ARCHAEOLOGY, HISTORY OF ART AND TOPOGRAPHY FROM EARLY MIDDLE AGES TO MODERN AGE
- Overview
- Assessment methods
- Learning objectives
- Contents
- Bibliography
- Delivery method
- Teaching methods
- Contacts/Info
General knowledge of Euro-Mediterranean geography and of Euro-Mediterranean history of the centuries mentioned above.
Final examination: oral test consisting in three questions, on general topics on the total chronological period considered (e.g. Brunelleschi, the Rome of pope Paul III; he origin of Rococo). The score is expressed with a 30-point scale that can be divided into failing (0 to 17) and passing (18 to 30 cum laude) grades. The final mark is based on a general assessment on the answers to the three questions (they all have the same value), revised considering the global knowledge of the student.
The fundamental principles are: the knowledge acquired, the ability in visual reading (with special care of the historical criteria and data and not the emotional ones), including a critical judgment (with references to the contemporary cultural heritage), the communication skill using the proper language, the correct positioning in space and time, both limited and unlimited, of phenomena, events and objects, the ability with the proper comparisons on the base of a measured structuralism.
The course of Archeologia, Storia dell’Arte e topografia dall’Alto Medioveo all’Età Moderna belongs to the group of humanistic courses which feature the course of the Laurea Magistrale (Master Degree) in Scienze e Tecniche della Comunicazione.
Students will receive an overview of the history of art from Prehistory to the Carolingian Age and the complementary analysis of the archaeological Lombard complexes of that period. Among the learning results expected we point out the secondary capability of visual reading, the articulated communication using a specialized lexicon; the required skill is the comparative one, considering the proper geographical, chronological and cultural context. For the archaeological side, it is required the correct interpretation of a stratigraphy and the learning of the basic vocabulary of the branch. The frontal teaching is related, though it is not compulsory, to a seminary focused to the excavation methodology. This is preparatory to the excavation activity and to manage the materials and data acquired from the dig.
The acquired knowledge can contribute to the growth of the general skills of synthesis and processing of data and concepts derived from different sources.
The course provides the acquisition of cross skills, as correct use of language, communicative competences and development of comparative capabilities of judgment.
The following topics will be delivered during lessons:
Brief outline of the history of Historical and Modern Archaeology.
Prehistory.
Protohistory of the Metallurgy age.
The Iron Age and the Golasecca culture.
The Ligurian-Celtics culture.
Art and Archaeology of Roman Republic.
Art and Archaeology of Roman Empire.
Romanization of Italian and European lands.
Art and Archaeology of the Goths.
Byzantine Art and Archaeology.
Longobard Art and Archaeology.
Carolingian Art and Archaeology.
The territory during High Medieval Age.
Meaning and limits of Archaeology after the Carolingian Age.
The following textbook is required to be studied:
P. De Vecchi – L. Cerchiari, Arte nel tempo, Bompiani/Mondadori 1995 sgg, considering all the chapters related to the chronological period indicated. All different editions of the book are accepted.
Further optional bibliography will be recommended by the teacher, considering individual interests.
Educational supports available on the e-learning platform: 800 slides presented during lessons in PPT format. They will be available after each lesson.
The course will be delivered with frontal lessons, with a total amount of 64 hours. They will be all conducted by the tenured professor of the course, with the support of PPT presentations, encouraging interaction between the lecturer and students. At the end of each lesson students can ask professor for clarifications and further explanations of the topics proposed.
Trips in Lombard territory will be planned by the teacher.
The attendance of lessons is highly recommended to take advantage of all the interdisciplinary connections (political history, historic geography, history of literature, etc.) and critical interpretations of the phenomenon which will be proposed by the teacher lesson by lesson and which can not be fully developed in the handbooks available.
A seminary dedicated to the methodology of the archaeological excavation will be delivered. It is preparatory for the following workshop which will include the activity of archaeological digging. It will take place in two sessions in Spring 2020. We are waiting for the necessary consents.
Office hours at the professor’s office (Collegio Cattaneo,Via Jean Henry Dunant, 7 Varese). You are required to request an appointment via email to andrea.spiriti@uninsubria.it. The appointment will be scheduled within one week.
Before and after lessons it is always possible to have informal consultations or to request an appointment with Prof Spiriti.