Art History Course Descriptions

This lecture course aims to develop skills in the critical analysis of a wide range of visual materials. Issues and problems in the making, exhibition, and understanding of images and objects will be explored through lectures, classroom discussion of key works, critical reading of primary and secondary sources, and visits to the Wriston Print Study Rooom. Students will be assessed through exams and writing assignments.

This course introduces students to the rich artistic traditions generated by Islamic cultures from the 7th century onward. While considering the Umayyad, Abbasid, Ilkhanid, and Mughal dynasties, among others, we examine architecture, illuminated manuscripts, metalwork, ceramics, and more. A broad selection of readings and activities supplements class discussions on themes that include the role of art in Islam, relationships between art and power, and the importance of cross-cultural exchange.

This introductory class examines the art and architecture of ancient Greece and Rome, spanning from the Minoans on Crete to the Arch of Titus in the Roman Forum. Students will learn about the progression of styles, functions, and historical meanings of these objects as they are introduced to basic art historical methods.

The Cantigas de Santa Maria, a thirteenth century songbook from Spain, contains hundreds of songs and dozens of miniatures. In this class, we analyze the poetry, music, and artwork of the Cantigas in regular class meetings for the first five weeks of the term. Students submit short analytic papers in tenth week, but no classes are held after week five.

An introduction to artistic traditions in China, Japan, and Korea, from prehistory to the 21st century, including tomb and temple sites, gardens, calligraphy, ink painting, woodblock prints, tea ceremony vessels, and contemporary art. Through a balance of broader art historical readings, primary texts, scholarly essays, and close-looking at objects, students will explore how an object’s visual and material properties contribute to its function.

Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

Applied work in art history arranged and carried out under the direction of a faculty member. Students might work for a gallery, museum, archive, auction house, a publication, or visual resource database. The academic internship is supplemented with readings, discussions, and assignments. The course grade will be based on submitted work evaluated by the supervising faculty member. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

This course examines the art and architecture associated with cultures from northern Europe from the fourth to the fourteenth centuries. Beginning with pre-Christian Germanic, Celtic, and Scandinavian examples, we will examine how these groups responded artistically to conversion, Latinity, the impact of Mediterranean traditions, and the establishment of new kingdoms throughout the long medieval millennium. PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or sophomore standing

This course examines the art and architecture of cultures in the Mediterranean region (c. 400-1400). We begin with early Christian art in the waning Roman and developing Byzantine Empires and consider its evolution from Coptic Egypt to Petrarchian Italy. Additionally, we explore the artistic impact of the establishment and spread of islam as well as the ongoing traditions of Sephardic Jews. PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or sophomore standing

The term “Gothic” as it is applied to European art and architecture from the mid-twelfth to the fifteenth century carries a wide range of connotations. In examining the inventive architecture, sculpture, manuscripts, metalwork, wall-paintings and textiles from these centuries, this class will compare the implications historically ascribed to “Gothic” with the ideas promoted by the cultures and individuals creating and using these inspired objects. PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or sophomore standing

Medieval manuscripts offer extraordinarily immediate, hands-on access to the art, ideas, actions, and people of the long Middle Ages. Their pages, filled with epic literature, devout (and sometimes less than devout) prayers, scientific treatises, philosophical essays, law codes, and more, offer glimpses of a world long past and yet, sometimes, surprisingly familiar. This class examines masterful and mundane manuscripts made from the fifth to the fifteenth centuries as a means of introducing students both to the diverse and fascinating world of the Middle Ages and to their creative practices. Visits to regional collections to examine actual manuscripts and work with digitized libraries will supplement class discussions on topics including materials and production, the word made flesh, and subversive marginalia. PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or sophomore standing

A study of the art and architecture of Italy from the late 13th century until the early 16th century. Topics include patronage and the art market, the revival and influence of the antique, theories of perspective and design, and changes in the status of the artist. PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or sophomore standing

In the Middle Ages, scientia (knowledge) was pursued from basic levels of learning to read and write to the highest levels of measuring the heavens. As manuscripts, instruments, objects, and buildings attest, visual and material arts were integral to teaching and learning, and to examining the world. This lecture course focuses on the arts created to facilitate learning and experimenting across a variety of topics. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore Rising

This course examines intersections of music and art in pre- and early-modern monasteries. Students will gain facility analyzing visual and musical traditions as we explore themes such as the cosmos and community, gender, and the Christian body politic. Students will learn about varied disciplinary approaches to chant and polyphony, architecture and sculpture, the politics of enclosure, and practices of faith and spirituality, among other topics. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore Standing.

A study of the development of 19th-century European art that traces the emergence of movements such as Romanticism, Realism, and Impressionism. Readings and class discussion consider how political instability, industrialization, imperialism, and the growth of popular culture influenced production, style, and presentation of painting and sculpture. PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or sophomore standing

A study of 20th-century European and American art that traces the emergence of movements such as Cubism, Surrealism, and Abstract Expressionism. The shifting meanings of art, artistic production, and the definition of the term “artist” are considered against the massive political and social changes of the time period. PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or sophomore standing

An examination of American art, 1776-1940. This course considers the growth of landscape, genre, and history painting, as well as portraiture, in the context of changing ideas about nationalism, class, race, and gender. Architecture and sculpture are also discussed in terms of how visual culture shaped early ideas about nationhood. PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or sophomore standing

In the 19th century, Britain was at the height of her imperial and industrial powers, with a burgeoning middle class with increased spending power. Against this background, this course examines the painting (including Turner, Constable, the Pre-Raphaelites, the High Victorians), architecture, furniture, and interiors of the period, utilizing the wealth of examples in London’s museums, galleries, and buildings. Offered at the London Centre. PREREQUISITES: Must be attending the Lawrence London Centre.

This seminar will introduce students to the historical framework and theoretical tools to critically experience and examine the practices of contemporary British art through site visits to London museums, galleries, and studios. Students will explore such topics as: British and global identity, art as instruments of socio-political change, art reception, the changing gallery system, the global art market, DIY practices, and new media and technology. Offered at the London Centre. PREREQUISITES: Must be attending the Lawrence London Centre.

This seminar will examine the rich architectural history of London. Through case studies, students will acquire an understanding of architectural vocabulary, historical periods and styles, and how humans have constructed and interacted with sacred and secular spaces, examples of which include St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Houses of Parliament, Tate Modern, Neasden Temple, the Barbican, 2 Willow Road, and the Serpentine Galleries. Offered at the London Centre. PREREQUISITES: Must be attending the Lawrence London Centre.

Introduction to photography’s histories, from early attempts to fix light and shadows to the diverse digital practices of the present. Topics will include: social, scientific, and artistic uses of photography; theoretical and critical writings on photography and its place in our visual culture; and major figures, movements, and images. PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or sophomore standing

From its founding as the Roman Londinium, through Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms, Christian conversions, Viking incursions, past William the Conquerer's invasion to the Plantagenets then the tumultuous fourteenth century with visits to sites, surviving monuments, and collections throughout London. Primary source reading will supplement these visits.

Beginning with the late eighteenth century and concluding with art today, this course examines African-American history through visual culture. We will examine how race relations in the United States were and are constructed through an examination of painting, sculpture, public monuments, photography, advertising, and performance. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

The course introduces the cultures of Latin America through a survey of its major movements and artists from the early 19th century to the present. Image-based lectures will be accompanied by discussion of visual and thematically related texts (i.e., biographies, letters, scholarly articles) and carefully selected fragments of videos.Taught in Spanish. PREREQUISITES: One 300-level course in Spanish or consent of instructor

This course will focus on the diverse artistic production and consumption practices within Edo-period Japan (1603-1868). Topics include the revival of classical Heian narratives like The Tale of Genji, the rise of an urban bourgeois culture, the prints and paintings depicting kabuki actors, courtesans, and ghosts, the reification of the tea ceremony and encounters with the West through trade. PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or 175 or sophomore standing

This course explores the transformation of the cityscape in Tokyo, Seoul, and Shanghai. Topics include the emergence of the modern artist, the search for an “avant-garde” of the East, the modernization of public and private spaces, the introduction of film and photography and the rise of the “modern girl.” PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or 175 or sophomore standing

Over the past century, China has witnessed the arrival of Western Imperialism, mass rebellion, revolution, and radical reconstruction under the Communist regime. This class will trace how artists attempted to intervene in social life to change its course of development and how art continues to affect radical social change. PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or 175 or sophomore standing

This course will be a close reading, looking, and writing course on the 11th century text, the Tale of Genji, written by one of the earliest female novelists, Murasaki Shikibu. We will closely read the text throughout the term while also examining the art works, theatrical performances, parodies, and later pop culture adaptations as well as the major secondary scholarship that have been generated by this work in the last three centuries. The aim will be to cultivate both skills in visual formal analysis but also literary formal analysis through continuous writing exercises and revision, in order to help students consider how a sustained engagement with one text can evolve with a deeper and more intimate study.

This 3-unit course allows for variable content chosen by any instructor in art history. The class provides a concentrated study of a particular text, series of readings, or non-textual supplemental sources and a critical consideration of their applicability to the study of art history. This may include primary sources from particular historical periods or cultures, theoretical sources, relevant dance/music and non-textual sources, or readings from other disciplines.

This 3-unit seminar examines the German Bauhaus school of architecture, art, and design, from its founding in 1919 by Walter Gropius to its closing in 1933 by the National Socialists. The course will consider its experimental pedagogy, its attempt to merge art and craft, and its conflicted relationship with the machine and capitalism. We'll also examine its global influence and how its products became synonymous with contemporary design. PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or sophomore standing

An examination of a particular topic in ancient art history. Students are expected to carry out independent research through a series of guided assignments. The topic will change periodically. May be repeated when topic the is different. Not open to students who have previously received or need to receive credit for ARHI 400 with the same topic.

This class investigates intersections among people, arts, and the environment in European regions during the Middle Ages (c.400-1400). Readings draw broadly from primary sources in translation, ecocritical studies, and environmental histories and dovetail with close examinations of images, object, monuments, and sites across varied medieval landscapes. We question what constitutes medieval ecologies and consider their profound relevance for today's world. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

Introduction to art museums and exhibitions as objects of critical inquiry, and to issues and practices in the art museum field. Topics will include: history and evolution of collecting and display; museum exhibitions and knowledge formation; collection practices and ethics; exhibition theory and design; controversies, institutional critique, and the artist-as-curator. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

A study of art since 1960. Students will examine a diverse range of art works and the theories and strategies that have informed their production and exhibition. Students will learn about how artists today respond to such issues as gender, racial and ethnic identity, globalization, market capitalism, and new media and technology. PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or sophomore standing

An examination of a particular toic in mideival and reanssance art history. Students are expected to carry out independent research through a series of guided assignments. The topic will change periodically. Course may be repeated when topic is different. Not open to students who have previously received or need to receive credit for ARHI 420 with the same topic.

An examination of a particular topic in East Asian art history. Students are expected to carry out independent reaseach through a series of guided assignments. The topic will change periodically. Course may be repeated when the topic is different. Not open to students who have previously received or need to receive credit for ARHI 430.

This course aims to interrogate the Eurocentric prejudices of the art history discipline and consider instead the concept of multiple modernities. Readings and assignments will focus on expanding art historical, curatorial, digital practices. Students will put these ideas into practice by curating and designing a virtual exhibition using the OMEKA online platform to examine how art continues to circulate in a global context. Not open to students who have previously received or need to receive credit for ARHI 433. PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or consent of instructor

An examination of a particular topic in modern and/or contemporary art history. Students are expected to carry out independent research through a series of guided assignments. The topic will change periodically. Course may be repeated when the topic is different. Not open to students who have previously received or need to receive credit for ARHI 440.

Topic for Fall 2024: Copy, Homage, or Forgery: The Question of Authenticity in Art
PREREQUISITES: One 200-level course in art history or consent of instructor TBD

This course explores how the female body and the gendering of space has been addressed in murals, paintings, performance, film, and popular culture during the course of East Asian art history. We will discuss how social and political issues were defined through images of bodies in Japan, Korea, and China in the context of national identity formation, historical reconstruction, subjectivity, and sexuality. Students will also work to develop and refine the quality of their communication skills by presenting and debating their ideas throughout the course. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

This discussion-based course examines the role gender has played in the development of Western art from the modern and post-modern periods. The student should expect to achieve an understanding of the following topics: how artists have represented, theorized, and politicized gender in their work, the gendering of the art historical canon and its marginalized artists, and how the act of looking in art reception is informed by gender and sexuality. PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or GEST 100 or approval of instructor

An examination of a particular topic in art history. Students are expected to carry out independent research thorugh a series of guided assignments. The topic will change periodically. Course may be repeated when topic is different. Not open to students who have previously received credit or need to receive credit for ARHI 480.

Tutorials for advanced students in art history. Apply to the instructor at least one term in advance with a written proposal and a preliminary bibliography. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

Applied work in art history arranged and carried out under the direction of a faculty member. Students might work for a gallery, museum, archive, auction house, a publication, or visual resource database. The academic internship is supplemented with readings, discussions, and assignments. The course grade will be based on submitted work evaluated by the supervising faculty member. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

Advanced study for students doing honors projects in art history. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

An examination of a particular topic in ancient art history. Students are expected to carry out independent research. The topic will change periodically. Course may be repeated when the topic is different. Not open to students who have previously received or need to receive credit for ARHI 301 with the same topic.

An examination of a particular topic in medieval or Renaissance art history. The topic will change periodically. Course may be repeated when the topic is different. Students are expected to carry out an independent research project that will serve as preparation for ARHI 680.

An examination of a particular topic in East Asian art history. Students are expected to carry out independent research through a series of guided assignments. The topic will change periodically. Course may be repeated when the topic is different. Not open to students who have previously received or need to receive credit for ARHI 331.

This course aims to interrogate the Eurocentric prejudices of the art history discipline and consider instead the concept of multiple modernities. Readings and assignments will focus on expanding art historical, curatorial, digital practices. Students will put these ideas into practice by curating and designing a virtual exhibition using the OMEKA online platform to examine how art continues to circulate in a global context and by writing a research paper. Not open to students who have previously received or need to receive credit for ARHI 333. PREREQUISITES: ARHI 101 or consent of instructor

An examination of a particular topic in modern or contemporary art history. Students are expected to carry out independent research, culminating in a research paper. The topic will change periodically. Course may be repeated when topic is different. Not open to students who have previous received credit for ARHI 341.

Topic for Fall 2024: Copy, Homage, or Forgery: The Question of Authenticity in Art
In 1935, cultural theorist Walter Benjamin asserted that the authentic “aura” of an artwork is rooted in originality and site-specificity. These questions about authenticity have only intensified into the 21st century as technology frames how we see and understand visual culture. How is authenticity visualized, valued, and understood today? Focusing on case studies from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, this seminar will explore, historicize, and contest such concepts as the authorship, appropriation, reproduction, simulacrum, and forgery. The course will culminate in a research project. PREREQUISITES: One 200-level course in art history or consent of instructor TBD

An examination of a particular topic in art history that does not fit the chronological format of the other 400-level topics seminars in art history. Course may be repeated when topic is different. Not open to students who have previously received credit or need to receive credit for ARHI 381.

Tutorials for advanced students in art history. Apply to the instructor at least one term in advance with a written proposal and a preliminary bibliography. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

Applied work in art history arranged and carried out under the direction of a faculty member. Students might work for a gallery, museum, archive, auction house, a publication, or visual resource database. The academic internship is supplemented with readings, discussions, and assignments. The course grade will be based on submitted work evaluated by the supervising faculty member. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

Advanced study for students doing honors projects in art history. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

This course will examine the theories and methods practiced in art history. It will concentrate on key texts, from antiquity to the present, relating to the history and criticism of art and visual culture. Readings will include authors and texts that have come to define the discipline, and more recent authors who have begun to challenge those defining texts. PREREQUISITES: Junior standing

A senior seminar in which students will conduct research on a topic of their choice and produce a substantive original paper in which they demonstrate their ability to comprehend the scholarly literature on the topic, to subject it to appropriate methods of analysis, and to present the results in well-written and professionally documented form. Open to students who, having completed a 400-level art history course, have previously investigated a research topic that will serve as the foundation for their work in this course. PREREQUISITES: Senior standing, and one 400-level art history course or consent of the instructor

Tutorials for advanced students in art history. Apply to the instructor at least one term in advance with a written proposal and a preliminary bibliography. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

Directed study follows a syllabus set primarily by the instructor to meet the needs or interests of an individual student or small group of students. The main goal of directed study is knowledge or skill acquisition, not research or creative work. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.

Applied work in art history arranged and carried out under the direction of a faculty member. Students might work for a gallery, museum, archive, auction house, a publication, or visual resource database. The academic internship is supplemented with readings, discussions, and assignments. The course grade will be based on submitted work evaluated by the supervising faculty member. PREREQUISITES: Sophomore standing

Advanced study for students doing honors projects in art history. PREREQUISITES: To register student must complete the Student Initiated Course Form with consultation of supervising instructor.