Open Yale Courses
HSAR 252: Roman Architecture
Mirrored from oyc.yale.edu · CC-BY-NC-SA-3.0 · Diana E. E. Kleiner Dunham Professor Emerita of History of Art and Classics
Mirrored from: oyc.yale.edu · Yale University · History of Art
Instructor: Diana E. E. Kleiner Dunham Professor Emerita of History of Art and Classics · License: CC-BY-NC-SA-3.0
About this course
This course is an introduction to the great buildings and engineering marvels of Rome and its empire, with an emphasis on urban planning and individual monuments and their decoration, including mural painting. While architectural developments in Rome, Pompeii, and Central Italy are highlighted, the course also provides a survey of sites and structures in what are now North Italy, Sicily, France, Spain, Germany, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, and North Africa. The lectures are illustrated with over 1,500 images, many from Professor Kleiner's personal collection.
Course details
Course Structure
This Yale College course, taught on campus twice per week for 75 minutes, was recorded for Open Yale Courses in Spring 2009.
Texts
Ward-Perkins, John B. Roman Imperial Architecture . New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994.
Claridge, Amanda. Rome: An Oxford Archaeological Guide, second edition, Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Requirements
The course requires two midterms and a term paper. The paper is approximately 8 pages of text, plus footnotes or endnotes, bibliography, and illustrations. Students should choose their topic from three options: traditional research paper, select a building/select a theme, and design a Roman city.
Grading
Midterm examination 1: 30% Midterm examination 2: 30% Final paper: 30% Participation in online forum: 10%
Syllabus
1 section · 16 lectures · links open at oyc.yale.edu.
Course sessions
- It Takes a City: The Founding of Rome and the Beginnings of Urbanism in Italy
- Technology and Revolution in Roman Architecture
- Civic Life Interrupted: Nightmare and Destiny on August 24, A.D. 79
- Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous: Houses and Villas at Pompeii
- Habitats at Herculaneum and Early Roman Interior Decoration
- Gilding the Lily: Painting Palaces and Villas in the First Century A.D.
- Exploring Special Subjects on Pompeian Walls
- From Brick to Marble: Augustus Assembles Rome
- Accessing Afterlife: Tombs of Roman Aristocrats, Freedmen, and Slaves
- The Creation of an Icon: The Colosseum and Contemporary Architecture in Rome
- The Prince and the Palace: Human Made Divine on the Palatine Hill
- Discovering the Roman Provinces and Designing a Roman City
- The Mother of All Forums: Civic Architecture in Rome under Trajan
- Bigger Is Better: The Baths of Caracalla and Other Second- and Third-Century Buildings in Rome
- Hometown Boy: Honoring an Emperor's Roots in Roman North Africa
- Baroque Extravaganzas: Rock Tombs, Fountains, and Sanctuaries in Jordan, Lebanon, and Libya