Art History (ARTH)

ARTH 2301. Ancient to Medieval Art.

This course is a chronological survey of art from pre-historic through the late middle ages that provides an historical framework of important styles, iconographies, and techniques. Students critically analyze painting, sculpture, and architecture in terms of their formal properties, purpose, meaning and cultural context. Key themes include: religious, political, and storytelling functions of art; dialogues across media; cross-cultural interaction; the importance of tradition; and the role of the artist in society.

ARTH 2302. Renaissance to Modern Art.

This course surveys art history from the fourteenth century through the twenty-first century. Students examine the meaning and historical significance of works of art and/or visual culture from a variety of cultures and/or a plurality of perspectives. The course emphasizes analysis of visual and material features of works of art and evaluation of their meaning in historical context. Key themes include: religious, political, and storytelling functions of art; dialogues across media; cross-cultural interaction; the importance of tradition; and the role of the artist in society.

ARTH 3300. Art Criticism and Writing.

This course offers a critical overview of the history and practice of art criticism and writing. Students examine key theoretical concepts, issues, and debates central to the history and practice of art criticism, including its use of description, analysis, interpretation, judgment, voice, and tone. Students analyze a range of theoretical and art historical texts for thinking critically about art criticism, its history and practice and assemble their own engaging and well-crafted portfolio of art criticism and writing.

ARTH 3301. History of Modern Art.

This course surveys modern art in Europe and the Americas from 1850 to 1965. Students learn about the stylistic trends, technical innovations, aesthetic issues, and evolving philosophies of modern art as they are introduced to major modern art movements in chronological order. Students learn to apply art historical methodology to analyze how modern artworks relate to their social and historical contexts. Students examine how and why artworks come to be considered historically significant and practice applying acquired knowledge to less frequently studied artworks.

ARTH 3306. History of Photography.

This course provides a thematic overview of photography’s history from its earliest manifestations until the present. Students examine key genres, photographic processes, theories, and debates for thinking critically about the medium, including questions about its realism, politics of representation, art and collectible value, and intersection with other fields of study. Students encounter a range of photographers, both historical and contemporary, as well as issues and approaches for considering photography’s evolving identity as a medium within historical and theoretical debates.

ARTH 3307. Issues in Contemporary Art.

This course surveys major international developments in contemporary art from the 1960s to the present day. Styles, practices, and topics covered include Pop Art, performance, video, appropriation, installation, digital media, and contemporary monuments. The course integrates historical context, theoretical perspectives, and formal analysis to examine how artworks are produced and interpreted. Students engage with artworks through critical discussion, readings, and experiential learning opportunities such as gallery and museum visits, visiting lecturers, and special events, supporting deeper understanding of contemporary artistic practices.

ARTH 3316. History of Design.

This course surveys major movements in the history of design from the nineteenth through the twenty-first centuries, with an emphasis on graphic design, architecture, and related fields. Organized chronologically, the course explores case studies ranging from the European avant-garde and Art Deco to post–World War II and contemporary design, including developments in art and editorial direction and typography, as well as fashion, interiors, and Olympic design, among other topics. Students also study how design styles are represented in film and visual culture.

ARTH 4300. History of American Art.

This course provides a thematic overview of American art and visual culture from the colonial period to the 1950s. Students examine historical factors, including social, political, religious, and technological developments, that influence the production and reception of art in the United States. The course engages a range of theoretical and art historical texts to support critical analysis of how American art has been conceptualized. Emphasis is placed on historical exchanges, cross-cultural interactions, and the diverse regional and international influences that shape artistic traditions and visual culture.

ARTH 4302. Latin American Modernisms.

This course surveys the modern art of Latin America, including Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela, from the wars of independence to the 1960s. Students are introduced to major genres, styles, and movements including academic art, landscape, costumbrismo, modernismo, avant-gardes, social realism, surrealism, and various forms of abstraction. Students examine how artists engaged with aspects of modern life in their historical contexts and identify themes presented in the course that appear within the artworks.

ARTH 4303. Pre-Columbian Art.

This course surveys the art of major pre-Columbian cultures in Mesoamerica and the Central Andes from pre-history to the European conquest. It introduces students to various cultures through the study of their architecture, sculpture, painting, ceramics, textiles, and other objects. Applying a variety of methodologies, students interpret the original social, religious, political, and ecological significance of artistic material products of these cultures. Students develop art-historical analysis and critical writing skills.

ARTH 4304. Global History of Cinema.

This course is a transnational survey of the evolution of cinematic form, production, and reception from the invention of cinema in 1895 to the present day. Students analyze regional and global contexts of major film styles, movements, and industries. Movement across geographical, linguistic, and cultural borders serves as a unifying theme. Through close viewing, discussion, and written analysis, students examine how cinema reflects and shapes cultural exchange, identity formation, and artistic innovation across different societies and historical periods. (WI).

ARTH 4306. Renaissance Art.

This course provides an in-depth survey of European art from 1300 to 1600, with emphasis on art from Italy but also including select works of art representative of the Northern Renaissance. Students study the revival of ancient forms and iconographies as well as the emergence of print. Students also study the materials and techniques of Renaissance art, particularly works on paper, the emergence of art history as a tradition, and the relationship of art to its social, political, and religious contexts. (WI).

ARTH 4308. Asian Art.

This course provides a broad survey of the art of East Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, from prehistory to the present. Students study the forms, materials, formats, and structures found in Asian art and architecture. Students also study the shaping impact of religion on Asian art; the role played by the circulation of objects, people, and ideas in the making of Asian visual cultures; and the relationship of art to political formations such as empire. (WI).

ARTH 4309. Gender and Visual Representation.

This course provides an introduction to art, theory, and visual culture concerned with issues of sexuality, gender experience, and difference. Students examine these themes across a variety of cultural contexts and historical periods, exploring how visual representation reflects and shapes understandings of individual and collective identity and the body. Through engagement with artworks, texts, films, and other media, students develop interpretive skills through discussion, research, and critical writing, supporting analysis of relationships between visual culture and social meaning. (WI).

ARTH 4310. Race and Representation.

This course provides an overview of various historical and contemporary approaches to visual representations of race. Students analyze key theoretical concepts, issues, and debates relevant to the representation of race and its history, including questions about identity formation, placemaking, and cultural legacy as discussed in relevant scholarship. Students examine a range of cultural productions, including art, photography, film, performance, and visual culture. Students develop art-historical analysis and critical writing skills.

ARTH 4311. History of Italian Art.

This course is a survey of Italian art from the medieval period to the seventeenth century. It is taught on-site in Florence, Italy. Students study the shaping of art and architecture by mendicant orders in the later Middle Ages, the principal artistic innovations of the Florentine Renaissance, and the evolution of art as the city developed from a republic into a Medici-ruled grand duchy. Students also study the materials and techniques of Italian art, and contemporary descriptions of it. May be substituted for ARTH 2301 or ARTH 2302. (WI).

ARTH 4312. The Arts in Popular Culture.

This course provides an overview of the intersection of popular culture with the fine arts from the nineteenth century onwards. Students examine key theoretical texts and art historical readings to consider how the meanings of art and popular culture are both influenced by the terms of their political, economic, and social contexts and in turn mediate and produce knowledge about the world. Students analyze high and low as interlocking discourses necessary for understanding works of art in their specific historical contexts.

ARTH 4313. Hellenistic Art and Culture.

This course explores major works of art in architecture, painting, sculpture, and minor arts from the Hellenistic period, with a cross-disciplinary emphasis on interactions between Greek and non-Greek cultures from Northern India to the Italian peninsula. Organized thematically, the course examines style, iconography, politics, and cultural context. Students engage in analysis and interpretation of visual and material culture to develop understanding of artistic production and exchange in the Hellenistic world. (WI).

ARTH 4314. Art and Politics.

This course is an historical examination of how artists and patrons worked to change or endorse leaders, forms of government, and political policies. Students examine how art has been used in political communication, including persuasion, commemoration, commentary, and representation. Careful attention is paid to the role of aesthetics, cultural symbolism, and public display in political art. Various forms of art from a range of times and places, up to the present, are considered, and students evaluate how art functions in political processes.

ARTH 4315. History of Experimental Film.

This course provides an overview of experiments in avant-garde and artists' films from 1920 to the present. Students learn how to analyze meaning in moving images that exhibit unconventional narratives, cinematography, and editing. They examine and assess reactions to these films among audiences past and present while developing their own analytical perspectives. Through close viewing, historical study, discussion, and written analysis, students explore how these works challenge dominant modes of visual representation and reflect broader social, philosophical, and aesthetic developments across different historical and cultural contexts.

ARTH 4316. Islamic Art.

This course provides a broad survey of Islamic art and architecture from the time of the Umayyads to the present day. Students investigate how historical religious doctrines and requirements shaped artistic and architectural forms and formats. Students also study the classical heritage of Islamic art; relationships across media; regional and sectarian differences; mechanisms for the transmission of artistic ideas; the evolution of art forms over the centuries; and scholarly commentary on Islamic art and modernity. (WI).

ARTH 4317. Spanish Colonial Art of the Americas.

This course surveys painting, drawing, engraving, sculpture, architecture, and decorative arts created in the Spanish viceroyalties of the Americas between 1521 and 1821. Students examine the roles that art and architecture played in religion, government, social structuring, and identity formation and consider the artists’, patrons’, and viewers’ contributions to cultural developments. The arts of this period are considered with attention to the convergence and distinct contributions of indigenous American, European, and African cultures. Students apply formal and contextual analysis of visual materials through art‑historical methods.

ARTH 4318. Postmodernism and Design.

This course examines postmodern design as it developed in the late twentieth century. Students analyze iconic examples of postmodern architecture, graphic design, furniture and interiors, alongside relevant historical, social, and cultural contexts that shaped their production and reception. Students also consider representations of architecture and design in film and other forms of visual culture. Emphasis is placed on close visual analysis, engagement with scholarly texts, and written interpretation of design objects and media within their historical frameworks.

ARTH 4319. Modernism and Design.

This course explores movements in modern design in the early and mid 20th-century. Students study iconic examples of modern art and architecture, and other design disciplines, as well as the cultural, social, and philosophical contexts that impacted their production and reception. Students also study the representation of art and design in films and other forms of visual culture.

ARTH 4320A. Documentary Photography.

This course explores key issues in the theory, history, and practice of documentary photography. (WI).

ARTH 4322. Art History Special Problems.

This course offers advanced students the opportunity to undertake an independently developed research project in art history under faculty supervision. Students identify a focused art history topic, investigate relevant sources, and apply appropriate art-historical methods to produce a substantial project. Emphasis is placed on analytical reasoning, the effective use of research methods, the utilization of evidence-based interpretation, and the clear communication of ideas. The course may be repeated for credit when the topic of study differs. Prerequisite: Instructor approval.

ARTH 4323. Art History Theories and Methods.

This course introduces students to major theories and methods involved in the study of art and visual culture through reading and discussion. Students examine how different methodological and theoretical frameworks shape the interpretation of visual objects across historical and contemporary contexts. Students write and present a research paper that addresses a topic in art history or visual culture, using critical thinking and consciously applying art historical theories and methods. The course emphasizes both analytical writing and oral presentation as essential tools for engaging with the fields of art history and visual culture.

ARTH 4325. Art History Internship.

This course offers students the opportunity to experience and receive academic credit for professional activities related to the field of art history. Students independently seek out, apply for, and secure internship placements under the supervision of a designated professional mentor at museums, galleries, or other art-related organizations. They gain practical knowledge of careers in the arts sector while building professional contacts and networks, and developing concrete experience for their resumes. Prerequisite: Instructor approval.

ARTH 4326. Art History Thesis.

This course gives students the opportunity to pursue a thesis project through independent research on an art historical or visual culture topic. The student works closely with the faculty member to develop a rigorous academic project that may take the form of a research paper, art exhibition, or other scholarly endeavor. Students engage in sustained scholarly inquiry through regular consultations with their faculty advisor. Their resulting thesis project synthesizes critical analysis of substantial scholarly texts with original interpretations of art historical or visual culture topics. Prerequisite: ARTH 4323 with a grade of "D" or better.

ARTH 4327. Video Art.

This course follows the evolution of video art from the analog to the digital era. Video art that explores and critiques technologies of spectacle (cinema, television, the internet and virtual reality) is a special focus among the artworks that students view, discuss, research and interpret. Students learn how to identify and theorize liveness, closed circuit transmission, compositing and playback as medium-specific characteristics of video art. The course provides a nuanced examination of video art's existence between the contemporary art world and popular culture at large. (WI).

ARTH 4328. Curatorial Practices.

This course offers a critical overview of the history and practice of exhibition design and curation. Students examine key theoretical concepts, issues, and debates central to the history and practice of art curation, including its use of description, analysis, interpretation, judgment, voice, and tone. Students analyze a range of theoretical and art historical texts to think critically about exhibition design, its history, and practice. Students assemble their own engaging, well-crafted exhibition while examining the role of exhibitions in communicating knowledge through a variety of display methods and styles.

ARTH 4329. Baroque Art.

This course provides a survey of art and architecture from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries typically brought under the heading Baroque, as well as related works classified as Rococo. Students investigate the formation of the Baroque, its principal characteristics, historical factors contributing to its global spread, and regional and local manifestations. Students also study the materials and techniques used to create Baroque art, and the relationship of Baroque artworks to the social, political, and religious conditions in which they were made. (WI).

ARTH 4330. Contemporary Art of Latin America.

This course examines contemporary art and the critical debates surrounding it in Latin American countries since the 1960s. Using historical analysis, comparative methods, and theoretical frameworks from art history, students will analyze artists’ rejection of modernist approaches to art and how that related to their engagement with an array of contextually-specific social issues.

ARTH 4331. Medieval Art.

This course examines the art and architecture of Europe, the Mediterranean, and West Asia from 300 CE to about 1450 CE. Students study the roots of medieval art, examples from polytheistic, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions, and the origins of the idea of an “in-between” art. Students also study the materials and techniques used to create medieval art, its relationship to the sacred, the transmission of forms and ideas across cultures, and historical debates surrounding images. (WI).

ARTH 4332. Art and the Environment.

This course examines the intersections of art and the environment in the Western Hemisphere from the nineteenth century to the present. Students consider how artists used a wide range of media to address environmental themes, including landscape painting, Earthworks, installation, performance, and video, exhibiting both inside and outside conventional art spaces. A range of interdisciplinary theories and concepts are considered as frameworks for understanding complex relationships between creative production and ecosystems. Students research selected case studies related to environmental themes within artistic practice and apply research findings in analytical or creative assignments.

ARTH 4333. Documentary Photography.

This course provides a thematic overview of documentary photography’s history and practice. Students examine key concepts, issues, and debates central to the theoretical and historical conceptualization of documentary photography, including its aesthetic value, debates regarding photography’s evidentiary claims, and its use in storytelling. Students analyze a range of theoretical and art historical texts to support analysis of documentary photography’s history and practice.

ARTH 4334. Art and Activism.

This course provides a thematic overview of the history of contemporary activist art. Students examine key theoretical concepts, issues, and debates central to the conceptualization of activist art, including the roles of collaboration and collectives, placemaking, and institutionalization within museums and archives. Students analyze a range of theoretical and art historical texts to examine activist art, its historical development, and its interpretive frameworks.

ARTH 4335. U.S. Latinx Art Histories.

This course provides a thematic overview of art created by Latinx diaspora communities across the United States. Students examine key theoretical concepts, issues, and debates central to the conceptualization of Latinx art and its history, including scholarly debates about artistic visibility and representation, cultural definition, and geopolitical context. Students analyze a range of theoretical and art historical texts to support critical analysis of Latinx art and its history.

ARTH 5301. Art History Special Topics Advanced.

This course is an independent study designed to examine specific topics and address issues in art history, art criticism, or visual culture studies. Through structured assignments, including a sustained research paper, students engage with scholarly sources and develop original oral and written contributions to art historical discourse. May be repeated with different emphasis for additional credit.

ARTH 5302. Art History Special Problems Advanced.

This course is a graduate-level independent study that enables students to pursue advanced research on art history, aesthetics, criticism, and other areas of visual culture studies under faculty supervision. Students work closely with a faculty mentor to develop a rigorous scholarly project that demonstrates mastery of research methodologies, critical analysis, and theoretical frameworks appropriate to their chosen project. The emphasis of the course is on scholarship, research, and writing. May be repeated with different emphasis for additional credit. Prerequisite: Instructor approval.