Introductory level art history courses in a specific topic. No prerequisite. Not offered Pass/Fail.
| Distribution Area | Prerequisites | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Arts and Humanities | 1 course |
Have you ever wondered how Art History came about as a discipline? How might you define the term "humanities," and where does Art History fold into that umbrella term? Perhaps you are interested in social history as it pertains to Manet's artworks or are wondering about how Feminism relates to Renaissance paintings. Or maybe, you are curious about the relationship between science and art history. In this course, we will explore important ideas and methods in the field of art history, but also look beyond the discipline. We will engage with materials and questions from anthropology, history, and colonial theory, and learn how art history can help us to understand the world around us in new ways. We will also explore the uses of AI in art history and think forward to the future of the discipline in our ever-changing world.
During the early modern period, European empires were steadily expanding across the world. Between the fifteenth-century voyages of Columbus and the eighteenth-century takeover of key Pacific Islands, virtually every habitable corner of the planet was either colonized by or economically connected to nations in Europe. These processes of colonialism involved war, religious conversion, and the cross-cultural exchange of objects and ideas. Objects that circulated during this early period of globalization included spices, precious metals, printed religious images, cloth, sculptures, and paintings. This course will focus on the spread of Catholic images between Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas within the wider framework of the political and economic systems described above. In doing so, we will consider common visual patterns, themes of religious devotion, and differences in how Catholic imagery was portrayed in disparate cultural contexts. We will also examine the art-historical legacies of Catholic colonialism via the study of twentieth-century objects. Students in this course will develop essential skills in comparative analysis and acquire a knowledge of aesthetic trends related to early modern colonialism and globalization.