Course Description:
There are many different approaches to the study of art history. This course offers one way to approach this vast subject by thinking about art history as inseparable from the study of cultures. Whether we are considering an individual artist or artwork, an artistic movement or time period, or an artistic medium or practice, we become involved in the development of tools for understanding and interpreting social attitudes, values and beliefs, as well as aesthetic trends and customs in different eras and locales. In doing so, we can also make a start at tracing out wider understandings of the role of art in our own lives, and at deepening our experiences, enjoyment and appreciation of artworks and artists we already enjoy. This course is designed to cultivate skills for constructing a lens on history and culture out of a web of artists, artworks and artistic practices. It aims to connect artistic practices not only with questions of beauty and form, but also with the shifts of time, wealth, spiritual attitudes and power.
This course is appropriate both for students whose concentrations are art-related, as well as for those interested in art as part of their upper-level general learning. This course is structured around core-learning modules. In these modules, students will study together the history of art history, the politics of art history, and visual culture. In addition, each student will individualize their study by choosing to focus in depth on particular time periods, on multicultural art history (for instance, issues of gender and ethnicity) and/or on particular artistic mediums or artists. In addition to class discussions and brief writing assignments (summaries and responses), students will design and complete a research papers on a topic of interests. Students will also complete a final project in which they may choose to develop a visual presentation on a topic of interest, or to design a 21st century art museum.
Note: while there are no formal prerequisites, students must be prepared for advanced-level work: critical reading, writing and research. It is recommended that students have achieved the equivalent of lower-level learning in the arts or cultural studies, as well as familiarity with U.S. and/or world history.
This course fully meets the General Education requirement in The Arts.
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