The Making of the Mediterranean World

What do we mean by the "Mediterranean"? Is it a "reality," a fiction, or is it a cultural construction? This course will set out to examine these questions through a variety of images, representations and narratives that have been associated historically with the peoples and places of the Mediterranean. The key roles assumed by painting, sculpture, architecture, literature, poetry and mythology and film, will be highlighted. A series of themes will be used to present visual narratives linking social, cultural, political and artistic material, whose content and interpretation will be analyzed through complementary readings and critical class discussion. You will not only be encouraged to develop individual responses to the class material, but will also be expected to work collectively within groups as well as taking part in class presentations.