Myth, Art and History in the Ancient Mediterranean

Discover the formation of identities in the ancient Mediterranean through the dialogue between myth, art, archaeology and history

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CIVIS focus area
Society, culture, heritage
Open to
  • Master's
  • Phd
Field of studies
  • Social Science and humanities
Type
  • Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP)
Course dates
2 February - 10 March 2024

This course "opens" the Mediterranean Sea as a geographical framework of action and crossroads of the main Western civilizations: Phoenician-Punic, Greek, and Roman. Therefore, you will study the artistic, social, and religious traditions of the indigenous peoples of North Africa in contact with Roman culture through visual culture and iconography

The program, conceived by experts from Sapienza Università di Roma, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Université de Sfax and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid will enable a series of seminars, lectures and group dynamics held online, through Moodle.

The physical mobilty part will imply cultural visits of both teachers and students to the main museums, institutions, and sites in Madrid: Prado Museum, Archaeological Museum, Site of Complutum, Regional Archaeological Museum of Alcalá de Henares, Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando. Direct contact with the works of art in the museums will help students understand how today's European culture has built an identity canon based on myths from the Greek, Roman and African world, in a cultural hybridization that is present in the collections of the most important museums in Madrid.

Main topics addressed

  • Classical Art
  • Classical Archaeology
  • Mythology
  • Classical imaginaries
  • Identities
  • Circulation

Learning outcomes

The students attending this course will benefit out of the different academic cultures of the participating professors (Spain, Greece, Italy, and Tunisia). The impact of this linguistic variety is one of the riches of the program, since we try to ensure that the content of the course is reflected in the identity of the participating partners.

Also, this is a training course that applies different views and perspectives shared by the participating universities. We believe that this is the best way to show the success of the CIVIS collaboration.

Moreover, this CIVIS BIP will also promote intercultural and social contact between students from different universities. It will also encourage the practice of languages, promoting multidisciplinary, multiculturalism and multilingualism.

Dates: 2 February - 10 March 2024 Total workload: 90 hours
Format: Blended ECTS: 3*
Location: Madrid, Spain Language: Spanish, Italian, French, English (B1)
Contact: raquel.rubio@uam.es/ jorge.tomas@uam.es  

*Recognition of ECTS depends on your home university.

Physical mobility

The organising venue of the physical mobility part, from March 6th to March 10th, 2024, is Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, where the students and teachers will be welcomed. There will be four visits to the main archaeological sites and museums in Madrid with classical art collections. The visits will be organised in groups and by thematic itineraries, in relation to the lectures given during the online mobility. Students will give a presentation in situ on the work previously selected for that itinerary:

  • Thematic itinerary 1: "Roma: iconografie, stili e mobilità degli artigiani nel periodo Imperiale" - Archaeological site of Complutum and the Regional Archaeological Museum of Alcalá de Henares.
  • Thematic itinerary 2: “Myth and Greek culture in the origins of the Ancient Mediterranean” - Collection of casts of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando.
  • Thematic itinerary 3: “Art, myth and history: mythological subjects in the painting and sculpture collection" - Prado Museum.
  • Thematic itinerary 4: “La trace orientale aux origines de l'ancienne culture méditerranéenne”- National Archaeological Museum of Madrid

Virtual part

The virtual part will take place over five Fridays, each lasting approximately three hours. The first part of the course will consist of a lecture given by a professor from one of the participating universities on a specific topic of study related to Ancient Mediterranean Studies:

  • 2 February 2024: Introduction session (UAM) and explanation of group dynamics
  • 9 February 2024: “Myth and Greek culture in the origins of the Ancient Mediterranean” (UAM-NKUA).  Creation of working groups
  • 16 February 2024: “Roma: iconografie, stili e mobilità degli artigiani nel periodo Imperiale” (SUR). Creation of working groups
  • 23 February 2024: “La trace orientale aux origines de l'ancienne culture méditerranéenne” (Universitè de Sfax). Creation of working groups
  • 1 March 2024: “Art, myth and history: the complexity of artistic identity in the ancient Mediterranean” (UAM-SUR-NKUA-Sfax). Creation of working groups. Student’s conclusive discussion to summarise and highlight the most important aspects discussed throughout

Requirements

This course is open to Master's and PhD students at CIVIS member universities with a high interest in Archaeology, History of Art, History, Philology, Classical Literature and History of Religions.

Participants should have a good level of written and spoken English (B1), but also skills in Spanish, Italian and French. Also, elementary Latin is desirable.

NB: Visiting Students - Erasmus Funding Eligibility

To be eligible for your selected CIVIS programme, you must be a fully enrolled student at your CIVIS home university at the time you will be undertaking the programme. Click here to learn more about the eligibility criteria.

This course is also open to students with the same academic profile, who are enrolled at a CIVIS strategic partner university in Africa. Please check here, if you can apply and this particular course is open to applications from your university. Successful applicants will receive an Erasmus+ grant covering travel and subsistence costs during their stay. Applicants should be willing to extend their stay at the host university for 1-3 weeks for additional research and/or training purposes.

Application process

Send your application by filling in the online application form by 7 November 2023, including:

  • CV
  • Motivation letter

Applications will be evaluated based on the relevance of the CV and the motivation of the applicants. 

Apply now

Assessment

The assessment will be based on the following criteria:

  • Attendance and active participation during the online sessions (30%)
  • Group work (20%)
  • Attendance and active participation during the physical part (20%)
  • A final presentation (30%)

Blended Intensive Programme

This CIVIS course is a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP): a new format of Erasmus+ mobility which combines online teaching with a short trip to another campus to learn alongside students and professors across Europe. Click here to learn more about CIVIS BIPs.

GDPR Consent

The CIVIS alliance and its member universities will treat the information you provide with respect. Please refer to our privacy policy for more information on our privacy practices. By applying to this course you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms.

  • Jorge Tomás García, Associate Professor in Roman Art, Department of History and Theory of Art, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
  • Raquel Rubio González, Postdoctoral Researcher PDI Margarita Salas (speciality: Roman Art), Department of History and Theory of Art, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
  • Massimiliano Papini, Associate Professor in Classical Archaeology, Department of Ancient Sciences, Sapienza Università di Roma
  • Salem Mokni, Associate Professor in Roman History, Department of History, Sfax University of Tunis
  • Eurydice Kefalidou, Associate Professor in Classical Archaeology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens