Course information contained within the Bulletin is accurate at the time of publication in July 2024 but is subject to change. For the most up-to-date course information, please refer to the Course Catalog.
ARTH 0803. The Art of Sacred Space. 3 Credit Hours.
From curse tablets to animal sacrifice to places where the divinity was approached, human beings in every period and culture have communicated with the divine. We will explore together how a given culture used art to communicate with the deity, interrogate the meaning of a sacred space itself, and look closely at the literary and material evidence for rituals and beliefs. Through the lens of a chosen time period, we will analyze and critique practices and behaviors through topics such as festivals, burial practices, magical ceremonies, and rites of passage, with a view to understanding the place of sacred space in our own lives. NOTE: This course fulfills the Arts (GA) requirement for students under GenEd and Arts (AR) for students under Core. Students cannot receive credit for this course if they have successfully completed REL 0803 or
GRC 0803/0903.
Course Attributes: GA
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 0808. Art Matters: Ideas in Art and Architecture. 4 Credit Hours.
This course is an introduction to looking at art and appreciating the wide range of art and architecture that surrounds us in our contemporary world. We will think about, engage with, and learn how to look at the visual arts of the present and the past, and understand their contexts, subjects, and styles. At the same time, we will study monuments across the globe that place the visual arts in a broad cultural framework. Close attention is given to visual literacy, as well as the concepts that connect artistic communication and expression from the art and architecture of the ancient world through modern times. Through local museum and gallery visits, we will also become familiar with the ways that the arts connect to our everyday lives. Prior to Fall 2023, this course was titled "Arts of the Western World: The Visual Experience." NOTE: (1) Field trips outside of regularly-scheduled class time are mandatory for this class. (2) This course fulfills the Arts (GA) requirement for students under GenEd.
Course Attributes: GA
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 0813. The History of Art in Rome. 4 Credit Hours.
Weekly class lectures and on-site visits provide a survey of Roman art from the Etruscan through the Baroque periods, and therefore, from the founding of the ancient city in the 8th century B.C. to circa 1700. Students study each period's art and architecture and define its place within the general context of Roman civilization. Rome's position as both capital of the ancient empire and of the Western Latin Church has earned her the well-recognized sobriquet, Eternal City. Consequently, students confront how the idea of Rome had bearing upon the formation of its art and architecture within the chronological context. The course as a whole can be considered an introduction to art history in the field, as each week the class visits a historical site or museum in order to reconstruct through living examples the artistic fabric of the city. NOTE: This course is taught in Rome.
Course Attributes: GA
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 1003. History of Art in Rome. 4 Credit Hours.
Weekly class lectures and on-site visits provide a survey of Roman art from the Etruscan through the Baroque periods, and therefore, from the founding of the ancient city in the 8th century B.C. to circa 1700. Students study each period's art and architecture and define its place within the general context of Roman civilization. Rome's position as both capital of the ancient empire and of the Western Latin Church has earned her the well-recognized sobriquet, Eternal City. Consequently, students confront how the idea of Rome had bearing upon the formation of its art and architecture within the chronological context. The course as a whole can be considered an introduction to art history in the field, as each week the class visits a historical site or museum in order to reconstruct through living examples the artistic fabric of the city. NOTE: This course is taught in Rome. Although it may be usable towards graduation as a major requirement or university elective, it cannot be used to satisfy any of the university GenEd requirements. See your advisor for further information.
Course Attributes: AR
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 1103. Introduction to Methods and Theories. 3 Credit Hours.
This course is an introduction to the key methodologies and theories that have been used in the field of art history and visual studies to understand art and other visual phenomena. By reading and responding critically to some of the most influential texts that have shaped the field, we will consider the history and transformation of the field itself. Through lectures, discussions, and writing, students will be equipped with tools to critically assess artworks and other visual phenomena as well as their own practice and begin to stake out their own position in relation to the debates that have transformed the critical interpretation of visual culture. NOTE: This course is taught at TU Japan.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 1148. International Cinema. 3 Credit Hours.
A selection of films from modern Europe and Third World cultures which demonstrate both their interaction with postmodern politics, theory and culture, and the development of an international alternative discourse to Hollywood commercial film-making. Films will be selected according to a theme each semester. Past courses: Italian Neo-Realism, Independent Film Makers, and Women in Film. NOTE: This course can be used to satisfy the university Core International Studies (IS) requirement. Although it may be usable towards graduation as a major requirement or university elective, it cannot be used to satisfy any of the university GenEd requirements. See your advisor for further information. NOTE: This course is taught in Rome.
Course Attributes: IS
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 1155. Arts of the World I: Prehistoric to 1300. 3 Credit Hours.
Students in this course examine and analyze the architecture, sculpture, and painting of the art from cultures around the world from the era of Prehistory to ca. 1300. Students analyze the forms, techniques, styles, subjects, and symbolism represented in architecture, sculpture, and painting both historically and in relation to the impact of societal beliefs and values to develop an understanding of global artistic traditions. Students employ contemporary methods in the interpretation of forms, subjects, and artistic differences and parallels. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class. Although it may be usable towards graduation as a major requirement or university elective, it cannot be used to satisfy any of the university GenEd requirements. See your advisor for further information.
Course Attributes: AR
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 1156. Arts of the World II: 1300 to the 21st Century. 3 Credit Hours.
Students in this course examine and analyze the art from cultures around the world, including architecture, sculpture, painting, and modern media, from ca.1300-the 21st Century. Students analyze the forms, techniques, styles, subjects, and symbolism represented in art and architecture both historically and in relation to the impact of societal beliefs and values to develop an understanding of global artistic traditions. Students employ contemporary methods in the interpretation of forms, subjects, and artistic differences and parallels. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class. Although it may be usable towards graduation as a major requirement or university elective, it cannot be used to satisfy any of the university GenEd requirements. See your advisor for further information.
Course Attributes: AR
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 1801. Arts of Asia. 3 Credit Hours.
Architecture, sculpture, painting and the functional arts of Asia (India, China, Japan and Southeast Asia). A historical examination of the art as a religious expression and as a product of changing social and economic conditions. The material culture of Asia will be examined with an emphasis on differing world views and perspectives with which to "see" art. NOTE: (1) Field trips are mandatory for this class. (2) This course can be used to satisfy the university Core Arts (AR) requirement. Although it may be usable towards graduation as a major requirement or university elective, it cannot be used to satisfy any of the university GenEd requirements. See your advisor for further information. NOTE: This course is only taught at TU Japan.
Course Attributes: AR
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 1955. Honors Arts of the World I: Prehistoric to 1300. 3 Credit Hours.
Students in this course examine and analyze the architecture, sculpture, and painting of the art from cultures around the world from the era of Prehistory to ca. 1300. Students analyze the forms, techniques, styles, subjects, and symbolism represented in architecture, sculpture, and painting both historically and in relation to the impact of societal beliefs and values to develop an understanding of global artistic traditions. Students employ contemporary methods in the interpretation of forms, subjects, and artistic differences and parallels. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class. Although it may be usable towards graduation as a major requirement or university elective, it cannot be used to satisfy any of the university GenEd requirements. See your advisor for further information.
Cohort Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Cohorts: SCHONORS, UHONORS, UHONORSTR.
Course Attributes: AR, HO
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 1956. Honors Arts of the World II: 1300 to the 21st Century. 3 Credit Hours.
Students in this course examine and analyze the art from cultures around the world, including architecture, sculpture, painting, and modern media, from ca.1300-the 21st Century. Students analyze the forms, techniques, styles, subjects, and symbolism represented in art and architecture both historically and in relation to the impact of societal beliefs and values to develop an understanding of global artistic traditions. Students employ contemporary methods in the interpretation of forms, subjects, and artistic differences and parallels. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class. Although it may be usable towards graduation as a major requirement or university elective, it cannot be used to satisfy any of the university GenEd requirements. See your advisor for further information.
Cohort Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Cohorts: SCHONORS, UHONORS, UHONORSTR.
Course Attributes: AR, HO
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2000. Topics in Art History. 1 to 4 Credit Hour.
A selected topic from a specific period in the history of art will be examined. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this course.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2002. History of Modern Crafts. 4 Credit Hours.
Traces the ideas, personnel, workshops, objects & styles of the Arts & Crafts Movement from William Morris to Henry Mercer (1850s-ca. 1915), in Europe and the United States. Charles & Margaret Mackintosh in Scotland, Eliel Saarinen in Finland, Charles Ashbee and the Guild of Handicraft in England will be studied, among others; Stickley, Roycroft, Frank Lloyd Wright, Tiffany, etc., in the U.S., and other key designers/crafters of clay, metal, fiber, wood, glass. The influence of Japanese art & craft is a key issue for this course; also the development of the various forms of Art Nouveau. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2003. History of Modern Crafts and Design: Design Movements from the Crystal Palace until Today. 4 Credit Hours.
This course will examine the interwoven histories of craft and design in the 20th and 21st centuries, with a special focus on how craft and design not only mirror the various artistic, cultural, political, social, and technological contexts in which they are created, but also how they are able to critique and change those contexts. Students will gain familiarity with a selection of influential objects, makers, materials, and movements from around the world. Through the lens of craft and design, they will also explore topics and frameworks including production and consumerism, sustainability and environmental responsibility, popular culture, activism and reform, intersectionality, diversity, and accessibility. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2004. History of Printmaking. 4 Credit Hours.
The invention of the printing press in the 1400s contributed to important and lasting changes about how people thought about images and image-making. In addition to gaining an understanding of the technical processes involved in the production of books, woodcuts, engravings, etchings, lithographs and screenprints, students will focus on the social and economic facets of prints as an aesthetic and as a compelling component of visual culture. The course will cover material from c. 1480 to the present, with the aim of relating the history of European printmaking and print culture to traditions of printmaking in Japan, China, the United States and Mexico. Central issues we shall discuss are the nature of the 'original' vs. the 'copy'; the space of prints as a realm for experimentation and new subject matter; the tension between collaboration and individual graphic virtuosity; the functional range of prints from devotion to documentation, from propaganda to social protest; the modern 'print revivals' of the 19th and 20th centuries; and the persistent but dynamic relationship between prints and other media. We also shall reevaluate certain myths about the so-called printing revolution, poised as we are in a new digital age defined as another kind of explosion of images. Field trips are mandatory for this course.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2005. Cultural Heritage Preservation. 4 Credit Hours.
Globalism and the international expansion of heritage tourism coupled with 21st century challenges, such as sustainability, natural disasters, climate change, and war, have increased the need for forward thinking management and preservation strategies related to cultural heritage. Italy, where a significant proportion of the world's art and cultural landscape lies, and with Rome as a hub for cultural heritage conservation practice, offers an ideal setting to explore these issues. This course will immerse students in a broad range of cultural heritage preservation issues, including the World Heritage Movement, ways to read the cultural landscape, preservation law, ethics and community partnerships, heritage preservation during war, digital technology, mapping and conservation, and management and leadership in the cultural heritage sector. Students will reflect on these topics against a background of visits to ancient Roman sites, international conservation and preservation centers, the historic center of Rome, a memorial site of conscience, and storage deposits of antiquities recovered by Italian art police squads. Students will gain theoretical and practical knowledge about a field that embraces our shared humanity for the purpose of improving a global society. NOTE: This course is taught in Rome.
Course Attributes: SE, SF, SS
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2006. Curatorial Methodologies. 4 Credit Hours.
The role of the curator has rapidly expanded in the public's imagination over the past forty years. This class will explore the growing applications of curatorial practice within the field of visual arts - from museums and pop-up galleries to biennials, and public art. Our research will be gathered through texts, site visits, and guest speakers including artists and curators. Class assignments will include writing a case study of a curatorial model of your choosing and presenting your research to the class.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2007. World Photography. 4 Credit Hours.
This course explores the history of photography as a global phenomenon and includes museum trips that offer direct engagement with current exhibitions in the field. Assigned readings and lectures provide insight to the artistic and political currents that have shaped photography's form, use, and consumption from its introduction in the nineteenth century to its digital proliferation in contemporary social media. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class. Prior to fall 2023, the course title was "World Photography Since 1839."
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Undergraduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2008. History of Photography. 3 Credit Hours.
This course explores key moments in the global history of photography. Assigned readings and lectures provide insight to the artistic and political currents that have shaped photography's form, use and consumption from its introduction in the nineteenth century to its digital proliferation in contemporary social media.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2010. Topics in Art History. 1 to 4 Credit Hour.
A selected topic from a specific period in the history of art will be examined.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2043. Islamic Art and Architecture, 650-1250: From Mohammad to the Mongols. 4 Credit Hours.
The revelation of the Qur'an in the 7th-century was a watershed moment that introduced the world to Islam - today one of the most wide-spread and fastest-growing faith traditions. In this course, students are introduced to the rich and varied visual cultures of Islam in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, ca. 650-1250. Through an examination of key objects and architectural monuments, students will be encouraged to consider how aspects of art production and the built environment relate to the social and political contexts in which they were created. Emphasis will be placed on the establishment of new spatial and visual vocabularies, the legacies of classical and late antique traditions in the formation of Islamic art, as well as cross-cultural exchange between the Islamic lands and their neighbors - particularly Western Europe and East Asia. We will also address the importance of modern interpretations of early Islamic art, especially the politics of collecting and museum display. This course is designed for non-specialists; information about major events and historical figures as well as topics related to Islamic society and culture will be introduced and discussed as needed. Field trips are mandatory for this course. Note: Prior to Fall 2023, the course was titled "Early Islamic Art and Architecture."
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Undergraduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2044. Islamic Art and Architecture, 1250-1750: From the Mongols to the Mughals. 4 Credit Hours.
This course provides students with an introduction to the art and architecture of the Islamic lands within an increasingly globalized early modern world, ca. 1250-1750. Our sessions begin with the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 1258, which ushered in a new era of small but influential regional dynasties that were eventually superseded by the so-called "Gunpowder Empires" - the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals. We will investigate how each of these polities developed rich and distinctive forms of display and art-making, touching upon shifts in patronage patterns, the arts of the book, and the role of figural painting and calligraphy. Emphasis will be placed on cross-cultural encounters and the exchange of ideas, artists, and objects across space and time. We will also address accidents of preservation and the politics of collecting and heritage management, highlighting how the art and architecture from this period has been interpreted for the purposes of nation-building, as well as the numerous ways non-Muslims have participated within Islamic visual culture. This course is designed for non-specialists; information about major events and figures of Islamic history and topics related to Islamic culture will be introduced and discussed as needed. Field trips are required. Note: Prior to Fall 2023, the course was titled "Later Islamic Art: From the Mongols to the Mughals."
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Undergraduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2090. Topics in Arts Administration Practice. 3 Credit Hours.
Selected topics in arts administration, focusing on contemporary arts of interest, such as mission, values and community; philanthropy in arts administration.
College Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Colleges: Art Architecture, Tyler School.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2096. Art History Writing Intensive. 4 Credit Hours.
A selected topic from a specific period in the history of art will be examined. NOTE: This is a Writing Intensive Course. Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Level Registration Restrictions: May not be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Graduate.
Course Attributes: WI
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2097. Art History Writing Intensive. 3 Credit Hours.
A selected topic from a specific period in the history of art will be examined. NOTE: This is a Writing Intensive Course. Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Course Attributes: WI
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2098. Art History Writing Intensive. 4 Credit Hours.
A selected topic from a specific period in the history of art will be examined. NOTE: This is a Writing Intensive Course. Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Course Attributes: WI
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2101. Art of Ancient Egypt and the Aegean. 4 Credit Hours.
This course is an introduction to the arts of ancient Egypt, Crete, and Greece during the Bronze Age (3000-1000 BCE), including painting, sculpture, architecture, and material culture. We will explore how these arts were influenced by the society's religions, social organization, and trade connections. Field trips are mandatory for this course.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2105. Roman Art and Archaeology. 4 Credit Hours.
From a group of thatched huts on the banks of the Tiber River, to a wall built to keep the Picts out of England; from the marble temples to the emperors in modern Turkey to the houses of North Africa; from the theaters in Roman Gaul to the destroyed town of Pompeii, the Romans inhabited the entire Mediterranean basin and formed a diverse urban society. We will explore how the Romans built and decorated their houses, how they buried their dead, how they interacted in public spaces, and how they used art in the service of the sacred. We will begin with the formation of Rome in the 8th century BCE, and finish when Constantine moves the capital of the Empire to the east. In this chronological unfolding of the Roman world, we will explore how the Romans developed different building types for their new urban needs; developed the art of interior painting and mosaic; used sculpture to glorify the individual and explain what it means to be a "Roman." We will pay particular attention to the interplay between the city of Rome and its monuments and the larger cultural world the Romans inhabited, especially where they met other art styles that influenced the development of their own - in Greece, France, Asia Minor, the Middle East and Africa. Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2110. Topics in Ancient Art. 4 Credit Hours.
A selected topic from the Ancient period in the history of art will be examined. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2117. Archaeological Excavation. 1 to 6 Credit Hour.
Requires permission of the instructor. Credit given for participating in an archaeological excavation.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2129. Greek and Roman Sculpture. 4 Credit Hours.
When is a naked male a god? Are females a sum of their hairstyles and clothes? We begin our exploration of the sculptor's view of the human body in the 7th century BCE and finish as the rise of a newly legal religion changes the form of sculpture in the early 4th century CE. Along the way we will investigate the portrayal of the body in space, the use of emotion, the changing role of nudity as costume, and the depiction of different ethnic groups and ages, the beginning of portraiture, and the representation of non-humans, as the Greek and Roman sculptors portray the Other, the emperor, the god, and more. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2135. Art and Culture in Ancient Rome. 4 Credit Hours.
Weekly class lectures and on-site visits provide an outline of the origins and development of Italian and Roman art between the 8th century B.C. and the 4th century A.D. Special attention is paid to the cultures that influenced the formation of Roman art: the Greeks in southern Italy and the Etruscans in Tuscany and Latium. The course deals with architecture (and urban design), sculpture, painting, and mosaics. To complete the picture of Roman art, a survey is also given of Roman art in the provinces of the Empire. The course includes a weekend excursion outside of Rome. NOTE: This course is taught in Rome.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2196. Greek and Roman Sculpture. 4 Credit Hours.
When is a naked male a god? Are females a sum of their hairstyles and clothes? We begin our exploration of the sculptor's view of the human body in the 7th century BCE and finish as the rise of a newly legal religion changes the form of sculpture in the early 4th century CE. Along the way we will investigate the portrayal of the body in space, the use of emotion, the changing role of nudity as costume, and the depiction of different ethnic groups and ages, the beginning of portraiture, and the representation of non-humans, as the Greek and Roman sculptors portray the Other, the emperor, the god, and more. NOTE: This is a Writing Intensive Course. Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Course Attributes: WI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2197. Art History Writing Intensive. 4 Credit Hours.
A selected topic from a specific period in the history of art will be examined. NOTE: This is a Writing Intensive Course.
Course Attributes: WI
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2200. Topics in Medieval Art. 4 Credit Hours.
A selected topic from the Medieval period in the history of art will be examined.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2215. Holy Image, Glittering Mosaic: The Art of the Byzantine Empire. 4 Credit Hours.
If you saw a saint in a dream, how would you recognize them? Is a dome only structural, or can it also be symbolic? How did artists represent God in a picture - or not? These questions, and more, were explored by the people of the Mediterranean during the period of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, during which the ancient Roman world transformed into the culture of the Eastern Roman Empire - what we often call Byzantium. In this class, we especially consider the religious pluralism of Late Antiquity; the social and religious functions of images and architecture; the purpose of icons; and the settings where these objects were found, including imperial capitals, monasteries and churches. We will use the wealth of local resources in and around Philadelphia to examine manuscripts, relics, coins and other objects from this culture up close. NOTE: Field trips outside of regularly-scheduled class time are mandatory for this class. Prior to Fall 2023 the course was titled "Late Antique/Byzantine."
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Undergraduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2216. Early Medieval Visual Culture. 4 Credit Hours.
How did powerful warrior kings, monks living in caves, and travelers crossing continents demonstrate political, spiritual, and holy power through art and architecture? Why are snakes, otters, peacocks, lions, and rabbits tucked away in the corners of religious books? How did monasteries display capsules containing inspirited matter called reliquaries? Explore with us these questions in the visual culture of Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages in Eurasia, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean and North Africa to the Levant, circa 400 to 1000 CE. From the monastery of Skellig Michael in Ireland to the caliphal courts of Baghdad, we will consider how art and architecture from this vital period shaped ideas about institutions of kingship, monasticism, and understandings of divinity across Christian, Jewish, and Muslim communities. We will investigate precious manuscripts, golden treasures from Viking burials, and churches along the route of pilgrimage destinations, among other art forms. NOTE: Field trips outside of regularly-scheduled class time are mandatory for this class.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Undergraduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2217. Art of the Global Middle Ages 1000-1400. 4 Credit Hours.
During the Late Middle Ages, the towering Gothic cathedrals of Europe flooded light into the interior through a fusion of architecture, stained glass and sculpture. At the same time, Mansa Musa, the richest person ever to live, held reign in the Mali Empire. In Ethiopia, a recreated Jerusalem was carved out of living rock, while in Japan, artists produced work to satisfy both warlike shogun and priests making Buddhism available to the illiterate. Through select case studies from the period 1000-1400 CE, we will engage with the art and architecture of the late Middle Ages in Europe, Africa, Asia, Australasia and the Americas, and explore the ideas, individuals and narratives that these objects and structures convey. Particular attention will be given to the connections between art forms and across cultures through objects and ideas that travel. NOTE: Field trips outside of regularly-scheduled class time are mandatory for this class. Prior to Fall 2023 this course was titled "Gothic Art."
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Undergraduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2218. From Constantine to Mohammed: Art & Architecture of the Mediterranean from the 4th to 8th Century AD. 4 Credit Hours.
Weekly class lectures and on-site visits examine the period from the time of Constantine (312-337 AD) until the time of Mohammed and the early Islamic period. Through a survey of architecture forms, sculpture (portraiture, historical relief, sarcophagi) and decorative systems (wall paintings, mosaics), students explore fundamental political, religious and cultural changes in the Mediterranean world and their implications on art and architecture up to the 8th century AD. Special attention is drawn to the changing formal and stylistic language of late Roman art, the rise of Christianity and the origins of its art, the influence of the Byzantine world (Constantinople) on the art of the West and on the early Islamic art. The course includes a three-day academic excursion to north eastern Italy centered around Ravenna, residence of Roman emperors, Germanic kings and Byzantine representatives in the 5th and 6th century AD. NOTE: This course is taught in Rome.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2296. Topics in Islamic Art and Architecture. 4 Credit Hours.
This course will examine buildings, built environments, and objects created by and for cultures in which Islam was the dominant culture practiced either by a minority ruling elite or by a majority of the populace. Sample topics include "Imperial Cities/Global Early Modern Period" and "The Modern Mosque: Religious Identity, Power, and 'Starchitecture'". Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Course Attributes: WI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2300. Special Topics. 1 to 3 Credit Hour.
A selected topic in the history of art will be examined. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2310. Topics in Renaissance Art. 4 Credit Hours.
A selected topic in Renaissance art will be examined. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2321. Masters of Renaissance Art. 4 Credit Hours.
This course will explore the construction of artistic identity and style from the mid-fifteenth century to the early-seventeenth century through visual analyses, readings of contemporary sources (biographies/autobiographies, art treatises, and correspondences), and modern scholarship in an attempt to demystify the "Masters" of the Italian Renaissance. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2323. Early Renaissance Art in Italy. 4 Credit Hours.
This course is a survey of Italian painting and sculpture from the 13th through the early 16th centuries. An analysis of the "revival" of painting beginning in the Proto-Renaissance by Cimabue, Cavallini, Duccio and Giotto is followed by a study of significant artistic inventions in the Early Renaissance by Masaccio, Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello and others. The course concludes with the inception of the High Renaissance with works by Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael. The artistic culture in Rome and its relationship to Florence are examined. NOTE: Two weekend field trips are mandatory.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2325. Art in the Age of Exploration: 1400-1600. 4 Credit Hours.
This course is an overview of the arts created North of the Alps, c. 1400-1600, with attention to the period's early consciousness of globalism. This is a period of dramatic change, with the introduction of the printing press, religious and political turmoil of the Protestant Reformation, the European "discovery" of the Americas, incursions from the Ottoman Turks, and expanding travel across Europe and around the coast of Africa to India. We will examine fundamental artistic developments on the cusp of the modern era, including technical innovations in oil paint and printmaking, developments in mapmaking, the decline of the altarpiece, and the rise of new secular subjects in art, including images of witches, peasants, independent landscapes and portraiture. We will explore the ways in which works of art - by artists such as Van Eyck, Durer, Holbein, Bosch, and Bruegel - both reflected and contributed to the rapidly changing worldview. We will examine a wide range of media and materials, including carved altarpieces, panel paintings, book illuminations, prints, and so-called "feather paintings" from the Americas. We will study the territory of the Burgundian court and the Holy Roman Empire, looking at the cosmopolitan centers of Bruges, Nuremberg, Wittenberg, and Antwerp, but also at the movement of artists, patrons, works of art, and ideas as they are received from Italy, the Ottoman Empire, parts of Africa, and the Americas. Field trips are mandatory for this class. Note: Prior to Fall 2023 this course was titled "Northern Renaissance Art 1350-1550."
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Undergraduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2329. Italian Architecture 1400-1700. 4 Credit Hours.
Architects of the 14th century were the first to describe themselves as "modern," although they looked back to ancient Rome and cultivated ideas about architecture as a profession,urban planning and conservation. The aim of this course is to provide a basis for the recognition of Italian Renaissance and Baroque buildings and typologies, architects - from Brunelleschi to Michelangelo through Bernini - and elements of architectural language, within a framework of critical visual and historical analysis. Relationships to local architectural heritage in Philadelphia will be encouraged - consider the Palladian window from Independence Hall to your local McMansion - just one of the types of innovation we will explore for its contribution to our own environment. Field trips are mandatory for this course. Note: Prior to Fall 2023 this course was titled "Renaissance and Baroque Architecture in Italy."
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Undergraduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2350. Topics in Early Modern Art, 1400-1750. 4 Credit Hours.
A selected topic in Early Modern Art will be examined. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2400. Topics in Global Baroque Art. 4 Credit Hours.
A selected topic from the Baroque period in the history of art will be examined. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Undergraduate.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2428. Wonders of Rome: Art and Culture of the Baroque Era. 4 Credit Hours.
Weekly class lectures and on-site visits in Rome provide students an unparalleled opportunity to examine firsthand painting, sculpture and architecture (from c.1585 to c.1750) in their original settings. Organized chronologically from the papacy of Paul V Borghese to that of Alexander VII Chigi, this course gives particular attention to Caravaggio's paintings, Lanfranco's frescoes, Bernini's statues and fountains, Borromini's churches, the Barberini Palace, Piazza Navona, and Saint Peter's Basilica and Square. Works inciting wonder (or "meraviglia") and viewer participation shall be studied from the perspective of the culture of seventeenth-century Rome, as relating to the Counter-Reformation and Catholic Revival, papal propaganda and nepotism, and the rise of powerful new orders, such as the Jesuits. The course includes a two-day field trip to Naples to view seventeenth-century art in the Capodimonte Museum, Certosa di San Martino, and churches in the historic center, "Spaccanapoli", and to consider artistic production in Naples as a striking foil to that of Rome. NOTE: This course is taught in Rome only.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2431. Early Modern Italy and Spain in the 17th Century. 4 Credit Hours.
This course will focus on the birth of Baroque art in Southern Europe, originating in Rome, with concentration on its development there and its migration to other centers, such as Naples and Madrid, Spain, and its global spread as an instrument of persuasion and propaganda. Great personalities emerge: from the rebel painter of naturalism, Caravaggio, to the rise of such female artists as Artemisia, to the exponents of art academies, the Carracci, to papal darling Bernini, and the courtier Velazquez, as well as the enslaved Juan de Pareja. The aim of this course is to provide a basis for the recognition of the Baroque work of art, its practitioners and cultural stimuli by looking in depth at the achievements of such key artists and their career trajectories. Emphasis is placed on the expressive qualities of style, meaning, materials and techniques as practiced by these artists in this period. Museum visits form a part of this course! Note: Prior to Fall 2023 this course was titled "Southern Baroque Art: Italy and Spain."
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Undergraduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2432. Northern and Global Baroque Art: Art in the Age of Rubens, Rembrandt, Vermeer. 4 Credit Hours.
The period from approximately 1600 through 1750 saw warfare and unstable truces as constants among political rivals and monarchies; the Reformation and Counter-Reformation continued to impact European society and culture; and scientific advancements and global trade reshaped how people understood their place in the world and in nature. This also was a time of exceptional artistic talent - the age of Rubens, Rembrandt, Vermeer, and increasing numbers of women artists such as Judith Leyster and Maria Sibylla Merian - with artworks produced and transported on an unprecedented scale in European cultural centers, at home and abroad, in cities and courts and communities overseas. Global trade and efforts to spread Christianity were also heavily implicated in colonialism, and art of all kinds - large paintings, architecture, prints - played an enormous role in those stories. We not only will look at art of this so-called Baroque Golden Age, but also at its darker underbelly and the 'non-Golden Age' of early colonialism that deserves our attention. Field trips are mandatory for this course. Note: Prior to Fall 2023, the course was titled "Northern Baroque Art."
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Undergraduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2450. Topics in Eighteenth Century Art. 4 Credit Hours.
A selected topic in eighteenth-century art will be examined. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2500. Topics in 19th Century Art. 4 Credit Hours.
A selected topic in the history of art from the 19th century will be examined. Field trips are required.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2535. Art in the Age of Revolution. 4 Credit Hours.
This course considers Western art from 1750 to 1850 (Neoclassicism, Romanticism and early Realism) within its context of political and socioeconomic upheaval. The industrial and scientific revolutions also expanded technical possibilities and broadened the audiences for the visual arts. Likewise, they reframed conceptions of the physical universe and accelerated and intensified global contact, with a multidirectional exchange of images and objects, iconography and style, impacting the visual culture of exploitation and emancipation, aggression and emancipation, reaction and resistance. The course concludes at the world fairs in London (1851) and Paris (1855). NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2543. Transnational Impressionisms. 4 Credit Hours.
This course begins with the study of plein-air painting focusing on Paris. The artists known as the "impressionists" operated within a transnational context. Their painting was informed by the capitalist, industrial and imperialist modernity of urban Paris. We will consider the significance and reception of palette, brushstrokes, and light in France, but also in other locations. The course also includes challenges to the precepts of impressionism and revivals and revisions to this style. Methodologies such as feminism, postcolonial and transnational perspectives will be engaged to analyze the artists and their art making in a variety of media. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2600. Topics in 20th Century Art. 4 Credit Hours.
A selected topic in the history of art from the 20th century will be examined. NOTE: Two weekend field trips are mandatory for this course.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2601. History of Modern Graphic Design. 4 Credit Hours.
The mixture of image and type we view today as graphic design has a history rooted in the earliest pictographs on pre-historic cave walls, evolving through such experiences as Roman political campaigns, medieval illuminated manuscripts, Renaissance book design, and the Industrial Revolution before arriving in the twentieth century. Keeping this rich heritage in mind, this course will investigate the development of graphic design from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, as a result of technological advances, political upheaval, commerce, and cultural and artistic exchange. We will discuss issues and works that are relevant to the field of graphic design in order to enrich your practice and develop critical thinking skills that will be useful to you throughout your academic and professional careers in other environments as well.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2610. Topics in Modern and Contemporary Art. 4 Credit Hours.
A selected topic in Modern and Contemporary Art will be examined. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2611. Introduction to African Art. 4 Credit Hours.
This course is an introductory survey of African art spanning from prehistoric rock art to contemporary African art throughout the entire continent. Students will be asked to consider how African works force us to reconsider what the term "art" means in an African context, particularly the ways that African art is interwoven into society through various means including rites of passage, masquerade, and altars. The course will examine the history of the exhibition of African art in museums and the ways it is antithetical to the life of works intended to be activated by the communities that created them. Further, it will examine the history of the formation of significant collections of African art, particularly those in former colonial centers. The course will begin by asking what art means in an African context. It will move through Africa by region, focusing on the art production of various ethnic groups within those regions. It will end by examining the role of photography in Africa and the massive production of contemporary art within the continent. Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2612. Introduction to Caribbean Art. 4 Credit Hours.
This course is a broad survey of art from the Caribbean region, spanning from indigenous Taino and Carib art through to contemporary art of the Caribbean and its diaspora. The course will expose students to the history of the region including indigenous cultures before European exploration, European arrivals and conceptions of the "New World", plantation economies from sugar to coffee, the transatlantic slave trade, the Haitian Revolution, art of maroon communities, and the syncretism of African religious practices in Afro-Caribbean faiths like Vodoun and Santeria. Throughout the semester, we will examine definitions of the term "Caribbean". For example, is the term limited geographically to the Caribbean basin or should it take on a more cultural valence, expanding to places like Louisiana and Brazil, both of which share significant historical and cultural similarities with the countries from the Caribbean basin. Major themes of the class will include the impacts of colonialism, the transatlantic slave trade, the formation of the Afro-Atlantic diaspora, and legacies of the transatlantic slave trade in contemporary art. Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2622. Galleries and Studios of Rome. 4 Credit Hours.
A course designed to give an overview of the artistic developments in Rome during the past 25 years and to offer insight into the diverse trends of contemporary art in the city. Visits are made to galleries, specific exhibitions, and artists' studios. This course is taught in Rome only.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2642. Modern Art, 1900-1945. 4 Credit Hours.
This course examines the idea of the "modern" across different geographic contexts and histories. Students will study how artists broke from the concept of art as mimesis as a way to represent their own experiences of modernity. To explore these experiences, topics such as urban life, technological innovations, revolution and war, and histories of colonization will be discussed. Considering the focus of the class on global modern art, we will compare how its genres and styles traveled, often unevenly, across the world, questioning the role of center and periphery in its development. Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2644. Post-War Art, 1945-1989. 4 Credit Hours.
This course examines the major artists and movements in art from 1945 to 1989, placing them within the larger social and political contexts. Artistic practices in American, European and Global movements such as abstract expressionism, experimental art, and avant-garde art will be theorized against the backdrop of the politics, technology, and visual culture of the mid-20th century to 1989. Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2646. Contemporary Art, 1989 to Present. 4 Credit Hours.
This course studies the global production of art after 1989 with a special focus on the development of non-traditional media. Topics covered may include, but are not limited to, performance art, video art and social practice, large-scale photography, conceptual practices, institutional critique, installation art, and site-specific art. We will discuss the periodization of contemporary art and the increasing significance of curators, the biennial system, and the art market. Breaking from a chronological survey of art and a Europe-US axis, the course addresses themes and issues such as relational aesthetics, social practice, collaboration, and globalization in order to understand how art has been re-invented with the contemporary period and across the world. Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2660. Topics in International Cinema. 4 Credit Hours.
Students in this course study a selection of films from modern Europe and Third World cultures which demonstrate both their interaction with postmodern politics, theory and culture, and the development of an international alternative discourse to Hollywood commercial film-making. Films will be selected according to a theme each semester. Past themes have included Italian Neo-Realism, Independent Film Makers, and Women in Film.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2670. Topics in Contemporary Art. 3 or 4 Credit Hours.
A selected topic on contemporary art and visual culture will be examined. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2680. Topics in Global Art. 4 Credit Hours.
A selected topic on global art and visual culture will be examined. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2696. Graphic Design Theory. 3 Credit Hours.
This course will introduce students to contemporary design theories and discourse. It will examine the theoretical aspects of artifacts through their making, reading and dissemination. Graphic design and visual communication theories will be compared to those in literature and architecture. Students will use discussion, writing, presentations and design to investigate contemporary design issues. Emphasis will be placed on forming and articulating an individual point-of-view (POV) in discussion and writing. Based on the semester-long discussion about how we visually communicate, all students will draw a revised diagram of the Communication Model developed by Meredith Davis in 2012. Graduate students will also write a 1000-word reflection on the factors that have influenced this eight-year evolution.
Course Attributes: WI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2700. Topics in American Art. 4 Credit Hours.
A selected topic in American Art will be examined. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2701. Modern Art in the United States. 4 Credit Hours.
During the 20th century, artists working in the United States redefined art in an energetic quest to express what they believed to be authentically modern, and/or authentically American, while developing new visual languages for expressing personal and national identity through their work. This course surveys modern art in the US from 1900 to 1990, a period when art, along with culture and society more generally, oscillated between qualities associated with the modern (speed, technology, machines, the future) and the anti-modern (tradition, nostalgia, handicrafts, roots). We will explore modern art's diverse definitions and forms through painting, sculpture, photography, graphic arts and design, and artistic movements including the Ashcan School, the Harlem Renaissance, abstract expressionism, Minimalism, Pop Art, Graffiti Art, and the emergence of post-modernism in the US. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this course. Prior to Fall 2023 this course was titled "Main Trends in American 20th Century Painting."
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Undergraduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2704. Art in the United States to 1900. 4 Credit Hours.
Nothing characterizes American art so much as the rich diversity of communities, cultural traditions and media that contributed to its development. This course examines the history of art and visual culture in the United States from the precontact settlements of Indigenous peoples through the emergence of modern art around the year 1900. Among the topics we will consider are art and nationalism, folk art and vernacular creative traditions, race and representation, photography and the emergence of mass culture, and the ways that gender, ethnicity, and histories of museums and art markets shaped appreciation and access to art in US society. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class. Prior to Fall 2023 this course was titled "19th Century American Art."
Level Registration Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Levels: Undergraduate.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2753. Art and Environment in American Culture. 4 Credit Hours.
Does our present global environmental crisis demand a new way of thinking about art and its history? What role has art played in constructing an image of our environment as natural resource, scientific specimen, mythic Eden, arena of struggle, and/or fragile ecosystem? Can art and art history help envision a more sustainable world or are they part of the problem? As a way of addressing such questions, this course takes an "ecocritical" perspective on American art from the late 19th century (when the word "ecology" first appeared) to the present. More than any other single nation, the United States bears responsibility for the ecological challenges facing our planet, even as its citizens arguably enjoy unparalleled opportunities for creative freedom. By highlighting the interconnectedness of human beings with their environment in America, as well as the power of art to re-imagine that relationship, the course provokes students to re-think accepted canons and practices in light of other criteria having to do with sustainability, environmental justice, and our ethical responsibility to non-human life. Covering a wide range of artists and media - from the Romantic paintings and writings of Thomas Cole and John James Audubon to more recent work by Edward Burtynsky, Subhankar Banerjee, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Robert Smithson, Helen and Newton Harrison, Eduardo Kac, Alexis Rockman, Mark Dion and other contemporary artists active in this country - the course gives students a new and richly diverse opportunity to think about American art. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this course.
Course Attributes: SF, SS
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2760. Topics in the Art of Latin America. 4 Credit Hours.
A selected topic on Latin American art and visual culture will be examined. Topics can range from Pre-Colombian and Mesoamerican to colonial and postcolonial, U.S. Latino, and modern and contemporary art of Latin America. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2765. Revolution and Beyond: Modern & Contemporary Art in Latin America. 4 Credit Hours.
This course examines art in Latin America from 1900 to the present. Covering a period of tumultuous societal change in the region, from revolutions to economic booms and military dictatorships, discussions will focus on understanding the distinct contexts of artistic production in various Latin American centers, with particular attention to the artists and artistic movements of Brazil and Mexico and including consideration of major architectural projects. We will examine how artists conceived of their work in relationship to local and international aesthetic and political debates. Students will read criticism and artists' writing from the period as well as recent theory and historical analysis and attention will be placed on developing skills to analyze a range of media and styles, including figurative and abstract practices. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2800. Topics in Non-Western Art. 4 Credit Hours.
A selected topic in the Non-Western history of art will be examined. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class. This course is taught in TU Japan only.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2807. East Meets West. 4 Credit Hours.
This course focuses on topics related to the correspondence between the arts of Eastern and Western cultures. Past and future topics include: American chromolithography and Japanese woodblock prints; religious iconography in the East and West; art and technology in modern Eastern and Western art and culture; trade and commerce and the interchange of artistic motifs, philosophies and techniques. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class. Temple Japan campus only.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2815. Pre-Modern Japanese Art up to the Edo Period. 4 Credit Hours.
This course is an introductory survey to Japan's long and rich artistic traditions from the prehistoric period to the Edo period marking the end of the feudal samurai government in the late 19th century. Students explore the visual arts of Japan as a reflection of Japanese culture. Lectures focus on selected works of painting, sculpture, architecture, gardens, prints and ceramics while considering themes such as subject matter, style, patronage, and political/social changes. Lectures also address the aesthetic sensibilities, ideas, and beliefs that have developed in Japan in order to provide a glimpse into the culture within which artworks were created and appreciated by the people. Students also study some of the methods and materials used in creating Japanese art. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class. Temple Japan campus only.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2816. Art and the City: Tokyo in the 1960s and 1970s. 4 Credit Hours.
This course examines the urban practices of experimental art and visual culture in Tokyo in the turbulent decades of the 1960s and 1970s. Premised on an understanding that Tokyo's changing urban environment shaped the artistic practices of the time, this course thematically explores some of the major theoretical issues that surround contemporary Japanese art and visual culture of the period. Critical readings will provide social, historical, and political contexts for understanding a broad range of visual cultural practices including art, design, and film. While Japan's postwar "miraculous" economic growth was accompanied by conservative ideals such as the homogenous middle class and contemporaneous urban developments reorganized the city to promote market activity, the 1960s and 1970s were also extremely productive decades for the arts. Alongside increased political activism and direct action by students and workers, who took to the streets, new developments in street performances, experimental theater works, graphic design, experimental cinema, and underground comics would irrevocably change the course of Japanese visual culture. Paying attention to the thick connections between artists working in various media of the time, we will explore how Tokyo both shaped the artists and their works and served as their subject. NOTE: Temple Japan campus only.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2817. Japanese Art Before and After WWII: National Identities in Modernization. 4 Credit Hours.
This course introduces Japanese art from the early 20th century to present day, focusing on traditional aspects of Japanese culture. Through this course you will study Japan's relationship with modernization and its influence on arts and cultures such as painting, sculpture, manga, films, animation, performance art, and more. The artists who will be discussed in this course will include Hayao Miyazaki, Osamu Tezuka, Leonard Tsuguharu Fujita, Isamu Noguchi, Yasujiro Ozu, Yoko Ono, Yukio Mishima, and Yasumasa Morimura. Special attention will be paid to the historical context of Japan's modernization, World War II, and their influences on Japanese contemporary art. NOTE: This course is taught at TU Japan.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2819. Southeast Asian Art. 4 Credit Hours.
The art and civilization of Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Indonesia, focusing on the key aspects that have shaped cultures from the 5th century AD to modern times. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class. Temple Japan campus only.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2868. Arts of Asia. 4 Credit Hours.
Architecture, sculpture, painting and the functional art of Asia (India, China, Japan and Southeast Asia). A historical examination of the art as a religious expression and as a product of changing social and economic conditions. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class. Temple Japan campus only.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2871. Chinese Art. 4 Credit Hours.
This course is an introductory survey of the arts of China from the Neolithic period to the 20th century. Looking primarily at works in situ and in Asian collections, we will investigate how art objects and monuments reflect the religious beliefs, political agendas and aesthetic preferences of the artists and patrons who created them. We will also pay particular attention to the roles that media and technology play in the appearance of and status attached to the finished products. Another major theme will be the development of indigenous and imported religions, and their impact on iconography. Finally, time permitting, we will touch on related contemporary subjects, such as forgeries and the illegal trade in looted art. NOTE: Field trips are mandatory for this class. Temple Japan campus only.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2896. Modern Japanese Art and Visual Culture, from late Edo to Showa. 4 Credit Hours.
This course will examine Japanese visual expressions created from ca. 1720 during the Edo period to 1956 during the Showa period. This span of time can be characterized by Japan's modernization efforts and engagement in wars, beginning with the lifting of the ban on western books after almost 200 years of isolation from the outside world. This policy change triggered an influx of European thought into Japan and ensuing westernization as Japan faced the imperialist powers of Europe. Thereafter, Japan experienced two watershed events pertaining to the West: the collapse of centuries-old samurai feudalism in 1868 and Japan's defeat in the Second World War in 1945. In the development of Japanese modern visual arts, Western knowledge and culture played a crucial role, and often challenged Japan's long-standing traditional values and artistic practices. The course will explore the transformation that Japanese visual arts experienced against the backdrop of political and social upheaval of this period. Japan struggled to keep up with an increasingly globalizing world. Japanese artists had to question and gauge their own artistic practice and style to cope with internal and external factors. After the defeat by the Western Allies in the Second World War, Japanese artists again struggled to find their voices in society. As a Writing Intensive Art History course, students will be instructed on proper research and writing in the discipline and will prepare and refine a research paper. Taught at Temple Japan campus only.
Course Attributes: WI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2897. Writing for Art History: Art History Writing Intensive Seminar. 4 Credit Hours.
This course is designed to provide students with opportunities to become familiar with different kinds of art historical writing, with the ultimate aim of pulling together these skills for a final project of researching and writing a virtual exhibition catalog. Students will build on smaller assignments that involve formal description and analysis of visual images, research and contextual interpretation of images, critical reading of secondary sources, and the writing of extended catalog essays. The course will be thematically based according to the instructor's area of expertise and will include two mandatory group field trips to local and regional museums. Examples of possible topics offered in the future are: Renaissance Portraiture; The Development of Landscape in Western Art; Abstraction; Sacred Images from Antiquity to the Baroque Period.
Course Attributes: WI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2898. Contemporary Japanese Art and Visual Culture, from 1945 to the present. 4 Credit Hours.
This course examines the development of Japanese art and visual culture in the postwar period. Instead of providing a linear history of formal developments, this course thematically explores some of the major theoretical issues that surround contemporary Japanese art and visual culture. Critical readings will provide social, historical, and political contexts for understanding a broad range of visual cultural practices. Through the course we will consider topics such as the question of modernity and the West in Japanese art; underground art and political dissent in the 1960s; and roles of gender, cuteness, and fantasy. Based on (but not limited to) the ideas and materials presented in class, students will pursue a research topic of their own interest, which will culminate in a PowerPoint presentation and final research paper. If completed successfully, this course will provide students with a solid grounding in art historical writing that combines critical thinking, formal analysis, research (secondary sources and, if possible, primary materials), and methodological awareness. As a Writing Intensive course, students will produce a sizeable quantity of writing during the semester, for which they will receive substantial feedback from the instructor and also from fellow classmates. The philosophy of this course is that one does not only think in order to write, but that one must also write in order to think. Taught at Temple Japan campus only.
Course Attributes: WI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2904. Honors Counterfeiting, Looting and the Ethics of Collecting Ancient Art. 3 Credit Hours.
Did you know that the Getty Museum paid over 9 million dollars for a statue that many now consider a fake? That some curators believe that 40% of the art on the market today is fake or so restored that we can consider the pieces fake? We will begin looking at some prominent fakes that took in scholars (the Metropolitan's "Etruscan" Warriors), talk about when something becomes a fake, and problematic pieces that are still on display. Fakes are made because there is so much money in the art market, and we will see how this market developed. In doing so we will see how Napoleon's policies ultimately lead to the looting on a massive scale in Nazi Germany; discuss the modern development of international law on looting and the protection of antiquities; and argue about what is the United States' responsibility in Iraq now. Finally, we will look at various means of how governments try to protect their antiquities (paying attention to the real-life soap operas like the Lydian Hoard); what is the role of museums in protecting antiquities (looking at the major news story on the indictment of the curator of the Getty, and the return of the stolen Euphronios vase by the Metropolitan Museum); what dealers do; and how an ethical collector can pursue his/her hobby responsibly. NOTE: This course is for Honors students.
Cohort Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Cohorts: SCHONORS, UHONORS, UHONORSTR.
Course Attributes: HO
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 2910. Honors Special Topics. 3 to 4 Credit Hours.
Selected topic in art history, focusing on methodology, art criticism, or art of a particular period or geographical area. NOTE: This course is for Honors students. Although it may be usable towards graduation as a major requirement or university elective, it cannot be used to satisfy any of the university GenEd requirements. See your advisor for further information. The course may require local field trips to museums or other institutions housing art.
Cohort Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Cohorts: SCHONORS, UHONORS, UHONORSTR.
Course Attributes: HO
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 2990. Honors Special Topics. 4 Credit Hours.
Selected topic in art history, focusing on methodology, art criticism, or art of a particular period or geographical area. NOTE: This course is for Honors students. Although it may be usable towards graduation as a major requirement or university elective, it cannot be used to satisfy any of the university GenEd requirements. See your advisor for further information. This course requires two field trips, one local and one to New York, to museums or other institutions housing art.
Cohort Restrictions: Must be enrolled in one of the following Cohorts: SCHONORS, UHONORS, UHONORSTR.
Course Attributes: HO
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 3082. Independent Study. 1 to 3 Credit Hour.
Intensive study in a specific area under individual guidance. Students must get permission from their department before attempting independent study.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 3097. Art History Capstone. 4 Credit Hours.
Undergraduate Capstone seminar in methodology, historiography, and or criticism of art and art history. Specific topics will vary by semester. This course is required of all art history majors for graduation and should be taken in their junior or senior year. NOTE: This is a Writing Intensive Course. This course fulfills the capstone requirement for Tyler Art History majors who entered the university in fall 2008 or later.
Course Attributes: WI
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
Pre-requisites: Minimum grade of C (except where noted) in 16 credits needed: (ARTH 2000 or ARTH U000 (TR or higher))
ARTH 3182. Independent Study. 1 to 3 Credit Hour.
Intensive study in a specific area under individual guidance. Students must get permission from their department before attempting independent study.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 3301. Michelangelo. 4 Credit Hours.
Profoundly impressive both for his technique and expressive content - emotional, dramatic, heroic, but always human - Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) continues to be a vital element in the history of art, as he was during the Renaissance. Weekly class lectures examine his drawing, painting, sculpture and architecture in the context of the art and patronage of his own time, starting with a study of Classical Roman Antiquity. NOTE: This course is taught in Rome.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 3302. Women and Art. 3 Credit Hours.
A study of women as subjects of art, as patrons, as creators. The course is organized around the roles of women as represented over the course of western art. Note: Prior to spring 2017, the course title was "Images of Women."
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 3324. High Renaissance Art in Italy. 4 Credit Hours.
The course initially focuses on the first three decades of the 16th century, when Rome replaced Florence as the capital of the arts. Attention is given to the Rome of Julius II and the Medici popes, and to the great protagonists of that age: Leonardo, Raphael and especially Michelangelo, the creator of the "grande Maniera Moderna" (great Modern Manner). The course spans the entire 16th century and also considers artistic production in other areas of Italy, such as Venice and Florence.
Repeatability: This course may not be repeated for additional credits.
ARTH 4082. Independent Study. 1 to 4 Credit Hour.
Intensive study in a specific area under individual guidance. Students must get permission from their department before attempting independent study.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 4182. Independent Study. 4 Credit Hours.
Intensive study in a specific area under individual guidance. Students must get permission from their department before attempting independent study.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
ARTH 4285. Internship. 1 to 6 Credit Hour.
Students working on relevant projects at area museums or galleries may receive Temple credit toward an art history major or minor. Variable credit depending on the number of hours worked per week, up to six credits maximum. Students will maintain a regular record of activities. Prior arrangements must be made with a host museum or gallery. Requires the permission of the Undergraduate Advisor of the Art History Department.
Repeatability: This course may be repeated for additional credit.
