NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ART HISTORY I

The course belongs to the "Core educational activities" of the archaeological curriculum of the Bachelor's Degree Programme in "Conservation of Cultural Heritage and Performing Arts Management" and corresponds to the second part of the 12 CFU exam of "Near Eastern archaeology and art history".
It will present the students with an in-depth analysis of a specific theme or topic in the field of Near Eastern archaeology. Compared to the first part of the course, the object of study will be widened from Mesopotamia to the surrounding regions as well. The aim of the course is that students acquire, a.o. by reading scientific contributions in languages other than Italian, a knowledge of the subject exceeding a purely handbookish level, and that they become aware of the methods and processes through which archaeological data contribute to the reconstruction of a specific aspect of past civilisations and become familiar with the international terminology of a particular field of study. The object of this year's course will be the archaeology of Elam (SW Iran) from the end of the 5th to the 3rd millennium BC

At the end of the course students will have a thorough knowledge of the archaeology of Southwestern Iran from the late prehistory to thened of the 3rd millennium BC, a crucial period for the emergence of the earliest urban civilisations and the first writig systems, during which the region variously interacts with its Mesopotamian neighbours and at the same time develops, in somehow contradictiry ways, its own cultural identity.
Through the analysed case-study, they will become aware of the evolution, in the curse of time, of the aims and methods of archaeological research and of the processes which from the collection phase of archaeological data lead to historical reconstruction. They will have a good command of Italian and international terminology concerning the topics discussed during the course, and will be able to read and critically evaluate short studies, in Italian, French and English, on the subject.

NEAR EASTERN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ART HISTORY I
Besides this, there are no other pre-requirements for this course, although it is advisable to have a basic knowledge of methods and themes of archaeological research. This can be also acquired by following other archaeological disciplines at the same time as this one.
Students are advised to follow the contemporary course of "History of the Near East II", which deals with related topics.
Students interested in the civilisations of the Ancient Near East may also choose: History of the Ancient Near East; Egyptology; Phoenician-punic archaeology; Prehistory and protohistory of Eastern Mediterranean; Archaeology of the Islamic wolrd, Assyriology; Sumero-akkadian epigraphy, Semitic Philology, History of Religions I.

The course will deal with the archeology of Elam (South-western Iran) between the end of the 5th and the end of the 4th millennium BC. A short geographical introduction and a short review of the history of archeological research in the region will be followed by a presentation of the main archaeological sites, architectural monuments, and works of local art during the said periods. Special attention will be paid to the relations with the contemporary cultures of Mesopotamia and of Eastern Iran, as well as, in connection with the contemporary course of "History of the Near East II", to the origin and evolution of the earliest writing systems

Notes taken during the lessons and displayed PP presentations (downloadable from the Moodle platform)

Suggested readings:
Notes taken during the lessons and displayed PP presentations.

Suggested readings:

D. T. POTTS, The Archaeology of Elam. Formation and Transformation of an Ancient State, Cambridge 1999, pp. 1-127.
P. AMIET, L’age des échanges inter-iraniens, Paris 1986, pp. 1-170.
Voci : Susa (H. Pittman) and Malyan (W. M. Sumners) in E. Meyers, The Oxford Encyclopaedia of the Ancient Near East, Oxford 1997.
(P. AMIET, Elam, Paris 1966, pp. 1-249)
During the course, a list of articles will be provided, the reading of two of which is requested for the exam

Students who are unable to attend the lessons are invited to ask the instructor for a different program and bibliography.

The exam will be oral, and will consist of: 1) a discussion about some of the topics dealt with during the lessons and 2) the presentation, by the student, of one of the selected articles. The student may be asked to comment some of the slides shown during the course. The evaluation will take into account both the degree of comprehension and knowledge of the subject acquired by attending the lessons and through individual study, and the ability to present a topic in an articulated way and by making use of an appropriate terminology.
Erasmus students with insufficient knowlegdge of Italian language wil be offered the possibility to take the exam in English

Frontal lessons with display of Power Point presentations (downloadable from the Moodle Platform) + reading of selected texts
The lessons may be integrated by lectures on specific subjects by Italian or foreign experts and other activities (guided visits to museums and exhibitions, seminaries and exercises)

Italian

The course corresponds to the second part of the 12 CFU exam.
Students are strongly advised to attend the lessons (lectures by invited scholars and other activities included).
An alternative program can be agreed upon for those for whom this is impossible to attend the lessons

Ca’ Foscari applica la Legge Italiana (Legge 17/1999; Legge 170/2010) per i servizi di supporto e di accomodamento disponibili agli studenti con disabilità o con disturbi specifici dell’apprendimento. Se hai una disabilità motoria, visiva, dell’udito o altre disabilità (Legge 17/1999) o un disturbo specifico dell’apprendimento (Legge 170/2010) e richiedi supporto (assistenza in aula, ausili tecnologici per lo svolgimento di esami o esami individualizzati, materiale in formato accessibile, recupero appunti, tutorato specialistico a supporto dello studio, interpreti o altro) contatta l’ufficio Disabilità e DSA disabilita@unive.it.

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Cities, infrastructure and social capital" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development