UM Roman Art and Architecture Augustus of Prima Porta

UM Roman Art and Architecture Augustus of Prima Porta

Overview: Throughout the course, we are investigating and analysing broad trends and themes in Roman art and architecture. In these assignments, you will be asked to critically analyse a specific example of art and architecture in relation to these trends and themes. Each assignment will focus on one specific example. Across the two assignments, you must choose one example from List A and one example from List B to analyse – it does not matter which list you choose from for either deadline (i.e. you can submit an analysis from List B for the first deadline): • • List A – Livia’s Garden Room; the Prima Porta Augustus; cubiculum frescoes from the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale; ‘Red Room’ frescoes from the Villa at Boscotrecase. List B – Ara Pacis; Trajan’s Column; the Arch of Titus; the Pantheon. Reference images for each of these examples will be posted in the ‘Critical Analysis Examples’ folder on Nexus. Aims: The aim of these assignments is to reconstruct the meaning, values, and functions inherent in your chosen piece of art/architecture. In order to do this, you will need to provide a detailed description of your chosen piece, and consider the ways in which it engages with and/or challenges broader artistic trends. Although you will need to engage with secondary scholarship, I want to hear YOUR voice – do not just summarize other people’s opinions, but construct your own argument and analysis. This position should be clearly laid out in a thesis statement! For guidance on thesis statements and essay outlines, see https://app.shoreline.edu/doldham/102/HTML/What%20is%20a%20Thesis.h tml / https://app.shoreline.edu/doldham/102/HTML/Sentence%20Outline.html Some points you may wish to consider when approaching your analysis (note – this is not an exhaustive list, but simply some suggestions for areas of exploration): • • • • • What do you see? Describe the piece in detail. Where was it located? Under what circumstances was it produced? Is the dating significant? Who could view the piece (i.e. was it public or private)? What are the political implications of the piece, if any? How does the piece engage in art historical trends? • • Research Guidance: Formatting : Is the piece significant outside of its original context (i.e. did it start a new trend, has it been copied or reimagined in creative ways, etc.)? Do the ancient Romans talk about the piece in their own literature? If so, what do they say, and how might their interpretation differ from our own? Although the library is physically closed, peer-reviewed scholarship is still readily available electronically through the library catalogue – you will need your UWinnipeg log in details to access these resources off campus. For a beginner’s guide to locating Classics resources, see the library research guide: https://libguides.uwinnipeg.ca/c.php?g=124916&p=817564 For peer-reviewed articles, my first recommendation would be to search the JStor database: https://libguides.uwinnipeg.ca/az.php?a=j A note on Wikipedia: I am not anti-Wikipedia and see it as a useful ‘starting point’ when considering a new research topic. However, you should NOT cite Wikipedia or use it as a ‘final’ piece of scholarship. Every Wikipedia article must include citations to secondary literature (found at the bottom of each page), and it is *these* sources that should form the basis of your research and citations, not the Wikipedia article itself. Each critical analysis should be a WORD document of 4-5 pages in length (not including title page and bibliography), double-spaced, and in 12-point font. Your bibliography/citations for each analysis must include a MINIMUM of FIVE pieces of secondary scholarship – out of these five, you are permitted to reference a maximum of two websites. You may use any of the main referencing systems (MLA, Chicago, APA) but you must be consistent in your use of a single system throughout. Ancient literary sources have a different and unique citation system. For a guide to citing ancient sources, see https://libguides.macewan.ca/c.php?g=493611&p=3417162 …