Visual Cultures (Art History) Course Descriptions

1000 Level Courses

AH 1000Art Through the Ages3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)An introduction to the history of art and visual culture from around the world from prehistory to c. 1400. Course reading, writing assignments, and field trips (for in-person classes) equip students with the tools they need to think critically, write effectively, and build confidence in discussing art and culture outside the classroom. Approved for LAS Humanities area requirement. Approved for Compass Curriculum requirements: Inclusiveness; Explore - Arts, Humanities, and Cultures. GT-AH1.
AH 1001Global Visual Culture: 1300 to Present3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)An introduction to the history of art and visual culture from c. 1300 to the present. Course reading, writing assignments, and field trips (for in-person classes) equip students with the tools they need to think critically, write effectively, and build confidence in discussing art outside the classroom. Approved for LAS Humanities area requirement. Approved for Compass Curriculum requirements: Inclusiveness; Explore - Arts, Humanities, and Cultures
AH 1500Art & Ideas: Renaissance to Present3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)An introduction to the key issues in visual cultural studies through a broad examination of historical shifts in art and popular culture across time periods and geographies. Through course readings, writing assignments, and field trips (for in-person classes) students learn to effectively apply visual analysis and media literacy skills to interpret diverse forms of cultural expression, building confidence in discussing the politics of visuality and forms of representation from the development of perspective in the Renaissance; to photography and film; to video games and virtual reality in the digital age. Approved for Compass Curriculum requirements: Explore-Arts, Humanities, and Cultures; Writing Intensive. GT-AH1.

2000 Level Courses

AH 2000Survey: Special Topics3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)Selected topics focused on various historic periods of art history from throughout the world’s cultures. May be repeated for credit if the topic is different.
AH 2800Survey: Ancient Art3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)A survey of sculpture, painting, and architecture from the Paleolithic through the Roman periods. The arts of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Anatolia, Greece, and Rome will be given primary consideration. Approved for LAS Humanities area requirement. GT-AH1.
AH 2810Survey: Medieval Art3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)A survey of the arts of early Christian, Byzantine, early Medieval, Romanesque, and Gothic periods. Approved for LAS Humanities area requirement. GT-AH1.
AH 2820Survey: Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo Art3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)A survey of the paintings, sculpture, and architecture of Proto-Renaissance Italy through the European Rococo periods, roughly 1300 through 1750. Approved for LAS Humanities area requirement. GT-AH1.
AH 2850Survey: American Art3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)This course addresses the material culture of what now is the continental United States. Material culture in this context emphasizes painting, sculpture and architecture.
AH 2860Survey: Modern Art3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)An introduction to major movements in art and architecture from the late 19th to the mid-20th century. Art from Europe and the United States will be given primary consideration, beginning with Post-Impressionism and ending with Abstract Expressionism. Approved for LAS Humanities area requirement. Approved for Compass Curriculum requirement: Explore-Arts, Humanities, and Cultures. GT-AH1.
AH 2870Survey: Modern Art II3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)An introduction to major movements in art and architecture of the western world from the mid twentieth century to the present, beginning with pop art and ending with a survey of contemporary trends.
AH 2890Survey: Nineteenth Century Art3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)A survey of Western art from the late eighteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century, beginning with the rejection of the rococo and ending with the realist style. Approved for LAS Humanities area requirement. GT-AH1.

3000 Level Courses

AH 3000Topics in Art History3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)

 

Emphasizes study of a more specific area than that covered in regular art history course offerings. For further information see individual course listing for each semester.

AH 3010History of Photography3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)The history of photography from its infancy to the present. The development of the photograph as art will be traced from the early 19th-century pioneers through the contemporary masters.
AH 3240The Art of Greece and Rome3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)A consideration of the culture of ancient Greece and Rome as expressed by architecture, painting, and sculpture from around 800 B.C. to 400 A.D. Approved for Compass Curriculum requirement: Writing Intensive.
AH 3250Women, Visual Arts, and Culture I3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)A survey of the lives and contributions of women artists, from the Renaissance to c. 1900. The primary objectives are to introduce issues of gender in the production of visual culture and familiarize the student with the critical literature of art history. Req., permission of instructor. Meets with WEST 3160.
AH 3260Women, Visual Arts, and Culture II3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)Introduction to feminist theory and women’s artistic production from 1970 to the present. Focuses on how women’s art attempts to resist normative ideals of femininity, subvert aesthetic hierarchies, and illuminates the intersections of race, gender, and sexual orientation. Prer., AH 2000 or permission of instructor. Meets with WEST 3260.
AH 3330Film, Video and the Avant-Garde3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)An examination of the relationship between avant-garde film and video, and the history of modern and contemporary art. Meets with FILM 3330.
AH 3430African American Art3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)Introduction to contemporary (1970-) African American art forms with inclusion of traditional African art’s influence on American Black culture. Approved for LAS Humanities area and Cultural Diversity requirements.
AH 3450Art of Japan3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)Examines the depth of Japanese aesthetics through layers of art and experience. In addition to sculpture, painting and ceramics, class material encompasses the artistry of the Tea ceremony, theatre (e.g., Kabuki, No & Butoh), calligraphy and textiles. Approved for Global Awareness requirement.
AH 3460Islamic Arts3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)Investigates the essence and diversity of Islamic culture through time and space as it is visually expressed in architecture and other arts. Approved for LAS Global Awareness requirement. Prer., ANTH 1500, a course in Medieval art, Medieval history or by permission of instructor.
AH 3790Romanesque and Gothic Art3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)A consideration of Romanesque and Gothic culture as manifest in the sculpture, painting, and architecture of Europe from around 1030-1350.
AH 3840Baroque Art3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)The 17th century throughout Europe with primary attention to Caravaggio, Rubens, Bernini, Poussin, Velasquez, and Rembrandt.
AH 3850Topics in American Art3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)Selected topics in the art of America from colonial period to the present, including folk art, craft, modern art, post-modern architecture, monuments, popular art and culture, etc. Prer., A H 1000 or A H 2000 level survey.
AH 3860Contemporary Art3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)An in-depth, thematic study of art of the 1990s to the present that emphasizes the analysis of the art of our time in relation to a variety of critical texts. Prer., A H 1000, or 2000 level survey.
AH 3920Folk Arts, Folk Expressions, and Folkscapes3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)This course investigates different cultural expressions from belief systems to folk performances, vernacular architecture, and yard art where ingenuity creates senses of place, action, and performance. Includes visits to collections and folk art sites plus folk craft workshops. Meets with VAPA 3920. Prer., VAPA 1020, VAPA 1050, VAPA 1100.

4000 Level Courses

AH 4030Internship in Art History1 Credit (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)Supervised opportunities for advanced art history students to apply their knowledge and obtain experience in a variety of professional arenas. Prer., Permission of advisor.
AH 4450Meso-American Art and Architecture: Sacred Time and Space3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)Examines art traditions, cultural practices and the ethno-aesthetics of the Meso-American societies, Olmec, Maya and Aztec, in light of their history and subsequent European colonization. Different art forms are studied to understand the interdependency of art, ceremony, religious and royal display, cultural continuities, tradition and change. Approved for LAS Global Awareness requirement. Prer., AH 1000, AH 1500 or consent of instructor.
AH 4470Art and Ritual of the South Pacific3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)A study of major trends in the development of painting, sculpture, and architecture as they reflect the culture of Renaissance Italy from around 1300-1500. Prer., AH 2820 or equivalent.
AH 4810Art of the Italian Renaissance I3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)A study of major trends in the development of painting, sculpture, and architecture as they reflect the culture of Renaissance Italy from around 1300-1500. Prer., AH 2820 or equivalent.
AH 4830Northern Renaissance Art3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)History of painting in northern Europe from the late 14th through the 16th century with primary emphasis on the art of the low countries. Prer., A H 2820 or equivalent.
AH 4890Nineteenth Century Art I3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)History of the neoclassic and Romantic movements in European art with special reference to the Painting of David, Goya, Ingres, Gericault, and Delacroix, as well as consideration of architecture and sculpture from 1780 to 1850.
AH 4900Nineteenth Century Art II3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)A study of the developments of Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Symbolism in France and England from 1850 to 1905.
AH 4910Modern Art: 1900-19453 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)An in-depth, thematic study of the history of the avant-garde between 1890 and 1945 that emphasizes thee analysis of art of this period in relation to a variety of critical texts.
AH 4920Art since 19453 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)An in-depth, thematic study of Modernism and Post- Modernism in the visual arts that emphasizes the analysis of art and architecture of this period in relation to a variety of critical texts. Prer., AH 2000 level survey.
AH 4980Senior Capstone in Art History3 Credits (Minimum) 3 Credits (Maximum)Seminar experience in art history methodology. Required of all graduating majors. Open to students with 15 hours of upper-division coursework in art history. Approved for Compass Curriculum requirements: Summit; Writing Intensive.
AH 9400Independent Study in Art History1 Credit (Minimum) 4 Credits (Maximum)Independent Study in Art History on the undergraduate level with any full-time professor by arrangement.