Roman period. The course provides training in the fundamentals of Middle Egyptian grammar, the mechanics of Egyptological transliteration, and the translation of monumental inscriptions and simple texts. The archaeological context of inscriptions is considered where appropriate.

The course provides students with a thorough grounding in the archaeology of the countries where Islam was the dominant religion between 900-1400 (including Western, Central, and Southern Asia, North Africa, parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of southern Europe), introduces students to the most important current research questions and main interpretative paradigms in Islamic archaeology, including the impact of multiple conquests (e.g. Crusades, Mongol Conquest), epidemic disease (e.g. Black Death) and climatic pressures on medieval societies, as well as key themes such as state formation, urbanism, technological innovation, global exchange. Students also consider the nature and interpretation of different sources (archaeological, visual, textual) in approaching the late Islamic world and develop critical faculties in the written evaluation of current research (problems, method and theory, quality of evidence).

The course examines the historical importance of maritime trade and how understanding the water, winds, and currents has helped societies flourish. This course explores Asian trade history through the East China Sea, South China Sea, Bay of Bengal, and Arabian Sea and includes a survey of maritime tools as well as the importance of port cities. The course is broken up into three parts: humanism-geographical condition of each sea area in Asia (space), total chronological change (time), and long distance travelers/peoples story (humankind).

With an emphasis on Italy, this course focuses on the looting, destruction, and reselling of antiquities, from classical antiquity to today. Together students consider issues such as what constitutes an art/cultural heritage crime, how ideas of value (both real and symbolic) have emerged historically and how have they changed over time, what constitutes "ownership" in the eyes of different entities, and how this has changed over the past fifty years, resulting in the current difficult and controversial issue of the repatriation of cultural artifacts which have crossed international borders. Themes considered include the history of collecting, illegal excavation and the illicit trade in antiquities, the role of auction houses, the Church, museums and galleries, ownership and patrimony issues, international laws and agreements, recovery and repatriation, and ongoing problems with the protection and conservation of antiquities. The course concludes with a review of cultural heritage laws and the current international situation, as well as a discussion identifying challenges and providing suggestions for regulating the market of antiquities in the future. The course includes visits to relevant sites and museums in and around Rome and includes the close investigation of actual case studies throughout.