Rome and its empire were synonymous from the beginning, unlike other imperial capitals like Paris, London, or Baghdad. Thus Rome is an idea-one of the central ideals of western culture-as much as it is a venerable, actual place. This course will trace the history of the city and its ideological projection from the physical decline of late antiquity, through the Christian transformation of the middle ages, to the archaeological project of recovering pre-Christian Rome that was initiated in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. We will study the Christian reuse of old Roman buildings and art forms as well as new churches and their mosaic and sculptural decoration. Format: lecture/discussion. Requirements: midterm, final exam, term paper. Enrollment limit: 40 (expected: 18).

Hour: KINNEY