Syllabus ~ IDH 3005 & 3006,
Section No.1
Beauty, Beliefs & Power
in the Mediterranean 2008/09
Prof. John S. Kneski, Associate Dean & Senior Fellow
Director, Student Research & Artistic Initiatives Program
Director, Honors College Italy Program
Lecturer, The School of Architecture
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Beauty & Power in
the Mediterranean
Artifacts from the Wolfsonian - FIU Collection
Accepted to The
Library of Congress &
The 2007 National Collegiate Honors Council Conference
Sixteen
research projects that examine the historic connection between
aesthetics, values & authority in Mediterranean cultural
history using selected artifacts from The Wolfsonian Museum,
Miami Beach, Florida (AAM/ICOM). Accepted for presentation
at the 2007 National Collegiate Honors Council conference
in Denver. ISBN: 0-9753452-0-7. Library
of Congress Card Number: 2007927088. LC Classification:
N6758.5.M63 K54 2007, DC: 701.18 -45. Publication date:
April 2007. |
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This course examines the aesthetic expressions
of authority and values throughout history in Mediterranean culture.
The class combines slide lectures, formal and vernacular works
of literature, discussions, film, and field trips as vehicles
for examining the 21 major topics of the course.
Course Overview:
This course was designed to prepare students for the Honors College
Italy Program, but is open to those who have an interest in learning
more about the Mediterranean also. The course is integrated with
a website which provides the student with comprehensive companion
informational and organizational materials for the course.
A broad range of themes are used to examine historic and current
topics relevant to the themes of the third year in general. The
first semester concentrates on pre-modern era Mediterranean cultures
and their effect on the Italic peninsula. This semester terminates
in an individual pre-modern research project.
The second semester focuses on post-Renaissance aspects of Italian
culture and their effect on the Mediterranean in general.
This semester terminates in an individual project that includes
a creative exercise accompanied by analytical writing. Readings,
dramatic and documentary films, local field trips, slide lectures,
research, and group presentations are all components of this course.
This is not a passive course - the student must be willing to
be an active participant in the course activities and discussions.
Instructor
Contact Information:
Prof. John S. Kneski
Associate Dean &
Senior Fellow, The Honors College
Office Location: DM-238
Phone: 305-348-6360 / 305-348-4100
Office Hours: T-TR 10:00 - 12:00 (please call
first if you are coming from off campus)
...............................All
students enrolled in this class are required to schedule at least
one office visit before November 1st.
Major Topics to be Covered:
• Relational Study
of the Paradigms Aesthetics, Values and Authority
• Mediterranean Geography
• The Oral Tradition & Ancient Greek Literature
• Ancient Greek Democracy and the Foundation of Western
Civilization
• The Classical Ideal as the Philosophical Connection Between
Athens and Rome
• Epistolary Studies
of Roman Society
• 1st century Roman Government: SPQR vs. Oligarchy, Aristocracy,
and Deification
• Byzantium as Torch Bearer or Western Civilization
• Literature
at the Time of the Plague as an Indicator of Secular
Values
• The Migration of
Arab Learning to Europe in the 12th Century
• Italic Art through
the Ages: Abstraction and Realism
• Political Power and Theory in Renaissance Tuscany
• Portrayal of The Great Artists of the Renaissance
in Literature
• Foreign Interpretations of the Italian Renaissance
at the time of Shakespeare
• The Mediterranean Color Palette in Art and Architecture
• Modern Arab Literature of the Mediterranean
• Morocco as a Microcosm of the Arab Mediterranean
• 20th Century Italian Cinema
• Ecology of the Mediterranean Basin
• Decorative and Propaganda Arts of the Modern Mediterranean
Course Objectives &
Learning Outcomes:
The objective of this course is to prepare
students for study abroad in Italy and to impart an awareness
of the historic relationship between the paradigms "aesthetics,
values, and authority" in the Mediterranean. The anticipated
learning outcomes for this course are:
• a demonstrable awareness of the
20 major topics of the course
• the ability to discuss with specific examples the historic
relationship between aesthetics, values, and authority in the
Mediterranean
• the ability to produce a publishable research paper suitable
for presentation at a major conference
• the ability to produce a piece of abstract art suitable
for presentation in a formal exhibition
Required Course Material
(student is responsible for the following material,
both for course discussion and quizzes according to the course schedule)
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Fall
Semester ~ IDH 3005
Required
Reading :
Sprezzatura - (sections),
by Peter D'Epiro
The Republic by Plato, translated by Tom Griffith
The Letters of Pliny
the Younger, translated by Betty Radice
Vitruvius' Treatise on
Architecture, translated by Morris H. Morgan
The Divine Comedy, by Dante Alighieri, translated by
John Ciardi
Required Viewing:
Mediterranean
on the Rocks, by Scientific American
Greece: Crucible
of Civilization, PBS
The Roman Empire
in the 1st Century, PBS
James Burke: The Day the Universe Changed
Wendy Beckett:
The Story of Painting: Early Art
Field Trip:
The Wolfsonian Museum
Florida International
University, Miami Beach |
Spring
Semester ~ IDH 3006
Required Reading :
The
Decameron (selections), by Boccaccio
Sprezzatura - (sections), by Peter D'Epiro
The
Lives of the Artists, by Giorgio Vasari
The Prophet,
by Kahlil Gibran
The Stranger, by Albert Camus
Required Viewing:
Artemisia,
by Agnès Merlet
The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance, PBS
Wendy Beckett:
The Story of Painting: The Renaissance
Caro Diario (selection) , by Nani Moretti
Cinema Paradiso, by Giuseppe Tornatore
Field
Trip:
The Kress Collection
Lowe Art Museum,
Coral Gables
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