Summer @ The Institute

Summer Session II
(July 1 - August 12, 2026)

FINH-NA 500-002 Water Worlds from Ancient Egypt to Renaissance Rome

Instructor: Shiro Burnette, PhD Candidate
Meets: Tuesdays, 10AM-12PM

Course Description: This course explores how human relationships with water were materialized across time and space. The primary corpus considers the art and material culture from the ancient world, particularly Egypt, Nubia, Greece, and Rome. Though distinct in their approaches, each culture looked to water to craft social, geographic, and religious connections. Within this course we will, thus, carefully consider how water helped explain the creation of the universe, sustained humans and the land, and cleansed the body from impurities. The trajectory of the course illustrates a tension between the natural qualities of water and the socially-produced elements. The visual power of a produced image, architectural feature, or religious object could stretch one's perceptions of the effects of water. As such, by examining objects such as religious votives, coinage, sculptures, and fountains, we will address questions such as: How do we identify water in a “natural” versus “constructed” state? Like synthetic pigments or fibers, can water possess an artificial quality? Is all water the same?

Registration Requirements: Open to adult-aged learners only living in the tri-state area