David Stuart

Prerequisite: Graduate standing in art history and consent of the graduate adviser.

Ancient Maya civilization emerged some 3000 years ago within a larger cultural region called “Mesoamerica,” or what is today southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador.  Over the course of more than two thousand years, the Maya developed one of the great civilizations of the ancient world, well-known for its impressive ruins, temple pyramids and palaces, stone sculptures, and elaborate hieroglyphic writing system.  The city-states of Palenque, Tikal, Calakmul, and Copan (among a great many others), were political and cultural centers where artistic space dominated the scenery, often conveying important messages about kings, noble status, and their connection to gods and the greater cosmos.  Great changes came with the “collapse” of the Classic period around 800-900 AD, when a great many old cities were abandoned and new ones rose, seemingly based on very different ideologies and visual cultures. The arrival of the Spanish in the sixteenth century then brought near-destruction to the indigenous world, but the Maya and other Mesoamerican peoples emerged resilient in the wake of conquest; today six-million strong, the modern Maya continue to express their cultural identity in the art and politics of modern Mexico and Guatemala.

This course offers an in-depth examination of an important topic in the representational art of symbolism of ancient Mesoamerica. No previous exposure or study to Mesoamerican art is required. Our focus this year is the “iconography of periodicity” – that is, the ubiquitous art and symbolism connected with calendar stations and associated ceremonies among the Aztec and Maya. Students will analyze the complex and highly varied imagery associated with these so-called period endings, using case studies that elucidate concepts in Mesoamerican religious belief and ritual practice, including world-renewal, ideologies of kingship, and varieties of royal performance

An introduction to the art, symbolism, and visual culture of the ancient Aztecs. Subjects include the representations of history and mythology in architecture, stone monuments, and pictorial manuscripts.

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Prehistoric cultural developments of a major geographical area; comparative cultural developments in ecologically similar areas.

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We will survey the syntax of English, and some issues in the semanticinterpretation of English, with the two goals of (i) understanding thestructure of English syntax and (ii) acquiring the basic tools of syntacticanalysis, which can be applied to any language.

Required text:  C. L. Baker, English Syntax.

Please check back for updates.

We will survey the syntax of English, and some issues in the semanticinterpretation of English, with the two goals of (i) understanding thestructure of English syntax and (ii) acquiring the basic tools of syntacticanalysis, which can be applied to any language.

Required text:  C. L. Baker, English Syntax.

Please check back for updates.

We will survey the syntax of English, and some issues in the semanticinterpretation of English, with the two goals of (i) understanding thestructure of English syntax and (ii) acquiring the basic tools of syntacticanalysis, which can be applied to any language.

Required text:  C. L. Baker, English Syntax.