Art History

Selected topics in non-western art history are covered. Topics vary from term to term.

This course is an exploration of Buddhist iconography and ritual revealed in art and monuments from South; Southeast; and East Asia. The focus is on the generation of meaning through sculpture; painting; and architecture.

This course examines the artistic and architectural highlights of India from Indus Valley Culture to the 16th Century CE. We view the architecture; sculpture; and monuments of Buddhism and Hinduism; two of India’s most ancient Religions.

This course is an introduction to the study of material culture from prehistory to the present in global perspective. Themes include power and civilization; pleasure and leisure; trade and status; and exploration and modernity.

Selected topics art history from ancient to baroque are covered. Topics vary from term to term.

This course surveys the developments in architecture; sculpture and painting from the European Renaissance to Baroque periods (late 14th through 17th centuries). Works of art are studied as individual monuments related to the historical culture that produced them.

This course surveys medieval visual culture from Late Antiquity to the end of the Middle Ages. Examining the art; architecture; and material culture across Europe; themes considered may include multiculturalism; empire building; iconoclasm; gender; patronage; pilgrimage; ritual; and secular life.

This course provides a critical survey of ancient art. We focus on the great empires of antiquity--Babylonian and Egyptian; Greek and Roman--that emerged in the Near East and Mediterranean region.

Selected topics in modern art history are covered. Topics vary from term to term.

This class will provide a critical introduction to modern art. It will trace the contexts of modern art movements and explore key themes. We will look at a wide-range of art genres; including painting; sculpture; and photography.

This course will introduce students to the development of the concept of modernism in art and will focus on discussing examples of related utopian visions of an idealized past or an anticipated future.

This course provides a critical introduction to modern sculpture in the twentieth century. It traces the contexts of modern sculpture; sculptors; their audiences; and materials; and explores key themes from the period. It examines sculpture made from a variety of materials—stone; marble; bronze; steel; fibers; ceramic; wood; glass; plastic—among others.

A survey of photography and moving image art from Daguerrotypes to Moholy-Nagy's innovative Bauhaus practice to contemporary video installation.

Topics vary from semester to semester. May be repeated for credit.

This course enables students to develop an understanding and appreciation of another culture; first in the classroom; and then two weeks in Paris. The focus is on history; art; and contemporary culture. Open to all students. Applicable as elective credit only toward the BFA and the B.S. in Art History and Theory; does not apply to art history requirements.

An examination of contemporary art amidst the global turn; uncovering how different artists; cultures; nationalities; and identities (mis)align in a fractured and globalized world. Should be taken Fall semester sophomore year. (Fall & Spring)

Topics vary from semester to semester. May be repeated for credit.

This course examines contemporary arts of Japan; China; North/South Korea; India; Pakistan; Tibet; and Vietnam; with a focus on emerging theories of global arts and diverse art practices; such as curating; viewing; and the making of Asian art today.

This course focuses on arts of the Mughal Empire to now; including architecture; painting; sculpture; courtly and popular arts; and photography. Students will consider how ancient forms of art and culture endure into the 21st century; examples include yoga; tantra; ceramics; metalwork; textiles and more.

This course is an introduction to Japanese visual arts; material culture; and architecture from prehistory to the present. Major monuments of Japan are analyzed according to their historical; social; and religious contexts. A field trip to study objects in the Johnson Museum Collection at Cornell University is part of the course.

This course is a survey of ceramics; wood; metalwork; textiles and product design from the 15th century to the present in China; Korea and Japan. Emphasis is on aesthetics; production systems; social worlds and craft discourse. (Fall; odd years)

A survey of Japanese ceramic objects and practice from prehistory to the present. Focus is on materials; techniques; aesthetics; and networks of makers; producers; and patrons. Also includes the study of Japanese influences on ceramics globally. Generally offered (Spring)

This course explores how nature has become a key component of the museological gaze. In an institutional context; we will examine the emergence of natural history museums; from early; private; curio cabinets to the full-fledged science centers of today. (Spring)

This course introduces the architecture; painting; sculpture; pottery and other forms of material culture from Ancient Greece and Rome to further our understanding of the foundations of western civilization and western approaches to art; beauty and civic planning.

This course explores medieval art--architecture; painting; sculpture and the decorative arts--through the study of subject matter and the major stylistic developments from the religious and secular spheres of medieval society. Other topics include patronage; artistic production; and workshop practices.

This course surveys the role and development of illuminated manuscripts—hand-written; painted books—in Western Europe beginning with the seventh century and ending in the fifteenth century with the invention of the printing press.

This course explores how medieval art and architecture in Europe (ca. 500-1500) was shaped by the materials and techniques used to create it; and the status and working practices of its makers. Materials considered include: Ivory; parchment; was; clay; and glass. *(Annually).

This course will survey European art and architecture of the eighteenth century focusing on selected cultural centers. It will study developments in painting; sculpture; prints; ceramics and architecture in the context of the formation of major institutions responsible for the development of the modern concepts of art and artist toward the inception of the modern art world.

This course is an in-depth study of the major stylistic forms; directions and iconography in Italian Renaissance art and architecture (14th through 16th centuries). We explore the systems of art-making and patronage in the major urban and court centers.

This course is an examination of Northern Renaissance art (France; Germany; the Netherlands and England) from the 1400s until about 1600. The period is marked by an increase in the materialism of religious faith; most notably observed in the extravagant artistic patronage by the royal courts and the Church.

This class is a survey of European art and architecture during the 17th century within cultural; religious; political and intellectual frameworks. Main themes include: the impact of the Counter Reformation on the visual arts; urban planning; art as propaganda; specialization of the art market; rise of art academies and art theory.

This course will investigate the issue of primitivism; one of the major topics in modernism. We examine the problematic nature of primitivism; specifically artists' involvement in the broader discourse of colonialism. The class will critique a variety of art practices--including photographic mapping; black deco spectacle; ethnographic Surrealism--ranging from the mid 19th century to the present.

Encompassing the movements of Symbolism to Surrealism; this course covers the developments in modern art during the first half of the 20th Century. Students explore such themes as modernity; primitivism; and utopian theory as well as the stylistic developments and formal innovations of this period.

This course investigates the facture of painting--the marking; process; and surface of work--through a series of case-studies from the late 19th century to the present. It is designed for graduate students enrolled in the Alfred-Dusseldorf MFA Program and advanced undergraduates.

The history of product and graphic design; focusing primarily on Europe and North America from the Industrial Revolution to the present. Particular emphasis will be placed on design in response to changes in society; politics; and technology.

This course tracks the global turn in art history and within contemporary artistic practice since 1989 with a particular focus on social upheaval; political transformation; and diasporic identity.

This course investigates the nature and place of craft in modern culture. We traverse a century of craft-based practices--from the artisan guilds of the Arts and Crafts Movement to the virtual guilds of today--focusing on recent strategies and practices. Prerequisite: one 100-level art history course.

This interactive course focuses on and studies the projects of selected contemporary artists. These projects serve as platforms for investigating issues and problems related to various contemporary art forms and movements including; the embodiment of the viewer; play and reality; new technologies and consciousness; ironic modernism; and the critique of the post-medium condition. This course can be substituted for ARTH 211 in the BFA curriculum. Cannot enroll in if student has taken Topics: Global Contemporary Art Since 1989.

In the aftermath of WWII. the Cold War tried to divide the world into two camps in a binary opposition. This course will investigate the profound and global impact it has had on contemporary art. in and beyond the Eastern and Western blocks; and the long shadow it has cast that reaches into our day.

A series of recent projects exploring contemporary issues in sculpture will be the focus of this class. We will be looking an international array of artists; including: Matthew Barney (United States); Robert Irwin (United States); Juan Munoz (Spain); Doris Salcedo (Colombia); Thomas Schutte (Germany); and Rachel Whiteread (Britain). The work of these artists will be examined in the context of larger post-war debates.

This course offers an in-depth study of Picasso in relation to other modern artists and movements. Special attention is paid to the nature of style. Students conduct research on the development of abstraction in the early twentieth century.

Histories and theories of ceramic art; craft and design from the late 19th century to the present in Europe and North America. with a particular focus on the Arts and Crafts movement; Modernism and Postmodernism. Generally offered (Spring).

This course takes a broad interpretation of “landscape” as the springboard for an examination of land; space; site; and place in the visual arts; across cultures; geographies; and time periods. We will view a wide variety of differing cultural understandings of landscape as a way of considering how we; as humans; inhabit; interpret; and impact our world. (Annually)

This course traces the material nature of experimental film and video art; including handmade cinema; avant-garde film; computer art; algorithmic media; etc.

This course examines 20th and 21st century art and media that engage with feminist and gender issues in a global context. The first few weeks are spent reviewing a concise history of first- and second-wave feminist thought; particularly its relation to art and visual culture. Thereafter; selected contemporary art from all regions of the globe are covered.

While studying in Munich; Stuttgart; and Heidenheim; learn about German history through the art; monuments; and architecture Nazi leader Adolf Hitler revered; despised; and looted. At the Kunstmuseum Stuttgart; view the paintings of German First World War soldier Otto Dix; branded “degenerate” and banned by the Nazis. Experience the medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber; touted by Hitler as a Germanic exemplar. In Munich; walk through the Alte Pinakothek and other art museums that Hitler frequented in his early years; then trace the steps of those persecuted and interned by the Nazis at the Dachau Concentration Camp. Finally; learn about the liberation of prisoners from Hitler’s camps; stolen artworks; and their postwar fate in Heidenheim; where a Jewish Displaced Persons camp was established by the U.S. Army. (Allen/Winter)

Topics vary from semester to semester. May be repeated for credit. Prerequisite: One 300-level art history course.

The seminar inquires about the conditions that make possible painting's persistence as a vital artistic medium and practice. Students develop an understanding of the conditions underlying the persistence of painting as a medium and practice by studying the approaches and strategies employed by both its participants and selected artists who have made significant contributions. It will help clarify some of the reasons for the privileged position that has presumably held in the ecology of art. (Fall)

This course traces the history of the art; architecture and culture of the Islamic world bordering the Mediterranean basin. Religious and secular works of art are examined in order to foster greater understanding and appreciation of Islamic visual culture and aesthetics.

In this course we examine the history of ceramic art; craft and design according to its major global flows. Recent scholarship; primary texts; and the direct study of objects from the Alfred Ceramic Art Museum collection form the basis for discussion of the history of ceramics’ aesthetic values; praxis; patronage; and cultural identities.

Through the lenses of various themes—youth; sexuality; class; religion; politics; revolution; time; and space—this course explores how different cultures throughout the world understand and communicate their cultural values through cinema.

Academic inquiry into an area not covered in any established course; and carried on outside the usual instructor/classroom setting. Approved Plan of Study required.

What do art historians do? This seminar investigates the foundational practices that have shaped the discipline of art history; including historiography; research methods; museum studies; curatorial practices; and art conservation. Field trips to regional museums; guest lectures; and object-based research.

A close examination of the nature of sculptural viewing over the past 200 years. Sculptural theory is considered alongside contemporary artistic practice; ranging from Antonio Canova's neoclassical figures to Janet Cardiff's audio walks. Primary sources will be used for class discussion; along with Potts' The Sculptural Imagination. In addition to thinking critically about the phenomenon of viewing; we will investigate the changing attitudes toward sculpture and the broadening definitions of three-dimensional work in the modern period.

This course examines the relationship between making and writing in contemporary art. We will read; dissect; and discuss a spectrum of recent texts by artists; critics; and literary authors. In addition to these class conversations; students will be asked to regularly write short exercises and engage in weekly critiques. Over the span of the semester; students will improve their writing and produce a finished professional text in the form of a critical essay or artist proposal. This is a course that is geared to upper-division and graduate-level students and encourages enrollment from across all media and disciplines; including craft practices and performing arts.

This seminar focuses on how photography and its modern modes of vision were disseminated and adapted around the globe since its 1839 invention in Europe. The course is designed as a research lab: students develop both a short written report and related visual project.

A round-table seminar based on extensive group discussions and in-depth research on recent innovations in technology and how that technology has impacted art production and theory.

Capstone course open to graduating majors in Art History and Theory for the development of an article of publishable quality presented as a B.S. Thesis. Students write the thesis under the guidance of their thesis advisor.

This course is a survey of ceramics; wood; metalwork; textiles and product design from the 15th century to the present in China; Korea and Japan. Emphasis is on aesthetics; production systems; social worlds and craft discourse. (Fall; odd years)

An introduction to museums and galleries focusing on their history; theory; and practice across various types; including art; history; and science. Explores how museums and galleries reveal the social and cultural ideologies of those who build; fund; work in; and visit them.

A behind-the-scenes survey of the work of museums; focusing on collections care; audience accessibility; and digital engagement. Students gain practical experience with emerging tools and strategies that are transforming how cultural institutions preserve and share their collections. (Fall)

Faculty-supervised practical experience at a museum or gallery; concentrating on one or more of the learning outcomes of the Museum and Gallery Practices minor. Requirements include a minimum of 45 hours of practical experience per credit; a weekly learning journal ; and a final learning report. *(All terms)