Cultural Art History Modules

This course will introduce Learners to the discipline of Cultural Art History by first focusing on how social, religious, political and economic forces help to give a shape to what we define as culture, and to its art. This course is not required, however it is highly recommended for Learners with little or no background in cultural or traditional art history. Back to Top

A survey of the great monuments of art and architecture, from its beginnings in caves through the arts of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece and Rome, Byzantium, the Islamic world, and medieval western Europe. This module will attempt to familiarize students with no background in art to the subject, and to explain the ways in which painting, sculpture, and architecture are related to mythology, religion, politics, literature, and daily life. The module will serve as a visual introduction to the history of the West, and will begin to familiarize students with the terminology used to discuss art. It will also define Cultural Art History to students, and identify the distinction between it and traditional Art History. Required for all majors. Back to Top

A survey of the great monuments of art and architecture, from the Italian Renaissance to 1945. A recommended follow-up to Back to Top

This module will focus on the history and interpretation of the primary artistic traditions of China and Japan, from prehistoric times through the nineteenth century. Special emphasis will be placed on how these cultures are articulated in significant works. Painting, sculpture and architecture will be examined, along with fine arts form unique to the cultures of China and Japan. Required for all majors who plan to focus on an area outside of the Western tradition Back to Top

This module will serve as an introduction to the history of architecture from pre-history to the present day. The module will focus on the Western tradition, but a number of lectures will be devoted to the Americas, and the Middle and Far East, to examine their influences on the west. The purpose of the module will be to examine architecture in its historical context, focusing specifically on the way architecture shapes social, religious, and political experiences. Buildings reviewed in this module will include both academic and vernacular architecture. An integral component of architectural history is historical research and each student will be guided through the process of writing her or his own original research paper. The module will provide a foundation for students intending to focus on architectural history. Back to Top

This module will survey the history of photography from its invention in 1839 to the present. The major practitioners and techniques will be examined, the different definitions of photography's nature and meaning will be discussed, and the impact of photography on culture and society will be investigated. Topics addressed will include the origins and popularization of the photographic image, portraiture, photojournalism, and social documentary in the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Photography’s interactions with art will be examined, as will the illustrated press in the twentieth century, and reassessments of the technology and art of photography in the present. Numerous photographic trends will be investigated from cultural perspectives, and the power of the image to shape culture will be thoroughly examined. Back to Top

This module will introduce the painting, sculpture and architecture in Italy and the Roman Empire, from the time of the Etruscans to Constantine the Great. Emphasis will be placed on the political and cultural role of art in ancient Rome, the dissolution of classical art, and the formation of medieval art. Back to Top

This module will focus on the art of the early Church in East and West, and its subsequent development in the East under the aegis of Byzantium. Emphasis will be placed on the influence of theological, liturgical and political factors on the artistic expression of Eastern Christian spirituality. Back to Top

This module will survey the art made in the service of Islam in the Central Islamic Lands, Egypt, North Africa, Spain, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and South and Southeast Asia. Special attention will be paid to variations in the articulation of fundamental belief, and cultural influences. Back to Top

This module will survey the Buddhist sculpture, architecture and painting of India, China and Japan. Emphasis will be placed on the aspects of history and religious doctrine, as articulated in the art. Back to Top

This module will survey Indian sculpture, architecture, and painting from the Third Millennium B.C.E. to the 18th century AD. The areas of focus will include works from Hindu, Buddhist, Jain and Islamic traditions. Back to Top

This module will focus on the art of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Aegean, and prehistoric Europe, from the sixth to the second millennium B.C.E. Emphasis will be placed on the emergence of the role of the arts in ancient religion, and in the broader cultural context. Back to Top

This module will introduce students to the terminology used to discuss art (the language of art history) and the evolving terminology of cultural art history. In addition to teaching the definition(s) of the art historical and cultural art historical vocabularies, this module will teach students how to properly apply and use those terminologies, in various communication modes. In the fast-paced, global environment, it is important for professionals to be articulate about their knowledge. This module will include exercises in verbal and written communication on an array of topics of a cultural art historical nature. This module is a requirement for majors in Cultural Art History. Back to Top

This module will introduce undergraduate art history majors to the basic tools and methods of traditional art historical research, to the theoretical and historical questions of art historical interpretation, and to both of those areas as applied to cultural art history. Conducted in a seminar format, the module will survey a number of traditional, current and developing approaches to the explanation and interpretation of works of art, and will briefly review the history of art history. Particular emphasis will be placed on research methods utilizing information technology and the Internet. Back to Top

Perhaps the most widely recognized Mexican art form is the mural. The Mexican Muralist school counted among its members the most powerful figures of the genre. Works created by Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros, depicting aspects of the Mexican Revolution, the nation's modernization and its class struggle, have become legendary. Rufino Tamayo and Juan Soriano have also achieved great stature as muralists. However, Mexican art hardly begins and ends with mural painting. Various other 20th-century art movements developed in Mexico, featuring noteworthy talents such as Frida Kahlo, and Mexico is the home of exciting contemporary trends, as well. This program will be a journey through the history of Mexican art, including its religious, secular and folk genres. Special attention will be paid to the cultural values deeply embedded in Mexican art, and the cross-fertilization of traditions in literature, music and art. We will also examine the broader influence of Mexican art, particularly as articulated in the 20th and 21st centuries, with a view toward identifying how globalization is affecting artistic production—and our findings, conclusions, and perceptions of art historical issues.

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This module is focused on the BIBLE and the CULT OF SAINTS, as the stories of each are manifested visually. The religious art of the medieval and Renaissance periods, in particular, was the liturgy for the masses. However, interpretations became more secularized as developments in humanism evolved, and as political and social conditions changed over time. Nevertheless, religious art has remained immensely popular throughout all subsequent periods, despite the separation of church and state—and despite the general secularization of societies in the West. This module examines the theological, literary and iconographical traditions devoted to those stories told in the Bible and in hagiography traditions, to determine how the interpretations have shifted over the module of time. We will explore the visual evolution in treatments from the Middle Ages forward, and discuss the reasons for the ongoing popularity of religious art. Undergraduate students will be required to submit a paper on the tradition as a whole, with special attention devoted to a particular topic, of their choice. Back to Top

This module will provide students with a view of the sculpture, painting, architecture and the minor arts of the Greeks, from the Dark Ages through the Hellenistic period. The works of art examined will be studied against the social and intellectual background of ancient Greece. Particular attention will be paid to Greek humanism, rationalism and constitutionalism, as cornerstones of the Western tradition, as well as to the notion of progress first practiced by the ancient Greeks. Comparative analyses with earlier and later periods will be made, in order to identify potential cultural links. We will also look at Greek architecture, contextually and comparatively, to identify its significance in the history of art and architecture. The minor arts will also be studied for their artistic and historical values. Students will begin to understand, for example, how much we can learn about a civilization, from the paintings found on vases. Back to Top

This module will provide students with a view of the sculpture, painting, architecture and the minor arts of the ancient Romans, from the beginnings of the republic to the fall of the empire. The works of art examined will be studied against the social, political, economic and intellectual background of ancient Rome. Particular attention will be paid to Roman architecture, in terms of its relationship to Greek architecture. Comparative analyses with earlier and later periods will be made, in order to identify potential cultural links. Particular attention will be paid to Roman art and architecture in the context of the broader goals of the empire. Students will begin to understand how art has the potential to both reflect and help determine the goals of the broader environment, and to recognize that art does not exist in a vacuum. Back to Top

This module will be an investigation into the painting and sculpture of the early Middle Ages, from the fall of Roman empire to the High Gothic period (c. 1000). Special attention will be paid to the development of forms, approaches and subject matter, in the context of feudalism and the series of crises characterizing the period. Emphasis will be placed on viewing art in religious and broader cultural contexts. Back to Top

This module will be an investigation into the painting, sculpture, and architecture of the High Middle Ages, from c. 1000 to the c.1250. The thousand-year-long medieval period saw enormous changes, many of which are revealed in its High Gothic art and architecture. Developments will be discussed, in their social, political, religious and cultural contexts. An evaluation of the historical structure of the broader medieval period will be a consideration in this course, and the art and architecture will be examined in traditional frameworks, as well as in the contexts of alternative parameters. The power of art to inspire, as well as to manipulate will be discussed and potential relationships between medieval art and much later artistic traditions will be considered. Emphasis will be placed on the evolution of art and architecture as part of the individual and collective human experience, as it was first realized during the Middle Ages. Back to Top

This module will be an investigation into the art of the late Gothic period (c.1250-c. 1300). Emphasis will be placed on analyzing the impact of famine, disease, and economic decline on the art of the period. Cracks forming in the foundation of the medieval church will be analyzed, and the breakdown of the broader culture will be compared with its artistic production. Back to Top

This module will be an investigation into the painting, sculpture, and architecture of Italy in the early Renaissance, from c.1300-1500. The significance of such artists as Giotto, Masaccio, Donatello, Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Piero della Francesca, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci and the very young Michelangelo will be discussed, along with many other artists, in their social, political, religious, intellectual and cultural context. In addition to examining the development of the period in the context of the rediscovery of antiquity, this module will also examine clear (but generally underestimated) influences of the Middle Ages. The development of Italian humanism, the role of the Medici and other important elite families, and the development of patronage will be examined, in terms of their relationships to artistic production. Attention will also be paid to the International Style and its roots. This module will also familiarize students with historical events leading up to and surrounding the period. The various Italian schools of painting will also be examined. Back to Top

This module will examine the significance of the High Renaissance, from 1500-1520, in its own and in broader cultural contexts. Although the High Renaissance lasted less than twenty years, it continues to have a profound influence on Western Civilization. The art of the period is the most well known (and well-viewed) and is also the most frequently debated, in the history of art historical scholarship. The ways in which classical was redefined will be examined, and such artists as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian, among others, will be discussed. In addition to studying the painting, sculpture and architecture of the period, in a historical and cultural context, this module will carefully examine the significance of the shift in power from Florence to Rome, and the impact of the Renaissance popes on the art and culture of the period. This module will also investigate the ongoing and intense debate among scholars and artists over the significance of the Renaissance, and will examine why many individuals believe its importance is over-estimated. Back to Top

This module will provide students with a survey of painting, drawing, and printmaking in the Netherlands and Germany, from c. 1380-1580. Emphasis will be placed on major artists including Jan van Eyck, Robert Campin, Rogier van der Weyden, Hugo van der Goes, Hieronymus Bosch, Albrecht Dürer, and Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The relationship of their art, and its potential links to such developments as the new naturalism of Northern art and devotional piety, the character and function of symbolism in art, the parallels and distinctions between Early Netherlandish and Italian Quattrocento art, the role of art in Reformation Europe, and the development of new subject matter, including landscape, still life, and peasant scenes, will be investigated. This module will also examine the development of private patronage and its impact on developments in art. Back to Top

This module is an investigation into the art produced outside of Rome, during and following the High Renaissance, from 1520 to 1590. It is only within the last thirty years that Mannerism has been recognized as a distinct artistic tradition. Earlier scholarship either passed it off as a degradation of renaissance values or a precursor to the Baroque. Although Mannerism evolved out of an obsession with, and rejection of many renaissance developments, it is also directly linked to historical, social, religious and other cultural developments of the period. This module will examine Mannerism in these contexts and will also explore its links to a latter-Middle Ages mentality. The paintings and sculptures of such artists as del Sarto, Pontormo, Rosso, Parmigianino, Salviati, Ammanati, Vignola, Cellini and Bronzino, among others, will be examined in their cultural contexts. This module will also explore relationships between the culture and artistic production of the Mannerists, and those of the post-modernists. Back to Top

This module examines the grimness and grandeur of the Baroque, through a study of the works of such artists as Caravaggio, Rubens, Poussin, Bernini, Carracci, Le Nain and Rembrandt, to name only a few. The period, which covers most of the 17th century, is investigated in cultural and artistic detail, and we discuss issues of categorization as regards the Baroque. The work that distinguishes the Baroque period is stylistically complex, even contradictory. In general, however, the desire to evoke emotional states by appealing to the senses, often in dramatic ways, underlies its manifestations. Some of the qualities most frequently associated with the Baroque are grandeur, sensuous richness, drama, vitality, movement, tension, emotional exuberance, and a tendency to blur distinctions between the various arts. A highly complex movement, the Baroque points backward to the past, forward to the future and yet stands firmly on its own right. This module will explore the powerful influences of the Counter-reformation, the consolidation of absolute monarchies (with the simultaneous establishment of a firm and powerful middle class), an emerging new interest in emerging, and a general broadening of mankind's intellectual horizons, on the artistic production of the Baroque. Back to Top

This module examines the art produced from c. 1890-1945. The cultural basis for the deepening rejection of the prevailing academic tradition, and the quest for a more naturalistic representation of the visual world will be explored. The repudiation of traditional or academic techniques and subject matter, and the expression of a more subjective, personal vision will also be explored, in the broader art historical context. A survey of the succession of varied movements and styles that arose, which form the core of modern art (and which represent one of the significant points of Western visual culture) will reveal relationships between the past and present that one typically does not expect in an analysis of modern art. Movements including Neo-Impressionism, Symbolism, Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Expressionism, Suprematism, Constructivism, Metaphysical painting, De Stijl, Dada, Surrealism, Social Realism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop art, Op art, Minimal art, and Neo-Expressionism will be surveyed. The significance of the potentials inherent within artistic mediums for expressing responses to the changed conditions of life in the 20th century will be examined, along with the impact of accelerated technological change, the expansion of scientific knowledge and understanding, the seeming irrelevance of some traditional sources of value and belief, and an expanding awareness of non-Western cultures. Possible motivations behind abstract or nonobjective art will also be investigated, from historical, intellectual, political, economic, philosophical and global perspectives. Back to Top

An in-depth survey, this module will take a chronological approach to a study of major trends and movements in art of the United States and Western Europe from 1945 to the present. The module will begin with an examination of the establishment of Abstract Expressionism in New York in the 1940s and 1950s and will consider the development of art practices in post-war Europe. Emphasis will be placed on developing a definition of postmodernism, by exploring its cultural characteristics, and its social, political and economic contexts. Its evolution will also be examined, in the contexts of such movements as pop, minimalism, conceptualism and feminism. An examination of new concerns with issues of originality, identity, and new media will be explored, and a comparative study of cultural postmodernism with the latter Middle Ages will conclude the course. Back to Top

This module will survey European painting and sculpture from the late Baroque period to Neo-Classicism. Emphasis will be placed on the artistic careers of major figures, and on the larger social, political, and cultural contexts of their work. Artists examined will include Watteau, Boucher, Fragonard, Chardin, Falconet, Pigalle, Greuze, Batoni, Rusconi, Hogarth, Gainsborough, and Reynolds. Back to Top

This module will provide students with a survey of architectural traditions. The rise of modernity, from its intellectual origins in the cultures of medieval and Renaissance Europe, Islam, Colonial Americas, and Japan, to its historical transformation in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries will be thoroughly investigated. During the module of our investigation, students will become familiar with basic architectural terminology and fundamental principles of architecture. Back to Top

This module will provide students with a general introduction to the artistic traditions of China, Korea, and Japan from the prehistoric period to the modern era. Major topics will include funerary art, Buddhist art, and later court and secular art. Particular attention will be paid to identifying artistic forms in relation to technology, political and religious beliefs, social, historical, and cultural contexts. This module will also introduce students to philosophical and religious traditions including Confucianism, Daoism, Shinto, and Buddhism. How those traditions have shaped cultural and aesthetic ideals of East Asia will be thoroughly investigated. Resources will include a survey of major monuments, and the fundamental concepts behind their creation. Assigned readings and lectures will in-depth coverage of specific topics or monuments. Back to Top

This module will track the Chicano Art movement, which began in the mid-1960s in support of the Chicano Civil Rights Movement (el Movimiento). During the decades that followed, Chicano artists from throughout the nation created artworks in all media, which addressed the rich cultural heritage of the Mexican American people, the political and civil struggles of their communities, and their commitment to international contemporary cultural and political innovation. Back to Top

This module will provide students with a general introduction to the arts produced in Spain’s American viceroyalties, from approximately 1521 through 1821. Although various examples of painting, sculpture, architecture, and works in other media from both the viceroyalties of New Spain and Peru will be considered, there will be an emphasis on Novohispanic artistic production. Special attention will be paid to studying selected works in relation to artist, patron, audience, display site, forms of engagement and other cultural contexts. Although Spanish reading knowledge will be helpful, it is not required. Back to Top

This module will examine the post-WWII artistic traditions in Central and South America, and their manifestations of narrow and broad cultural influences. Post-war modernism and post-modernity will be carefully considered, through issues of theme, style, and medium. Contemporary artistic practices such as conceptual and installation art will also be studied. The integration of Latin American artistic conventions into the artistic production of other cultures will also be investigated, in the process of identifying how influences become conventions in both art historical and cultural contexts. Back to Top

This module will provide a survey on art of the Native peoples of North America. The formal attributes of the major arts of each region will be examined, and the relationships between these art forms and social, cultural, and historical factors will be explored. Emphasis will be placed on the roles played by these arts in contemporary societies. This module will carefully examine the problems associated with preserving the integrity of the Native American artistic traditions, as new generations experiment with changing those traditions in order to render their art more marketable. The broader implications of those problems will also be discussed, as determinations are made on how entire traditions, and their underlying cultural values, can be lost. Back to Top

This module will provide a survey on the rich African and Oceanic artistic traditions. Once described as “primitive” this body of work has long since been recognized as highly sophistical, from both formal and aesthetic perspectives. Emphasis will be placed on the cultural values, rites and rituals embodied in these works, and on their profound influences on the Western tradition. Back to Top

This module will examine the rise of the International Style, which followed Giotto’s proto-Renaissance developments in c. 1310 ff., and reigned as the premiere style until Masaccio revived Giotto’s ideas in the early 1400s. A close scrutiny of the formal and aesthetic properties of the style will facilitate an understanding of the cultural and artistic motivations underlying this dramatic stylistic approach. Practitioners of the International Style will be studied, including works of such artists as Lorenzo Monaco and Botticelli. Back to Top

This module will examine painting, sculpture, and architecture in France, England, Spain and Germany from the twilight of Absolutism through the Industrial and French Revolutions. Special attention will be paid to the intellectual, philosophical, economic, historical and cultural contexts in which the art was produced. As the module develops, a thorough investigation into how the art reflects back to the past, and points toward the future will be conducted. The module will conclude with an examination of contemporary cultural articulations of influences from the period’s art. Back to Top

This module will examine European painting and sculpture from the last decades of the Ancien Regime to the liberal revolutions of 1848. Works of major artists including David, Canova, Ingres, Constable, Turner, Gericault, Delacroix, Friedrich, Goya, Corot, and Thorvaldsen will be examined in their political, economic, social, spiritual, cultural and aesthetic contexts. Back to Top

This module will be an in-depth study of the painting, sculpture, and architecture of the seventeenth century in Italy, the Low Countries, France, and Spain. Focus will be placed on special topics on the works of Caravaggio, Bernini, Velazquez, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Poussin. Back to Top

This module will examine the history of Roman architecture from the Republic to the late empire, with special emphasis on the evolution of urban architecture in Rome. Also considered will be Roman villas, Roman landscape architecture, the cities of Pompeii and Ostia, major sites of the Roman provinces, and the architectural and archaeological field methods used in dealing with ancient architecture. Back to Top

This module will involve a study of the Greek city from the Archaic to the Hellenistic period. Emphasis will be placed on developing concepts of city planning, public buildings and houses, and the inclusion within the city of works of sculpture and painting. Back to Top

This module will focus on major developments in painting and graphics in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, in the Netherlands and Germany. Focus will be placed on the rise of Netherlandish naturalism and the origins of woodcut and engraving. The module will explore the effects of humanist taste on sixteenth-century painting and the iconographic consequences of the Reformation. Emphasis will be placed on the work of major artists, such as Van Eyck, Van der Weyden, Dürer, Bosch, and Bruegel. Back to Top

This module will be a study of printmaking, printing and book illustration from Gutenberg to Goya, presenting the graphic arts as an expression of intellectual history and the precursor of photography. An excellent introduction to the curatorship of prints and books by students who take this course. Back to Top

A continuation of Course I, this module will examine printmaking, printing and artists’ books from Goya to the present. The examination will include the graphic arts and photography, the rise of the ideas of the original print, 20th century mixed media and the relationship between words and images. Back to Top

This module examines how notions of gender shaped the production, patronage, and fruition of the visual arts in Italy between 1350 and 1600. The module begins with an analysis of Renaissance domestic space, with special attention paid to its architecture as well as to the artifacts that filled it (such as marriage paintings, furniture, birth salvers, and religious images). An examination of how notions of gender shaped the patronage of the visual arts follows, and the representation of secular and religious men and women are explored. The works of Renaissance women artists are evaluated, in the context of the cultural and social expectations imposed on Renaissance women, and in comparison with those works produced by more famous Renaissance male artists. Although no prerequisite in the art of the Italian Renaissance is required, it is recommended for majors. Back to Top

This module will examine the history of medieval architecture through the analysis of selected monuments from c. 800 - c. 1150. The concentration will be on Western Europe. Early Christian, Islamic, and Byzantine architecture will be surveyed, in order to provide the necessary background for the western European tradition. Topics such as monasticism, secular architecture, decorative programmes and the cult of the relics will be explored during this course, and their cultural significance will be examined. Assigned readings will emphasize the use of primary sources. This module will be highly participatory, with both lectures and discussion being instrumental in the investigatory process. Special emphasis will be placed on exploring how culture defined architecture, and how architecture defined culture. Students wishing to graduate with distinction may count this as a 400 level course, if they complete and deliver a formal presentation or research paper, from a cultural art historical perspective, relative to the subject matter. Back to Top

This module will focus on special topics related to art production and theory in the U.S. and Europe, since World War II. Relationships between artistic practice and critical theory will be stressed, in an examination of movements ranging from abstract expressionism to neo-geo. Back to Top

This module will involve and investigation into the historical development and techniques of numismatics, jewelry, silver-smithing, ceramics, armor and other topics. Emphasis will be placed on the fact that many of the great artists of the Renaissance began as (and continued to be) practitioners in the minor arts. In recent years, the minor arts have once again to be recognized as valid fine arts forms. Back to Top

This module will examine the historical development and aesthetic character of photography in the twentieth century. Special attention will be paid to major photographers, including such giants as Stieglitz, Weston, Cartier-Bresson and many others. A portion of this module will also be devoted to some of the groundbreaking photojournalists of the 20th century. Back to Top

This module will explore the life, art, architecture, urban development, religion, economy, and daily life of the famous Roman city destroyed in the cataclysmic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 C.E. Back to Top

This module will examine the art and architecture of significant religious sites around the world, focusing on ritual, culture, and history, as well as the broader formal and aesthetic artistic characteristics of each site. Back to Top

This module will examine the interrelationships of Native American, Hispanic and Anglo cultures from prehistoric times to the present. Emphasis will be placed on the major forms of expression, including pottery, textiles, jewelry, architecture, painting and photography. Back to Top

This module will provide students with a survey of the art of Mexico and Central America, prior to the 16th century. The aboriginal American Indian cultures that evolved in Meso-America (part of Mexico and Central America) and the Andean region (western South America) prior to Spanish exploration and conquest in the 16th century will be examined. The pre-Columbian civilizations’ significant developments in human society and culture (ranking with the early civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia and China) will be thoroughly investigated. Like the ancient civilizations of the Old World, those in the New World were characterized by kingdoms and empires, great monuments and cities, and refinements in the arts, metallurgy, and writing. This module will explore the cultural factors underlying these developments, and will also study how the ancient civilizations of the Americas also displayed, in their histories, similar cyclical patterns of growth and decline, unity and disunity. Back to Top

This module will examine this unique art form, in formal, aesthetic and symbolic contexts. Emphasis will be placed in the significance of Native American symbols, the distinctions between tribal imagery and application, the relationship of the art to culture and religion, and the challenges the traditional forms face, by virtue of other cultural influences. Back to Top

This module will survey British painting, sculpture, and printmaking from the reign of Henry VII Tudor (1485) to the death of Queen Victoria (1901). Major artists such as Holbein, Mor, Mytens, Rubens, van Dyck, Lely, Kneller, Hogarth, Rysbrack, Roubilliac, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Rowlandson, Flaxman, Lawrence, Constable, Turner, Landseer, the Pre-Raphaelites and Alma-Taddema will be examined in political, socio-economic, spiritual, cultural and aesthetic contexts. Back to Top

This module will present a critical review of recognized Novohispanic painters, in and around the imperial vice-regal capital of Mexico City, and their known works. Special attention will be paid to each artist’s formation, commissions, and representative examples from their bodies of work, and their contributions to our understanding of the nature and development of Spanish Colonial art. Cultural manifestations will be identified within the representative works of art, and beyond into other artistic traditions. Spanish reading knowledge would be preferable, but it is not required. Prerequisite: Spanish Colonial Art (CAH 214) or a background in this area. Back to Top

This module will analyze the role played by women both as visual artists and as the subjects of representation in American art. Examining works from the colonial period to the present, this module will explore the changing cultural context and institutions that have supported or inhibited women's artistic activity, and helped to shape their public presentation. Back to Top

This module will involve a study of the life and work of the great Dutch seventeenth-century master. Topics include Rembrandt's interpretation of the Bible and the nature of his religious convictions, his relationship to classical and Renaissance culture, his rivalry with Rubens, and the expressive purposes of his distinctive techniques in painting, drawing, and etching. Special attention will be paid to orientations that set Rembrandt apart from his contemporaries. Back to Top

This module will be an in-depth examination of Roman sculpture, painting, architecture and minor arts, from Augustus to Trajan. Prerequisite: some knowledge of Roman Art. Back to Top

This module examines the history of cities around the world, locating urban form in its social, cultural, political, economic, symbolic, and cultural contexts. The history of cities from the origins of urbanism to the present will be thoroughly explored. Presented in a seminar format, this module will identify the reciprocal relationship between culture and art, with a particular emphasis on architecture. Monuments which are sources of both pride and trepidation will be examined, as will the influence of cities on one another, in a context of urban development. Cultural identifications defining cities will be sought, and heavy emphasis will be placed on examining the recycling and reworking of the corresponding characteristics. The seminar will be highly participatory. Students will be required to research assigned topics and deliver their findings in round table module discussions. Back to Top

This module will explore the range of personal and social issues embedded in artistic choices. Artistic form, function and ethical guidelines will be examined from economic, psychological, ideological, and gender perspectives. Back to Top

This module will involve a series of studies into painting and sculpture from 1900 to 1940. Great works produced in the numerous artistic movements of the period will be examined. Back to Top

This module will analyze special topics in painting and sculpture, from 1940 to the present. Emphasis will be placed on cultural content. Back to Top

The module will involve an examination of art, architecture, religion and ritual at selected medieval abbeys and cathedrals in France, England and Italy, from the late 12th to early 14th centuries. Sites include the Abbey of St. Denis, Canterbury Cathedral, Chartres Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, the Sainte-Chapelle, Westminster Abbey, the Cathedral of Siena, and the Cathedral of Florence. Students should have some experience and a serious interest in analyzing historical issues, to take this course. Back to Top

This module will examine Central and South American art from independence to the end of World War II. Special attention will be paid to topics on chronological, thematic, and institutional developments from national and regional perspectives, in addition to themes, styles, movements, and other issues of continental significance. Back to Top

This module will provide students with a history of muralism, from the Mexican mural movement through the depression-era United States, the emergence of U.S. civil rights muralism in the 1960s, and parallel developments in the Caribbean, Central and South America. Back to Top

This module will examine the interaction in architecture between the East and the West, as a post-renaissance phenomenon. There were very few exchanges of influences in architecture before the seventeenth century. Both sides developed their own distinct architectural forms and styles, with each reflecting very different traditions. During the eighteenth century, westerners actively explored the East. The western professionals brought with them a strong influence to the architecture of the Eastern world. While the eastern nations were eager to adopt western architectural forms, architects and scholars in the West found interest and value in Eastern architectural forms. This module will trace the brief history of the major events, buildings, and architects in this interaction. Relevant works by Wright, Kahn, Le Corbusier, Pei, Yamasaki, and others will be introduced and examined. The significance and impact of this interaction for modern architecture will be discussed. Special attention will also be paid to identifying common characteristics of the two traditions, and exploring the human and cultural similarities underlying those commonalities. Conducted in a seminar format, this module will be highly participatory. Students will be required to research assigned topics and deliver their findings in round table module discussions. Back to Top

This module will involve studies into the art of Byzantium and its cultural dependencies, from its roots in the late Antique period to the last flowering under the Palaeologan dynasty. Back to Top

This module will pursue a cultural art historical journey into how we have come to think of art in the ways we do, and how we might better utilize it as a cultural resource. Conducted in a seminar format, the module will investigate the kinds of historical and cultural inferences we make from works of art, and whether or not such inferences are valid. Special attention will be paid to the ways in which art has been used to make places, and the relationships of place to political influences and cultural concerns. The ways in which images are used in the social fabric of different cultures will be thoroughly explored, and a lengthy examination of the emerging global language of art will be conducted. Art as a unifying cultural vehicle will be examined, and thorough consideration of how we might better utilize its power for global understanding will be a primary focus. This seminar will be highly participatory. Students will be required to research assigned topics and present their findings in round-table discussions. Back to Top

This module will involve a study into recent photographic styles, mediums and aesthetic concepts in America and Europe. Prerequisite: broad knowledge of the history of photography Back to Top

This module will examine mythological art, from classical antiquity to the modern period, with a particular emphasis on the Renaissance and Baroque periods. The works of Rembrandt, Rubens, Poussin, Velazquez and many other artists will be examined. Relationships between myth and culture will be explored, and broader manifestations of mythology in art will be investigated. Examples of a reciprocal dialogue between art and mythology will be identified, and the potential of myth to define culture, through art, will be a primary focus of this course. Conducted in a seminar format, this module will be highly participatory. Students will be required to research assigned topics, and present their findings in round-table discussions. Back to Top

This module will explore the arts and culture of Japan. Focus will be placed on key monuments and artistic traditions that have played central roles in Japanese art and society. Emphasis will be placed on how artists, architects, and patrons expressed their ideals in visual terms. Objects examined will include sculptures, paintings, decorative objects, and their underlying artistic and cultural values. Back to Top

Post-Impressionism is often considered as the direct precursor to Modern Art and/or a reaction against the Impressionist movement. This module will examine Post-Impressionism in its own contexts and on its own terms, as a valid and unique artistic movement. Works of such artists as Cézanne and van Gogh, among others, will be thoroughly examined. Influences on Post-Impressionism from periods not immediately surrounding it will also be explored. Back to Top

In a seminar format, this module will explore the practice of criticism, with emphasis on critical processes that penetrate a variety of contemporary arts. Aesthetic theories and cultural outlooks that underpin practical criticism will be examined. Back to Top

Required for all graduate learners, this course will be an examination of the bibliography of the arts, including architecture, archaeology, decorative arts, and photography. Related fields, such as philosophy, history, sociology, anthropology and literature, will be considered for their relevance to cultural art historical research. Back to Top

This course will introduce learners to the giants of art historical scholarship, and to major scholars in other disciplines related to cultural art history. An examination of research methodologies will reveal their strengths and weaknesses. We will examine highly respected methodological frameworks employed in art historical research, along with some seriously flawed approaches. Emphasis will be placed on examining the challenges faced by art historians, and the systems needed to address scholarship in the discipline. Back to Top

This course will equip learners to utilize the terminology of art history and apply research practices to critical writing exercises. Learners will fine tune the skills required to discuss art in the language of art history, employing the evolving terminology of cultural art history. This course will teach learners how to properly apply and use their skills to produce scholarship of the highest quality, consistent with disciplinary standards, criteria and practices. Back to Top

This course will equip learners to evaluate theories put forth in scholarship, and evaluate them intelligently. The goal of this course will not be to foster unjustified skepticism, nor will it be to suggest that learners and/or scholars should approach other theories with an aim of finding fault with them. Instead, a thoughtful scrutiny of theoretical works will be encouraged, to insure that theories considered in scholarship are unbiased, and are weighed in the context of their strengths and weaknesses. Learners will learn the importance of applying and/or adapting theory properly, without compromising its integrity, and will also learn how to challenge existing theories appropriately, utilizing sound and thorough research approaches. Interpretation, as a tool of scholarship, will also be thoroughly addressed in this course. Learners will develop and understanding of the criteria by which subject matter should be analyzed. They will also learn skills to facilitate objective consideration, and thoughtful abstraction, for application to subjects under investigation. As the course concludes, learners will also learn how to develop systems that will assist them in completing comprehensive, unbiased research. Back to Top

This course will familiarize learners with the various paths and/or combination of paths taken by art historians in the professional arena. The application of art history to career paths is rich, textured, and broad. More traditional as well as alternative careers will be examined in this course, including the arenas of education, scholarship, curatorship, art criticism, art appraisal, arts administration, research, archiving, art dealership, media buying, promotion, advertising, design, merchandizing and more. Back to Top

This course will examine the interrelations between literature and the visual arts in Italy from 1300 to 1600. The writings of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio and their followers are analyzed in relation to the painting, sculpture, and architecture of Giotto, Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Raphael, and Michelangelo, among others. Prerequisite: Survey knowledge of the Italian Renaissance. Back to Top

This course will survey developments in European architecture, architectural theory, the decorative arts, and urbanism beginning in the mid-eighteenth century. The focus will be on major developments in such Western European countries as France, Germany, England, Austria, and Italy. Consideration will also be given to Scandinavia, Central Europe, and Eastern Europe. North American material will be examined for comparative purposes, as will some non-Western materials. Back to Top

This course will be an examination of the major and minor masters of the Quattrocento in Florence, Siena, Central Italy, Venice, and Northern Italy. Special attention will be paid to the defining cultural, economic and political characteristics of each region, and their impact on the artistic conventions, subject matter, and formal and aesthetic approaches articulated in the art. Back to Top

The major categories of Greek sculpture originated in the archaic period, including the male nude, the draped woman, and architectural sculpture. The contexts for art, including sanctuaries and tomb monuments also date back to the archaic period. This course will examine both the archaic conventions for representation and the social and religious function of images. Back to Top

This course will examine the development of American art, in its cultural context, from the seventeenth century to World War II. Some attention will be given to the very different concurrent developments in Europe. Back to Top

This course will examine the history of public monuments in America, with special attention focused on the problems and controversies that memorials have and continue to cause in the increasingly diverse and fragmented society of the USA. Back to Top

In this course the achievements of Giotto will be explored. Giotto owns the singular distinction of being the only artist in the Western tradition having no forerunner. His art will be examined bearing that characterization in mind, and a search for origins in the social, political, religious, intellectual, historical and cultural contexts of its production will be pursued. Back to Top

In this course the life and art of Michelangelo will be explored, including his painting, sculpture, architecture, drawings and poetry. Michelangelo’s development will be analyzed in its social, political, religious, intellectual, historical, philosophical and cultural contexts. Careful consideration will be given to the letters and poetry of this great artist, as we attempt to identify the reasons why he is the most well known artist in the world today. Back to Top

Topics in this course will center on Central and South American post-war modernism and post-modernity, examined through issues of theme, style, and medium. Contemporary artistic practices such as conceptual and installation art will be carefully considered. Back to Top

Perhaps the most widely recognized Mexican art form is the mural. The Mexican Muralist school counted among its members the most powerful figures of the genre. Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros, depicting aspects of the Mexican Revolution, the nation's modernization and its class struggle, have become legendary. Rufino Tamayo and Juan Soriano have also achieved great stature as muralists. However, Mexican art hardly begins and ends with mural painting. Among the most popular of Mexico's artists is José Clemente Orozco, whose animated folk art characters are well known for both their satirical and lifelike characteristics. In addition, various twentieth century art movements developed in Mexico, featuring noteworthy talents such as Frida Kahlo, and Mexico is the home of exciting contemporary trends, as well. This course will be a journey through the history of Mexican art, including its religious, secular and folk genres. Special attention will be paid to the cultural values deeply embedded in Mexican art, and the cross-fertilization of traditions in literature, music and art. We will also examine the broader influence of Mexican art, particularly as articulated in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, with a view toward identifying how globalization is affecting artistic production—and our findings, conclusions, and perceptions of art historical issues. Back to Top

This course will examine the visual culture(s) of medieval Spain in context, beginning with the Visigoth Kingdoms and finishing with Charles V's addition of a Renaissance palace to the Alhambra. This survey will be comprehensive, covering almost ten centuries. Back to Top

Magical Realism, a term that originated in the visual arts in 1920s Germany, moved into the realm of Latin American literature in the 1940s. It was virtually abandoned in art history and criticism, until the 1980s. This course will explore the history of the concept from its beginnings in Europe to its current usage and misusage in an international forum. Back to Top

Spanning from the Neolithic period to the Han dynasty, this course will examine the period during which ancient Chinese civilization was formed. The material culture, beliefs and practices examined in this course will form a backdrop to understanding the times when indigenous traditions such as Confucianism and Daoism were formulated. Writings from archaeological, anthropological, art historical, and ritual perspectives will be introduced. Back to Top

This module is focused on the Bible and the Cult of Saints, as the stories of each are manifested visually. The religious art of the medieval and Renaissance periods, in particular, was the liturgy for the masses. However, interpretations became more secularized as developments in humanism evolved, and as political and social conditions changed over time. Nevertheless, religious art has remained immensely popular throughout all subsequent periods, despite the separation of church and state—and despite the general secularization of societies in the West. This module examines the theological, literary and iconographical traditions devoted to those stories told in the Bible and in hagiography traditions, to determine how the interpretations have shifted over the course of time. Back to Top

The concept of painting as a medium for creating illusions of space, volume, texture, light, and movement on a flat, stationary support has been challenged by many modern artists. This course will examine the establishment and ongoing development of alternative painting forms. Emphasis will be placed on the relationships between formal choices and cultural values. This course may be applied to both Western and non-Western majors. Back to Top

This course will provide an introduction to the history, philosophy, and evolving purposes of museums. The practices and concerns of museum administration, education, collections, exhibitions, conservation and public relations will be covered, in historical, cultural and contemporary contexts. This course may be applied to both Western and non-Western majors. Back to Top

This course will introduce the historiography and methodology of American art history, from the earliest discussions to the present. Through an analysis of one particular mode (e.g., portraiture, landscape, genre) over time, Learners will gain an understanding of the relationships between culture, education, scholarship and works of art. Back to Top

This course will explore the cults of saints and relics, which developed into a big business during the Middle Ages and beyond. Learners will discover how the crisis over a shortage of relics provided a foundation for the iconography of religious painting, for the patronage that was abundant during the Italian Renaissance, and for the complex pictorial programmes that were produced. Back to Top

The need to break free from academic approaches to artistic production led to the Impressionist movement, focused on color and light. This course will explore Impressionism thoroughly in order to identify its values, components, and impact on the broader history of art. Back to Top

This course will explore the origins of iconographical elements, and the development of iconology into a science. Christian-Judeo, pagan, mythological, cultural, literary and social avenues will be investigated to illustrate how symbols become embedded in the language of art. Beginning with the early medieval period, this course will track iconographical elements to the present day. Back to Top

Throughout the ages artists have utilized their talents to respond to crises in their cultures. This course will examine artistic responses to such crises as the Black Death, the breakdown of the institutional church in the latter Middle ages, WWI and WWII, the Holocaust, the Vietnam involvement, and the Attack on America of 9/11/2002. This course may be applied to both Western and non-Western majors. Back to Top

This course will analyze modernist movements in European art during the second half of the nineteenth century. Major themes will be explored, including the establishment of modernity as a cultural ideal, the development of the avant-garde, and the genesis of the concept of abstraction. Back to Top

The course will analyze the American Ashcan Movement, which ran concurrently with developments in Impressionism. Studies of the dramatic differences between these two movements will facilitate a better understanding of why each movement emerged. Back to Top

This course will explore topics in the arts produced in Spain’s American viceroyalties, from approximately 1521 through 1821. Although various examples of painting, sculpture, architecture, and works in other media from both the viceroyalties of New Spain and Peru will be considered, there will be an emphasis on Novo Hispanic artistic production. Back to Top

Symbolism in Eastern painting, intended to deepen the experience of a picture's mood and spirituality, is more generalized and poetic than in Western art. Both the execution and the subject matter of Buddhist Chinese and Japanese painting have a religious or metaphysical significance. This course will explore Eastern symbolism in its cultural contexts, with special attention paid to contemporary applications and interpretations of traditionally Eastern symbols. Back to Top

Ink is the traditional painting medium of China and Japan, where it has been used with long-haired brushes of wolf, goat, or badger on silk or absorbent paper. This course will explore the formal, philosophical and cultural components of traditional ink painting through an examination of its finest examples. Back to Top

This course will examine the relationship between text and image in Chinese Mahayana Buddhist art, through an analysis of a number of important Buddhist texts and the visual representations associated with those texts. Interpretive theories such as narrative and ritual will be explored. Back to Top

African artists did not consciously seek to infuse their sculptures with aesthetic qualities. They had been carefully schooled from the time they were adolescents in the traditions and beliefs of their culture and then trained in their craft, often through long apprenticeships to master carvers. Over the past twenty years, a number of provocative studies of the aesthetics of African art have been completed. This course will consider those studies in its exploration of African sculpture in the contexts of its production and in modern and post-modern contexts. Back to Top

This course will address topics related to the art made in the service of Islam in the Central Islamic lands, Egypt, North Africa, Spain, Turkey, Iran, Central Asia, and South and Southeast Asia. Special attention will be paid to variations in the articulation of fundamental beliefs, and cultural influences as expressed in Islamic forms. Back to Top

Among the earliest surviving forms of manuscript painting are the papyrus rolls of the ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, the scrolls of Classical Greece and Rome, Aztec pictorial maps, and Mayan and Chinese codices, or manuscript books. European illuminated manuscripts were painted in egg-white tempera on vellum and card. This course will examine the enormously rich manuscript traditions, including Eastern, Western, Indian, Islamic, Celtic and many other forms. This course may be applied to both Western and non-Western majors. Back to Top

This course will examine the prehistoric and historic art forms of the Arctic Northwest coast and the Eastern woodlands of North America, as well as art forms of the Plains, Southwest, and Western regions of North America. Back to Top

This course will be a serious study of the major themes in Greek sculpture and painting of the fifth century B.C.E., including mythological narrative, cult practices, banqueting, and athletics. In order to view these themes in the context of classical Greek culture, the course will seek out shared structures of response and feeling in contemporary poetry; including readings in translation in Anakreon, Pindar, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. Back to Top

The imagery and subject matter of paintings in early cultures were generally prescribed by tribal, religious, or dynastic authorities. In some Eastern countries, traditional models survived into the eighteenth century and even later. This course will examine the relationship between imagery and culture, to develop a more astute understanding of imagery’s articulation of subject matter. Special attention will also be paid to surviving symbols and their evolving meanings. This course may be applied to both Western and non-Western majors. Back to Top

Three hundred years before the late eighteenth-century English watercolorists created their works, Albrecht Dürer anticipated their technique of transparent color washes in a remarkable series of plant studies and panoramic landscapes. This course will examine the evolution of watercolor techniques, covering the chief exponents of the English method, Victorian watercolorists, the French Impressionists and Postimpressionists, and the American practitioners. Back to Top

An altarpiece is a work of art that decorates the space above and behind the altar in a Christian church. The predella is a low, decorated strip intended to raise the main part of the altarpiece to a height where it is readily visible from a distance. Artists had a much greater opportunity for self-expression in the design and execution of the predella panels. This course will focus on some of the great altarpieces of the Western tradition, to search for identifying characteristics of the artist, as articulated in the predella panels. Back to Top

This course will involve studies into the High Renaissance, Roman Mannerism, the maniera, and related movements in Cinquecento painting. Special attention will be paid to the evolution of scholarship devoted to issues examined during the course and definitions of Mannerism. Back to Top

This course will involve a series of studies into the major developments in Italian sculpture from the late Dugento through the early Quattrocento. The works of such sculptors as Niccolo and Giovanni Pisano, Jacopo della Quercia, Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Verrochio, Leonardo da Vinci and the young Michelangelo will be examined, among others. Back to Top

This course will focus on the brief but profound appearance of Masaccio, the artist who is largely held responsible for reviving the ideas first put forth by Giotto. All of the information available about this artist will be analyzed with an aim toward deciphering the mystery of the artist’s vision. Back to Top

This course will survey the major artists and schools of the United Provinces from about 1580-1680 in the context of Dutch culture and history. Artists studied will include Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Vermeer and Jacob van Ruisdael, among others. Emphasis will be placed on the iconographic method of interpreting daily-life through genre and landscape, and the role of theory in Dutch art and the character of Dutch realism. Back to Top

Within various cultures, the art of representing things by painted images has rarely shown a continuously developing pattern toward greater realism that remains unbroken. More often than not, religious and philosophical precepts have determined the degree of naturalism permitted, and these have tended to be somewhat abstract. This course will examine these developments within cultural contexts, with a view toward determining how natural elements have been and are now interpreted. This course can be applied to Western and non-Western majors. Back to Top

This course will examine the depiction of Asians, Blacks, Indians, and Latinos in American art, from colonial times to the present. A primary goal of this examination will be to identify and describe some of the ways in which visual images have functioned in the construction and reinforcement of racial mythologies. Back to Top

Folding screens and screen doors originated in China and Japan, probably during the twelfth century, and continued as a traditional form to the present day. This course will carefully examine the motifs and characteristics of these highly specialized art forms. Back to Top

Fresco is the oldest known painting medium, surviving in the prehistoric cave mural decorations (thought to date from about 20,000-15,000 B.C.E.) and perfected in sixteenth-century Italy in the buon' fresco method. Today, there is a growing revival of the tradition. This course will examine the great frescos of history in an effort to understand their cultural origins, applications and evolution—and the reasons behind a re-emergence of the tradition. Back to Top

This course will provide an intensive examination of the development and evolution of scroll painting. Hand scrolls, traditional to China and Japan, are ink paintings on continuous lengths of paper or silk. We will study some of the finest remaining examples of scrolls in the contexts of their production, and as influences on other art forms. Back to Top

This course examines the history of cities around the world, locating urban forms in their social, cultural, political, economic, symbolic, and cultural contexts. The history of cities from the origins of urbanism to the present will be thoroughly explored. Cultural identifications defining cities will be sought and heavy emphasis will be placed on examining the recycling and reworking of the corresponding characteristics. This course may be applied to both Western and non-Western majors. Back to Top

This course will provide learners with a history of patronage, examining its processes and impact on artistic production. Emphasis will be placed on the power of the patron in past and present contexts. Learners will also examine artists’ contracts dating back to the fifteenth century. This course may be applied to both Western and non-Western majors. Back to Top

Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, Pablo Picasso remains one of the greatest and most influential artists of the twentieth century. The creator (with Georges Braque) of Cubism, Picasso continues to be a figure hotly debated. This course will examine the life and works of the inseparable man and artist, with special attention paid to the positives in his art as inspired by the negatives of his experience. Back to Top

The coherent presentation of Leonardo da Vinci’s theory of art is an achievement of modern scholarship. Nevertheless, Leonardo was an artist highly valued in his own time, as well as in our own. This course will investigate what Renaissance and Baroque artists and theorists did know of Leonardo’s writings, how they were interpreted, and the ways in which Leonardo has influenced all subsequent periods in art and culture. Back to Top

This course focuses on the Dutch painter generally considered to be the greatest after Rembrandt, and one of the greatest of the Post-Impressionists. Van Gogh's art became astoundingly popular after his death, especially in the late twentieth century. Van Gogh has also been mythologized in the popular imagination as the quintessential tortured artist. This course will attempt to separate the man from the myth and define van Gogh in a cultural art historical perspective. Back to Top

Expressionism is the artistic style in which the artist seeks to depict subjective emotions and responses that are aroused by objects and events. This course examines Expressionism as the distinct movement initiated by a number of German artists, as well as Austrian, French, and Russian ones, who became active in the years before World War I and during the interwar period. The evolution of expressionism from a style to an artistic approach will also be explored, as we examine expressionistic works from the post-WWI period to the present day. Back to Top

Centuries ago, it was sacrilegious to depict humans in any manner other than grotesque, because doing so would undermine the position of God, in relation to humanity. This changed during the Italian Renaissance, which is largely indebted to the cultures of ancient Greece and Rome. This course will examine depictions of human beings over time, with an aim toward identifying humans’ self-perception as articulated in art, and the role of art in shaping definitions of humankind. Back to Top

Artists dating back centuries found ways of immortalizing themselves in painting and sculpture that extend far beyond formal self-portraits. During the Italian Renaissance, artists would sometimes feature themselves in predella panels. This course will examine self-portraiture throughout the ages, to determine how the artists’ visions of themselves are reflected in their primary works of art. Self-portraits embedded in other works of art as well as formal examples will be analyzed. Back to Top

Animals have been represented in art since the beginning of human history, and always with significance. This course will examine the varying cultural interpretations of animals, and their articulation in art. Particularly close attention will be paid to art produced by cultures forbidding the representation of humans in art. This course may be applied to Western and non-Western majors. Back to Top

In the broadest sense, folk art refers to the art of the people, as distinguished from the elite or professional product that constitutes the mainstream of art in highly developed societies. This course will focus on folk art as a viable, cultural art historical tradition, and will examine folk art production from cultural and formal perspectives. This course may be applied to Western and non-Western majors. Back to Top

This course will focus on the practitioners of Surrealism, examining the numerous variations within this broad movement. Attention will be placed on such artists as Dali, Magritte, de Chirico, Miró and others, and the distinctive visions they each articulated under the singular umbrella of surrealism. Back to Top

Also called Naïf Art, these traditions include work of artists in sophisticated societies who lack or reject conventional expertise in the representation or depiction of real objects. While the definitions of each continue to evolve, naïve art generally refers to works produced by people who live and function within mainstream cultures. Outsider art generally refers to works produced by individuals living on the fringes of or outside of mainstream societies. This course will track the evolution of these traditions, with special emphasis placed on the influences of recognition—and the impact of these traditions on fine arts. Back to Top

This course will examine the evolution of “the landscape” from its beginnings in the seventeenth century to the present day. Special attention will be paid to the origins of landscape painting, the seeds of which date back to the medieval period. Cultural influences on visual representations of landscapes will be analyzed, as will the significance of landscape on the Romantic movement and expressionistic works. Back to Top

This course will involve an in-depth examination of post-war developments in Mexican modernism and post-modernism. Established and innovative artistic practices, organizations and movements will be examined, as will the works of definitive Mexican artists. Ongoing trends and new developments will also be carefully considered. Back to Top

Material culture is a term originally coined by archaeologists to stand for "the vast universe of objects used by mankind to cope with the physical world, to facilitate social intercourse, and to benefit our state of mind" (James Deetz). In this course, a variety of theoretical and practical approaches to material culture will be examined. This course can be applied to Western and non-Western majors. Back to Top

This course will pursue a cultural art historical journey into how we have come to think of art in the ways we do, and how we might better utilize it as a cultural resource. We will investigate the kinds of historical and cultural inferences we make from works of art, and whether or not such inferences are valid. Special attention will be paid to the ways in which art has been used to make places, and the relationships of place to political influences and cultural concerns. The ways in which images are used in the social fabric of different cultures will be thoroughly explored, and a lengthy examination of the emerging global language of art will be conducted. Art as a unifying cultural vehicle will be examined, and thorough consideration of how we might better utilize its power for global understanding will be a primary focus. This course may be applied to both Western and non-Western majors. Back to Top

This course will survey the materials, methods, and texts of architectural history. A broad selection of readings will trace the evolution of the discipline, and will position architectural history in relation to such fields as art history, history, anthropology, cultural geography, urban planning, and architectural theory. (This course can be applied to Western and non-Western majors.) Back to Top

This course is adjusted on a per-student basis to accommodate specific research projects within areas of specialization. Successful completion requires extensive scholarly research and application—and generally engages a highly interdisciplinary approach. Back to Top