This interdisciplinary course examines the ruins and monuments 
of pagan classical antiquity and their transformation at the 
hands of Christians in late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, early 
Renaissance artists working for increasingly Humanistic Popes, 
and their exploitation under the Counter-Reformation through to 
Fascism when they transition into political ideology. Students 
trace this progression through these various time periods using 
the monuments of ancient Greece and Rome as starting points for 
more critical examinations of the religious, social, and 
political forces shaping changing attitudes towards them from 
idols to be destroyed and works of art and design to be 
imitated. Students give illustrated class presentations, write a 
research paper, and demonstrate their knowledge of the material 
and their interpretive skills in two written examinations 
covering class lectures and discussion and assigned readings.

1. Introduction and Historical Overview
2. Destruction and Transformation of Monuments in Ancient 
Athens, Rome, and the Mediterranean World
3. Christian Transformation of the Pagan City
4. Spoliation of Ancient Monuments and Creation of Christian 
Basilicas
5. Renaissance Rediscovery of Classical Antiquity and Rise of 
Humanism
6. Ancient Monuments and Ancient Sculpture Collections in 
Baroque Rome
7. Grand Tour Visits to Rome, the Buried Cities, Greece, and 
Egypt
8. The Enlightenment and Development of Archaeology and Art 
History
9. Neoclassicism: Imitation and Revisions of Classical Antiquity
10. Nationalism and the Exploitation of Classical Antiquity
11. Fascist Exploitation of Ancient Art and Monuments
12. Post Modernism vs. Ancient Identities
13. Contemporary Debates: Elgin Marbles and Repatriation of Art 
and Ancient Monuments