Teaching Roman Art: Where have we been and where are we going?

The application of post-colonial, network, and globalization frameworks to the study of Roman visual and material culture in the last generation has helped to draw out the complexity of art and architecture across the empire’s vast expanse. This rich body of specialist research pairs well with a growing turn toward postmodern perspectives that question the validity of the grand narratives that have historically underpinned art historical surveys more generally. The time is right to rewrite the role of Roman art in surveys, and teach Roman-specific coursework in ways that give students the skills to recognize harmful misuses of the ancient past. So what's stopping us?

As a point of departure in a developing conversation about how to most effectively capture the complexity of the Roman Empire and its relationship to other world powers, this talk will first reflect on the changing role of Roman art generally, and Roman provincial art more specifically, in anglophone art historical surveys over the last century. It will then pivot to introduce the guiding principles and initial work toward a new multi-authored hub for empire-wide teaching resources. Developed by the AIA's Roman Provincial Archaeology Interest Group, this digital project capitalizes on the flexibility of the web to make it more practical than ever for instructors to tap into the collective knowledge of regional specialists and to break out of the mold of well-worn textbook case-studies.