The Other Side of Immigration

The first seminar of the course on January 22nd was dedicated to a basic premise of the course that migration is a phenomenon of all times and that insights in modern contexts of migration may be helpful to understand ancient contexts.

To this end, we watched the documentary The Other Side of Immigration, which ‘challenges audiences to think about the many political, economic, and social causes and effects of mass migration in Mexico’ – (see http://theothersideofimmigration.com/). The following discussion led us to the view that migration is not a one-off event but may be cyclical or recurrent; it may be thought of as a process. For more talking points, see http://www.roygermano.com/immigration_discussion_questions.pdf.

This was followed up by a brief discussion of a well-known migrant in Classical Antiquity, namely Demaratus of Corinth and a brief exploration of the Aristonothos Krater.

January 22, 2014September 21, 2023

Greek Archaeology Introduction

Greek Archaeology

ARCH 0420 Archaeologies of the Greek Past – Fotini Kondyli

From Bronze Age palaces to the Acropolis in Athens and on the trail of Alexander the Great, this course explores the ancient Greek world through archaeology—using art, architecture, and everyday objects to learn about ancient Greek society, from the monumental to the mundane. It also considers how we experience ancient Greece today, including questions about archaeological practice, the antiquities trade, and cultural heritage. WRIT.

Follow the class’ blog on current views on Greek archaeology, discoveries, debates, politics and archaeology here: http://blogs.brown.edu/arch-0420-2014-spring-s01/

Course website: http://proteus.brown.edu/greekpast2014/Home

Meets: MWF 1:00-1:50pm, Rhode Island Hall 108

To view all blog posts for this class, click on Greek Archaeology at the top right of this page.

January 22, 2014October 3, 2023

Islamic Archaeology Introduction

Islamic Archaeology

Conquest to Conversion: The Formation of the Islamic World

ARCH 1620 | Tu/Thu 10.30-11.50 | Rhode Island Hall 008

Corisande Fenwick

How did a small group of tribes from Arabia create one of the largest empires the world has ever seen and how did their religion – Islam – come to be a major world religion? This course challenges monolithic understandings of life in the early Islamic world by highlighting its vibrant cultures, sophisticated technologies, complex cities, monumental architecture and far-reaching commercial networks. Following in the footsteps of Arab-Muslim soldiers, scholars, traders, explorers and missionaries, we will move between Arabia, the imperial centres of Baghdad and Damascus and the furthest reaches of the Arab-Islamic world from Spain to sub-Saharan Africa and the Indian Ocean. We will use the evidence of texts, landscapes, architecture and images to examine how an Arab empire emerged, to explore what it meant to be Muslim and/or Arab, and to understand social life in the first three centuries of Islam (600-900CE).

To view all blog posts for this class, click on Islamic Archaeology in this site’s dropdown menu.

January 22, 2014October 5, 2023

Material Networks Introduction

Material Networks

The movement of people and objects has always stood at the heart of endeavors to understand the course and processes of human history. In the Mediterranean, evidence of such movements is particularly abundant, and issues like migration, colonialism and exchange have played prominent roles in archaeological, historical and anthropological discussions.

This course explores Mediterranean migration past and present through the lens of material culture by zooming in on the material surroundings of migrants and their host societies and by tracing the connections that they forged across the Mediterranean seas.

ARCH 2230 | Wed 3.00-5.20 | Rhode Island Hall 008

Peter van Dommelen

To view all blog posts for this class, click on Material Networks at the top right of this page.