Art History

ARIANNA CAMPIANI

The course will examine the artistic and architectural expressions of indigenous America in the period before the arrival of Europeans. It aims to provide students with basic knowledge of the history of pre-Columbian art and architecture in one or more areas of the American continent. Following a chronological and thematic approach, students will acquire historical and architectural skills that will allow them to relate artistic expressions to the built environment, when these are in association to urban contexts, and to understand and interpret the origin, use and meaning of objects according to their historical, political and ideological context and, also, based on their production and destination.

Following a chronological and thematic approach, students will acquire historical and architectural skills that will allow them to relate artistic expressions to the built environment, when these are in association to urban contexts, and to understand and interpret the origin, use and meaning of objects according to their historical, political and ideological context and, also, based on their production and destination.

There are no specific requierements, although knowledge of English and Spanish is recommended as some readings will be in the original language only.

Maya Art and Architecture
The course aims to analyze the architectural and artistic productions of the pre-Columbian Maya populations and to explore their extraordinary aesthetic and formal variety. Students will learn to recognize the qualities of built environment and the functions of their sculptural programs and the reasons of their variation over time. The chronological and thematic approach that details the political, social and religious characteristics of the ancient Maya will provide students with the tools to recognize and critically interpret the production and exchange of artistic objects and the importance of their materiality.
To this end, the course will consist of four modules:
1) Introduction to the Pre-Columbian Maya World, which will cover the historical, political, social, and geographical context of the ancient Maya, their worldview, and the methods available to us for interpreting their art and architecture;
2) Materials and Representation, which will explore the materials of Maya art and architecture, and the ways of representing and constructing space;
3) Reading Maya Art and Buildings, which will provide students with the tools to analyze Maya art and architecture;
4) Case Studies and Analysis, which will address the regions that make up the Maya area and their specificities.
5) Conclusion.

A book:
Miller, Mary Ellen, e Megan O’Neil. 2014. Maya Art and Architecture. 2nd ed. world of art. Thames & Hudson.

Journal articles and chapters that I will upload on moodle, some of which will be chosen from:

Chinchilla Mazariegos, Oswaldo. 2017. Art and Myth of the Ancient Maya. Yale University Press, New Haven and London.
Coe, Michael D, and Stephen Houston. 2015. The Maya. 9th ed. Thames & Hudson.
Houston, Stephen, and Takeshi Inomata. 2009. The Classic Maya. Cambridge World Archaeology No. Cambridge University Press, New York.
Hutson, Scott R., and Traci Ardren (editors). 2020. The Maya World. Routledge, London and New York.
O’Neil, Megan. 2022. The Maya. Lost Civilization. The Unviersity of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Chinchilla Mazariegos, Oswaldo. 2017. Art and Myth of the Ancient Maya. Yale University Press, New Haven and London.
Coe, Michael D, and Stephen Houston. 2015. The Maya. 9th ed. Thames & Hudson.
Houston, Stephen, and Takeshi Inomata. 2009. The Classic Maya. Cambridge World Archaeology No. Cambridge University Press, New York.
Hutson, Scott R., and Traci Ardren (editors). 2020. The Maya World. Routledge, London and New York.
O’Neil, Megan. 2022. The Maya. Lost Civilization. The Unviersity of Chicago Press, Chicago.

The course will incorporate various teaching strategies to achieve the learning objectives and to engage students. Classes will be taught in a classroom setting, with supplementary materials that will be read, viewed, discussed, and analyzed in class, facilitating knowledge acquisition and understanding. Collegues will be giving few lectures to explore some specific topics introduced by the professor.

In the last part of the course a flipped classroom model could be implemented as to foster interchange of analysis methods.

Attendance is strongly recommended.

During the course, students will be asked to participate in class and present the results of a short research, following the assigned readings. Additionally, at the end of the course they will present a topic of their choice in a poster format.
The final assessment will be based on an oral exam (minimum 18/30, maximum 30/30 with honors). Knowledge acquired during the lessons will be evaluated with questions on the literature and topics discussed in class (30%), the presentation of activities (30%), and class participation (40%).

Poster: In a PowerPoint slide, graphically present a case study, accompanied by an exposition and discussion.

Classroom presentation: In a short PowerPoint presentation you will have to address a topic that complements the case studies introduced by the instructor in a specific geographic area.

Oral exam questions: Students will be shown images of Maya art and architecture and will be asked to describe them and place them in context.

• Course presentation


• Introduction and main notions
  • Books: Joyce,
    
    Rosemary. 2021. Mesoamerica: From Culture Area to Networks of Communities of
    
    Practice. In Mesoamerican Archaeology: Theory and Practice, edited by
    
    Julia A. Hendon and Rosemary A. Joyce, pp. 1–42. 2nd ed. Blackwell, 1-32.


• Maya worldview and precolumbian society, tools for interpretaion
  • Books: Nielsen,
    
    Jesper, y Toke Sellner Reunert. 2009. “Dante’s Heritage: Questioning the
    
    Multi-Layered Model of the Mesoamerican Universe”. Antiquity 83 (320):
    
    399–413; Coe,
    
    Michael D., y Stephen Houston. 2015. The Maya. 9th ed. Thames & Hudson, Chpt 1


• The Preclassic Mesoamerican period of the Maya area
  • Books: nomata, Takeshi. 2025. “The emergence of a large
    
    community at Aguada Fénix and its legacy in southeastern Mesoamerica”. En Understanding
    
    Early Large-Scale Collectives: A Global Perspective, a cura di Justin
    
    Jennings


• The Classic and Postclassic Mesoamerican periods of the Maya area


• Documentary: Cracking the Maya code
  • Books: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRehyQQq_Fw&t=381s


• Materials of Maya Art and Architecture
  • Books: Helmke, Christophe. 2017. “A Carved Speleothem
    
    Monument at Yaxchilan, Mexico”. The PARI Journal 17 (4): 16–43; O’Neil, Megan. 2020. “Animating Materials. The
    
    Sculpted Forms of the Ancient Maya World”. En The Maya World, a cura di Scott R. Hutson y Traci Ardren


• Architecture: geography, constituing elements, sculptures, chronology


• The Petén region


• The Usumacinta region


• The maya city- case study: Palenque


• Scultpure integrated to architecture


• Maya Art: art history and iconography


• Ceramic and vessels


• Rio Bec, Chenes and Copan


• Chichen Itza and the Puuc region


• Human body, gestures, physiognomy


• Mural paintings and maya codex


• Est of the Maya Area


• Review of main topics & Poster session


• Poster Session