Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World ~ Brown University
Spring 2012
Course Description
Water is the source of life. In the midst of a global climate change, environmental crises for water resources and the political debates over water, we have come to the full realization of our complete dependence on water. This course investigates our long term attachment and engagement with water using archaeology, environmental history, visual, literary and historical sources. The cultural and political aspects of water around springs, rivers, lakes, marshes, and living by the sea are explored from the Last Ice Age to late antiquity. Human societies small or large tended to live close to water, near marshes, springs or lakes and made wise use of water resources using a variety of different technologies. We will explore water management in ancient cities of the Near East and classical antiquity in the Mediterranean.
Course Objectives
The primary objective of this course is to introduce students critical reading and writing skills and analytical thinking, through intensive reading and writing exercises. The second objective is to introduce students the politics and culture of water from a cross-disciplinary perspective. This is a largely lecture based course. Monday and Wednesday sessions are going to be fully dedicated to lectures supported by powerpoint presentations. On Fridays, a summary of the two lectures will be presented to the students at the beginning of class and then the floor will be opened to discussion and questions on the weekly issues based on lectures and the readings.
Meets Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 11-11:50 am. Room Rhode Island Hall 108
Instructor: Ömür Harmanşah
Assistant Professor of Archaeology and Egyptology and Ancient Western Asian Studies
E-mail: Omur_Harmansah@brown.edu
Ömür's Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 4-5 pm at the Institute (Rhode Island Hall 102)
Teaching Assistant: Sarah Craft
Ph.D. candidate at the Joukowsky Institute for Archaelogy and the Ancient World
email: sarah_craft@brown.edu
Sarah's office hours: Mondays 12.30-2.30pm and Thursdays 11am-12pm in the TA conference room (Rhode Island Hall 016 [basement])
Download Printer Friendly Syllabus