SHUM 4035

Greco-Roman Art at Cornell

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2020-2021.

This class focuses on individual collections of Greco-Roman material culture (originals and reproductions) held at Cornell. Students learn to identify, classify and interpret objects. Simultaneously they explore how objects and methods constitute each other from an epistemic and historical point of view. Theme for FA 2020: Cornell's Plaster Cast Collection - Built in the in the late 19th century, Cornell's cast collection simultaneously served as an art museum, art academy, and as "laboratory" for academic teaching and research. Casts operate on several levels: as replicas of (eventually lost or damaged) prototypes; as multiples with the power to establish a canon; and as originals in themselves. In this tutorial, students learn to identify and interpret these layers looking at individual casts from our collection. They will complete and update the already existing database. But they will also explore how this academic "tool" worked as an instrument of colonialism and racial prejudice. The findings will result in an online exhibition.

When Offered Fall.

Breadth Requirement (HB)
Distribution Category (CA-AS, ALC-AS)

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