5. Arts units of study

From an interdisciplinary standpoint, this unit introduces students to the contradictory richness of 'Americanness' and prepares them for the Major in American Studies. Divided into four historically grounded modules (the Constitution; slavery; American 'modernity'; and the Cold War), the unit will approach each from a variety of angles: the historiographical, the literary, the cultural, and where relevant the cinematic. It will open lines of interrelation between historical and imaginary forms in the construction and ongoing redefinition of the United States.

Delphic oracles, epic stories of heroes, graceful temples, tales of lust and tyranny - the Greek world has much to delight and surprise. This unit of study will introduce you to the study of ancient Greek history and culture and provides a springboard for further studies in history, archaeology and literature. It is informed by a cross-disciplinary approach that combines a variety of perspectives to achieve a holistic view of the ancient world.

From Spain to Turkey, from Britain to Africa, ancient Rome has left physical and cultural reminders of its role as ancient superpower. This unit of study will introduce you to the city of Rome itself, its turbulent history, its empire and its vibrant culture. It will provide a springboard for further studies in history, archaeology and literature. It is informed by a cross-disciplinary approach that combines a variety of perspectives to achieve a holistic view of the ancient world.

Stories about Greek and Roman gods, heroes, and monsters occupy an important place in Western culture. Greco-Roman mythology is the fount of inspiration for the masterpieces of art, music, and literature. This unit examines these enduring ancient narratives, symbols, and mythical ideas in their historical, cultural and religious context. Learn about the manifold meanings of myth, its transformations and transgressions, its uses and abuses from antiquity to the present day.

This unit studies the rise and working of democracy in ancient Greece, examining Athens from the time of Solon through the fifth century and into the fourth century B.C. We shall look at the history of Athens and her relation to other cities, and evaluate the evidence of historians and of inscriptions. Athenian political institutions and social history, including the role of the theatre, looking at both tragedy and comedy, the role of other festivals and the law and the lives of the elite and the "forgotten people", such as women and slaves, will be considered.

'For the Romans, the extent of the City is the world'. So wrote Ovid late in the lifetime of Augustus. But Rome was not always a world city. It had to become one. The century in which the city established itself as the leading urban centre of the Mediterranean was one marked by civil wars and social upheaval. We focus in this unit on the lives and careers of key figures, on contemporary works of literature and above all on the physical transformation of Rome into a world capital.

This is the story of the transformation from the Roman to the medieval European world c.AD150-800, told mainly through the works and artefacts of those who lived the transformation. We shall focus on three themes: authority structures, identities and frontiers; and shall test two propositions: that the Roman underworld and the barbarian outerworld turned the old world upside down in the formation of medieval culture and that this world underwent deep structural change in the third and seventh centuries AD.

What kind of society produced the Roman Republic? How did its political institutions develop and to what extent were they unique? How did they stand up to the pressures of external threat, social change, internal dissention and the impact of empire? We will study the partnership of senate and people from 287 to 88BC and ask the Romans whether a society always gets the politicians it deserves.

The nature, purpose and use of history is constantly being rethought. We begin with the historian buffeted by the winds of modern life, theory and the forces of history. The aim is to familiarise you with major theories and theorists underpinning different approaches to history through the ages down to present times.

This seminar offers an introduction to advanced research design and techniques in Roman history and culture, including library resources and technology. You will undertake a detailed study of a topic relevant to Roman studies selected by your teacher. Your research paper will treat an aspect of that topic chosen by you with advice from your teacher and your class.

Anthropology explores and explains cultural difference while affirming the unity of humankind. It provides accounts of cultural specificity that illuminate the world today. Lectures will address some examples of cultural difference from the present and the past. These examples will introduce modern Anthropology, the method of ethnography, and its related forms of social and cultural analysis.

Anthropology's ethnographic method, long term embedded-ness within a specific culture, allows for a particularly intimate understanding of people's experiences of the social worlds they inhabit. This course shows the importance of this experiential intimacy for understanding some of the key issues associated with globalisation: the culturally diverse adaptations of global capitalism, the transnational communities emanating from global population movements, the transformations of colonial and post-colonial cultures, the rise of global movements and the corresponding transformation of Western nationalism.

The unit will focus on the lowland populations of Burma, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia with the view of developing understanding of their cultures and societies.

This unit examines the societies and cultural practices of Australian Aboriginal peoples in two different areas of Australia, the central/western Australia desert and the riverine areas of central/western New South Wales. These regions are distinctive - culturally, ecologically and historically - yet share commonalities in their practices of kin-relatedness and its 'writing' onto country, and their experiences of incorporation into the nation-state. The journeys to be explored are spatial and historical to understand how mobility and mutability characterise Aboriginal practice.

This is a unit on psychoanalytic anthropology. With the focus on the unconscious dimension of human cultural existence the unit critically examines the systematic topical, theoretical, ethnographic and historical aspects of this unique field of anthropological inquiry. All psychoanalytic conceptual frameworks are elucidated and assessed through ethno-psychoanalytic work done in different cultural life-worlds. Firmly grounded in detailed ethnographic evidence the unit provides a comprehensive phenomenological-existential validation of the discipline and its contribution to both anthropology and psychoanalysis.

This unit explores the social and cultural dimensions of gender and sexuality in non-western societies. The main focus is the body in two interrelated senses. Firstly, how the body is culturally constructed by giving aspects of gender and sexuality meanings that do not simply reflect biology. Secondly, how bodies are socially constructed, for example through ritual. The relations of the dimensions of the body to the articulation of power and social change are also considered.

Development is the tension between new forms of wealth, human wants and structures of inequality generated by capital, the attempts through state and international political and legal systems to control that process and the specificity of the local social systems they seek to 'develop'. This unit compares the variety of local forms of this process in colonial, post-colonial, third- and fourth world settings. Key themes include: resource politics, religion, the politics of the family, ethnicity, corruption and contemporary violence.

Medical anthropology is a comparative and ethnographic response to the global influence of biomedicine within diverse cultural worlds. This unit will examine major theoretical approaches, their respective critiques, and the methods that underpin them. Concepts such as 'health/illness', 'disease', 'well-being', life-death', and 'body/mind' will be located in a variety of cultural contexts and their implications for different approaches to diagnosis and treatment considered. The unit will include culturally located case studies of major contemporary health concerns such as AIDS.

This unit of study examines human migration and settlement from an anthropological perspective. It is framed by three general and connecting themes: (a) anthropology's turn from bounded cultures to the study of movement and contested identities; (b) the role of migration in transnational relations with a focus on middle and late modernity; and (c) the relation between the growth of migration populations and race relations, especially as this has unfolded in Australia.

A comparative study of race and ethnic group relations. The unit will consider the history of ideas of 'race' and practices of racialising and their relationship to ethnicity. It will draw on studies from various areas including North America, the Caribbean, Japan and Australia.

Economic anthropology teaches that there are different kinds of economy, grounded in different forms of value (gift, commodity) and on different rationalities (kinship, chiefly, market). The nature of these differences is explored through ethnographic studies, as are the conflicts that arise from their articulation within a global system. Characterisations of economic practice are as corrupt, irrational, informal, black, profit as the work of the devil, money as bitter are treated as signs of such systemic conflict.

This honours preparation unit will assist students to define their objectives in anthropology and anticipate their honours year through: 1) exploring key concepts of anthropological analysis and critique, 2) increasing their knowledge of the ethnographic method and its contemporary challenges, 3) developing library research skills and experience in formulating a research project.

Ethnography is grounded on the 'participant observation' of social practice and the interpretation of values and experience in particular social contexts. It makes the strange familiar, and the familiar strange. This unit will focus on the relationship between research methods and design and the development of regionally and thematically specific debates in anthropology. Regions include: Africa, Australia, South Asia, and Oceania. Thematic examples include: ritual in economics; forms of urban space; culture of race; theories of procreation.

This unit aims to teach Arabic as a living language. It is meant for students with no previous learning experience of the language. The unit is designed to introduce and build up basic language skills: listening and speaking, reading and writing, using modern standard and educated every-day Arabic. Students will learn basic vocabulary, language structures, morphology and syntax of Arabic in context, through lively dialogues, realistic conversational situations, story lines, exercises and drills, rather than formal grammar. On completion of this unit, students progress to ARBC1612 in second semester.

This unit aims to strengthen students' listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in living Arabic. Emphasis will be on building up communicative ability as well as extending the vocabulary and language structures through realistic dialogues and story lines in modern standard and educated every-day Arabic. Morphology and syntax of Arabic are gradually introduced in context through a structured method of progression, using realistic patterns, exercises and drills, rather than formal grammar. On completion of this unit, students progress to ARBC2613.

This unit aims to extend students' language skills in Arabic and enable them to appreciate Arabic literary texts. Students will be able to build up their communicative ability and extend their knowledge of modern Arabic vocabulary and structures, through realistic dialogues and class activity, including role-playing. They will be introduced to modern Arabic literature through reading and discussing selected texts by prominent authors, in their societal context. On completion of this unit, students progress to ARBC2614.

This unit aims at further strengthening students' communicative skills in Arabic, both aural/oral and written, as well as building up their ability to read, appreciate and discuss samples of Arabic literature by prominent authors in their societal context. Students will be able to extend their knowledge of Arabic vocabulary and structures through realistic dialogues, role-playing and the use of a range of recorded material in Arabic. On completion of this unit, students progress to ARBC3615.

This unit aims to strengthen practical language skills, including writing and translation, to enrich the student's understanding of Arabic literature and culture, develop their analytical and critical skills through reading of a variety of Arabic texts by writers from different Arab countries, focusing on themes of modernity and identity as reflected in modern Arabic essays on political, social and cultural issues and in contemporary Arabic literature in general.

This unit aims to strengthen practical language skills in Arabic, building on the approach followed in semester 1, including writing and translation skills to enrich students' understanding of Arabic literature and culture, and to develop their analytical and critical skills through reading of modern Arabic writers from various Arab countries.

This unit aims to consolidate students' communicative skills, using realistic dialogues in modern standard and educated every-day Arabic, and samples of the Arabic press and electronic media. It equally aims to extend students' knowledge and appreciation of Arabic literature and culture through reading and discussion of representative texts by major Arabic authors in their societal context, with examples from different genres. On completion of this unit, students progress to ARBC3616.

This unit aims to consolidate the students' competence in Arabic through dialogues in modern standard and educated every-day Arabic, reading and listening to material from the contemporary Arabic media, as well as writing and translation tasks relevant to real life situations. This unit equally aims to extend the students' knowledge and appreciation of Arabic literature and culture through reading and discussion of further representative texts by major Arabic authors in their societal context, with examples from different genres.

This unit aims to develop written fluency in Arabic and English through translation methodology and skills. The course is designed to further develop students' advanced writing, reading and interpreting skills. Practical tasks will include translation from Arabic into English and vice versa, using a wide range of texts, including creative literature, the press, business and diplomatic correspondence and basic scientific, technical and literary documents.

This unit aims to strengthen advanced practical language skills in Arabic, including writing and communication, with focus on living Arabic for media studies to enrich the students' understanding of Arabic media and culture and to develop their practical and critical skills through dealing with a range of Arabic media.

This unit aims to further develop written fluency in Arabic and English through translation methodology and skills. The unit is designed to further strengthen students' advanced writing, reading, translation and interpreting ability. Practical tasks will include translation from Arabic into English and vice versa, using realistic contexts and a wide range of texts, including creative literature, the press, business and diplomatic correspondence and basic scientific, technical and literary documents.

This unit aims to strengthen advanced practical language skills in Arabic, including writing, translation and communication, with focus on living Arabic for media studies to enrich the students' understanding of Arabic media and culture and to develop their practical and critical skills through dealing with a range of material related to the Arabic media, both written and electronic.

This unit provides an introduction to the study of the Arab world, Islam and the Middle East. It focuses on Arab and Islamic society and culture in the Middle East. Main themes include: Geographical setting and historical orientations; environment and society, the Arabs and the world of late antiquity; the importance of Arab trade and seafaring; the rise of Islam: the Prophet Muhammad and the Qur'an, Pillars of Islam and Community, the early Arab Islamic Caliphate; religion and politics in the Islamic tradition, Islamic law and society, aspects of Middle Eastern socio-economic and cultural life in the age of the Caliphate as a background to the early modern Middle East up to Ottoman times. On completion of this unit, students proceed to ARIS1672 in Semester 2.

This unit focuses on Arab and Islamic Learning, Spirituality and Art. Themes include: The scope of classical Arabic learning: Qur'anic studies and Prophetic traditions, the Hellenistic legacy in Arabic learning, Islamic philosophy and sciences, geographical writings and historiography, issues in Islamic theology, role of scholars, the concept of knowledge; contribution of Arabic-speaking Christian scholars to classical Arab intellectual life; Islamic asceticism, mysticism and the Sufi orders; Arab and Islamic aesthetics: religious and secular art, architectural design and decoration, the role of calligraphy, geometry and arabesque. On completion of the above two units, students should proceed to ARIS2673 and ARIS2674 in the year 2009, and to ARIS3675 and ARIS3676 in the year 2010.

This unit focuses on the dynamics of society and politics in the modern Middle East, including the Arab world, Iran and Turkey. It investigates issues of diversity, commonality, continuity and change, Ottoman legacy and European colonial impact, traditional and modern elites, the role of oil, regional conflicts, Arab regional system and responses to globalisation, US policies and Western interests, dynamics of state, society and religion, women's rights, civil society and democratisation in the Middle East.

This unit investigates how issues are debated in the contemporary Arab world, focusing on questions of pan-Arabism, the nation-state, regionalism and traditional loyalities, the Arabic language and cultural identity, history and attitudes to the past, 'authenticity', modernity, westernisation, attitudes to the West and the rest of the world, debates on secularism, 'neo-patriarchy', peace, progress, freedom, absenting and assertion of women's role, human rights, democracy, highlighting the role of intellectuals, the media and dynamics of public space in Arab countries.

This unit, which is a prerequisite for intending honours students, will provide students with a grounding in approaches, research tools and critical methodologies in various aspects of Arabic, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies today and familiarise them with a range of available resources to support research in this field. It will enable students to discuss issues with established researchers and to carry out practical exercises aimed at developing their critical and analytical skills and their ability to embark on their own individual research projects under supervision in specific areas of Arab, Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies.

Human history has been punctuated by the rise and decline of numerous major civilisations all across the globe. The aim of this unit is to introduce students to some of the most impressive discoveries made by archaeologists during the past 150 years, and to the remarkable achievements of the great civilisations of the past, including the Inca, Aztec and Maya in the New World, and the Sumerians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Harappans (India/Pakistan) and Shang Chinese in the Old World. This unit will provide a comprehensive overview of humanity's greatest architectural, technological and artistic achievements in the distant past.

Archaeology is a dynamic world-wide discipline which draws on both the sciences and humanities to interpret material remains of the human past. This unit introduces key aspects of archaeological method and theory and explores links between archaeological practice and heritage issues of wide public interest based on archaeological case studies. It provides an essential introduction for senior units of study in Archaeology and will also interest anyone with a more general interest in this fascinating and topical field of study.

This unit is an essential introduction to the basic principles and skills involved in archaeological fieldwork. A special focus is on the practical aspects of archaeological research design, including sampling and survey strategies. The unit includes lectures and on-campus training in core survey techniques, including site descriptions and field-plans, tape and compass site recording and surveys using dumpy-level. The ethical and legal aspects of archaeological field investigations will also be considered.

Beneath the surface of the large, vibrant city we call Sydney lie many remains of our Indigenous and colonial past. The unit provides an introduction to ways that archaeology, in conjunction with documentary and other evidence, can be used to provide new interpretations of Sydney's hidden past. Histories of the Sydney region revealed through archaeological research are placed in the broader context of the history and archaeology of European and British colonial expansion after AD1500.

The Levant formed a physical and cultural bridge between the ancient centres of civilisation in Egypt and Mesopotamia. It was also a land of farmers, traders and craftsmen who flourished on supplying their resource-poor neighbours. The unit of study examines the rich archaeological record of these fascinating lands from the first farming villages to the kingdoms of the Iron Age.

An introduction to major research questions and issues in Australian Aboriginal archaeology. The unit examines archaeological evidence for over 40,000 years of Australia's pre-colonial Indigenous history and for interactions between Aboriginal peoples and outsiders from Indonesia, Britain and elsewhere over the last 300 years or so of Australia's colonial history. Case studies will be used to discuss issues of professional ethics and Indigenous community involvement in Australian archaeology.

Every part of life today is touched by digital methods, not least Archaeology and other historical disciplines. This course reviews the ways in which digital methods and global connectivity are changing the practice of historical disciplines. Practical sessions will give students the opportunity to develop skills in basic data management (recording systems, bibliographies, databases), creating and manipulating images (digital photographs, maps and diagrams) and dissemination on the web (web sites, blogs, wikis and social systems).

The archaeology of Greek urban settlement encompasses the range from early Iron Age villages through the complex planned cities of the Hellenistic and Roman eras. Such themes as house design and interior, evidence for the religious life of the polis, streets, evolution of public architecture, and the extent to which social structure can be deduced from archaeological remains, are addressed.

Athenian art and architecture are examined within their topographical and socio-political context. The chronological focus of study is the Archaic and Classical periods, a time of great and dynamic cultural and socio-political change. Lectures are complemented by regular "hands-on" tutorials in the Nicholson Museum.

The Etruscans were one of the superpowers of the Archaic Mediterranean, but the reconstruction of their civilization falls mainly to Archaeology, since so little Etruscan literature survives. This Unit will begin by surveying Etruscan civilisation, concentrating on social, economic, political and artistic developments. Similar themes will be pursued for the Romans, but the scale of the enquiry will increase vastly as the Romans take control of Italy, the Mediterranean, and lands far beyond.

Southeast Asia is an expansive region with a wide and varying prehistory and a dynamic historic period. This introduction to the archaeology of east and southeast Asia covers the period from the Holocene to the rise of chiefdoms. This unit explores the ancient cultures of Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam as well as Burma and Laos. Chinese archaeology from the earliest times is also covered up to the Qin dynasty. Particular attention is paid to the beginnings of agriculture in the region.

This unit of study is designed to prepare students to conduct archaeological research at Honours level and to assist with the preparation of long essays and theses. An introduction to key elements of archaeological theory, research design and the archaeological research process with particular focus on the role of literature review and the preparation, organisation and presentation of archaeological research.

Burials form a major component of the archaeological remains of the Classical world. Their potential for the study of social change is enormous. This unit will progress from the basics of death, burial and the excavation of funerary remains to the ethnographic and theoretical bases of the study of ancient burial remains. Case-studies will examine how the study of burials provides information on social status, gender, kinship, religion and demography in the Classical world.

This unit will examine the archaeology and early history of Mesopotamia, foccussing on: climate and the evolution of landforms; evidence for early settlement; subsistence and natural resources; production; kinship; religion; mortuary practices; writing; and contact with adjacent peoples, particularly concentrating on Iran, the Gulf, and the Indus Valley.

An advanced seminar for students who wish to develop their research, analytical, writing and presentation skills by investigating a body of material from selected excavations in tne Near East. Specific topics will vary from year to year with an emphasis on ancient technology, iconography, chronology and spatial distribution.

This unit examines the structure and properties of archaeological materials, with an emphasis on the methodology and approaches to scientific analysis. A range of analytical techniques, including spectroscopic and electron microscopy methods, is introduced. The accent is on archaeological applications, and assessment is by assignment and practical sessions.

A global introduction to the processes and issues involved in the major transformation of human settlement behaviour since the end of the last glacial phase. Essay and project topics are arranged on an individual basis in consultation with the coordinator to suit the interests of students. Topics may be chosen on a worldwide basis. This unit of study can be used to conduct a detailed study of one region or to gain experience of a diversity of regions and topics.

This unit introduces students to the methods and theory behind the analysis and interpretation of flaked stone technology. Students will develop skills in the identification, classification and recording of stone artefacts which are valuable in consultancy and research archaeology worldwide. Topics will include the origin and development of stone technology in world prehistory, the reductive nature of artefact manufacture, identifying artefact attributes, implement typology and theoretical links between artefacts and human behaviour.

ARHT1001 and ARHT1002 offer an introduction to the study of art history and theory as it is taught at the Senior and Honours levels in the Department. The subject matter covers a wide range of art practices and media, film, design and costume, and includes the examination of art from different cultures. In each semester unit, historical analysis will be combined with discussions of the different methodologies and approaches to the interpretation and study of these visual materials. Art and Experience: the European Tradition will focus on the history of art and architecture in Western Europe from classical antiquity to the early modern period. A key focus will be on recognising the importance of the social, cultural, political and religious purpose an object or building was designed to serve, and the range of meanings the work was intended to embody - and how these change across time.

This unit of study will focus upon the art and visual culture of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, examining this historical period in relation to the thematic of the modern. Visual material studied will include painting, film, architecture and costume. As with ARHT1001, historical analysis will be combined with discussions of the different methodologies and approaches to the interpretation and study of these visual materials.

Students enrolled at Sydney University who wish to take the equivalent of a 6 credit-point Junior unit of study in Art History and Theory at an approved overseas university should enrol in this unit. Such students must seek approval for their proposed course of study from the Director of Undergraduate Studies.

This unit will examine some of the major theoretical influences on recent approaches to the study of art and film. We will explore and assess the impact of some recent key ideas and theories through a number of case studies from different historical periods. While the unit will be situating recent approaches to art and film within the broader perspective of theoretical developments within the humanities in general, the focus will be on how these new ideas relate to the activity of visual analysis and interpretation that is specific to art and film.

This unit of study considers the place of the artist and the architect in European courts during the seventeenth century. The focus will be on the image of the ruler and the princely palace as a political and social symbol. Patterns of patronage and issues of artistic independence will be investigated through examples of major commissions in painting, sculpture and architecture. Tutorials will involve a more careful examination of theoretical approaches to the expression of power, wealth and glory in visual form.

The Unit of Study will explore a range of alternative approaches to some of the most famous works of art in the Western tradition, including works by Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Titian. Topics to be investigated include: problems of definition in High Renaissance and Mannerist art; Rome under Julius II and the creation of an imperial capital; Venetian visual poesie; art and dynastic display in Medicean Florence; civic ritual and public space; eroticism and mythology at princely courts; portraiture and gender.

This unit of study examines contemporary international art and craft. Focus is on art materials, technologies and processes, along with recurrent themes and issues raised in work from selected regions. The course is organised thematically, and its international frame is not centred on Europe and the U.S. The course is organised thematically, and its international frame is not centred on Europe and the U.S. An important component of the unit is the analysis of contemporary art writing and curatorial practice. Tutorials will include visits to significant exhibitions including the Biennale of Sydney. Students are encouraged to work with contemporary museum holdings.

This course studies the efflorescence of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, which makes up over half of today's Australian art market. While providing a grounding in major movements like Papunya Tula (from 1971) and bark painting in Arnhem Land, the focus will be on critical and theoretical issues affecting art practice today: questions of appropriation and copyright, the relationship of art to native title and reconciliation, the market for Indigenous art (from prestigious auctions to tourist shops), the politics of curatorial practice, the changing status of women artists, the Indigenous use and re-use of photography, and the relevance of postmodern and postcolonial theories in reading urban art. Key figures treated will include Tracy Moffatt, Gordon Bennett, Rover Thomas and Emily Kngwarreye. Certain classes will be conducted at the Art Gallery of New South Wales or the Museum of Contemporary Art. Lecturers will include prominent Indigenous curators and artists.

This course challenges the conventional view that Australian art is a pale copy of a European paradigm, instead arguing that Australia has a robust and idiomatic visual culture of its own. Through the examination of a wide variety of images (including popular prints, cartoons, tableaux vivants, theatrical scenery and public spectacle) this course will demonstrate how, from first European contact, appropriation and parody - whether conscious