Art History Courses

ARTH 160: African American Art History Survey

African American artists from 1850 through to early 21st century. The work of these artists will be contextualized by connecting each artist and movement in its historical period. The course content includes discussions of the social and political issues of the day including American imperialism, fairs and world expositions, the Works Progress Administration, Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights Movement and more. Connecting art, artists and their histories expands and enhances our understanding of history in art.  Credits: 3

A survey of the history of architecture, painting and sculpture within the Western tradition from the prehistoric through the gothic periods and an introduction to the process of art historical analysis. Offered once per year  Credits: 3

A survey of the history of architecture, painting and sculpture within the Western tradition from the Renaissance through the Rococo Period and an introduction to the process of art historical analysis. Offered once per year  Credits: 3

A survey of the history of architecture, painting, and sculpture within the Western tradition from the later eighteenth century to the present and an introduction to the process of art historical analysis. Offered once per year  Credits: 3

ARTH 174: F/Visual Culture Today

Visual Culture studies the construction of the visual in art, media, technology and everyday life. Students learn the tools of visual analysis; investigate how visual depictions such as YouTube and advertising structures convey ideologies; and study the institutional, economic, political, and social and market factors in the making of contemporary visual culture. Credits: 3(3-0)  Credits: 3

Credits: 0-4

Credits: 0-4

Credits: 1-12

This course is intended to be an introduction to the development of art within a religious context. The material covered will trace religious thought from the Greco-Roman world to the end of the Romanesque stage of art in Western Europe. The course will cover, Greece (Archaic to Hellenistic), Rome (through the Roman conquest of Jerusalem), the emergence of Christianity and its conflicts with Rome, the development of the Byzantine world, the development of Islam and the conflicts, the increase of migrations from Scandinavia and the Germanic areas, Celtic culture and the history of the Crusades. Offered on a two-year rotation  Credits: 3

This course surveys Western European art in Italy, Spain, France, Germany and the Netherlands from the beginning of the Renaissance at the papal Court in Avignon to its fruition in Fifteenth Century Florentine humanism. Connections between art and the changing role of the family, the development of nation-states, the increased importance and power of women in society and the new educational curriculum will be explored. Offered fall, even years  Credits: 3

This course studies the lives of works of art in times of war as they are traded, lost, destroyed, altered and given new significance. Global, political events that have affected the works of art in Greece, Africa, China, India, the Middle East, and Western Europe are included for study in the course.  Credits: 3

A survey of the age of the High Renaissance of Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Giorgione and Durer, which gave way to the Mannerism of Pontormo, Bronzino, Rosso, el Greco and the School of Fontainebleau. Emphasis will be placed on artistic issues concerning technique, style, artistic originality and invention, theory and the role of the artist in society. Offered spring, odd years  Credits: 3

Spanning most of the twentieth century and the early part of the twenty first we will examine cultural and transcultural exchanges that played pivotal role in formation of modern and contemporary art. We will use various methodologies including post-colonial and feminist to understand how the mechanism of power and colonialism had influenced production and consumption of art. We will concentrate on the most recent processes brought to the forefront by globalization such as international Biennale especially those taking place in Asia, proliferation of the contemporary art museums, and influence of globalization on the art market. Credits: 3(3-0)  Credits: 3

A study of how artists responded to social, cultural, and religious upheavals that led to the industrial revolution and the development of the modern city. Movements include: neo-classicism, romanticism, realism, impressionism and post-impressionism, with special attention to the rise of new media like photography, new techniques like painting outdoors directly from nature, and the increasing presence of women artists. Offered spring, odd years  Credits: 3

A historical survey of the art and architecture of the United States from the Colonial period to the present.  Credits: 3

This course covers the art of Latin American from the Nineteenth to the Twenty-First Century and Latino Art in the United States. Course discussion will focus on social issues of politics, religion, gender, ethnicity, race, and issues connected to the creation of artistic centers in the Americas. Prerequisites: ARTH 172 or ARTH 173. Not offered on a regular basis  Credits: 3

ARTH 287: F/Avant-Garde Modernism

The study of artistic responses to modernism's utopian visions and the devastation of two world wars. Major art movements include: Primitivism, Expressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Dada, Surrealism, the Bauhaus and            Abstract Expressionism; artists include: Matisse, Picasso, Duchamp, Dali, Magritte, Kandinsky, Mondrian, and    Pollock. Offered fall, odd years  Credits: 3

Credits: 1-6

Credits: 1-12

This course will study an artist or artists or major issues in the history of art. Typical offerings are Michelangelo, Picasso and Matisse, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, and Women and Art. Prerequisites: One 100- or 200-level art history course or permission of the instructor. Offered spring, odd years  Credits: 3

This course covers selected special topics in the art of Latin America from the Nineteenth to the Twenty-First Century and Latino Art in the United States. Course discussion will focus on social issues of politics, religion, gender, ethnicity, race and issues of connected to the creation of artistic centers in the Americas. Prerequisite: ARTH 282 or permission of the instructor. Not offered on a regular basis.  Credits: 3

This course will look at gender as a process of creation of images and image making in the history of western art from antiquity to the present, emphasizing modern and contemporary art. The course will examine the works and lives of artists from a gender and/or transgender perspective and the social conditions that have affected the definition and manifestation of gender and its role in creativity and in the careers of individual artists. In addition, the course will explore the challenges that the gender issues have posed to subject matter and content for works of western art. In so doing, the methodologies of art history will be employed. Prerequisites: ARTH 171 or ARTH 172 or ARTH 173. Offered not on a regular basis, every two years.  Credits: 3

This course is intended to acquaint students with museum practices and theory, approaches to scholarly research, business and curatorial practices, connected professional organizations and national and international issues faced by museums. Aspects of display design, museum education, transport of work, as well as study of different types of museums is included in the course content. Prerequisites: ARTH 171 and ARTH 172. Offered every other year  Credits: 3

A seminar on the art of the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation. The Baroque was an era of artistic diversity and religious change that ushered in the Modern Era. Here, Baroque art will be explored within the societal and religious controversies that gave it aesthetic and ideological purpose. Prerequisites: One 100- or 200-level art history course or permission of instructor. Offered spring, even years  Credits: 3

A study of the history of art history as a discipline and an analysis of diverse art, historical methodologies and theories. Intensive reading and writing, with stress on research skills, writing techniques, oral presentations and class discussion. Graduate school and career options will be explored. Prerequisites: Enrollment is limited to art history majors, art history minors, museum studies minors or students with significant art history background who have received permission from the instructor. Offered every year  Credits: 3

Credits: 0-6

This is a year-long independent study project, of which Part I is a Directed Study (ARTH 399), with ARTH 393 being Part II towards completion of the Senior Thesis. This year-long project is optional and is reserved for advanced students and is not necessary for the fulfillment of the requirements of the Major. Offered by individual arrangement.  Credits: 3-6

Credits: 1-6

An opportunity for motivated students to conduct independent research in an area of interest while working with a faculty member on an individual basis. (1 to 3 semester hours). Prerequisites: Enrollment by advisement and by written permission of instructor and department chairperson. Offered by individual arrangement  Credits: 1-6

Credits: 0-3

Credits: 0-6