ARCH 0220

Fake!

History of the Inauthentic

CRN: 16487

Time: TTh 9:00-10:20.
Place: Rhode Island Hall, Room 008
Instructor: Rojas (felipe_rojas@brown.edu)
WRIT | FYS.

What is a fake? Who gets to decide what is authentic? Are “fake” and “authentic” absolute and antithetical categories? Greek statues, Chinese bronzes, Maya glyphs. What gets faked? Have fakes always existed? Galileo’s signature, a centaur’s skeleton, Buddhas bearing swastikas. Are all fakes the same? If not, how are they different? Why do people make fakes? Does anybody win? Who loses? This course revolves around the history of the inauthentic through a diachronic exploration of objects.

ARCH0220 Fall14 S01 Fake! History of the Inauthentic