Expanding the Ancient World Workshop

This workshop will take place online; a Zoom link will be provided via email to registered participants.

Registration is required at THIS LINK.

Expanding the Ancient World is a series of professional development workshops and online resources for teachers. Keyed to the NYC Department of Education Social Studies Scope and Sequence, this program is designed to offer K-12 educators opportunities to develop their knowledge of the ancient world and to provide classroom-ready strategies for teaching the past with reliable sources. Featuring inquiry-based workshops, flexible lesson plans, and up-to-date research, Expanding the Ancient World aims to equip teachers with information and skills that they can share with their students. CTLE credits will be offered to New York State teachers.

Visual art is an invaluable resource for the study of the ancient world. Through visual representations we can assess many aspects of past cultures, from daily life to belief systems, politics, economy, and more. One of the most informative types of art for understanding ancient Greek culture of the Archaic and Classical periods (c. 800–323 BCE) is vase painting. In this workshop, we will examine gender through ancient Greek painted vases, with a focus on vases produced in Attica, first by discussing how and why decorated terracotta vases were produced and how they were used. We will analyze pictorial scenes on ancient Greek painted vases to assess how gender operated in Greek society in the Archaic and Classical periods, touching on traditional and ideal roles, activity, and physical appearance for men and women, as well as mythic and human figures that challenged gendered ideals. Furthermore, we will interrogate how and why we use art as a type of evidence and consider how cultural values and beliefs inform artistic visual representation. The lesson plan from this workshop aims to equip students with skills to critically describe, evaluate, and assess visual primary sources as a tool for understanding the past; to inform them about values, beliefs, and daily life in Greek culture; and to reflect on the importance of individual and group identity within cultures both ancient and modern.

Workshop led by Anna Selden (ISAW PhD Student).

Participants will receive 1.5 CTLE hours.

If you have any questions regarding the Expanding the Ancient World program please email ETAW@nyu.edu.

Please check isaw.nyu.edu for event updates.

ISAW is committed to providing a positive and educational experience for all guests and participants who attend our public programming. We ask that all attendees follow the guidelines listed in our community standards policy.