54
Archeology and Art History of India and Central Asia
UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI NAPOLI "L'ORIENTALE"
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Since the aim of the course is to provide students with a basic knowledge of the artistic expressions of the Indian subcontinent in the pre-Islamic era, and given the variety of contexts, a representative selection of sites, monuments and artefacts will be examined, through which students will acquire the ability to evaluate artistic phenomena in their historical context, distinguishing their distinctive features and aesthetic and cultural values. In some of the topics covered, in particular, they will be able to identify the keys to understanding modern cultural phenomena.
ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
In addition to building specific skills related to the topics covered, the course aims to promote awareness and understanding of cultural diversity, while encouraging observation from a global historical perspective. Students will be required to demonstrate mastery of the concepts learned, with particular reference to the correct historical, geographical and cultural context of the topics covered.
FURTHER LEARNING OUTCOMES
Independence of judgement: By their very nature, the topics covered in the course provide students with an opportunity to exercise and develop their independence of judgement, understood also as the ability to detach themselves from culturally determined points of view. Through an interdisciplinary approach involving art, archaeology, history of events, cultural history and global history, students will be able to refine their cognitive tools and develop a non-ethnocentric view of aesthetic and cultural values.
Communication skills: Students will be required to acquire a basic repertoire of terminology and, in general, the scientific language appropriate to the context, and will be guided in understanding its value as a methodological and communicative tool.
Learning skills: Students will be required to methodically organise the stages of learning, reading and summarising the study materials provided, clearly distinguishing objective data from interpretations, in order to develop independent judgement and critical information processing skills, also with a view to and for the benefit of further studies.
Course Prerequisites
The course does not require prior knowledge. Given the specific connotation of the topics dealt with, which are substantially unrelated to the cultural skills usually acquired during pre-university training, all the notions indispensable to provide adequate tools for understanding are the subject of the initial lessons of the course. These are also addressed to students with more advanced knowledge, which they will have to critically relocate within the specific context. Where necessary, and on the basis of individual needs, specific supplementary readings may be recommended.
Teaching Methods
Teaching is based on a combination of teaching methods: lectures on course topics are combined with interactive in-depth analysis of aspects that are crucial for general understanding. The lectures will be accompanied by extensive visual material, copies of which may be obtained by students (both attending and non-attending), subject to compliance with the rules governing intellectual property (see the READING LIST section).
Some case studies illustrating crucial methodological and content issues that mark the main differences between Mediterranean and Asian cultures (e.g., the vision of space and the human figure, the concept of the divine and the sacred place, etc.) will offer concrete ideas for the critical application of learning. Given the nature of the course, there will be no practical exercises. Ongoing tests may be agreed upon, which will not affect the final assessment; these are intended as a stimulus for self-assessment of the study method, its effectiveness and any necessary corrections.
Assessment Methods
The exam will be oral and will assess both the learning of the specific subject matter and the critical analysis skills developed through the latter. Students will be asked to briefly illustrate both broad topics related to artistic periods and phenomena or architectural and iconographic types, and specific topics covered in the course. Assessment criteria: the final mark, expressed out of 30, will take into account the completeness of the knowledge acquired, the ability to organise it into a coherent historical, geographical and cultural framework, the correct use of the relevant terminology, and the ability to recognise and describe particularly representative images selected from the repertoire proposed by the course.
There are no intermediate tests, only self-assessment tests to support the study method.
Language of the exam: Italian; foreign students may take the exam in English or French.
Notes: Students with disabilities and/or learning disabilities may agree on the exam procedures with the lecturer, in agreement with the SOD - Student Disability and Learning Disability Service.
Texts
READING LIST:
8 ECTS/CFU
C. Pieruccini (2020) Storia dell’arte dell’India 1: Dalle origini ai grandi templi medievali. Torino (tutto).
Lo Muzio, C., M. Ferrandi (2008) India. Milano (testo a consultazione libera, di supporto ai contenuti del corso)
9 ECTS/CFU
In addition to the above:
Bakker, H. (2010) Royal Patronage and Religious Tolerance: The Formative Period of Gupta-Vākāṭaka Culture. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Third Series, Vol. 20, No. 4, pp. 461-475) https://www.jstor.org/stable/40926238
12 ECTS/CFU
N.B.: The total number of pages of the bibliography listed here is inclusive of extensive illustrative apparatuses and accompanying captions.
Independent search and collection of texts is part of the normal methodological learning process. The teacher will provide pdf copies of only those articles/essays that are not otherwise available.
The same programmes differentiated by number of ECTS/CFU apply to non-attending students and Erasmus students. These, however, are invited to contact the teacher for possible additions to the study materials on the basis of individual needs.
As for the texts in Italian, foreign students may request alternative readings in English.
Subject to compliance with the rules concerning intellectual works, students (attending and non-attending) may acquire copies of the projected ppts. These are intended, however, as a supplementary comprehension tool, which does not replace the study of the bibliographic reference materials.
Contents
COURSE TITLE: The Indian Subcontinent: visual arts, architecture and material culture (from protohistory to the medieval period, with a glimpse of modern developments)
Since the course offers different paths in terms of ECTS/CFU (9/8 credits), the topics covered will be organised in such a way as to provide a common and independent reference point of general knowledge.
COMMON BASIS FOR 8 ECTS/CFU:
1. Introduction to the course topics; general notions of geography and cultural macro-areas; introduction to basic notions; the fundamentals of orthodox and heterodox philosophies/religions: Brahmanism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism; the distinctive features of Indian religiosity and “philosophies of salvation”; the transposition of popular themes into the iconography and religious architecture of “official” systems.
2. Indian protohistory: from the Neolithic to the Indus Valley Civilisations; the migration of the Aryans: old theories and new historical-cultural reconstructions.
3. The Iron Age and the “second urbanisation”; the Maurya period and the first evidence of Buddhist architecture.
4. Alexander the Great's expedition and the “Hellenised” East (Ai Khanum; the art of Gandhara).
5. The great artistic centres of Gangetic India and Andhra; early developments in Buddhist and Brahmanic/Hindu iconography.
6. The Kushan period: cultural features of the dynasty and its interaction with Indian politics and culture
7. Introduction to the Gupta period and the development of Hindu temple architecture
8. The Gupta period: economy, politics and religious propaganda
9. The Hindu temple: major diachronic and regional developments in the Gupta and post-Gupta periods
10. Iconography and iconology of Hindu deities;
11. Jain art and architecture of the medieval period
12. Rock architecture (Ajanta, Elephanta, Mamallapuram, Ellora)
13. Medieval India: developments in temple architecture and iconographic themes
14. Major religious festivals: ritual practices and their artistic reflections; from the eco-friendly materials of the past to the polluting materials of the present.
9 ECTS/CFU: in addition to the 8 credits programme:
1. Major philosophical-religious movements: Shaivism and Tantrism; Vaishnavism; distinctive features, iconographic and architectural outcomes;
2. Some case studies on the political use of religious iconography.
Course Language
Italian
More information
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