Survey of Ancient and Medieval Art
4 SEMESTER HOURS
This course traces the development of art from prehistoric times through
the late Gothic period, exploring some of the major themes, questions, and
problems related to the changes in artistic style and purpose. Primary emphasis
will be on the painting, sculpture, and architecture of western civilization.
Instructor: Elise
Smith
Syllabus
*Offered in alternate years
Italian Renaissance Art
4 SEMESTER HOURS
The painting and sculpture of the Italian Renaissance will be discussed in
this course, and when appropriate the art works will be set in the context
of historical, literary, religious, and philosophical developments in order
to enrich our understanding of artistic production and patronage.
Instructor: Elise
Smith
Syllabus
*Offered in alternate years
Northern Renaissance Art
4 SEMESTER HOURS
The painting and graphic arts of Northern Europe from the 14th through the
16th centuries will be covered, with particular interest in the nature of
symbolic meaning in the visual arts. We'll also consider the impact on the
arts of the religious upheaval of the Protestant Reformation and of the social
changes affecting attitudes toward the relationship between men and women.
Instructor: Elise
Smith
Syllabus
*Offered in alternate years
Baroque Art
4 SEMESTER HOURS
Seventeenth-century painting and sculpture from five European countries will
be looked at, analyzed, discussed, evaluated, maybe laughed at, occasionally
scorned, often admired, rediscussed, and re-evaluated in this course. Major
attention will be paid to the art of Italy, Flanders, and Holland, but space
will be reserved toward the end of the semester for Spanish and French Baroque
painting.
Instructor: Elise
Smith
Syllabus
*Offered in alternate years
Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century Art
4 SEMESTER HOURS
This course will cover selected painters and sculptors of the 18th and 19th
centuries--primarily French artists, but also certain figures from Spain,
England, Germany, and America. The major stylistic movements of the Rococo,
Neoclassical, Romantic, Realist, and Impressionist periods will be explored.
Although this is an art history course, we'll try to place the visual arts
in context, understanding how they form part of a broader cultural and historical
framework.
Instructor: Elise
Smith
Syllabus
*Offered in alternate years
Modern Art
4 SEMESTER HOURS
This course will provide an overview of the development of modern art and
its origins. Emphasis will be placed on 20th-century work up to 1970, with
that of the late 19th century serving as a foundation. Questions of quality
will certainly arise ("Why is this considered art?...my two-year-old
sister could do better than that"), as well as issues dealing with materials,
artist's intent, representation vs. reality, form and content, and contextual
importance in viewing art.
Instructor: Elise
Smith
Syllabus
*Offered in alternate years
Contemporary Art
4 SEMESTER HOURS
This course will encompass a study of art from around
1970 to the present, with a special focus on new media
and concepts as well as contemporary approaches to traditional
themes such as landscape, personal identity, the body,
and religious and political subjects. Studying contemporary
works of art has the potential to create in you a new
awareness of the world and the times in which you live.
Instructor: Elise
Smith
Syllabus
*Offered in alternate years
Women Artists
4 SEMESTER HOURS
The purpose of this course is to bring to light the creative achievements
of women artists, primarily painters and sculptors in the Western tradition
from the Middle Ages through the 20th century. We will discuss Linda Nochlin's
controversial article, "Why have there been no great women artists?",
as well as other scholarly articles, in order to understand more fully the
various challenges faced by women active in the visual arts. The question
of whether it's possible to identify specifically "female" or "feminine" imagery
will be raised, and we will also consider the variety of ways in which women
artists have expressed or reflected upon their own individuality, for example
through self-portraits, diaries, journals, and letters.
Instructor: Elise
Smith
Syllabus
*Offered in alternate years
Images of Women in Art and Literature
4 SEMESTER HOURS
We will study a wide range of literature and the visual arts in order to
see how women and the feminine are represented. Our primary concern will
be to analyze certain dominant themes in these representations of women by
placing the various images in the historical and cultural contexts of early
modern Europe and by raising some theoretical questions about the different
forms of representation. We will consider what these images tell us about
women and men in western European cultures, as well as what they reveal to
us about our own ways of seeing and knowing.
Instructor: Elise
Smith
Syllabus
*Offered Occasionally
Topics in World Art
4 SEMESTER HOURS
This course will begin the process of balancing out the predominantly Western
emphasis of the art history curriculum. We will explore one or more of the
following: Buddhist China and Japan, the region in Africa that is currently
Nigeria (including the Ife, Benin, and Yoruba tribes), and Pre-Columbian
and post-Conquest Mexico (especially the Aztecs). By concentrating on thematic
issues and by trying to understand the variety of ways in which art can reflect
religious and philosophical beliefs, we will be able to raise questions about
larger cross-cultural human concerns that form the basis of artistic production.
Instructor: Elise
Smith
Syllabus
*Offered in alternate years
Museum Studies
4 SEMESTER HOURS
This course will provide an introduction to the structure, operations, and
social and political functions of museums. Topics will include funding, management,
marketing, ethical issues, exhibition strategies, and educational outreach.
We will also consider the practical, ethical, and legal issues related to
the acquisition, handling, conservation, and exhibition of museum objects.
Syllabus
Museum Studies Internship
4 SEMESTER HOURS
An internship in which a student works at a museum for at least 12 hours
a week during the semester and meets weekly to discuss readings with the
Art History mentor and other interns. Prerequisite: consent of Art Department
chair.
Internship
1 - 4 SEMESTER HOURS
An internship in which a student works with a museum, art agency, business
firm, or artist, under the supervision of the Art Department or the Career
Center. These internships may not count toward a major requirement.Prerequisite:
Permission of the Art Department chair and/or the Career Center.
MORE INFORMATION
Junior/Senior Art History Seminar
4 SEMESTER HOURS
An upper-level art history seminar focused on a different topic every fall
semester, open to all students who have had at least one previous art history
course. This seminar is required of all senior art history majors and strongly
recommended for junior majors. Past topics have included Pre-Raphaelite Art
(2002 Senior syllabus, Junior
syllabus), Dutch Baroque Genre Painting (2004 Senior
syllabus, Junior syllabus),
Contemporary Art (Senior syllabus, Junior
syllabus), The Art of Michelangelo (2006 Senior
syllabus, Junior syllabus),
and Early Netherlandish Painting (2007 Senior
syllabus, Junior syllabus)
Senior
Comprehensive Exams
