Art History (ARTH)

An exploration of significant questions and integrative concepts in Art History, their grounding in the process of scientific discovery and application, and their broader relevance to society. Designed for first-year students. Although topics vary, the courses also seek to improve students’ communication skills beyond the written word.

An exploration of a specific topic in Art History. A grade of C- or better fulfills the COLL 150 requirement. Although topics vary, the courses emphasize academic writing skills, reading and analysis of texts, and discussion.

For study abroad credit.

This course is a brief survey of Florentine architecture, painting and sculpture from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. Three of the weeks will be dedicated exclusively to one of these mediums and the fourth will treat a combination of them.

Selected topics in Art History to be used with cross-listed courses that are not listed with Art History as the home department.

Selected topics in Art History to be used with courses that are listed with Art History as the home department.

This course is a wide-ranging survey of the arts from the indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica and the Andes, prior to contact with European societies. The course will focus on the historical development of the arts and architecture of these areas and the role of art in this wide variety of social contexts. Lectures will cover, but are not limited to, rulership art of the Olmec and Maya, Aztec manuscript painting, Moche ceramics, and Inca architecture.

The Caribbean is often perceived as ‘paradise;’ a place where the sun always shines and beautiful beaches welcome weary travelers. Jamaican photographer Peter Dean’s work sometimes confronts the viewer with images that make them reconsider this notion of paradise. Take for example his 2005 photograph ‘Escaping Pineapple'; the sea carries the beautiful ripe pineapple away, soft water splashing around it, an endless grey-blue sky on the horizon. In an instant the viewer connects to this ‘paradise’ of water, sun, and tropical fruit; but then is struck with a question: Why does the pineapple want to escape? Likewise, this course will challenge students to re-evaluate what they know about the Caribbean and Caribbean art. The Caribbean is comprised of more than twenty countries, each with its own unique history and identity. Yet the countries share a cultural unity in their mixture of American, African, European, and Asian origins.

This course surveys major European artistic traditions, while introducing students to the main intellectual, social, and historical concepts developed in Europe between ca. 300 - 1500.

The study of Early Modern European art from the Renaissance to the modern era. Illustrated lectures and readings.

The study of European art movements and milieux from the eighteenth through twenty-first centuries. Emphasis placed on France and important developments from the rococo to contemporary art. Illustrated lectures and readings.

This course explores the history of Asian art, from the prehistory to the contemporary. Asia, since prehistory, has been a constantly shifting mosaic of kingdoms and cultures, engaged in a network of creative exchanges. Its cultural diversity will be examined through art, architecture and archeological discoveries. The lectures will be constructed in three sections to survey the most significant art works, with a focus on India, China and Japan. Students are expected to obtain a critical understanding of the history and theory of arts in Asia and of the importance of visual arts within Asian cultures. It also introduces key issues concerning religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism) and regional studies, and sheds light on cultural exchanges from the time of the Silk Road, through the colonial period, to the 21st-century.

A study of art, architecture and archeological discoveries from the Stone Age to the 19th-century. Significant works are examined in the contexts of historical and social changes related to broader Chinese culture and intercultural exchanges (notably East/West).

A study of art, architecture and archeological discoveries from the Stone Age to the contemporary in Japan. High, religious, and popular arts are examined in the contexts of historical and social changes and intercultural exchanges with China, Korea and the West.

Critical exploration of creative art in North America—including New Spain, New England, New France, the U.S., Mexico, and Canada—since the arrival of Columbus in 1492, examining diverse makers, media, and techniques in historical contexts. Lectures, discussions, readings, writing assignments, and exams.

An introduction to the architecture and urbanism of the past two centuries. Influential buildings and cities analyzed in relation to their intellectual, technological and socio-political contexts. Topics include the architectural ramifications of Enlightenment thought, nationalism and internationalism, industrialism, new art theories, colonialism and anti-colonialism.

Interdisciplinary study of art and ecology in various contexts since the 19th century, highlighting creative expression, interpretation, and activism concerning issues such as global warming, pollution, evolution, nonhuman life, species extinction, ideas about “nature,” and the politics of environmental justice.

A critical overview of the collecting and display of things. The intent of the class is to place museums within a wider historical and global context that considers broadly the ways in which knowledge is produced, categorized and communicated through human choice and ordering of material objects.

Courses of special subjects.

A required course for Art History majors exploring the history, theory, politics, and practical knowledge of curating. In addition to critical readings, classroom discussion, writing, and exhibition design, students will organize and implement an art exhibition during the semester.

A required seminar for Art History majors. The course explores foundational ideas and key thinkers that have shaped the field and engages students in a critical survey of the theories and methodological approaches to the study of the history of art.

A history of colonial art and architecture in New Spain (Mexico) and Peru that emphasizes cross-cultural issues of power, hybridity, and identity. Includes a substantial introduction to pre-Hispanic visual culture.

Courses of special topics. Course may be repeated for credit only if there is no duplication of topic or title.

May be used as an opportunity for an off-campus experience. Must be approved in advance on a case-by-case basis by the Department Chair and the Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education. See Special Programs-Internships in this catalog for more information. Open only to Art and Arth History majors who have completed at least 21 credits toward the major. May not be repeated. Note: Application through the Department and the Academic Advising Office in the preceding semester (see Special Programs-Internships in this catalog).

This course is designed to familiarize you with important figures and work from movements and milieux including symbolism, postimpressionism, fauvism, cubism, dada, and surrealism. It covers a period that runs roughly from the last quarter of the nineteenth century to the Second World War.

This course is designed to familiarize you with important figures and work from movements and milieux in a period that runs roughly from the 1920s to the 1960s. We will not restrict ourselves geographically (or chronologically or according to medium) except as a convenience. The course is meant as a survey of major works and critical discourses.

A study of the visual culture and built environment of Europe from 300 to 1450.  Architecture and art are examined in relation to religious, social, political, and economic contexts.  Themes include urban development, pilgrimage architecture and monasticism, the Gothic style, classical revivals, Crusader art, and material culture.

The study of the formation of Christian art and the persistence and elaboration of these themes and styles in the Byzantine Empire until 1453. This course examines religious art and architecture in relation to Christian theology and liturgy as well as significant secular works in relation to the broader context of cross-cultural dialogue in the Medieval Mediterranean region.

An interdisciplinary exploration of relationships between art and gender as reflected in processes of creation, selection of subject matter, or the development of individual style. Contemporary approaches to studying gender in history and theories of representation combine with analyses of art and texts seen as manifestations of identity.

An examination of Renaissance Art in Florence, Rome, and Venice. Artistic developments are considered in their religious, political, and intellectual contexts.

A selective survey of Northern Renaissance painting that considers the work of artists such as Van Eych, Bosch, Dürer, and Bruegel in the context of Humanism, Reform, and Early Capitalism.

The nature and reliability of human vision was a focus of debate in Early Modern Europe. This course considers the role of the artists and the artefacts they made in shaping the attitudes f the wider visual culture. Throughout the semester we will explore how increased preoccupation with distinctily artistic concerns in intertwined with contemporaneous developments in religion and science.

A comprehensive survey of 17th-century Dutch painting. Artistic developments are placed in the context of the formation of the Dutch Republic around 1600. Artists such as Hals, Rembrandt, and Vermeer are considered.

An examination of salient debates and approaches in the interdisciplinary field of urbanism, highlighting the role of urban form and design in shaping sustainable and livable environments and access to resources. Topics include sprawl, environmental degradation, brownfield development, gentrification, place-making, community participation, and social and ecological resilience.

An exploration of critical events and urban planning processes that have shaped cities in the Middle East and North Africa since the 1850s. Particular emphasis placed on the architectural and spatial ramifications and the lived experiences of modernization reforms, colonialism, nation building, the Cold War, the oil industry, civil war and conflict, and the new patterns of global interdependence.

The history of modern and contemp orary Chinese art in relation to cultural and social changes from the first Opium War to the present , spa nning the late-19th century, the 20th-century and the on-going developments of the 21st-century.

North American Art from 1913 to the present , emphasizing varieties of Modernism and Postmodernism in relation to politics, industrialism, war, and other historical forces. Key movements and groups: the Stieglitz circle, Dada, Surrealism, Social Realism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop, Minimalism, Land Art, Conceptual Art, Folk and Outsider Art, Institutional Critique, Identity Politics, and Eco-art.

May be used as an opportunity for an off-campus experience. Must be approved in advance on a case-by-case basis by the Department Chair and the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies. See Special Programs-Internships in this catalog for more information. Open only to Art and Arth History majors who have completed at least 21 credits toward the major. May not be repeated. 

A study of the origin, exchange & innovation in Buddhist art and architecture through Asia, focusing on sites and unique genres. Buddhist imagery mirrors great tolerance for regional cultures and religious debates through variation in abstract/figurative and realistic/fantastic art forms, with references to mythology and Dharmic theology.

A comprehensive study of ink painting in East Asia. Artistic developments are examined against the debates on art, aesthetics, history, and cultural identity. Landscape, portraiture, birds-and-flower, narrative painting, Chan painting, the arts of the literati, the eccentrics and the courts are considered.

A survey of the portable arts and architecture of the Ancient Andes from pre-history to the early Spanish colonial period focusing on the ways these works functioned as part of larger cultural, political, and economic spheres.

Seminar topics of special subjects that involve the student in research in primary materials and involve intense writing.

A seminar on the origins and development of printmaking from the 15th to the 20th century. Prints are viewed as part of a wider cultural and artistic context and as a means of communication.

Intensive study of a selected topic in American art involving a genre (e.g., landscape painting), a period (the 1930s), a movement (tonalism), or an issue (e.g., the representation of women in 19th-century American art).

Seminar topics of special subjects in Built Environment Studies that involve students in research in primary materials and intense writing.

A required “capstone” seminar for Art History majors requiring students to expand and refine a research paper already written for an earlier art history course and deliver a related public presentation. Fulfills the Major Writing and Computing Requirements.

Admission by consent of the departmental committee.  Each candidate will be responsible for submitting by the end of their junior year a thesis proposal and a selected bibliography in some specific area of art historical literature, prepared in consultation with their advisor.  Students admitted to honors study in art history will be enrolled in this course during both semesters of their senior year and will submit a scholarly thesis two weeks before the last day of classes of their graduating semester.   Information is available from the department web site and the Charles Center.  For College provisions governing the Admission to Honors, see Honors and Special Programs under Requirements for Degrees in this catalog .

Admission by consent of the departmental committee. Each candidate will be responsible for submitting by the end of their junior year a thesis proposal and a selected bibliography in some specific area of art historical literature, prepared in consultation with their advisor. Students admitted to honors study in art history will be enrolled in this course during both semesters of their senior year and will submit a scholarly thesis two weeks before the last day of classes of their graduating semester. Information is available from the department web site and the Charles Center. For College provisions governing the Admission to Honors, see Honors and Special Programs under Requirements for Degrees in this catalog .