Fall 2025 Course Guide

Welcome to the Fall 2025 Course Guide for the Department of Art and Art History!

We invite you to browse all the offerings and let us know if you have any questions. For individual courses, please reach out to the professor. For other questions about your major, minor, or our curriculum more generally, please contact your major advisor or any of us listed below. Department faculty and staff are happy to answer your questions and discuss your options by email or appointment.

Department Contacts

Director of Undergraduate Studies in Art History — Prof. Ian Bourland
Director of Undergraduate Studies in Studio Art — Prof. Scott Hutchison
Director of MA Program in Art and Museum Studies — Prof. Lisa Strong
Department Chair — Prof. Ian Bourland
Department Administrator — Prof. Andrea Gallelli Huezo
Department and Graduate Program Coordinator — Em Aufuldish

Studio Art Courses

Drawing

ARTS 1100-01 – Drawing I

ARTS 1100-01 – Drawing I This introductory drawing course examines observation as a tool of discovery and expression. Students explore traditional and conceptual notions of looking and experiment with different materials, techniques, and practices to examine visual perception. Through concentrated life studies, creative, personalized projects, and class critiques, students will discover new ways to render what they will with confidence. From basic contour line drawings to Old Master techniques, students will learn the aesthetic choices in drawing and how to use them to evoke their desired results using a variety of media.  Subjects will range from figure studies to linear perspective. This class is designed to build upon students’ drawing skills and to expand their ability to express their inner machinations. The class affords a diversity of drawing techniques to help students find courses of learning that they may not consider independently. A comfort with life drawing will be achieved through consistent and substantial workloads. Slide presentations and demonstrations supplement the assignments given to show practical application of ideas learned in class. Through projects and class critiques, students will foster new ways to communicate the visual experience.

This course is taught by Professor Erik Sandberg

ARTS 1100-02, -04 – Drawing I

Andrew Jergins, Figure study

Left image by Dionna Mitchell, Drawing shoes; right image by Kingwell Ma, Drawing Interior

Gus Dotson, Drawing Interior and Figure Study

ARTS 1100-02, -04 – Drawing I This course uses the drawing medium to explore the fundamental elements of art. Emphasis is on creating an illusion of the three-dimensional world on a two-dimensional flat surface, your paper. At the beginning of the course, simple techniques to assist you in drawing directly from the world around you will be introduced. The rest of the course will be dedicated to sharpening observation, finding means of expression, and learning to see a drawing. We draw still-life objects, interior spaces, and figure models, using a variety of drawing materials. I will work with everyone individually to support building a drawing in their preferred style. No drawing experience is necessary!

ARTS 1100 sections -02 and -04 are taught by Professor Ji Yu.

ARTS 1100-05 – Drawing I

Student’s work — conté on black paper

Student’s work — reverse charcoal

ARTS 1100-05 – Drawing I In this course, students explore drawing as a graphic means to process the world around them. The class starts with the fundamentals of composition, and how to use light and shadow to describe form. We then look at line as a means of discovery and expression, along with other techniques of rendering form, space and texture. Projects range from still life and interiors to studies of nature, animal skulls and the portrait/figure. Students are approached on an individual basis as well as through group discussions, slideshows, demonstrations and critiques. “Learning to draw is really a matter of learning to see.” – Kimon Nicolaides.

This course is taught by Professor Nataliya Gurshman.

ARTS 2102-1 — Drawing II: Color

David Hockney, “Flower,” 1978

Mary Cassatt, “The Long Gloves,” 1889

ARTS 2102-1 — Drawing II: Color “Color is everything, color is vibration like music; everything is vibration.” — Marc Chagall
In this course, students approach drawing through the lens of color and tone, and will explore graphic means as a form of expression. Students investigate the world around them through various projects ranging from still life and interiors, to studies of nature, the figure and portrait. Beginning with a tonal approach and limited palette, we will observe light and shadow as a way to describe form and space. The class will then move onto more intense color explorations that incorporate color theory. Line, too, will be looked at as a means of discovery and as a way to imbue drawings with emotion, along with other textural techniques of rendering. There will be some sessions with live models. Both traditional and contemporary approaches will be reviewed through a variety of media, including pastels, colored pencils and other materials. Students are approached on an individual basis as well as through group discussions, slideshows, demonstrations and critiques.

This course is taught by Professor Ann Schlesinger.

Printmaking 

ARTS 1200-01 – Printmaking I: Relief

Linocut by student Grace Nguyen.

Linocut self-portrait by student Tyler McConville.

Linocut by student Grace Nguyen.

ARTS 1200-01 – Printmaking I: Relief This course utilizes traditional hand printing of relief images from Linoleum plates. Test plates are done in color and in balck and white. Folds and simple bookmaking are presented as options. After learning safe cutting, registration and printing methods, students are encouraged to pursue their own personal imagery. Critiques and view and response of videos and online print-related sites is required.

This course is taught by Professor Scip Barnhart.

ARTS 1603-01 — Art of the Book

Book by student Olivia Tatarian

Book by student Jordyn Jones

Book by student Olivia Tatarian

ARTS 1603-01 — Art of the Book This course explores the practice and creation of unique artist books. Multiple bindings, sewing, folds, cutting methods, and techniques are taught to prepare students for personal expression through handmade books.

This course is taught by Professor Scip Barnhart.

Photography

Darkroom

ARTS 1300-02 – Photo I: Darkroom

Photo credit to Kelly Carr

Photo credit to Kelly Carr

Photo credit to Kelly Carr

ARTS 1300-02 – Photo I: Darkroom This course has been designed for students who do not have any technical understanding or previous experience with traditional black-and-white film photography. It will cover camera operations, film processing, enlargement printing, and presentation methods; students will expose, develop, and print all of their own images. Information will be conveyed through traditional readings, demonstrations, and hands-on experience with the camera out in the field and print chemistry in the darkroom.

This course is taught by Professor Kelly Carr.

Digital

ARTS 1301-02, -04 – Photo I: Digital

ARTS 1301-02, -04 — Photo I: Digital This is an introductory digital photography studio art course designed to develop the hands-on skills necessary to produce and identify the elements of a good photograph and to acquire a thorough working knowledge of digital equipment. Students will gain an understanding of the aesthetic and technical areas of photography as a fine art. Class lectures, discussions and digital lab assignments will deal with photographic composition, criticism and history, camera and paper types, and printer systems. Fundamental knowledge of computer programs such as Photoshop will be covered for students to edit and print their work. Students enrolled in studio courses must devote a minimum of 4 to 6 hours per week outside of class to develop and complete assignments. Through the analysis of the history of this medium this class involves the study of photography as a metaphor for the human condition with students engaging in self-reflection and questioning through analysis, inquiry, dialogue and creation.

ARTS 1301 sections -02 and -04 are taught by Professor Roberto Bocci. 

ARTS 1301-03 – Photo I: Digital 

Natalie Sanders, Self Portrait

Valerie Sanchez, Long Depth of Field

Leo Arnett, Blur Motion

ARTS 1301-03 – Photo I: Digital This is a basic digital photography studio art course designed to develop the hands-on skills necessary to produce and identify the elements of a good photograph and to acquire a thorough working knowledge of digital equipment. Students will gain an understanding of the aesthetic and technical areas of photography as a fine art. Class lectures, discussions and digital assignments will deal with photographic composition, criticism and history. Fundamental knowledge of computer programs such as Photoshop will be introduced in the semester to develop photographic imagery.

This course is taught by Professor Kelly Carr.

Sculpture

ARTS 1400-02 & 1400-03 – Sculpture I

There are two sections of 1400, at different times.

Sidney Lee, Modeling from life

Sean Letendre, Cardboard self-portrait

Corine Forward, Spring 2019, Micro Monument Assignment

ARTS 1400-02 & 1400-03 – Sculpture I Sculpture I offers students the opportunity to exercise their creative drive through making three-dimensional form. Students work in traditional and contemporary methods and materials. During the semester there are three thematically driven projects that simultaneously introduce new materials, processes, and conceptual consideration. The semester will include projects that range from modeling a form in clay, creating sculptures with recycled cardboard, and using found objects to construct a sculpture. This course is designed for the novice sculptor and assignments emphasize foundational skills.

Please note that the Sculpture Studio is located in the basement of the Walsh building, down one flight of stairs. This room is not wheelchair accessible.

Both sections of ARTS 1400 are taught by Professor Evan Reed.

Painting

ARTS 1500-01 – Painting I: Oil

Still Life by Allie Stevens

Trompe L’oeil Still Life by Nicole Keller

Trompe L’oeil Still Life by Kayla Zamanian

ARTS 1500-01 — Painting I: Oil This course will address the basic components of making a work of art through oil painting. All levels of experience are welcome, and I will work with each student individually to ensure growth and improvement. We will begin the course working directly from still life and then move to more complex projects as the semester continues. The course will provide historical context for traditional methods of oil painting, as well as contemporary modes of making. Exploration, interpretation, and experimentation are encouraged! Students will build a painting vocabulary and examine a variety of painting philosophies/methods that will transcend this course and assist them with the entire experience of making any type of art.

This course is taught by Professor Marisa Stratton.

ARTS 1500-02 – Painting I: Oil

Zoom Black and White Demonstration

Melissa Gonzalez, Collage Painting Project

Susanna Hermann, Multiplicity Painting Project

ARTS 1500-02 – Painting I: Oil This is an introductory painting course that covers the basic techniques of oil painting through historical and contemporary processes. We begin with a skill building exercise – painting from life – in a manner that results in a realistic depiction of the subject. We then create a color chart, organizing and comparing a color’s related purity, strengths and viscous qualities. The projects that follow are designed to build on each other with the goal of making one-of-a-kind and highly individualized works of art. This is achieved through live demonstrations, artist presentations/research, group discussions and fostering an environment where students are encouraged to explore and test various possible outcomes. The pathway through life is not linear, but layered. Similarly, we do not make thinly veiled copies, but study paint and communicate the illusion of space and meaning by applying marks of color, texture, shape and value.

This course is taught by Professor Scott Hutchison.

ARTS 1500-03 – Painting I: Oil

ARTS 1500-03 — Painting I: Oil This course is an introductory course to figurative painting with the use of oil paints. From the grounds and supports upon which the paint is applied, to the varnishes that protect and enhance the works in the end, all aspects to painting will be covered. Students will primarily focus on the skills required for figurative artmaking in hopes that they will inform any subsequent forms of painting. This course takes a more classical and comprehensive approach to color theory and paint application and will help decode the language of painting. Through lectures, demonstrations, museum visits and critiques students will gain a greater knowledge of color, form, techniques and materials used in painting. The goals of the course are to teach classic techniques of Painting in incremental steps that will allow students to build confidence in their work. Students will gain from their observation and consistent life renderings, a better ability to map and execute whatever they desire. After this course, students will be better able to render what they will using any number of techniques from alla prima to basic glazing methods of painting. Color theory as it pertains to paint use will be a large focus of the course.

This course is taught by Professor Erik Sandberg.

ARTS 1500-04 – Painting I: Oil

Eliza Lafferty, “Self-portrait”

Eliza Lafferty, “Sunflowers”

Kelly Wu, “Clouds & Mists”

ARTS 1500-04 — Painting I: Oil “A painting requires a little mystery, some vagueness, and some fantasy.” – Edgar Degas. In this painting course, students are introduced to the oil medium, its techniques and concepts, from traditional to more contemporary approaches. With an emphasis on composition, students will explore color and tonal relationships, as well as surface and textural qualities. Starting with the basics of color mixing and application, students move through a series of projects and exercises in which they explore various aspects of the painting process, gradually building their skills and understanding. Subjects range from still life and landscape to portrait/figure. Students are engaged on an individual basis as well as through group discussions, lectures/ slideshows, demonstrations, and critiques.

This course is taught by Professor Ann Schlesinger.

ARTS 3550-1 — Painting: Visual Strategies

ARTS 3550-1 — Painting: Visual Strategies This course will explore contemporary ideas in painting through studio practice, critique, lecture, reading and discussion. Students will develop a small body of work (three paintings) while also learning to engage with contemporary art locally and globally. Prompts for projects will be open-ended and experimentation will be encouraged. This course will provide students with the opportunity to both develop a personal artistic voice and explore a variety of painting approaches. Historical and contemporary painters will be examined in the context of developing each student’s individual approach to form and content. Students should have a basic technical understanding of painting (ARTS 1500 Painting 1: Oil or Acrylic).

This course is taught by Professor Marisa Stratton.

Design

ARTS 1600-01 – 2D Design

Camouflage Project, (Student work by Elena Zheng)

Professor Dowley’s demonstration for the Experimental color compositions project.

Paper Cutting Project (Student work by Cornelia Thomas)

ARTS 1600-01 — 2D Design This is an introductory art studio course. Using drawing, painting, sculpture and photo materials, students learn the principles and elements of design necessary to communicate and express themselves visually. Special topics include collage and papercutting.

This course is taught by Professor Michael Dowley.

Graphic Design

ARTS 1602-01, -04 — Graphic Design I

Poster designs inspired by the Dakota Access Pipeline protests

Branding project (Work by Michelle Motta)

Portfolio newsletter (Work by Nia Jordan)

ARTS 1602-01, 04 — Graphic Design I: Students will learn the formal, aesthetic, and communicative aspects of creating effective graphic images. Projects include logos, typography, and digital arts that promote mastery of techniques, methods, and materials. In order to foster creativity, we start with breathing meditation at the start of class, followed by discussions about design and learn the Adobe software and the foundation of design principles. The goal of this class is to strengthen students’ visual literacy and communication skills as part of their liberal arts education.

Sections -01 and -04 of ARTS 1602 are taught by Professor Negar Nahidian.

ARTS 1602-03 – Graphic Design I

Student multilingual print and interactive magazines based on chosen topic, major or minor

Angela Perez, logo design and branding, laser etched and cut Maker Hub promo item

Postmodern Punk Concert Posters

ARTS 1602-03 — Graphic Design I: This is a studio art class focused on the creation of graphic design assets for print and screen-based media. During this course, you will learn basic Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe InDesign software through real-world projects and create a final portfolio. The course seeks to familiarize design students with the communicative power of visual form through a variety of visual expressions from modernist grids, experimental postmodern design techniques, maker spaces, and speculative technologies such as artificial intelligence. Students will develop a personal process of creating original graphic forms capable of effectively communicating a message or information through iteration and supportive peer and instructor feedback. Projects integrate the following topics: principles of graphic design, design research, icons, logos, branding, postmodern punk posters, and interactive and print publications.

This course is taught by Professor Toni-Lee Sangastiano.

Animation

ARTS 1700-01 — Animation I

Screengrab from film by student Sarema Shorr

Screengrab from film by student Renata Garcia

Screengrab from film by student Shana Shin

ARTS 1700-01 — Animation I: This course is designed to introduce students to basic methods and practices in animation while exposing them to artists working independently in the field. The course will provide an overview of techniques ranging from hand-drawn frame-by-frame animation, to object animation and pixelation. Each class will consist of a short demonstration, viewing of related works, hands-on experimentation, and critique. Weekly assignments will further students’ exploration of animation approaches and techniques. The course will conclude with the creation of final projects in which students will develop and create an animated short in a medium of their choosing.

This course is taught by Professor Elyse Kelly.

ARTS 4960 1 Senior Project Seminar

ARTS 4960 — Senior Project Seminar The Senior Project seminar is a three-credit course offered in the fall semester as a requirement for graduating majors in studio art. The purpose of the seminar is three-fold: to provide practical knowledge needed to begin a career as a professional artist, to offer a foundation in contemporary art and art theory, and to prepare students for their thesis art project and Senior Exhibition. The lecture and discussion-based course includes several writing assignments, culminating in a research paper. This course includes weekly lectures and discussions, guest speakers and field trips, readings, group critique and written assignments. Students will gain a better understanding of their place in the art world, the opportunities and challenges facing artists, and the resources and tools available to them. As this course serves as the writing requirement for art majors, we will explore art writing in-depth specifically as it relates to your art-making practice and the broader field of art writing in general. Finally, the course will prepare students for their thesis, the Senior Art Exhibition, which is shown in the de la Cruz Gallery each subsequent spring.

This course is taught by Professor Brady Robinson.

Upper Level ARTS Courses

ARTS courses at the 4000 level are reserved for Art Majors, with instructor approval. Students work with a professor on an independent project or series of works over the course of the semester. Please inquire with the individual instructor for more information.

These courses include:

• ARTS 4000-1 Independent Study — Roberto Bocci
• ARTS 4000-2 Independent Study — Scott Hutchison
• ARTS 4000-3 Independent Study — Evan Reed
• ARTS 4000-5 Independent Study — Toni-Lee Sangastiano

Art History Courses

ARTH 1120-1— Buddhist Art

Great Stupa at Sanchi, 3rd century BCE-1st century CE, Madhya Pradesh, India

Buddha in Parinirvana, Mogao Cave 158, Tang Dynasty (618-907), Dunhuang, Gansu Province, China

Hakuin Ekaku, “Two Blind Men Crossing a Log Bridge,” Edo Period (1615-1868), hanging scroll, ink on paper, Manyo’an Collection

ARTH 1120-01 — Buddhist Art This course will survey the Buddhist art and architecture of Asia through selected case studies of artworks and sites in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. Among the topics to be studied include: representations of the historical Buddha’s life, rock-cut architecture, monastic complexes, painted mandalas, Zen portraits, as well as the roles played by patronage, pilgrimage, and ritual. Our focus upon the Buddhist art and architecture of Asia will allow us to think through not only the historical development of the religion and its visual and architectural forms, but also issues of cross-cultural transmission. In the process, students will gain familiarity not only with the religious and historical context of the artworks and sites and with the basic iconography of Buddhist deities, but also with methods of visual analysis that form the basis of art historical methodology. No prior knowledge of Asian art or religions is required or assumed.

This course is taught by Professor Michelle Wang.

ARTH 1240-01 — Ancient to Medieval Art

ARTH 1240-01 — Ancient to Medieval Art This course surveys the art and architecture from the Paleolithic period through the Gothic period. Within a roughly chronological structure, we will explore the art of these periods in relation to their broader cultural, intellectual and historical contexts. In addition to emphasizing the developments that define each historical period, we will consider the aesthetic advances made with the painting materials and methods available at the time

This course is taught by Professor Barrett Tilney.

ARTH 1840-1— What is Modern Art?

Vincent van Gogh, Summer evening (Soir d’été), 1888

Alfred Stieglitz, The City of Ambitions, 1910-13

Diego Rivera, Moscow Day, Moscow, 1928

ARTH 1840-1— What is Modern Art? This course charts artistic modernism and aesthetic responses to modernity from the 1840s to the 1960s. We will learn key theories of modernism in nineteenth and twentieth-century art criticism and discourse, including theories about how art and visual culture pictured, mediated, or affected modern politics, urbanization, technology, imperialism, postcolonialism, and globalization. In our explorations of these theories, we will engage with a wide range of visual culture and media, including painting, sculpture, prints, drawings, photography, performance, and film. This course is intended to be an introduction to art historical study and is suitable for those with no prior experience in art history.

This course is taught by Professor Ariel Klein.

ARTH 2150-1— Latin America I

ARTH 2150-1— Latin America I The course examines the art of Mesoamerican before the Conquest (ca. 10th century BCE) and up to the period of independence (early 19th century CE). Organized chronologically, the course studies the art of Mesoamerica, early contact between Europeans and Indigenous Americans, the introduction of European art in Latin America, and the innovative transformation of native and European art due to the Conquest. By analyzing various materials and topics that include architecture, paintings, sculptures, codices, and prints, the course places particular emphasis on the interaction between native traditions and imported ideas concerning religion, race, gender, politics, rituals, and daily life. While considering several relevant art movements, the course introduces students to the major theoretical issues regarding Latin American art and its interpretation.

This course is taught by Professor Andrea Gallelli Huezo.

ARTH 2310-1 — Byzantine Empire

ARTH 2310-1 — Byzantine Empire Streets crowded with monks chanting, golden icons processing behind, and thick clouds of incense spilling around cathedrals – the Byzantine performance of Church and State was central to its identity. Lasting for over 1100 years, emperors and their royal courts, generals, and patriarchs all contributed to Constantinople’s rise in 330 CE to its collapse in 1453 CE. This course examines the evolution of a rich visual culture that included architecture, jewelry, mosaics, ivories, enamels, textiles, manuscripts, sculptures, and paintings which circulated throughout a globalized network of trade and power. Despite civil wars and the rise of Islamic caliphates, a “new Rome” tested Byzantium’s global influence by putting art and luxury in the service of imperialism, which, even today, defines our imagination of Byzantium.

This course is taught by Professor Tiffany Hunt

ARTH 2540-1 — Italian Renaissance

ARTH 2540-1 — Italian Renaissance The course surveys painting and sculpture in Italy c. 1300-1550. Other important art forms, including architecture and prints, will be addressed among a few significant examples. We will emphasize major works and artists, especially in the leading centers of Florence, Rome, and Venice. While artistic style will be one of our interests (as it was to artists, patrons, and other observers in the period), we will spend more time on changing circumstances of the production, function, iconography, patronage, and commerce of art in the period. Why was art being made? How was it used and understood? One advantage of life on the Hilltop is easy access to one of the world’s premier collections of Renaissance art. We will schedule two class visits to the National Gallery of Art, and you will be encouraged to explore this and other collections further on your own.

This course is taught by Professor Alfred Acres.

ARTH 2642-1 — Dutch Art/Age of Rembrandt

Johannes Vermeer, “The Girl with a Pearl Earring,” c. 1665 (Mauritshuis, The Hague)

Rembrandt van Rijn, “The Nightwatch,” 1642 (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)

ARTH 2642-1 — Dutch Art/Age of Rembrandt You have most likely heard of Johannes Vermeer and Rembrandt van Rijn whose paintings have been the focus of countless exhibitions, films, and novels. While we will study their careers and remarkable artworks in-depth, their paintings comprise only a tiny fraction of an estimated 5-10 million works of art produced in the 17th-century Dutch Republic (now the Netherlands) for a population of about the same as Philadelphia today. One scholar estimates that, at times, artists made up 5% of the male labor force in dutch towns. Our class will explore this explosion of art. In addition to surveying other artists and their paintings and prints, we will consider the broader context of the profusion of art: political independence, trade, and exploration, a unique art market, a wide range of buyers, and new methods of production.

This course is taught by Professor Barrett Tilney.

ARTH 3841-1/RUSS 4391-1 — Art of Protest

Marina Abramović, Rhythm 5 (1974)

Dana Kavelina, film still from Letter to a Turtledove (2020)

Natalia LL, Consummer Art (1975)

ARTH 3841-1/RUSS 4391-1 — Art of Protest This course examines the art of protest in Central and Eastern Europe, including Russia, from the 19th century to the present day. Artists and writers from this region have a long history of fighting against and working within repressive conditions. In response to censorship, political imprisonment, authoritarianism, and other threats, they have developed unique strategies of survival and protest, as well as a conceptual apparatus around the idea of the “power of the powerless.” As we examine performance art, literature, music, visual art (from painting to film), and other art forms that have challenged repressive institutions, we consider art’s unique potential for political protest. To prompt comparative inquiry across media and historical times, the course is organized into several thematic sections: war, censorship, patriarchy, capitalism, prisons & camps, and historical amnesia. As we work to unearth a theory and practice of artistic protest across time and space, we also examine the specific historical circumstances of each artwork.

This course is taught by Professor Irina Denischenko.

ARTH 3842/5842-1 — Orientalism

Abu al-Hasan Ghaffari, Portrait of Nasir al-Din Shah, Iran, 1859

Edward W. Said, Orientalism, Pantheon Books, 1978

Pietro Montani, “Ceramic wall tiles from the Yeşil Türbe in Bursa” L’Architecture ottomane, 1873

ARTH 3842/5842-1 — Orientalism In this course, we will study debates about cultural imperialism, exchange, and contact between Europe and the Islamicate world from 1798 to 1910. Edward Said’s writings will be a central focus for our inquiry, from his Orientalism (1978) to later writings on “traveling theory” and music. This course will also explore the historiography of orientalism more broadly, from the binary articulations of east and west written in Said’s wake to more complex formulations of Ottoman orientalism, nesting and regional orientalisms, critical cosmopolitanism, and new analyses of modern Islamic visual culture. Our case studies will include architecture and city planning, the formation of Islamicate art collections, archaeology in Ottoman lands, infrastructure across the Ottoman Empire and Iran, changes in fashion and dress and their attendant gender politics, and the representation of conflict and diplomacy in caricature, art, film, and the emergent illustrated press.

This course is taught by Professor Mary Roberts.

ARTH 4121-1 — The Body in Asian Art

Acupuncture chart from Hua Shou, “Shisijing fahui” (Routes of the Fourteen Meridians and their Functions), 1341, Fujikawa Collection, Kyoto University Library

Xuanye (1654-1722), “Teachings Expounded for Ten Thousand Generations,” titleboard for the Hall of the Great Synthesis in the Temple of Confucius, Beijing

Sculpture of a lady dressed in silk garments, excavated in 1973 from the tomb of Zhang Xiong and Lady Qu (dated 688), Astana, Turfan

ARTH 4121-1 — The Body in Asian Art It has often been assumed that representation of the human form did not play as significant a role in the development of East Asian art as it did in the Western tradition. In this seminar, we will address this issue by exploring various approaches to the issue of corporeality in the art of China and Japan that not only focus upon representation of the human body, but that also question the ways in which discourses about the body were related to larger questions about death and the afterlife, the sacred and the profane, the human and the artificial, and the articulation of national identity. Selected case studies for weekly topics may range from the famed terracotta warriors to Buddhist relics, along with an exploration of calligraphy, cyborgs, and dress. No prior knowledge of Asian art is required or assumed.

This course is taught by Professor Michelle Wang.

ARTH 4640-1 — Ideas of Realism

ARTH 4640-1 — Ideas of Realism This seminar explores shifting means and ends of naturalistic representation, with an emphasis on work produced in Europe and the United States between the Renaissance and the present. Rises, falls, detours, and re-imaginings of “realism” across the centuries have been regarded in surprisingly few and often conventional ways. Through case studies of specific works and discussion of primary and secondary texts, we will try to recover some of the strange energies of an impulse whose ambitions and strategies (in art, literature, theater, film, etc.) are too often taken for granted. Our class will make at least two visits to local collections.

This course is taught by Professor Alfred Acres

ARTH 4711-1 — Queer Frontiers

Carl Van Vechten, Ram Gopal, May 11, 1938

Dan Flavin, icon v (Coran’s Broadway Flesh), 1962

Detail, Édouard Manet, Reclining Woman in Spanish Costume, 1862-63

ARTH 4711-1 — Queer Frontiers In this course, we will investigate two frontiers in queer histories of art. The first is the discourse about queer historicism, which asks how we should discuss sexuality and gender in art histories that pre-date the gay liberation movement and the identitarian terms often used to discuss queerness today. How, in other words, can we study queer art history before the 1970s? Second, by incorporating queer theory’s groundbreaking approaches to questions of historicism, temporality, and the archive, we will also discuss how models of queerness might transform our understanding of cultural and economic exchange, as well as postcolonial theory. Given that both of these subjects—queer historicism and queer exchange—often hinge on what is visible or invisible, they are especially urgent to the field of art history. In this course, then, we will also use queer theory to think about art historical methodologies more broadly.

This course is taught by Professor Ariel Klein.

ARTH 4861-1 — Seeing Photographically

ARTH 4861-1 — Seeing Photographically This seminar asks the question: what does it mean to “see photographically?” It borrows from an essay by the modernist photographer Edward Weston, but seeks to theorize and research the ways in which the camera, lens, sensor, and other forms of technology have shaped culture and politics from the 1800s to the 2020s. Participants will read and present key texts, analyze works of photography, film, and video, and write a longer research paper on an area of interest. Recommended for upper-level students in ARTH, FMST, CULP, and CCT.

This course is taught by Professor Ian Bourland.

ARTH 4950-01 — Museum Fieldwork: Directed Study

ARTH 4950-01 — Museum Fieldwork: Directed Study Students must have 9 credits in Art History and the advisor’s approval required. Only art history Junior and Senior majors or minor students.

This course is taught by Professor Ian Bourland.

ARTH 4998-01— Senior Thesis

ARTH 4998, Senior Thesis: By arrangement with a faculty adviser, majors may write a senior thesis on an art historical topic of their choosing. The thesis is optional but can serve as a capstone course that prepares students for future professional or graduate work.

This course is taught by Professor Ian Bourland.

Art & Museum Studies Courses

AMUS 5100–01 — Museum Studies Foundations

AMUS 5100-01 — Museum Studies Foundations This course introduces students to the state of museums as well as their core functions, history, and critical literature. We will examine recent debates about museums through the lens of gender studies, disability studies, critical race theory, decolonization, and environmental sustainability, with particular attention to social media movements currently calling for change. Assignments will focus both on mastering key concepts in museum studies and on considering how we can change museums to better fit society. Our focus will be on art museums, but selected topics in historic and ethnographic museums will also be considered.

This course is taught by Professor Lisa Strong.

AMUS 5202-01 — Collections Management

AMUS 5202-01 — Collections Management This course focuses on general museum concepts and procedures as they relate to collections (objects and their documentation) and their management (e.g., preparation, preventive maintenance & conservation, housing, problem-solving) as a whole. The course objectives are to introduce the participants to basic care and preservation of collections as well as a basic understanding of the history and current status of the governance of cultural materials. By the end of the course, participants should understand the definition and role of collections within a museum context; understand the philosophy of cultural preservation and the meaning of cultural patrimony; understand the importance of collection ethics and the role of collections within museum accountability and accreditation programs; understand the importance of a collections management policy, its development, content, and application; and how such a policy governs the daily activities within a museum’s collections.

This course is taught by Professor Jerry Foust.

AMUS 5204-01 — Museum Education and Interpretation

AMUS 5204-01 — Museum Education and Interpretation Students will be active participants in learning about museum education theories and practices. This course situates the functions of museum education and interpretation within the broader context of a changing paradigm in museums. During site visits to area art museums, educators will discuss aspects of interpretation, programming, and research that are unique to their museum. Class discussion will include such topics as how visitors learn in an art museum, new approaches to interpretation, education programming for varied audiences, building audiences and community, and the relationship of mission to education and interpretation.

This course is taught by Professor Anna Hindley.

AMUS 5206-01 — Curatorial Studies

AMUS 5206-01 — Curatorial Studies Art curators play an important role in shaping how artwork is presented, interpreted and remembered. This introductory course provides an in-depth look at the curatorial field, exploring historical context and providing hands-on experience where students can acquire practical skills and knowledge for jobs in the curatorial sector within an institutional environment. Through lectures, readings, writing assignments, in-class exercises, group site visits and independent museum visits, students will examine collections and exhibitions from a curatorial perspective. The course will culminate in the students’ production of an exhibition at Georgetown University’s Spagnuolo Gallery, presenting a contemporary artist(s) from the Washington, DC metropolitan region. Director & Chief Curator of Georgetown University Art Galleries, Jaynelle Hazard will work closely with students on their contributions to all aspects of the exhibition’s development to include research, studio visits, exhibition design, writing label text, producing an exhibition booklet, and planning interdisciplinary programming for the university and the wider community.

This course is taught by Professor Jaynelle Hazard.

AMUS 5207-01 — Museums and Digital Media

AMUS 5207-01 — Museums and Digital Media Within the span of just a few decades, digital technologies have made a profound impact on museums: from how they operate to how the visitor experience is constructed. With an emphasis on interpretation and outreach, this course will explore the impact of technology on museum approaches to collections, exhibitions, and education. A variety of digital media platforms will be covered, including websites, social media, in-gallery interactives, and mobile experiences. We will immerse ourselves in key issues that guide and frustrate the successful implementation of technology in 21st-century institutions, such as openness, collaboration, sustainability, and a focus on the museum audience as users. With the help of case studies and guest speakers, we will explore what’s possible—and what’s challenging—when it comes to museums and technology.

This course is taught by Professor Darren Milligan.

AMUS 7951-01 — Fall Internship

AMUS 7951-01 — Fall Internship Museum internships provide concentrated practical experience within selected museum departments as well as an overview of the operations of a museum. Some of our internships include a staff-directed seminar; most involve a linked research project as well as an internship journal. Expectations and placement will be discussed during the orientation session. Schedule determined by student and museum supervisor; 15–20 hours/wk. Art and Museum Studies students only.

This course is taught by Professor Lisa Strong.