HON 206 | The Arts of the Classical World and the Middle Ages

This course introduces selected monuments of the ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman artistic traditions as well as artworks of the Early Christian, Byzantine, and Islamic cultures. The course examines a wide range of material - architecture and monumental decoration, painting, sculpture, as well as works of minor arts - to understand the role art played in various societies of the ancient and medieval world. Works of art are examined with particular attention to their original function, context, and intended audience in order to explore how they expressed political, social, and religious meanings. The course introduces key terms and principal methods of art historical inquiry.