Courses

Surveys major art styles from the Paleolithic period through the Renaissance, including European, Asian, and the Pre-Columbian/Islamic world. Emphasizes comparison of Western and non-Western visual expressions as evidence of differing cultural orientations. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: literature and the arts.

Surveys major art styles from about 1600 to the present, including Europe, Asia, the Islamic world, the Americas, and tribal arts. Emphasizes comparison of Western and non-Western visual expressions as evidence of differing cultural orientations. Credit not granted for this course and FINE 1409.Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: literature and the arts.

Introduces the art and archaeology of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome, examining various ancient approaches to power, religion, death, and the human body. Analyzes art, architecture, and everyday trash to learn about ancient humanity. Same as CLAS 1509. Approved for arts and science core curriculum: historical context or literature and the arts.

Provides a broad introduction to understanding and appreciating art and art history within a critical lecture seminar and discussion format. The focus of this course is a selected Particularly directed to nonmajors. Formerly FINE 1709. Approved for arts and science core curriculum: literature and the arts.

Introduces the towns and villas buried by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 C.E. Explores the layout and decoration of ancient Roman houses, the variety of artifacts uncovered as evidence for daily life and the history of the excavations. Same as CLAS 2019. Approved for arts and sciences CORE curriculum: historical context.

Designed for those having no previous experience in the study of Asian art. Traces development of sculpture, painting, architecture, and the other visual arts of South Asia, the Far East, and Southeast Asia, with a synopsis of developments from 1453 through the 18th century. Approved for arts and science core curriculum: literature and the arts.

Through structured discussions, selected readings, and written assignments provides an understanding of how art history has evolved as an academic discipline and how art historians evaluate complex issues of style, form, content, and theory in the visual arts. Prereqs., ARTH 1300, 1400.

Introduces students to the literature, history, culture and art of Europe and the Mediterranean basin from late antiquity through the early modern period. Interdisciplinary approach to visual culture focuses on uses of sacred religious practices and lay devotion. Prereqs., ARTH 1300 and 1400.

Covers prehistoric Aegean through the fourth century B.C.E., considering architecture, pottery, painting,sculpture, and personal ornament. Societal customs such as use of space and burial patterns are considered as well as art and its uses, to help understand developments in Greek culture. Credit not granted for this course and FINE/CLAS 1009. Same as CLAS 3039. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: literature and the arts.

Introduces the monuments and sites of the ancient Roman world from the foundation of Rome (753 B.C.E.) to Constantine (306-307 C.E.). Emphasizes the relationship of art, architecture, and artifacts to the political, social, and religious institutions of Italy and the provinces. Same as CLAS 3049. Credit not granted for this course and CLAS 1019. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: literature and the arts.

Surveys the history of Western art from Constantine to around the year 1300, including Carolingian, Ottonian, Anglo-Saxon, Romanesque, and Gothic. Considers "Barbarian," Byzantine, and Islamic influences. Prereqs., ARTH 1300, 1400.

Examines writings by philosophers and art critics as they address the question: What is art for? Readings focus on the 19th and 20th centuries, including current theories and some non-Western theories. Students are encouraged to develop their own responses to the question. Prereqs., ARTH 1300 and 1400. Prerequisites: Restricted to Studio Arts (AASA or AASF) or Art History (AAAH) majors only.

Studies the rising status of painting, sculpture, and architecture in Europe and how Europeans perceived non-Western art during the early modern period. Introduces history of race/ethnicity, gender, and class concerns embodied in the European category visual arts. Emphasizes new methods for interpreting history without imposing Eurocentric viewpoints. Prereqs., ARTH 1300 and 1400. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: human diversity. Prerequisites: Restricted to Studio Arts (AASA or AASF) or Art History (AAAH) majors only.

Surveys the development and spread of humanist culture associated with the modern term "Renaissance Art" from c. 1400-1600, organized by location, artist, and patron. Presents significant works of paintings, sculpture and architecture at a number of major artistic centers including Florence, Rome, Venice, Fontainebleau, and Prague. Prereq., ARTH 1300 or 1400.

Covers high visual culture in Europe from 1300 to 1800. Discussions of this concept with its implications for aesthetics, semiotics, and ideology form the core of the course. Prereqs., ARTH 1300 and 1400.

Surveys the loss of beauty in art and discusses whether or not that loss is regrettable. Questions the function and historical meaning of modern and postmodern art: is it all hype and strategic positioning by artists for fame and fortune? Is it serious? Are the fine arts still fine? Prereq., ARTH 1300, 1400.

Surveys American art and material culture from the precolonial era to the present day. Considers cultural and artistic interaction, ethnic expressions, patronage, European and non-Western influences, and the struggle to develop a uniquely American artistic identity. Prereqs., ARTH 1300 and 1400. Approved for arts and sciences core curriculum: United States context.

Introduces the major movements and developments in European and American architecture from Neoclassicism to Postmodernism. Considers the impact of exhibitions, expositions, and vernacular architecture. Prereqs., ARTH 1300, 1400.

Examines contemporary art and theory in the transition from modern to postmodern expression. Discusses painting, sculpture, installations, performance, video, photography, and architecture with attention to historical context and criticism. Considers neoexpressionist, feminist, minority, political, and public art. Prereq., one 3000-level art history course. Same as ARTH 5539. Formerly ARTH 4539.

Surveys Chinese painting, sculpture, architecture, and other arts from neolithic to modern times. Prereqs., ARTH 1300, or 1400, or 2409, or HIST 1608.

Offers an appreciation and chronological development of the arts of Japan. Emphasizes the arts of Shintoism and Buddhism as well as the particular Japanese aesthetic from prehistoric times to the present. Prereq., one 3000-level art history course.

Surveys the development of technological media both as sources of information and as art. Photography and related media, film, video, holography, and electronic imaging systems are surveyed as art and as technologies, emphasizing major artists, movements, exhibitions, and other productions in the 19th and 20th centuries. Prereqs., ARTH 1300 and 1400.

Examines Latin America's cultural pluralism and art production beginning in pre-Columbian times and following through to the present. Considers the various functions of art as well as the relationship between objects, artists, and the cultures from which they come. Provides students with a broad frame of reference for many historical periods and equips students to evaluate art objects and their cultural contexts. Prereqs., ARTH 1300 and 1400.

May be repeated up to 18 total credit hours when topic varies. Prereqs., ARTH 1300 and 1400.

Examines art of the East Christian Empire from the accession of Constantine to the conquest of Constantinople with a synopsis of developments from 1453 through the 18th century. Prereq., one 3000-level art history course. Same as ARTH 5039.