489.003
Special Topics in Art and Culture: Roman Imperial Architecture
TTh 2:30-4:00pm
2163 AH
3 Credit Lecture. Meets with CLARCH 426

This course provides an in-depth examination of one of the hallmarks of Roman culture - its extraordinary architectural tradition, represented by monuments ranging from intact buildings such as the Pantheon in Rome, to engineering marvels such as the Roman aqueducts of southern France, to the marble cities of North Africa. The course will examine the architecture of the Roman empire from the reign of Augustus at the turn of the millennium to the reign of Justinian in the mid-sixth century C.E. Special attention will be paid to the urban development of Rome as an imperial capital, and to the the evidence of provincial towns such as Ephesus in Turkey for the influence of Roman architecture on the indigenous traditions of the nations conquered by the Romans. The course will conclude with a consideration of the adaptation of Roman architecture to Christianity, exemplified by the great Justinianic churches of Constantinople and Ravenna. The slide-lectures and readings will present the major monuments and building types, as well as related subjects such as city-planning and urbanism, and Roman engineering and construction methods. D.1