For more information on courses and major requirements, please see the academic catalog.
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Studio Art Courses
- 2023–2024 Courses:
- Browse by Course Number
- Browse by Term
Fall 2023
-
ARTS 110: Observational Drawing
A beginning course for non-majors and for those who contemplate majoring in art. The aim of the course is to give the student an appreciation of art and of drawing. An understanding of aesthetic values and development of technical skills are achieved through a series of studio problems which naturally follow one another and deal with the analysis and use of line, shape, volume, space, and tone. A wide range of subjects are used, including still life, landscape and the human figure.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Winter 2024, Winter 2024, Spring 2024 · Jade Hoyer, David Lefkowitz, Eleanor Jensen -
ARTS 113: Field Drawing
A beginning drawing course for students who are interested in developing their skills in drawing from nature, to better see and understand their surroundings. Class material covers line, form, dimension, value, perspective, and space using a variety of drawing materials. Subject matter includes specimens, plant forms, and the landscape. Students will use a portable sketchbook, and classes during the second part of the term are primarily outside. Locations include the Arb and field trips; access to these sites does include walking on unpaved paths and uneven terrain.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2024 · Eleanor Jensen -
ARTS 113: Field Drawing
A beginning drawing course for students who are interested in developing their skills in drawing from nature, to better see and understand their surroundings. Class material covers line, form, dimension, value, perspective, and space using a variety of drawing materials. Subject matter includes specimens, plant forms, and the landscape. Students will use a portable sketchbook, and classes during the second part of the term are primarily outside. Locations include the Arb and field trips; access to these sites does include walking on unpaved paths and uneven terrain.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2024 · Eleanor Jensen -
ARTS 130: Beginning Ceramics
This course is an introduction to wheel throwing and handbuilding as primary methods of construction for both functional and non-functional ceramic forms. An understanding of ceramic history and technical skills are achieved through studio practice, readings, and demonstrations. Emphasis is placed on the development of strong three-dimensional forms as well as the relationship of form to surface. Coursework includes a variety of firing techniques and development of surface design.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Winter 2024 · Kelly Connole, Juliane Shibata -
ARTS 139: Beginning Photography
In this course students explore photography as a means of understanding and interacting with both the world and the inner self. We will emphasize a balance of technical skills, exploration of personal vision, and development of critical thinking and vocabulary relating to photography. Beginning students will learn how to use analogue and digital cameras, to use basic studio lighting equipment, and to print their own photographic work. Additionally, students will learn to develop a portfolio as an ongoing process that requires informed and critical decision making to assemble a body of work. Collectively we will critique, analyze, give feedback on work, and discuss readings that are pertinent to the production of images in contemporary times.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024 · Xavier Tavera Castro -
ARTS 151: Metalsmithing
A basic course in metal design and fabrication of primarily jewelry forms and functional objects. Specific instruction will be given in developing the skills of forming, joining, and surface enrichment to achieve complex metal pieces. Students will learn to render two-dimensional drawings while exploring three-dimensional design concepts. The course examines how jewelry forms relate to the human body. Found materials will be used in addition to traditional metals including copper, brass, and silver.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024 · Danny Saathoff -
ARTS 236: Ceramics: Vessels for Tea
Students will learn techniques used by Japanese potters, and those from around the world, to make vessels associated with the production and consumption of tea. Both handbuilding and wheel throwing processes will be explored throughout the term. We will investigate how Japanese pottery traditions, especially the Mingei “arts of the people” movement of the 1920s, have influenced contemporary ceramics practice in the United States and how cultural appropriation impacts arts practice. Special attention will be paid to the use of local materials from Carleton’s Arboretum as well as wood firing and traditional raku processes.
Prerequisites: Requires concurrent registration in Art History 266 6 credits; Arts Practice, Intercultural Domestic Studies; offered Fall 2023 · Kelly Connole -
ARTS 245: Constructed Image
In this course we will explore image making beyond the still photographic image. Students will investigate the possibilities of construction and manipulation of photographic images using various camera and darkroom methods including sequence, multiples, narrative, installation and book formats, marking and altering photographic surfaces, using applied color, and toning both in-camera and manually. Special attention will be put into display and installation of the work produced.
Prerequisites: One 100 level Studio Arts courses or instructor consent 6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023 · Xavier Tavera Castro -
ARTS 260: Painting
The course serves as an introduction to the language of painting. Students develop a facility with the physical tools of painting–brushes, paint and surfaces–as they gain a fluency with the basic formal elements of the discipline–color, form, value, composition and space. Students are also challenged to consider the choices they make in determining the content and ideas expressed in the work, and how to most effectively convey them.
Prerequisites: Studio Art 110, 113, 114, or instructor consent 6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024 · David Lefkowitz -
ARTS 274: Printmaking – Silkscreen and Relief
Students will work in two primary printmaking media: relief and/or silkscreen. Through printmaking techniques, layering, color mixing, and generating multiples, students will explore how to develop a narrative in their work and build upon skills established in prerequisite drawing classes.
Prerequisites: Studio Art 110, 113, 114 or instructor consent 6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023 · Jade Hoyer -
ARTS 400: Integrative Exercise
The integrative exercise for the studio arts major consists of an independent research project involving experimentation, reflection, and deep engagement in the production of a cohesive body of artwork. The comps process is designed to give students the opportunity to develop ideas over the course of a term with close advice and support of the studio faculty and fellow students. Class of 2024, students register for six credits in Fall or Winter term. In rare cases and in consultation with the studio faculty, exceptions may be made to allow comps to be spread over two terms. Class of 2025 the department highly recommends students take five credits of comps fall or winter term of the senior year and one credit in the spring term of the senior year. Class of 2026 will be required to take five credits of comps fall or winter term of the senior year and one credit in the spring term of senior year.
1-6 credit; S/NC; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024
Winter 2024
-
ARTS 110: Observational Drawing
A beginning course for non-majors and for those who contemplate majoring in art. The aim of the course is to give the student an appreciation of art and of drawing. An understanding of aesthetic values and development of technical skills are achieved through a series of studio problems which naturally follow one another and deal with the analysis and use of line, shape, volume, space, and tone. A wide range of subjects are used, including still life, landscape and the human figure.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Winter 2024, Winter 2024, Spring 2024 · Jade Hoyer, David Lefkowitz, Eleanor Jensen -
ARTS 110: Observational Drawing
A beginning course for non-majors and for those who contemplate majoring in art. The aim of the course is to give the student an appreciation of art and of drawing. An understanding of aesthetic values and development of technical skills are achieved through a series of studio problems which naturally follow one another and deal with the analysis and use of line, shape, volume, space, and tone. A wide range of subjects are used, including still life, landscape and the human figure.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Winter 2024, Winter 2024, Spring 2024 · Jade Hoyer, David Lefkowitz, Eleanor Jensen -
ARTS 110: Observational Drawing
A beginning course for non-majors and for those who contemplate majoring in art. The aim of the course is to give the student an appreciation of art and of drawing. An understanding of aesthetic values and development of technical skills are achieved through a series of studio problems which naturally follow one another and deal with the analysis and use of line, shape, volume, space, and tone. A wide range of subjects are used, including still life, landscape and the human figure.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Winter 2024, Winter 2024, Spring 2024 · Jade Hoyer, David Lefkowitz, Eleanor Jensen -
ARTS 114: Architectural Studies in Europe Program: Introduction to Drawing Architecture
Suitable for students of any skill level, this course teaches different drawing techniques both in a classroom setting and on location at various architectural sites. The course aims to hone observational and sketching skills and to develop greater awareness of formal characteristics in the built environment. Consideration of line, tone, shape, scale, surface, volume and other foundational concepts and technical skills will be emphasized. Drawing practice will be reinforced with sketching assignments throughout the trip at different locations and types of structures.
6 credits; S/CR/NC; Arts Practice; offered Winter 2024 · Daniel Bruggeman -
ARTS 122: Introduction to Sculpture
The ability to build structures that reflect or alter the environment is a basic defining characteristic of our species. In this class we explore creative construction in three dimensions using a variety of media, including plaster, wood, and steel. Using both natural and architectural objects for inspiration, we will examine and manipulate form, space, and expressive content to develop a deeper understanding of this core trait and reawaken our experience of the spaces we inhabit.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Winter 2024, Spring 2024 · Stephen Mohring -
ARTS 130: Beginning Ceramics
This course is an introduction to wheel throwing and handbuilding as primary methods of construction for both functional and non-functional ceramic forms. An understanding of ceramic history and technical skills are achieved through studio practice, readings, and demonstrations. Emphasis is placed on the development of strong three-dimensional forms as well as the relationship of form to surface. Coursework includes a variety of firing techniques and development of surface design.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Winter 2024 · Kelly Connole, Juliane Shibata -
ARTS 130: Beginning Ceramics
This course is an introduction to wheel throwing and handbuilding as primary methods of construction for both functional and non-functional ceramic forms. An understanding of ceramic history and technical skills are achieved through studio practice, readings, and demonstrations. Emphasis is placed on the development of strong three-dimensional forms as well as the relationship of form to surface. Coursework includes a variety of firing techniques and development of surface design.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Winter 2024 · Kelly Connole, Juliane Shibata -
ARTS 139: Beginning Photography
In this course students explore photography as a means of understanding and interacting with both the world and the inner self. We will emphasize a balance of technical skills, exploration of personal vision, and development of critical thinking and vocabulary relating to photography. Beginning students will learn how to use analogue and digital cameras, to use basic studio lighting equipment, and to print their own photographic work. Additionally, students will learn to develop a portfolio as an ongoing process that requires informed and critical decision making to assemble a body of work. Collectively we will critique, analyze, give feedback on work, and discuss readings that are pertinent to the production of images in contemporary times.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024 · Xavier Tavera Castro -
ARTS 151: Metalsmithing
A basic course in metal design and fabrication of primarily jewelry forms and functional objects. Specific instruction will be given in developing the skills of forming, joining, and surface enrichment to achieve complex metal pieces. Students will learn to render two-dimensional drawings while exploring three-dimensional design concepts. The course examines how jewelry forms relate to the human body. Found materials will be used in addition to traditional metals including copper, brass, and silver.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024 · Danny Saathoff -
ARTS 260: Painting
The course serves as an introduction to the language of painting. Students develop a facility with the physical tools of painting–brushes, paint and surfaces–as they gain a fluency with the basic formal elements of the discipline–color, form, value, composition and space. Students are also challenged to consider the choices they make in determining the content and ideas expressed in the work, and how to most effectively convey them.
Prerequisites: Studio Art 110, 113, 114, or instructor consent 6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024 · David Lefkowitz -
ARTS 278: Printmaking: Intaglio Processes
This course will emphasize intaglio printmaking, a process that allows for a rich array of mark-making and the creation of multiples. Through the use of different intaglio techniques such as hard ground, aquatint, and drypoint, students will explore and generate imagery with emphasis on experimentation, state proofing / animation, and narrative.
Prerequisites: Studio Arts 110, 113, 114, 210, 211 or 212 or instructor consent 6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Winter 2024 · Jade Hoyer -
ARTS 400: Integrative Exercise
The integrative exercise for the studio arts major consists of an independent research project involving experimentation, reflection, and deep engagement in the production of a cohesive body of artwork. The comps process is designed to give students the opportunity to develop ideas over the course of a term with close advice and support of the studio faculty and fellow students. Class of 2024, students register for six credits in Fall or Winter term. In rare cases and in consultation with the studio faculty, exceptions may be made to allow comps to be spread over two terms. Class of 2025 the department highly recommends students take five credits of comps fall or winter term of the senior year and one credit in the spring term of the senior year. Class of 2026 will be required to take five credits of comps fall or winter term of the senior year and one credit in the spring term of senior year.
1-6 credit; S/NC; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024
Spring 2024
-
ARTS 110: Observational Drawing
A beginning course for non-majors and for those who contemplate majoring in art. The aim of the course is to give the student an appreciation of art and of drawing. An understanding of aesthetic values and development of technical skills are achieved through a series of studio problems which naturally follow one another and deal with the analysis and use of line, shape, volume, space, and tone. A wide range of subjects are used, including still life, landscape and the human figure.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Winter 2024, Winter 2024, Spring 2024 · Jade Hoyer, David Lefkowitz, Eleanor Jensen -
ARTS 113: Field Drawing
A beginning drawing course for students who are interested in developing their skills in drawing from nature, to better see and understand their surroundings. Class material covers line, form, dimension, value, perspective, and space using a variety of drawing materials. Subject matter includes specimens, plant forms, and the landscape. Students will use a portable sketchbook, and classes during the second part of the term are primarily outside. Locations include the Arb and field trips; access to these sites does include walking on unpaved paths and uneven terrain.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2024 · Eleanor Jensen -
ARTS 113: Field Drawing
A beginning drawing course for students who are interested in developing their skills in drawing from nature, to better see and understand their surroundings. Class material covers line, form, dimension, value, perspective, and space using a variety of drawing materials. Subject matter includes specimens, plant forms, and the landscape. Students will use a portable sketchbook, and classes during the second part of the term are primarily outside. Locations include the Arb and field trips; access to these sites does include walking on unpaved paths and uneven terrain.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2024 · Eleanor Jensen -
ARTS 122: Introduction to Sculpture
The ability to build structures that reflect or alter the environment is a basic defining characteristic of our species. In this class we explore creative construction in three dimensions using a variety of media, including plaster, wood, and steel. Using both natural and architectural objects for inspiration, we will examine and manipulate form, space, and expressive content to develop a deeper understanding of this core trait and reawaken our experience of the spaces we inhabit.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Winter 2024, Spring 2024 · Stephen Mohring -
ARTS 139: Beginning Photography
In this course students explore photography as a means of understanding and interacting with both the world and the inner self. We will emphasize a balance of technical skills, exploration of personal vision, and development of critical thinking and vocabulary relating to photography. Beginning students will learn how to use analogue and digital cameras, to use basic studio lighting equipment, and to print their own photographic work. Additionally, students will learn to develop a portfolio as an ongoing process that requires informed and critical decision making to assemble a body of work. Collectively we will critique, analyze, give feedback on work, and discuss readings that are pertinent to the production of images in contemporary times.
6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024 · Xavier Tavera Castro -
ARTS 210: Life Drawing
Understanding the basic techniques of drawing the human form is fundamental to an art education and is the emphasis of this class. Humans have been engaged in the act of self-representation since the beginning of time. The relationship artists have had with drawing the human body is complex and has been the subject of religious, philosophical and personal investigation for centuries. Concentrating on representational drawing techniques we will explore a variety of media and materials. Supplemented by lectures, readings and critiques, students will develop an understanding of both contemporary and historical approaches to drawing the human form. Our emphasis this term will be on anatomy, the study of portraiture, and the complexity of hands and feet.
Prerequisites: Studio Art 110, 113, 142 or 211 6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Spring 2024 · Soren Hope -
ARTS 230: Ceramics: Throwing
This course is focused on the creative possibilities of the pottery wheel as a means to create utilitarian objects. Students are challenged to explore conceptual ideas while maintaining a dedication to function. An understanding of aesthetic values and technical skills are achieved through studio practice, readings, and demonstrations. Basic glaze and clay calculations, high fire and wood kiln firing techniques, and a significant civic engagement component, known as the Empty Bowls Project, are included in the course.
Prerequisites: Studio Art 128, 130, 236 or high school experience with wheel throwing and instructor permission 6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Spring 2024 · Kelly Connole -
ARTS 252: Metalsmithing: Ancient Techniques, New Technologies
This course focuses on lost wax casting, 3D modeling and printing, and stone setting as methods to create jewelry and small sculptural objects in bronze and silver. Specific instruction will be given in the proper use of tools, torches, and other equipment, wax carving, and general metalsmithing techniques. Through the use of 3D modeling software and 3D printing, new technologies will expedite traditional processes allowing for a broad range of metalworking possibilities.
Prerequisites: Studio Arts 151 6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Spring 2024 · Danny Saathoff -
ARTS 262: Watercolor
This course provides an introduction to the medium of watercolor painting and gouache (opaque water-based paint) on paper surfaces. Students will develop an understanding of basic color interactions and a wide spectrum of paint application strategies from meticulous refined brushwork to fluid, expressive markmaking.
Prerequisites: Studio Art 110, 113, 114 or instructor consent 6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Spring 2024 · David Lefkowitz -
ARTS 298: Junior Studio Art Practicum
Required for the studio major, and strongly recommended for the junior year, this seminar is for student artists considering lives as producers of visual culture. At the core of the course are activities that help build students’ identities as practicing artists. These include the selection and installation of artwork for the Junior Show, a presentation about their own artistic development, and studio projects in media determined by each student that serve as a bridge between media-specific studio art courses and the independent creative work they will undertake as Seniors in Comps. The course will also include reading and discussion about what it means to be an artist today, encounters with visiting artists and trips to exhibition venues in the Twin Cities.
6 credits; S/CR/NC; Does not fulfill a curricular exploration requirement; offered Spring 2024, Spring 2024 · Jade Hoyer, Danny Saathoff -
ARTS 298: Junior Studio Art Practicum
Required for the studio major, and strongly recommended for the junior year, this seminar is for student artists considering lives as producers of visual culture. At the core of the course are activities that help build students’ identities as practicing artists. These include the selection and installation of artwork for the Junior Show, a presentation about their own artistic development, and studio projects in media determined by each student that serve as a bridge between media-specific studio art courses and the independent creative work they will undertake as Seniors in Comps. The course will also include reading and discussion about what it means to be an artist today, encounters with visiting artists and trips to exhibition venues in the Twin Cities.
6 credits; S/CR/NC; Does not fulfill a curricular exploration requirement; offered Spring 2024, Spring 2024 · Jade Hoyer, Danny Saathoff -
ARTS 339: Advanced Photography
In this course students explore photography as a means of understanding and interacting with both the world and the inner self. We will emphasize a balance of technical skills, exploration of personal vision, and development of critical thinking and vocabulary relating to photography. Advanced students will focus on developing a concise body of work independently through two self-directed longer projects. Instruction includes: use of large format cameras with a hand meter, film scanning, and strobe lighting. Students will learn to develop a portfolio as an ongoing process that requires informed and critical decision making to assemble a body of work. Collectively we will critique, analyze, give feedback on work and discuss readings that are pertinent to the production of images in contemporary times.
Prerequisites: Studio Art 139, 142, 244, 245 or instructor permission 6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Spring 2024 · Xavier Tavera Castro -
ARTS 360: Advanced Painting and Drawing
This course is designed for students who want to explore these 2-D media in greater depth. Students may choose to work exclusively in painting or drawing, or may combine media if they like. Some projects in the course emphasize strengthening students’ facility in traditional uses of each medium, while others are designed to encourage students to challenge assumptions about what a painting or drawing can be. Projects focus on art making as an evolving process and a critical engagement with systems of visual representation.
Prerequisites: Either Studio Art 260 or two of the following courses: Studio Art 110, 113, 114, 210, 212, 273, 274 6 credits; Arts Practice; offered Spring 2024 · Soren Hope -
ARTS 398: Senior Studio Art Practicum
Required for the studio major in the senior year, this seminar is designed to prepare emerging artists for continued studio practice. This class engages students in the process of presentation of artwork in a professional setting (the senior art exhibition) and in various other capacities. Students engage with visiting artists, readings, and exhibitions as they begin to develop their own independent paths towards studio work outside of the academic setting.
3 credits; S/CR/NC; Does not fulfill a curricular exploration requirement; offered Spring 2024 · Kelly Connole -
ARTS 400: Integrative Exercise
The integrative exercise for the studio arts major consists of an independent research project involving experimentation, reflection, and deep engagement in the production of a cohesive body of artwork. The comps process is designed to give students the opportunity to develop ideas over the course of a term with close advice and support of the studio faculty and fellow students. Class of 2024, students register for six credits in Fall or Winter term. In rare cases and in consultation with the studio faculty, exceptions may be made to allow comps to be spread over two terms. Class of 2025 the department highly recommends students take five credits of comps fall or winter term of the senior year and one credit in the spring term of the senior year. Class of 2026 will be required to take five credits of comps fall or winter term of the senior year and one credit in the spring term of senior year.
1-6 credit; S/NC; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024
Art History Courses
- 2023–2024 Courses:
- Browse by Course Number
- Browse by Term
Fall 2023
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ARTH 100: Art and Culture in the Gilded Age
Staggering wealth inequality spurred by transformative technological innovation and unbridled corporate power. Political tumult fueled by backsliding civil rights legislation, disputed elections, and anti-immigrant sentiment. Culture wars. American imperialism. Such characteristics have increasingly fueled comparisons between the present day and the late-nineteenth century in the United States. The Gilded Age witnessed the flourishing of mass culture alongside the founding of many elite cultural organizations—museums, symphony halls, libraries—that still stand as preeminent civic institutions. With an occasional eye to the present, this seminar examines the art, architecture, and cultural history of the Gilded Age.
6 credits; Argument and Inquiry Seminar, Writing Requirement; offered Fall 2023 · Baird Jarman -
ARTH 232: Spanish Studies in Madrid Program: Spanish Art Live
This course offers an introduction to Spanish art from el Greco to the present. Classes are taught in some of the finest museums and churches of Spain, including the Prado Museum, the Museo Nacional de Arte Reina Sofía, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Toledo Cathedral in Toledo, and the Church of Santo Tomé.
Prerequisites: Spanish 205 and approved participation in Madrid Program 6 credits; International Studies, Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Fall 2023 · Palmar Alvarez-Blanco -
ARTH 247: Architecture Since 1950
This course begins by considering the international triumph of architecture’s Modern Movement as seen in key works by Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier and their followers. Soon after modernism’s rise, however, architects began to question the movement’s tenets and the role that architecture as a discipline plays in the fashioning of society. This course will examine the central actors in this backlash from Britain, France, Italy, Japan, the United States and elsewhere before exploring the architectural debates surrounding definitions of postmodernism. The course will conclude by considering the impact of both modernism and postmodernism on contemporary architectural practice.
6 credits; Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Fall 2023 · Ross Elfline -
ARTH 260: Planning Utopia: Ideal Cities in Theory and Practice
This course will survey the history of ideal plans for the built urban environment. Particular attention will be given to examples from about 1850 to the present. Projects chosen by students will greatly influence the course content, but subjects likely to receive sustained attention include: Renaissance ideal cities, conceptions of public and private space, civic rituals, the industrial city, Baron Haussmann’s renovations of Paris, suburbanization, the Garden City movement, zoning legislation, Le Corbusier’s Ville Contemporaine, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Broadacre City, New Urbanism and urban renewal, and planned capitals such as Brasília, Canberra, Chandigarh, and Washington, D.C.
Prerequisites: Any one Art History course or instructor permission 6 credits; Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Fall 2023 · Baird Jarman -
ARTH 266: Arts of the Japanese Tea Ceremony
This course will examine the history and aesthetics of the tea ceremony in Japan (chanoyu). It will focus on the types of objects produced for use in the Japanese tea ceremony from the fifteenth century through the present. Themes to be explored include: the relationship of social status and politics to the development of chanoyu; the religious dimensions of the tea ceremony; gender roles of tea practitioners; nationalist appropriation of the tea ceremony and its relationship to the mingei movement in the twentieth century; and the international promotion of the Japanese tea ceremony post-WWII.
Prerequisites: Requires concurrent registration in Studio Arts 236 6 credits; International Studies, Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Fall 2023 · Kathleen Ryor -
ARTH 400: Integrative Exercise
The integrative exercise for the art history major involves an independent research project, on a topic chosen by the student and approved by faculty members, resulting in a substantial essay due late in the winter term. One credit is awarded, usually in the spring term, for a formal presentation that contextualizes the project and summarizes the argument of the essay. The other five credits may be distributed in any fashion over the fall and winter terms. Art History 400 is a continuing course; no grade will be awarded until all six credits are completed. 1-6 credit; S/NC; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024
Winter 2024
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ARTH 101: Introduction to Art History I
An introduction to the art and architecture of various geographical areas around the world from antiquity through the “Middle Ages.” The course will provide foundational skills (tools of analysis and interpretation) as well as general, historical understanding. It will focus on a select number of major developments in a range of media and cultures, emphasizing the way that works of art function both as aesthetic and material objects and as cultural artifacts and forces. Issues include, for example, sacred spaces, images of the gods, imperial portraiture, and domestic decoration. 6 credits; International Studies, Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Winter 2024 · Jennifer Awes Freeman -
ARTH 165: Japanese Art and Culture
This course will survey art and architecture in Japan from its prehistoric beginnings until the early twentieth century, and explore the relationship between indigenous art forms and the foreign (Korean, Chinese, European) concepts, art forms and techniques that influenced Japanese culture, as well as the social political and religious contexts for artistic production. 6 credits; International Studies, Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Winter 2024 · Kathleen Ryor -
ARTH 203: Intersectional Medieval Art
Grounded in critical race theory, intersectionality, and queer theory, this class draws on a range of visual and textual sources to trace the histories, experiences, and representations of marginalized identities in the medieval world. We will consider gender, sexuality, and race in the context of Jewish, Christian, and Islamic cultures during the Middle Ages. This class will examine topics including transgender saints, demonic possession, and the so-called “monstrous races.” In contrast to misconceptions of a homogenous white Christian past, the reality of medieval Europe was diverse and complex, as reflected in its visual and material culture.
6 credits; International Studies, Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Winter 2024 · Jennifer Awes Freeman -
ARTH 218: History of Performance and Body Art
Is it theater? Is it dance? Is it music? Is it even art? Mocked in popular culture and censured by government officials, performance art has long been the art world’s most troublesome medium. This course provides an historical survey of performance and body art, beginning with the Futurists in early twentieth-century Italy and continuing throught the debates around publicly-funded work in mid-1990s United States. Over the course of the term, we will engage with concepts that are key to the study of performance, such as ephemerality, liveness, authenticity, and viscerality.
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ARTH 262: Architectural Studies in Europe Program: Community-Engaged Design
In recent years, architects and urban planners have increasingly moved away from the total-design methods that often typified the Modern Movement of architecture in which the master planner oversaw every aspect of design “from the teaspoon to the city.” In its place, many designers have engaged local resources and forms of knowledge rooted in communities as the basis for architecture and urban planning schemes. This course considers case studies in community-based design practices by looking at both the products of such labor as well as the distinct processes that empowered residents to refashion their own surroundings from the ground up.
Prerequisites: Participation in Architectural Studies in Europe program 3 credits; International Studies, Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Winter 2024 · Ross Elfline -
ARTH 263: Architectural Studies in Europe Program: Prehistory to Postmodernism
This course surveys the history of European architecture while emphasizing firsthand encounters with actual structures. Students visit outstanding examples of major transnational styles–including Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Moorish, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical and Modernist buildings–along with regionally specific styles, such as Spanish Plateresque, English Tudor and Catalan Modernisme. Cultural and technological changes affecting architectural practices are emphasized along with architectural theory, ranging from Renaissance treatises to Modernist manifestos. Students also visit buildings that resist easy classification and that raise topics such as spatial appropriation, stylistic hybridity, and political symbolism.
Prerequisites: Participation in OCS Architectural Studies Program 6 credits; International Studies, Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Winter 2024 · Baird Jarman, Ross Elfline -
ARTH 265: Architectural Studies in Europe Program: Urban Planning in Europe
This course uses metropolitan areas visited during the program as case studies in the history and contemporary practice of urban planning. Students will explore cities with the program director and with local architects and historians—as well as in groups on their own. Specific topics include the use of major international events, such as Olympic Games and World’s Fairs, as large-scale planning opportunities, the development of municipal housing programs, the reduction of automobile traffic and mass transit initiatives, the adaptive reuse of former industrial districts, the use of cultural institutions as civic anchors, and more.
Prerequisites: Participation in OCS Architectural Studies Program 3 credits; Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Winter 2024 · Baird Jarman -
ARTH 321: Arts of the Chinese Scholar’s Studio
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in China, unprecedented economic development and urbanization expanded the number of educated elite who used their wealth to both display their status and distinguish themselves as cultural leaders. As a result, this period experienced a boom in estate and garden building, art collecting and luxury consumption. This course will examine a wide range of objects from painting and calligraphy to furniture and ceramics within the context of domestic architecture of the late Ming dynasty. It will also examine the role of taste and social class in determining the style of art and architecture.
6 credits; International Studies, Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Winter 2024 · Kathleen Ryor -
ARTH 400: Integrative Exercise
The integrative exercise for the art history major involves an independent research project, on a topic chosen by the student and approved by faculty members, resulting in a substantial essay due late in the winter term. One credit is awarded, usually in the spring term, for a formal presentation that contextualizes the project and summarizes the argument of the essay. The other five credits may be distributed in any fashion over the fall and winter terms. Art History 400 is a continuing course; no grade will be awarded until all six credits are completed. 1-6 credit; S/NC; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024
Spring 2024
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ARTH 102: Introduction to Art History II
An introduction to the art and architecture of various geographical areas around the world from the fifteenth century through the present. The course will provide foundational skills (tools of analysis and interpretation) as well as general, historical understanding. It will focus on a select number of major developments in a range of media and cultures, emphasizing the way that works of art function both as aesthetic and material objects and as cultural artifacts and forces. Issues include, for example, humanist and Reformation redefinitions of art in the Italian and Northern Renaissance, realism, modernity and tradition, the tension between self-expression and the art market, and the use of art for political purposes.
6 credits; International Studies, Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Spring 2024 · Vanessa Reubendale -
ARTH 213: The Medieval Book as Art and Object
Even more than knights, the Black Plague, or Monty Python, the Middle Ages is characterized by books, as the number of manuscripts from the period far exceed those of paintings, sculptures, mosaics, and other artworks combined. In this course, students will learn about the various forms that the book took on during its development over 1,000 years, through contextual study of patrons, creators, and redactors. Students will also develop an introductory familiarity with the tools of manuscript studies, including paleography and codicology through hands-on exercises.
6 credits; International Studies, Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Spring 2024 · Jennifer Awes Freeman -
ARTH 236: Baroque Art
This course examines European artistic production in Italy, Spain, France, and the Netherlands from the end of the sixteenth century through the seventeenth century. The aim of the course is to interrogate how religious revolution and reformation, scientific discoveries, and political transformations brought about a proliferation of remarkably varied types of artistic production that permeated and altered the sacred, political, and private spheres. The class will examine in depth select works of painting, sculpture, prints, and drawings, by Caravaggio, Bernini, Poussin, Velázquez, Rubens, and Rembrandt, among many others.
6 credits; International Studies, Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Spring 2024 · Jessica Keating -
ARTH 267: Gardens in China and Japan
A garden is usually defined as a piece of land that is cultivated or manipulated in some way by man for one or more purposes. Gardens often take the form of an aestheticized space that miniaturizes the natural landscape. This course will explore the historical phenomenon of garden building in China and Japan with a special emphasis on how cultural and religious attitudes towards nature contribute to the development of gardens in urban and suburban environments. In addition to studying historical source material, students will be required to apply their knowledge by building both virtual and physical re-creations of gardens.
6 credits; Arts Practice, International Studies; offered Spring 2024 · Kathleen Ryor -
ARTH 298: Seminar for Art History Majors
An intensive study of the nature of art history as an intellectual discipline and of the approaches scholars have taken to various art historical problems. Attention as well to principles of current art historical research and writing. Recommended for juniors who have declared art history as a major.
6 credits; Literary/Artistic Analysis; offered Spring 2024 · Jessica Keating -
ARTH 400: Integrative Exercise
The integrative exercise for the art history major involves an independent research project, on a topic chosen by the student and approved by faculty members, resulting in a substantial essay due late in the winter term. One credit is awarded, usually in the spring term, for a formal presentation that contextualizes the project and summarizes the argument of the essay. The other five credits may be distributed in any fashion over the fall and winter terms. Art History 400 is a continuing course; no grade will be awarded until all six credits are completed. 1-6 credit; S/NC; offered Fall 2023, Winter 2024, Spring 2024