Course Descriptions

AH 141 Introduction to Visual Cultures of the Ancient World

This survey course focuses on the art and archaeology of the Mediterranean world, roughly between 2500 BC – AD 300. The course investigates the material culture of the diverse cultural groups that shaped this interconnected world: Sumerians, Assyrians, Minoans/Mycenaeans, Egyptians, Greeks, Etruscans, Persians, Italics and Romans. Special attention will be given to the dynamic relationships of inspiration between these cultures. The aim is for a firm contextual understanding of the works examined, and of the cultural, political, and historical aspects that shaped these. The course will also assist students in cultivating basic art-historical skills.

AH 142 Introduction to the Visual Cultures of the Medieval World

This survey course focuses on the art and architecture of Western Europe, the Mediterranean, and Western Asia from c. 300 to c. 1400. The course investigates the arts of the Latin West, the Byzantine Empire, the Islamic areas of western Asia, North Africa, and Europe, with brief considerations also of the arts of the wider world. Special attention will be given to the intersection of symbolic codes, traditions, and material cultures. The aim is for a firm contextual understanding of the works examined, and of the cultural, political, and historical aspects that shaped them. The course will also assist students in cultivating basic art-historical skills.

AH 143 Introduction to the Visual Cultures of the Early Modern World

This survey course focuses on the art and architecture of Europe, South and Southeast Asia, China, Japan, West Africa, and the Americas from the 1400s to c. 1750. The course investigates a range of media including painting, woodcuts, sculpture, and architecture, while considering materials and methods of production. Special attention will be given to the socio-economic and political contexts in which these artifacts were commissioned and produced. The course will also assist students in cultivating basic art-historical skills.

AH 144 Introduction to the Visual Cultures of the Modern and Contemporary World

This survey course starts with the art of Europe in the late 1700s and examines the progressive globalization of art to the present day. The course investigates a variety of media, and, fundamentally, the radical changes in definitions of art's functions, criteria and institutions in the 20th and 21st centuries. Special attention will be given to the alternate accounts of Modernity and Post-Modernism, and to the broader socio-political and cultural contexts of artistic production. The course will also assist students in cultivating basic art-historical skills.

AH 151 Foundations in Ancient Art

The course addresses the skills, methods and issues essential to building the future Art Historian’s tool kit. To this end, it develops simultaneously on three levels: immersing students in progressively complex assignments and exams; getting students to practice art history as an issue-based analysis of objects; providing students with the historical and methodological frameworks specific to the field. The course lays the foundation for looking at, understanding and working in the visual arts. The material corpus that the course draws on is primarily the Ancient Mediterranean and Near East, across a period roughly between 2500 BC-AD 300.

AH 152i Foundations in Medieval Art

The course addresses the skills, methods and issues essential to building the future Art Historian’s tool kit. To this end, it develops simultaneously on three levels: immersing students in progressively complex assignments and exams; getting students to practice art history as an issue-based analysis of objects; providing students with the historical and methodological frameworks specific to the field. The course lays the foundation for looking at, understanding and working in the visual arts. The material corpus that the course draws on is primarily the Medieval Mediterranean and Western Asia, across a period roughly between AD 400-1400.

AH 153 Foundations in early Modern Art

The course addresses the skills, methods and issues essential to building the future Art Historian’s tool kit. To this end, it develops simultaneously on three levels: immersing students in progressively complex assignments and exams; getting students to practice art history as an issue-based analysis of objects; providing students with the historical and methodological frameworks specific to the field. The course lays the foundation for looking at, understanding and working in the visual arts. The material corpus that the course draws on is primarily Early Modern Europe and the Americas, across a period roughly between AD 1400-1750.

AH 154 Foundations in Modern and Contemporary Art

The course addresses the skills, methods and issues essential to building the future Art Historian’s tool kit. To this end, it develops simultaneously on three levels: immersing students in progressively complex assignments and exams; getting students to practice art history as an issue-based analysis of objects; providing students with the historical and methodological frameworks specific to the field. The course lays the foundation for looking at, understanding and working in the visual arts. The material corpus that the course draws on is primarily Europe and North America from the late 18th century to the present day.

AH 181 Politics and Power in Roman Architecture - Augustus to Mussolini (On-site; activity fee: €25 or $33)

This on-site survey investigates the history of Rome primarily through its monuments—its architecture and urban form. This course will provide the student with a clear grasp of how the city of Rome has changed over the course of two thousand years from a modest Iron Age settlement on the Palatine Hill to a thriving modern metropolis of the twentieth century. The student will become intimately acquainted with the topography, urban makeup and history of the city and its monuments and will acquire the theoretical tools needed to examine, evaluate and critically assess city form, design and architecture.

AH 190 Cities, Towns & Villas: Rome, Ostia, Pompeii (On-site; mandatory trip; activity fee: €40 or $52)

STUDENTS SHOULD NOT REGISTER FOR BOTH AH190 and AH290
Rome, Ostia and Pompeii are three of the best- preserved archaeological sites in the world. Through their study, we are able to comprehend the physical and social nature of Roman cities and how they transformed over the course of centuries. We explore the subjects of urban development, public and private buildings, economic and social history, and art incorporated into urban features (houses, triumphal monuments, etc.). In Rome, we focus primarily upon public buildings commissioned by Senators and Emperors: temples, law courts, theaters, triumphal monuments, baths. In Ostia, the port-city of Rome, we are able to experience many aspects of daily life: commerce, housing, religion, entertainment. Pompeii represents a well-to-do Republican and early Imperial period city that was influenced by the Greeks and Romans and preserves some of the most magnificent frescoes in the world.

AH 196 Introduction to Italian Renaissance Art (Mandatory trip to Florence; Activity fee: €25 or $33)

The course is survey of art and architecture in Italy from the 14th to the early 16th century. It explores the contributions of Florence, Rome, Siena and Venice as artistic centers, and addresses trends of the Italian Renaissance as well the contributions by principal patrons and artists from Giotto to Michelangelo. Lectures are complemented by a mandatory one-day field trip to Florence (travel-costs for which are not included in the fee). The course will assist in cultivating basic art-historical skills and in building of a contextual visual vocabulary of the period.

AH 199 Introduction to Art and Architecture: Rome, A Case Study

No city in the world can boast the wealth of art and architecture that Rome possesses, and the city provides an ideal framework for understanding international trends and changes between the 1st century BC and the present day. The course will consider the historical, political and international contexts that shapes the form and display of art and architecture, as well as provide a foundation for understanding major artistic works and directions.

AH 220 Ancient Greek Art and Archaeology (Mandatory overnight trip to Naples and Paestum)

This upper level survey of Greek art and archaeology focuses on the visual culture of Ancient Greece in the Aegean and Western Mediterranean during the first millennium BCE. Students are introduced to a broad range of the extant evidence: architecture, sculpture, painted pottery, and objects of daily life. Emphasis is placed on the interrelationships between visual culture and religion, mythology, politics. The course begins with an introduction to the history of the discipline of Classical Archaeology and an overview of pre-historic Greece. Mandatory field trip may require a fee. 

Satisfies "the Ancient World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 221 The Etruscans and their Neighbors: the Art and Archaeology of Pre-Roman Italy

This is a survey of the cultures that inhabited Italy between the Copper Age and the Social Wars, with a focus on the Etruscans. This course begins with Otzi the Iceman and his contemporaries and continues through the 80s BC, indicating developments of Italic populations and their contact with both Aegean and European cultures. The core of the course concentrates on the Etruscans: students will be introduced to their tomb paintings, statuary, bronze and ceramic production, religious rites and language.

Satisfies "the Ancient World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 223 The Art and Architecture of Imperial Rome

The course focuses on the vibrant period between the 2nd century BC and the 4th century AD, which constituted the height of Roman power within a sprawling and culturally diverse Empire. It follows an overarching chronological format complemented by thematic investigations focused on particular media, locations, or traditions. In this way, portraiture and statues; mosaics; relief works; and wall painting will all be discussed for their intrinsic artistic value, for their stylistic development over time, and as shaped by the particular outlook of their patrons and their intended viewership. The course addresses themes like the impact of Greek art, elite and non-elite art, and what it meant to be 'Roman' in a multicultural empire.

Satisfies "the Ancient World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 225 The Archaeology of the Athenian Acropolis

The course focuses on one of the most iconic monuments of the Greek world: the Athenian Acropolis. The monument will be examined as a ‘total site’; that is, in its topographical, historical, social and spatial contexts. Framed within a chronological arc from the Bronze Age to Late Antiquity, the emphasis will be on the dynamic engagement with this site as a location for dedicatory interests, political and civic concerns, and regional and international contexts. Throughout, investigations of dedicatory choices – from large-scale architecture, to sculpture, to smaller votives – and of the visual opportunities provided by topographical features will provide in-depth contextualized case-studies. The aim of the course is two-fold: to provide opportunities for considering aspects of current debate and of contemporary methodologies (for instance, spatial constructs, movement, and social space; materiality; memory formation; and viewing and visual choices), and to frame the development of the Acropolis within wider trends of Greek archaeology.

Satisfies "the Ancient World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 228 Persia and the Ancient Near East: Issues and Approaches

The course is an introduction to the art and archaeology of the Ancient Near East, and to the methods of studying this field. It looks at the role of art and material culture in shaping the inhabited environment from the earliest settlements, through the development of urban centers, to the first ‘world empire.’ While the course will consider the cultures that flourished in the region between the earliest Neolithic settlements (c. 12.000 BC) to the end of the Achaemenid Empire (330 BC), it is not intended as a comprehensive survey. Instead, it uses a series of case studies to consider various theoretical and conceptual issues involved in the production and use of objects / monuments. It will expand students’ visual literacy and their ability to think critically about how objects mediate our position in the world.

Satisfies "the Ancient World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 240 Art Historical Thinking (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History)

The course engages with art history as an academic discipline, and with the methods and approaches that inform it. It does so
by addressing both historical and contemporary concerns. The first half of the course examines the development of the field
historiographically over five centuries: How has the field been formed? Hindered? Transformed? The second half of the
course is dedicated to involving students in the current debates and to practicing the methodologies that characterize this
thriving field.

AH 243 Keeping the Dead Alive: Roman Funerary Art and Architecture in Context (Partially on-site)

Throughout human history, the concept of death has been inseparable from that of life, and the commemoration of the dead has traditionally been an important point of convergence and locus of expression for a wide range of cultural, political, religious, and social values, fears and beliefs. This was especially true in ancient Roman society, which placed a high value on honoring the dead, on ancestry, and remembrance, not least because perpetuating the memory of the deceased was a means to assert the identity and status of the survivors. Roman funerary art was, therefore, a primary vehicle for the self-representation of the living. Moreover, the patrons of commemorative art range from the imperial family to the middle classes to freedmen and slaves, so that extant funerary monuments provide unparalleled insights into the values of ancient Roman men and women across the social spectrum. The course examines Roman funerary art and architecture from the first century B.C. to the fourth century AD.

Satisfies "the Ancient World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 251 Nineteenth Century Art and Architecture

A survey of art and architecture from the later 18th to the 19th centuries, this course will investigate the major movements of the age: Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. The emphasis differs depending on the thematic structure of the given semester (see current course syllabi for details). However, students will study the canonical works of such artists as Canova, Turner, Delacroix, Manet, Degas and Van Gogh and they will also examine how the function and reception of art are transformed over the course of a century. Some semesters the course emphasizes French painting with a secondary focus on art and architecture in England, Germany, Spain, Italy and North America. Other semesters American art comprises half the focus, with transatlantic comparisons that highlight the relationship between the cultures of the old world and the new. Selected writings by 19th century critics and the artists themselves, in addition to readings by recent scholars in the field, will also inform understanding of the development of art in a period marked by social and political upheaval and from which an increasingly “modern” culture emerged.

Satisfies "the Modern and Contemporary World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 260ii Byzantine Art (Partially on-site; mandatory trip to Ravenna; activity fee: €25 or $33)

This course investigates the art and architecture of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire from the time of Constantinople’s foundation as the “New Rome” in 330 until its fall to the Ottomans in 1453. The course introduces key works in a variety of media, from monumental mosaics and frescoes to portable icons, illuminated manuscripts, metal- and enamelwork, and textiles. Special emphasis is placed on cross-cultural interactions across the medieval Mediterranean from western Europe to the Islamic world. A trip to Ravenna is an essential part of the course.

Satisfies "the Medieval World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 265 Islamic Art and Architecture: AD 650-1250

This course surveys the art and architecture of the Islamic world from the 7th to the 13th centuries. The phenomenal rise and establishment of Islamic civilization in three continents- Asia, Africa and Europe- in this period is studied through monumental religious and secular architecture and its applied decoration from mosaics to stucco and wall paintings and through painted ceramics, carved wood and ivories, metalwork, illuminated manuscripts, and embroidered and woven textiles. The form and function of buildings and artifacts, their changing patterns of use and their evolving meanings are examined in their original social, political, religious, and cultural contexts. One of the primary aims is to become familiar with the regional diversity of medieval Islamic visual culture and so also to consider what issues are involved in studying a tradition that flourished in several geographical areas, encompassing a variety of cultures and national and ethnic identities. Two special areas of focus are the urban design and architecture of Islamic medieval centers such as Cairo and Islamic court culture which, often centered around royal palaces such as Madinat al-Zahra in Spain, produced some of the most outstanding luxury arts of the Middle Ages.

Satisfies "the Medieval World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 267 Special Topics in Medieval Art

Specialized courses offered periodically on specific aspects of the art of the medieval world. Courses are normally research-led topics on an area of current academic concern.
May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.

Satisfies "the Medieval World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 269 Medieval Venice

Venice’s geographic location at a crossroads—between “East” and “West,” between mainland Italy and the sea—shaped a unique character for the art and culture of this city, the wider Lagoon, and the colonies of the Venetian Republic. This course concentrates on the art and architecture of medieval Venice, from the ninth to the sixteenth century. The course examines the Venetian Republic in terms of cultural interchanges with Byzantium, the Islamic world, and western Europe, and considers the construction and development of its civic identity through visual means as well as the approaches that shaped this.

AH 271 Curating Museums and Galleries

The course is designed to introduce students to the history of museums and to curating practices. Classes will discuss the cultural position of the museum, the evolution of its function, the different forms of display, the historical developments of the act of collecting, the position of the visitor and the role of the curator. The primary purpose of the course is to provide students with a critical vocabulary for understanding how museums produce knowledge and structure the ways in which history, geography, cultural difference, and social hierarchies are mapped. Through a series of richly detailed case studies related to ancient and contemporary Rome museums, collections and institutions, classes will investigate the differences between the roles, the missions, the objectives, and the policies of conservation and exhibition-making in spaces, relating to modalities of thought. The course also intends to introduce the figure of the curator and its development from conservator and classifier to creative, critical protagonist of contemporary art culture. The course concludes with an overview of current debates around the contemporary need for museums, and large scale exhibition (such as Biennials and Triennials) and their perceived social functions.

Satisfies "the Modern and Contemporary World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 272 Special Topics in Early Modern Art

Specialized courses offered periodically on specific aspects of the art of the early modern world. Courses are normally research-led topics on an area of current academic concern.
May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.

Satisfies "the Early Modern World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 273 Introduction to the History of Photography

The course is an introduction to photography as both a historical and contemporary form of art and communication. It investigates historical and contemporary photographic and related practices, and considers the key theoretical and historical frameworks used to situate them. Informed discussion about photography and its cultural context is central to the course, which covers the invention and early reception of photography, its function as an independent art form, its uses in other practices, scientific investigation, reportage and its relationships to major art movements.

Satisfies "the Modern and Contemporary World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 278 Twentieth Century Art

Twentieth century art consists of well-known Modernist and Postmodernist styles and movements such as Cubism, Futurism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, installations and earthworks, to name a few. It also encompasses lesser-known movements such as the American urban realists, the Regionalists, Soviet Socialist Realism. But what does Modernism mean and how does it relate to the century’s dramatic modernization of daily life, social organization, commercial development, political and cultural nationalism, and two World Wars? Through an analysis of the art, artists, and critical discourses in question, the course will consider the fundamental questions: what is art’s relationship to the larger culture? What is the artist’s role in society? What do aesthetic concerns have to do with life? While these questions are always pertinent, they demand particular attention in the century largely defined by the ideology of art’s autonomy, pure creativity, and individual expression. Extensive visual analysis will be accompanied by attention to the critical discourses with which the aesthetics were defined, giving students the chance to develop an understanding of key 20th century styles but also to learn how these styles communicated historically.

Satisfies "the Modern and Contemporary World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 280 Northern Renaissance Art

This course focuses on the major artistic centers in Flanders, France, Germany and Holland in the 15th and 16th centuries. Special emphasis is given to the works of Van Eyck, Van der Weyden, and Campin in the 15th century, and to those of Dürer, Bosch, Grünewald, and Bruegel in the 16th. Particular attention is paid to the impact of the growing exchange of artistic ideas between Northern Europe and Italy.

Satisfies "the Early Modern World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 281/381 Independent Study

AH 283 Special Topics in Modern and Contemporary Art

Specialized courses offered periodically on specific aspects of the art of the modern and contemporary world. Courses are normally research-led topics on an area of current academic concern.
May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.

Satisfies "the Modern and Contemporary World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 285 Art from the 1990s to Today

The course focuses on significant contemporary art practices that have developed internationally since the 1990s. It will investigate a variety of current issues and positions in relation to social and historical perspectives, to address how these are negotiated in artistic practice, artworks, and the participation of the viewer. These artistic trends will further be situated within the context of cultural criticism, social movements, and political debates, demonstrating how art can critique or give agency to compelling issues of its time. The course is an exploration of contemporary art practices, and how artists and exhibitions contemplate, interrogate, and negotiate the modern world.

AH 290 Ancient Rome and Its Monuments (On-site; activity fee: €40 or $52)

STUDENTS SHOULD NOT REGISTER FOR BOTH AH 190 and AH 290
Rome City Series - This on-site course considers the art and architecture of ancient Rome through visits to museums and archaeological sites. The course covers the visual culture and architecture of Rome beginning with the Iron Age and ending with the time of Constantine. A broad variety of issues are raised, including patronage, style and iconography, artistic and architectural techniques, Roman religion, business and entertainment.

Satisfies "the Ancient World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 291 Medieval Rome and Its Monuments

Rome City Series - An upper-level survey of Roman urbanism, as well as developments in figural media and architecture, from the 4th to the 14th century. While the course will naturally emphasize the abundant religious art remaining in the city, it will also examine such secular achievements as towers, housing, defenses, and roads.

Satisfies "the Medieval World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 293 Modern Rome and Its Monuments (On-site)

Rome City Series - This on-site course focuses on the vast transformations in the architecture and urban development of Rome 1870-1945, when the status of the city changed from papal capital to capital of Italy as a nation-state. The course offers a view of the city that includes both grand public buildings – like the huge Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II at Piazza Venezia, and the Fascist-era buildings of the EUR district – and investigation of particular urban characteristics. It will consider aspects like Rome’s experiments in social housing, the development of elite residential districts, the revelation of ancient monuments along wide new avenues of the Fascist era, as well as contemporary architectural additions to the city’s monuments.

Satisfies "the Modern and Contemporary World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 294 Renaissance Rome and Its Monuments (On-site; activity fee: €25 or $33)

Rome City Series - This on-site course will study the monuments of Renaissance Rome: painting, sculpture and architecture produced by such masters as Bramante, Raphael, and Michelangelo, all attracted to the lucrative service of popes, cardinals and nobles of the Roman court. On-site classes will investigate examples of palace and villa architecture, chapel decoration that encompasses altarpieces and funerary sculpture, as well as urbanistic projects where the city itself was considered as a work of art. In-class lectures will introduce historical context and theory allowing the student to understand artworks studied conceptually and place commissions of painting and sculpture within a socio-historic framework.

Satisfies "the Early Modern World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 295 Early Italian Renaissance Art (Partially on-site; mandatory 3-day trip to Florence)

The first half of a two-part study of art and architecture in central Italy (Rome, Florence, and Siena) covering the period from the 14th to the mid-15th century. While attention is given to the ambience from which Giotto developed in the Trecento, and to the International Gothic style at the turn of the Quattrocento, major consideration is given to the momentous changes brought about in the first half of the Quattrocento by Brunelleschi, Alberti, Donatello, Ghiberti, Masaccio, and others. Numerous on-site visits in Rome and a trip to Florence are an essential part of the course. Mandatory  field trip may require fees.

Satisfies "the Early Modern World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 296 Italian High Renaissance Art (Partially on-site; mandatory 3-day trip to Florence)

An extension of the study of Italian art and architecture in the Renaissance through the second half of the 15th century into the first three decades of the 16th. The works of Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Pollaiuolo, and others will be studied, along with works by those whose innovations initiated the High Renaissance style: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Bramante, and Raphael. Site visits are an essential part of the course and may require a fee.

Satisfies "the Early Modern World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 297 Baroque Art and Architecture

An investigation of the major artistic trends in Western Europe during the 17th century. In Italy (excluding Rome, which is covered in a separate course), southern centers such as Sicily, Naples and Lecce will be examined, along with such major northern centers as Turin and Venice, and specific artists such as Guarini, Juvarra and Tiepolo. Major “national” schools of painting will be analyzed: the Dutch and Flemish, as embodied by Rembrandt and Rubens; the Spanish, with Velazquez; the French, with Poussin and Claude. Attention is also paid to architectural and sculptural monuments in each country.

Satisfies "the Early Modern World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 298 Baroque Rome and Its Monuments (On-site; activity fee: €25 or $33)

Rome City Series - Rome is the city where the baroque style originated and flourished, and this on-site course focuses on some of the most significant works of art, architecture, and urban planning of the 17th-18th centuries. The course will discuss the works of artists and architects like Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Francesco Borromini, and Pietro da Cortona. From Villa Borghese to the Trevi Fountain the artworks and urban spaces will provide an opportunity to discuss aspects like Baroque illusionism, artistic techniques, influential art theories, and the religious and political contexts of art production and collection in this dynamic and vibrant period.

Satisfies "the Early Modern World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 299-A Special Topics in Art History

Specialized courses offered periodically on specific aspects of concern in the field of Art History. Courses are normally research-led topics on an area of current academic concern.
May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.

AH 339 Venetian Art (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of instructor; mandatory 3-day trip to Venice)

Venice is set apart from Italy and from Europe not only by its watery setting, but also by its history, traditions, and sense of cultural identity. Unique for its birth from the sea, distinguished by its Byzantine past, splendid for its civic ritual, glorious for its colorful palaces and churches, "La Serenissima" produced a distinct type of Renaissance painting. From the middle of the 15th century to the late 16th century, Venetian painters created a "school" of art that became celebrated for color and brushwork, for attention to light and landscape, and for new poetic and sensual themes. The political, religious and social structure in which these painters worked was essentially conservative, and the state, confraternities, and religious orders demanded that artists heed time-honored traditions. Other factors - such as independent-minded patrician connoisseurs, the influence of humanist thought and literature, the atmosphere of religious tolerance, and contact with Northern Europe - fostered innovation. The tensions between tradition and innovation, Venice and the world, the state and the individual, provided Renaissance art in Venice an especially lively and sometimes conflicted environment. While we will concentrate on Venetian painting, reference will also be made to relevant works of sculpture and architecture. The course will be an investigation of major themes, issues, controversies and problems concerning the understanding of Venetian art by means of analysis of selected key works, rather than an inclusive chronological survey of the period. The mandatory field trip may require a fee.

Satisfies "the Early Modern World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 340 Theories and Methods of Art History (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor)

It is not possible to look at art in an entirely direct, “pure,” way: our understanding is always mediated by a conceptual structure, hence the necessity to be conscious of the methods and theories employed when studying art. This course is an introduction to various historical approaches to the description, analysis, interpretation and evaluation of art from Plato to the present. The biographical approach (Pliny, Vasari) leads to the beginnings of the history of art per se (Winckelmann, Buckhardt, etc.), and the analysis of form (Wölfflin, Riegl, etc.) and style. Panofsky’s iconographic method is fundamental. This course is not limited to writings that are explicitly part of the literature of art history, but proposes a broad outlook on the history of ideas, theories and evaluations of the visual arts by poets, thinkers, philosophers and art historians.

AH 354 Ancient Roman Portraiture (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or Classical Studies or permission of the instructor)

Portraiture in Greece and Rome was a vital currency of social interaction and public engagement - across gender, class, location and context. As new archaeological data and research methodologies are transforming our understanding of its form and impact, the field is one of the most vibrant of ancient art. The course will discuss all aspects of what made a portrait: facial characteristics, hairstyles, body types, and clothing, as well as the inscribed base and placement. It will do so with a keen awareness of the developments and experimentations of the medium over time. The course will investigate themes like the uses of male and female portraits in public, the use of type-associations and role models, and the choices of statue types and status indicators. It will ask questions about who commissioned works, about workshop practices and distribution, and about the visual impact of techniques and form for the viewer, as well as why some portraits were destroyed or reworked.

Satisfies "the Ancient World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 362 Age of Giotto (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor; mandatory 3-day trip to Florence)

This course will address the development of painting, sculpture and architecture in the churches, civic halls, palaces and homes of the great republics and courts of 14th century Italy. The rise of the city states, the new mendicant orders, the visions of Dante and Petrarch, and the brief flourishing of papal Rome encouraged a new interest in nature and human experience which was explored in the beginning of the century by Giotto, Duccio, and others. Around the time of the “Black Death” (1348), painting and sculpture takes on different and often harsher formal qualities and content. Through examination of key monuments and consideration of the social and religious context in which they were created, students will investigate this art-historical moment sometimes called the “proto-Renaissance.” Mandatory field trip may have a fee.

Satisfies "the Medieval" or "the Early Modern World" core course requirements for Art History majors

AH 363 Barbarians, Monks and Kings: Early Medieval Art and Architecture (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor. Partially on-site, possible activity fee.)

The gradual decline of Roman Imperial power in Late Antiquity eventually gave way to the unimaginable. In the 400s, Rome itself was sacked by Germanic tribesmen—by Visigoths and Vandals—and afterward many formerly Roman territories gradually fell to them and to related "barbaric" peoples, the Ostrogoths, Franks, Longobards, and others. Soon a new and seemingly unstoppable religious phenomenon, Islam, began to expand westward and would eventually swallow up much of the territory taken by these Germanic tribes. This course examines the amazingly rich and varied visual culture that emerged from this period of intense conflict and cultural innovation in Italy, Spain, North Africa, and the Near East, with emphasis on metalwork and gems, illuminated manuscripts, stone and ivory carving, textiles, paintings, mosaics, and architecture. The course includes classroom lectures and discussions, 1-3 site visits, and a possible one-day class field trip, which may require a fee.

Satisfies "the Medieval World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 364 Pagans, Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History, Classical Studies, or permission of the instructor. Partially on-site; mandatory trip; activity fee: €40 or $52)

In the 3rd- and 4th-century Rome continued to be a stronghold of traditional paganism, but it was also a hub of "exotic" pagan cults imported from the East, home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the Diaspora and to one of the fastest-growing Christian communities in the Empire. This diversity was matched by an increase in religious feeling that affected Roman society as a whole. Much of the art produced in Rome at this time may be understood in the context of this new religious ferment. It is a highly creative art, in which tradition, innovation, syntheses, and even contradiction often coexist and give expression to the complex and constantly evolving religious, cultural and social framework of the times. The goal of the course is to allow students to become familiar with the iconography and meaning of the art of Late Antique Rome in the context of this new age of spirituality. In-class lectures will be complemented by site and museum visits to take advantage of the many monuments and artworks still extant in Rome and its environs.

Satisfies "the Medieval World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 367 Special Topics in Medieval Art (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor)

Specialized courses offered periodically on specific aspects of the art of the medieval world. Courses are normally research-led topics on an area of current academic concern.
May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.

Satisfies "the Medieval World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 372 Special Topics in Early Modern Art (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor)

Specialized courses offered periodically on specific aspects of the art of the early modern world. Courses are normally research-led topics on an area of current academic concern.
May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.

Satisfies "the Early Modern World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 373 Caravaggio (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor. Partially on-site; mandatory overnight trip to Naples; activity fee: €25 or $33)

Caravaggio (1571-1610) provides a noteworthy case study of how an artist’s fame changes over time when the works of art do not. Best known for his striking representation of light and use of naturalism, his anecdote-filled biographies led to a negative assessment of the artist and his works. The course looks at the artist’s output from an array of historical, thematic, and methodological points of view. The aim is to arrive at an understanding of Caravaggio’s works within their historical context from the 17th century to the present day. The mandatory trip may require a fee.

Satisfies "the Early Modern World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 374 Donatello (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor; mandatory overnight trip to Florence)

Donatello (1386-1466) was one of the most important artists of the early Renaissance. Working primarily in Florence, Donatello was a tremendous innovator, particularly in the medium of sculpture. His work would influence many of the most famous artists of the Italian Renaissance. The course will have a global monographic approach, meaning that the artist’s entire output will be discussed and analyzed from an array of historical, thematic and methodological points of view. The aim is to arrive at an understanding of Donatello’s visual thinking and communicative processes and their development and influence. The mandatory trip may require a fee.

Satisfies "the Early Modern World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 376 Michelangelo (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor. Partially on-site; mandatory overnight trip to Florence; activity fee: €25 or $33)

Michelangelo (1475-1564) was one of the most famous and influential artists in his own time and has continued to be ever since. This seems reason enough to examine his work in detail as it forms an essential facet for understanding not only Italian Renaissance art but art in general, as many of the issues involved in trying to comprehend his imagery are applicable throughout art history. The course will have a global monographic approach, meaning that the artist’s entire output will be discussed and analyzed from an array of historical, thematic and methodological points of view. The aim is to arrive at an understanding of Michelangelo’s visual thinking and communicative processes and their development and influence. The mandatory trip may require a fee.

Satisfies "the Early Modern World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 377 Raphael (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor. Partially on-site; mandatory overnight trip to Florence)

Raphael (1483-1520) was the youngest member of the famed artistic “trinity” that later art historians have credited with creating the High Renaissance style in central Italy around the turn of the 16th century. While the reputations of other two, Leonardo and Michelangelo, have continuously remained strong over the centuries, Raphael’s, on the other hand, has weakened in recent years, although his contribution to the formation of the new Renaissance imagery and its divulgation is unquestionable. This course has a global monographic approach, thus, the artist’s entire output will be discussed and analyzed from an array of historical, thematic and methodological points of view. The aim is to arrive at an understanding of his visual thinking and communicative processes and their development and influence. The mandatory trip may require a fee.

Satisfies "the Early Modern World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 379 Issues and Trends in Contemporary Art (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor.)

This course focuses on the major artistic movements since 1960, in Italy and internationally. It provides direct experience of contemporary art through lectures and field trips, and may include guest lectures by critics and other art professionals. It is taught with a firm emphasis on professional curatorial and editing work, and on practical learning opportunities.

Satisfies "the Modern and Contemporary World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 383 Special Topics in Modern and Contemporary Art (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor)

Specialized courses offered periodically on specific aspects of the art of the modern and contemporary world. Courses are normally research-
led topics on an area of current academic concern.
May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.

Satisfies "the Modern and Contemporary World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 384 The Moving Image in Art (One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor)

The course focuses on visual art practices experimenting with video from the mid 20th century to the present. Adopting an overarching chronological format, the course will examine the gradual transformation and development of the filmic medium into an independent creative, formal and conceptual medium. The course will examine the unique qualities artists found in the mutability of the moving image and in its inherent technological, political and cultural power, and consider how works dialogue with existing museum spaces. All classes will be grounded in current visual art debates, expanding on issues dealing with the production of images, and the representation and interpretation of the contemporary world through the means of video art.    

Satisfies "the Modern and Contemporary World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 385 American Art and Identity (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor)

For decades the question "What is American about American art?" stood at the center of American art history. American painting consequently has been studied and interpreted for its putative relationship to American identity or to aspects of national self-image. Though this paradigm is now questioned, it remains deeply embedded in the study of American art. By studying the paintings along with key essays, the course will examine the historiography of American art as well as the artworks. It will analyze the paintings and the debates about their relationship to socio-political contexts that are thought to be particularly American. It will also consider the significant influence on American art by Italian artistic traditions and American ex-patriot artists.

Satisfies "the Modern and Contemporary World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH 391 Collection Building and Museum Studies (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History)

The course explores what we do with “culturally significant” objects and why. It examines the histories and meanings of ownership, collecting and display in private and especially public venues. Thematically chosen case-studies from a variety of periods and places investigate how knowledge, values and power are constructed through classification and display. The course considers antecedents and alternatives to the modern museum. It examines current debates
about the functions, practices and ethics of cultural institutions by drawing on the disciplines of art history, art and design, communications, artistic and literary criticism, cultural criticism, anthropology, sociology, cultural and intellectual history, politics, international affairs, economics and, especially, “museum studies.”

AH 398 Internship: Art History Field (Prerequisite: GPA of 3.0 or higher; Junior Standing. Does not count as a major elective for the Art History major)

The For Credit (FC) Internship course combines academic learning with a short-term (part-time with a minimum of 150 hours) internship. Field experience allows participants to combine academic learning with hands-on work experience. For-Credit internships are unpaid. The organization or firm must be sponsored by the JCU Career Services Center (CSC). After being selected for an internship and having the CSC verify the course requirements are met, the intern may enroll in the Internship course corresponding to the academic discipline of interest. Course requirements include attending the internship class which will is scheduled for 20 in-class hours over the semester or summer session, verification of the minimum number of hours worked in the internship by the CSC; completion of a daily internship log; in-depth interview with the internship sponsor or organization; and a 2500 to 3500 word “White Paper” presenting a position or solution to a problem encountered by their employer. This course is graded on a “pass/no pass” basis. During the Fall and Spring semesters the course will begin the 3rd week of classes; in Summer it begins the 1st week of classes and ends at end of the Summer II Mini session. Students will determine with the Registrar’s Office or their Advisor which semester corresponds most closely with the timing of their internship. This course may be taken only once for academic credit.

AH 399 Special Topics in Art History (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor)

Specialized courses offered periodically on specific aspects of concern in the field of Art History. Courses are normally research-led topics on an area of current academic concern.
May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.

AH 460 Research Practicum (Prerequisite: Junior Standing)

This upper level seminar/practicum provides rigorous, practical preparation for the writing of professional art-historical research papers, including the Senior Thesis, through four discrete units: an individual portfolio review; a research tools and methods seminar; intensive, directed bibliographic research; and the formulation of a presentation to the class on the thesis topic, together with a new 'foundation' portfolio demonstrating mastery of the research skills, competencies, and bibliography necessary for advanced art-historical research writing. The course is intended for JCU Degree Seeking students, but advanced visiting students studying Art History are welcome.

AH 480 Senior Thesis (Prerequisite: Senior Standing)

Thesis supervision for Art History majors in their final year. Students select their research topics in consultation with their thesis advisor.

AH 481 Independent Research in Art History (Prerequisite: Senior Standing)

AH/CL 222 Perception of Space: Wallpainting in the Ancient Mediterranean

The course examines wall painting and painted spaces in the Greek and Roman world. It focuses mainly on fresco painting, and examines the versatility and visual impact of this medium across subject, setting and viewing. Since wall painting is intimately linked to its display setting, the course will examine both the subjects and artistic approach of the paintings, and the nature of the spaces they adorned, as well as the interplay of the two-dimensional medium and its three-dimensional setting. Considerations may hence address aspects such as pictorial illusionism, public and private display, articulation of space, the role of the viewer, and the relationship between movements and viewing.

Satisfies "the Ancient World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH/CL 266 Special Topics in Ancient Art

Specialized courses offered periodically on specific aspects of the art of the ancient world. Courses are normally research-led topics on an area of current academic concern.
May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.

Satisfies "the Ancient World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH/CL 352 Rome in the Age of Augustus (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or Classical Studies or permission of the instructor)

The course examines the dynamic and culturally vibrant period linked to the reign of Rome's first emperor, Augustus. It examines how the change from a Republic to a Principate was articulated in a developing, negotiated relationship between Princeps, Senate, and Populus, and the manner in which this played out in coopted urban and visual landscapes. The course will approach the city of Rome as a ‘total site’ investigation in which the relationship between images, spaces, and viewers occupies a central role. The course will pose questions not only to the patronage of built spaces and works, but equally to the reception and performativity of these, and to the role of decoration in creating an engaged viewing experience.

Satisfies "the Ancient World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH/CL 366 Special Topics in Ancient Art (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or Classical Studies or permission of the instructor)

Specialized courses offered periodically on specific aspects of the art of the ancient world. Courses are normally research-led topics on an area of current academic concern. May be taken more than once for credit with different topics.

Satisfies "the Ancient World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH/GDR 365 Visualizing Gender from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History)

The course investigates the visual construction of gendered identities in the art produced in Europe in late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The course will discuss how this diverse visual repertoire operates as in an on-going re-definition or re-negotiation of gender as a category. To that end, it addresses both traditional gendered constructs and representations that challenge hetero-normativity as an ideal. The cultural centrality of Christianity in these periods means that representations of gender are inextricably linked to contemporary discourses regarding political, social, economic and ethnic identities, as well as religion. Methodological approaches to the analysis of gender, and to agency of the viewer in the reception and construction of gendered identities, are integral to the course.

Satisfies "the Medieval World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH/GDR 365 Visualizing Gender from Late Antiquity to the Middle Ages (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History)

The course investigates the visual construction of gendered identities in the art produced in Europe in late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. The course will discuss how this diverse visual repertoire operates as in an on-going re-definition or re-negotiation of gender as a category. To that end, it addresses both traditional gendered constructs and representations that challenge hetero-normativity as an ideal. The cultural centrality of Christianity in these periods means that representations of gender are inextricably linked to contemporary discourses regarding political, social, economic and ethnic identities, as well as religion. Methodological approaches to the analysis of gender, and to agency of the viewer in the reception and construction of gendered identities, are integral to the course.

Satisfies "the Medieval World" core course requirement for Art History majors

AH/LAW 345 Art Crime: Who Owns Antiquity? (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor.)

The course examines the complex subject of art and cultural heritage crime, with a particular emphasis on Italy. While examining the international and national normative frameworks determining what constitutes an art/cultural heritage crime, special attention will be paid to the question of what constitutes “ownership” of art and cultural heritage. The course will consider the development over time of ideas of the value of art (both real and symbolic), as well as the ways that ideas of “ownership” have changed since the late 20th century. In addition to examining issues related to the definition, prevention, and punishment of art/cultural heritage crimes, the course will also examine the role of the Italian state in protecting its national cultural artifacts.

AH/LAW 345 Art Crime: Who Owns Antiquity? (Prerequisite: One previous course in Art History or permission of the instructor)

The course examines the complex subject of art and cultural heritage crime, with a particular emphasis on Italy. While examining the international and national normative frameworks determining what constitutes an art/cultural heritage crime, special attention will be paid to the question of what constitutes “ownership” of art and cultural heritage. The course will consider the development over time of ideas of the value of art (both real and symbolic), as well as the ways that ideas of “ownership” have changed since the late 20th century. In addition to examining issues related to the definition, prevention, and punishment of art/cultural heritage crimes, the course will also examine the role of the Italian state in protecting its national cultural artifacts.